HP Virtual Connect 8Gb 20-port Fibre Channel Module for c-Class BladeSystem - Manual (Page 134)

Virtual Connect networks 134
8. Click Apply. The shared uplink and associated networks are now defined and available for use in
creating server profiles.
Defining an FCoE network
You can create an FCoE network by creating a Shared Uplink Set and then adding an FCoE network to it.
You cannot create an FCoE network independently outside of a Shared Uplink Set.
Dual-hop FCoE support
Prior to the VC v4.01 release, VCM support of FCoE did not extend outside of the enclosure. All FCoE traffic
was converted to native FC prior to reaching VC interconnect uplinks. This solution required a FC switch to
be connected to the VC interconnects. The Dual-hop FCoE feature of VC allows FCoE traffic to be propagated
out of the enclosure to an external FCoE-capable bridge which will handle the conversion of FCoE to FC
traffic and vice-versa. This allows server connections to use Ethernet transport and results in the following
benefits:
• Cable consolidation
• Reduction in the number of per server adapters and interconnects required
• Reduction in utilization of the upstream switch ports
• Ease and simplification of management
This feature is called FCoE Dual Hop because there are two FCoE ‘hops’ between the server and the
conversion point from FCoE to FC. The first hop is between the server CNA adapter and the VC Module. The
second hop is between the VC Modules and the external FCoE to FC bridge device. No additional external
FCoE bridges or gateways can be in this configuration. Introducing an additional external FCoE bridge or
gateway would make it impossible to guarantee the lossless handling of the traffic and ensure
congestion-free connectivity.
This feature is supported on VC FlexFabric or VC Flex-10/10D modules. VC FlexFabric modules support
FCoE on uplink ports X1-X4. VC FlexFabric-20/40 F8 modules support FCoE on uplink ports X1-X8. VC
Flex10/10D modules support FCoE on all uplink ports (X1-X10). FCoE traffic is forwarded to the top of rack
(ToR) device, which performs the FCoE to FC traffic conversion. The ToR device must act as either a bridge
to the native FC infrastructure or directly connect to FC-based storage devices.
The following FCoE capable ToR switches have been tested and are supported with this feature:
• Cisco Nexus 50x0 switch operating as either NPV Gateway or FC Forwarder (FCF).
• Cisco Nexus 55xx switch operating as either NPV Gateway or FC Forwarder (FCF).
For more information, see the FCoE Cookbook for HP Virtual Connect on the HP website
( http://www.hp.com ).
Restrictions
• No congestion notification (QCN) support is implemented. Only direct connections between VC
modules and external FCoE bridge ports are supported.
• Up to 32 FCoE networks can be associated with any single set of uplink ports.
• FCoE traffic does not cross stacking links and a configuration using uplinks from different bays is not
allowed.
• FCoE is not supported on c3000 enclosures. You cannot create an FCoE network on a c3000
enclosure.
• Double-dense server blades are not supported by this feature.