Fibre Channel for Mass Storage

Description

• Copyright 1999
• Edition: 1st

• Book
• ISBN-10: 0-13-010222-9
• ISBN-13: 978-0-13-010222-5

1022B-8

Master Fibre Channel, the next-generation standard for enterprise storage!

With Fibre Channel, you can suddenly scale your storage systems from gigabytes to terabytes, and improve performance at the same time -- all without disrupting systems, networks, or applications. Fibre Channel for Mass Storage walks you step-by-step through the basics of Fibre Channel technology, and demonstrates how to deploy Hewlett Packard's advanced Fibre Channel products to address your most critical enterprise storage challenges. Coverage includes:

• Why Fibre Channel has become the enterprise storage technology of choice
• Fibre Channel's architecture and six functional levels
• Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) -- an exceptionally effective storage system topology
• Peripheral devices, logical units, and volume set addressing
• Essential addressing techniques for integrating Fibre Channel with HP-UX

Fibre Channel for Mass Storage introduces Hewlett-Packard's state-of-the-art Fibre Channel product family, beginning with Tachyon(r), the industry's first Fibre Channel controller fully integrated on a single chip. Learn about Hewlett-Packard's Fibre Channel adapters for K-Class, T-Class, D-Class, and V-Class Enterprise Servers and parallel clusters; hubs, disk arrays, SCSI multiplexers, and more. Finally, preview the future of Fibre Channel: faster fiber rates, hunt groups, multicast groups, classes of service, and beyond.

Whether you're implementing Fibre Channel, planning for it, or simply need to understand it, Fibre Channel for Mass Storage has all the answers you're looking for.

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Sample Content

Downloadable Sample Chapter

Click here for a sample chapter for this book: 0130102229.pdf

Table of Contents

Chapter One: Overview of Fibre Channel for Mass Storage.

Current Mass Storage Architectures. What is Fibre Channel? Fibre Channel for Mass Storage. Advantages of Fibre Channel for Mass Storage. Basic Terms. Topologies.

Chapter Two: Fibre Channel Functional Levels and Protocols.

Functional Levels. FC-0: The Physical Layer. FC-1: The Transmission Protocol Level. FC-2: Framing Protocol. FC-3: Common Services. FC-4: Mapping. Upper Level Protocols. Classes of Service.

Chapter Three: Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL).

FC-AL Characteristics. Operations of the FC-AL. Hubs. Topologies.

Chapter Four: Addressing.

The Addressing Limitations of HP-UX. Addressing Methods for HP-UX.

Chapter Five: Hewlett-Packard Fibre Channel Products.

CONTROLLER IC's. Fibre Channel Adapter for the K-Class Systems. Fibre Channel Adapter for the T-Class Systems. Fibre Channel Adapter for the D-Class Systems. Fibre Channel Adapter for the V-Class Systems. Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop Hub. High Availability Fibre Channel Disk Array. SCSI Multiplexer. FC Switch. Typical Hewlett-Packard FC Topologies.

Chapter Six: Fibre Channel Futures.

Future Enhancements. Sources for More Information Regarding Fibre Channel.

Glossary.


Bibliography.


Index.

Preface

Preface

WHAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT

This book discusses the implementation of Fibre Channel technology for Mass Storage environments. It opens with discussions on storage architectures, their limitations, and how Fibre Channel helps to overcome these limitations. Next, details of the Fibre Channel technology, focused on the mass storage application, are discussed. Addressing schemes for the Hewlett-Packard implementation are covered in detail as well as Hewlett-Packard products supporting this technology. And finally, future developments and improvements are addressed.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK?

You should read this book if Fibre Channel is new to you or if you will be working with peripherals that are attached to a Hewlett-Packard system using Fibre Channel technology. This is a brand new technology that is quickly becoming an industry standard. It is already being installed in data centers around the world and may very well be the next communications protocol installed at your location.

If you are a System Administrator and your job is to control configurations and resources of computer systems or do installation of peripherals, this book is a must. If you are a Network Administrator and your job is to configure and support networks, this book is a must. Also read this book if you are a Technical Support Technician and you support or troubleshoot computer systems and their resources.

WHY IS THIS BOOK NEEDED?

Fibre Channel is a new technology and many people are not familiar with its functionality or terminology. Therefore, this book was written to introduce new Fibre Channel users to this important, fast rising technology. Publications that do exist on Fibre Channel, talk more generically about the technology or focus on the networking aspects. This publication is focused on adding information on Fibre Channel as a technology applied to the mass storage environment and specifically how Hewlett-Packard is implementing Fibre Channel in mass storage environments.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

This book can and should be used as a reference book. For example, if you are familiar with Fibre Channel you would want to review the functional levels in Chapter Two and then read on from there. If you are familiar with Fibre Channel and only want to know how HP is implementing addressing, you could read Chapter Four. However, if you are unfamiliar with Fibre Channel you will want to start at the beginning, including this preface, and read through chapter by chapter. It is written in a progressive manner to lead you through learning step-by-step.

AT A GLANCE

Following is a chapter-by-chapter glance at this book:

Chapter 1 — This chapter discusses limitations of current mass storage architectures, explains how Fibre Channel answers these limitations, and defines basic terms and topologies.

Chapter 2 — This chapter details the functional levels of Fibre Channel, emphasizing physical components. There are six levels, three are port levels and three are node levels.

Chapter 3 — This chapter discusses the features and operations of the Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL), and explains how FC-AL is a very effective topology for mass storage. Hewlett-Packard has a commitment to this topology, as evidenced by its Fibre Channel hub product. This chapter will familiarize the reader with the characteristics, operations, and advantages of FC-AL.

Chapter 4 — This chapter explains why Fibre Channel is a fast, flexible technology that enables a large number of devices to communicate. This chapter describes in detail Peripheral Device, Logical Unit, and Volume Set addressing, which is unique to Hewlett-Packard's HP-UX Operating System environment.

Chapter 5 — This chapter presents an overview of the Hewlett-Packard's Fibre Channel products, describes the systems that support Fibre Channel, and discusses how the products work together.

Chapter 6 — This chapter discusses the future developments and improvements to Fibre Channel and how to get more information. This chapter familiarizes the reader with some of the capabilities that may become available in the near future.

About the Author

Ralph Thornburgh has worked for Hewlett-Packard Company for 24 years as an IT trainer, IT Data Center Manager, and Learning Products Engineer (technical writer).

During that time he has created twenty-one training classes for Hewlett-Packard data center employees and support personnel worldwide. He has also written fifteen user manuals and numerous technical support manuals.

He led the team that wrote the multicourse training program for Hewlett-Packard's implementation of Fibre Channel for Mass Storage and two other classes for Hewlett-Packard Fibre Channel peripheral devices.

While at Hewlett-Packard, Ralph held a secondary teaching certificate for three years. He designed and delivered computer class curriculum, to include operating systems and computer operations, for The Computer Learning Center in Santa Clara, California.

Ralph has also designed, developed, and delivered an American Sign Language (ASL) course for middle-school children.

Ralph was also in the U.S. Army for eleven years, part of which was spent in the California Army National Guard. There he was the section training sergeant, training soldiers in technical skills such as Aviation Electrician, as well as in Basic Combat Skills, such as land navigation (map reading) and basic marksmanship.

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