Chapter 4 Connect the Front End
110
Storage Center SC8000 Controller Deployment Guide
Virtual Port Mode with Dual-Fabric Fibre Channel
Use
two
fabrics
with
virtual
port
mode
to
prevent
a
FC
switch
failure
or
controller
failure
from
causing
an
outage.
In
this
configuration,
there
is
one
fault
domain
for
each
FC
fabric.
Each
controller
is
connected
to
both
fabrics
by
two
FC
connections.
If
a
single
port
fails,
its
virtual
port
fails
over
to
another
port
in
the
same
fault
domain.
If
a
controller
fails,
the
virtual
ports
on
the
failed
controller
move
to
ports
on
the
other
controller
in
the
same
fault
domain.
Prerequisites
Each
controller
must
have
two
available
FC
front
‐
end
ports
for
each
FC
fabric.
The
requirements
for
virtual
port
mode
must
be
met.
Steps
1
Connect
each
server
to
both
FC
fabrics.
2
Connect
fault
domain
1
(shown
in
orange)
to
fabric
1.
Controller
A,
slot
1,
port
1
→
Fabric
1
Controller
A,
slot
2,
port
1
→
Fabric
1
Controller
B,
slot
1,
port
1
→
Fabric
1
Controller
B,
slot
2,
port
1
→
Fabric
1
3
Connect
fault
domain
2
(shown
in
blue)
to
fabric
2.
Controller
A,
slot
1,
port
2
→
Fabric
2
Controller
A,
slot
2,
port
2
→
Fabric
2
Controller
B,
slot
1,
port
2
→
Fabric
2
Controller
B,
slot
2,
port
2
→
Fabric
2
4
Configure
FC
zoning
to
meet
the
legacy
mode
zoning
requirements.
Figure 95. Dual-controller with Dual-Fabric FC in Virtual Port Mode
Controller B
Fabric 1
Server 1
Controller A
Server 2
Fabric 2
1
2
1
2
