HP Fabric OS v7.0.1, Administrator'S Manual

Page: 75 / 584

Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide 37
53-1002446-01
PIDs and PID binding overview
3
•
Shared area limitations are removed on 48-port and 64-port blades.
•
Any port on a 48-port or 64-port blade can support up to 256 NPIV devices (in fixed addressing
mode, only 128 NPIV devices are supported in non-VF mode and 64 NPIV devices in VF mode
on a 48-port blade).
•
Any port on a 48-port blade can support loop devices.
•
Any port on a 48-port or 64-port blade can support hard port zoning.
•
Port index is not guaranteed to be equal to the port area ID.
256-area addressing mode
This configurable addressing mode is available only in a logical switch on the Brocade Backbone. In
this mode, only 256 ports are supported and each port receives a unique 8-bit area address. This
mode can be used in FICON environments, which have strict requirements for 8-bit area FC
addresses.
There are two types of area assignment modes in the 256-area addressing mode: zero-based and
port-based.
•
Zero-based mode assigns areas as ports are added to the logical switch, beginning at area
0x00. When a port is assigned to a logical switch, the next free PID starting from 0x00 is
assigned. This mode allows FICON customers to make use of the upper ports of a 48-port or
64-port blade. Zero-based mode is also supported on the default switch.
•
Port-based mode does not support the upper 16 ports of a 48-port or 64-port blade in a logical
switch. Port-based mode is not supported on the default switch.
WWN-based PID assignment
WWN-based PID assignment is disabled by default. When the feature is enabled, bindings are
created dynamically; as new devices log in, they automatically enter the WWN-based PID database.
The bindings exist until you explicitly unbind the mappings through the CLI or change to a different
addressing mode. If there are any existing devices when you enable the feature, you must manually
enter the WWN-based PID assignments through the CLI.
This feature also allows you to configure a PID persistently using a device WWN. When the device
logs in to the switch, the PID is bound to the device WWN. If the device is moved to another port in
the same switch, or a new blade is hot plugged, the device receives the same PID (area) at its next
login.
Once WWN-based PID assignment is enabled, you must manually enter the WWN-based PID
assignments through the CLI for any existing devices.
ATTENTION
When WWN-based PID assignment is enabled, the area assignment is dynamic and does not
guarantee any order in the presence of static WWN-area binding or when the devices are moved
around.
PID assignments are supported for a maximum of 4096 devices; this includes both point-to-point
and NPIV devices. The number of point-to-point devices supported depends on the areas available.
For example, 448 areas are available on Backbones and 256 areas are available on switches.
When the number of entries in the WWN-based PID database reaches 4096 areas are used up, the
oldest unused entry is purged from the database to free up the reserved area for the new FLOGI.