IBM TotalStorage EXP100, Installation, User'S, And Maintenance Manual

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Using a Fibre Channel arbitrated loop (FC-AL), more than 100 Fibre Channel
devices
1
can be supported, compared to 15 small computer system interface
(SCSI) devices. The connection from the DS4000 to the EXP100 is a 2 GB Fibre
Channel device that supports data transfer rates up to 200 MBps half-duplex and
400 MBps full-duplex on optical interfaces.
Serial ATA defined
The Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) interface offers increased data
rate performance over Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA), while
maintaining the benefits of ATA. SATA is designed to overcome the performance
barriers that have been forecasted for current parallel technologies while
maintaining the cost-efficiency of Parallel ATA. SATA specifications allow for thinner,
more flexible cables, and lower pin counts. It also enables easier, more flexible
cable routing management and the use of smaller connectors than is possible with
the existing Parallel ATA technology.
The Serial ATA Working Group introduced the first SATA specification, Serial ATA
1.0, in 2001. See the following Web site for more information:
www.serialata.org
New features
The latest EXP100 storage expansion enclosure is shipped with Environmental
Card Canister (ESM) R3 firmware. This R3 ESM firmware release supports the
following new features:
v The new 400 GB SATA drive option (P/N 39M4570) and CRU (P/N 39M4575)
v The new 250 GB SATA drive CRU (P/N 40K6837)
v
DS4000 Storage Manager version 9.15 (and later)
Like the previous EXP100 R2 ESM firmware, the R3 release features Full-High
Availability (FHA) failover capability. R3 firmware also enables DS4000 controller
firmware and ESM firmware upgrades concurrent with I/O activity.
Recommendation: IBM strongly recommends that you check and maintain the
DS4000 storage subsystem controller firmware and EXP100 ESM firmware at the
latest levels, even if you do not have any 400 GB drive options in your DS4000
configuration. This ensures compatibility when you need to replace existing SATA
hard drives with the new drive options or SATA drive CRUs, and provides the latest
available quality enhancements.
See the next section, “Software, hardware and firmware compatibility and upgrades”
on page 4, for important information about the new R3 ESM firmware.
Note: IBM no longer supports R1, which was the first EXP100 ESM firmware
release. See “Upgrading ESM firmware after adding the EXP100 to an
existing drive loop” on page 68 for information about upgrading your
firmware to the latest release level.
1. For the DS4000, each drive is considered to be a device in a Fibre Channel loop, even though the EXP100 drive interface is SATA
(not Fibre Channel). The ESM and the interposer convert SATA interface protocol to Fibre Channel protocol.
Chapter 1. Introduction
3
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