Typical configurations
The Flex System compute nodes with the mezzanine FC HBAs installed are connected to the FC5022
switch modules through the chassis midplane. The FC5022 switches are connected to an external SAN or
to a storage system directly. The following connectivity scenarios are described:
Attachment to a SAN in transparent mode (also known as Pass-thru or Access Gateway mode)
Attachment to a Brocade SAN in Full Fabric mode
Direct attachment to an external storage system
Attachment to a SAN in transparent mode
In the scenario shown in Figure 7, the FC5022 switch module is configured in the Access Gateway mode
and connected to an upstream SAN fabric to access the storage. This upstream fabric can be either
Brocade SAN or Cisco MDS fabric.
The FC5022 in the Access Gateway mode acts as a transparent traffic forwarder where all traffic from the
HBAs in the Flex System compute nodes are sent to the upstream SAN fabric for processing. This reduces
the number of physical switches in the SAN fabric and simplifies management. This configuration can be
used in small, medium, and large SAN environments.
In this scenario, the FC5022 external connection to the upstream SAN fabric is displayed as an N-Port. SAN
fabric configuration, such as zoning, is performed on the upstream SAN switch instead of the FC5022. For
more information, refer to the Brocade Fabric OS Access Gateway Administrator’s Guide .
Figure 7. Access Gateway mode
Attachment to a Brocade SAN in Full Fabric mode
In this scenario shown in Figure 8, the FC5022 has an external connection to the Brocade FC SAN. SAN
fabric configuration for the newly added Flex System hosts is performed on the upstream Brocade SAN.
When the FC5022 is attached to the upstream Brocade SAN fabric, the zoning information and high level
configuration parameters are automatically propagated down to the FC5022, allowing the newly attached
hosts to communicate with their targets that were defined on the upstream SAN.
For more information on how to configure and manage the FC5022 switch module, refer to the Brocade
Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide and Brocade Fabric OS Command Reference Manual .
Lenovo Flex System FC5022 16Gb SAN Scalable Switches
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