Hardware and Software Components
Software Components
FC0054606-00 A
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A
Software Components
This section describes the following QLogic FC adapter software components:
Boot Code
OS Driver
Firmware
Management Tools and Utilities
Boot Code
Boot code resides on the Flash memory on the adapter. The primary function of
the boot code is to communicate with an external boot device before the operating
system takes the control over when booting from a storage device attached to the
QLogic adapter. This type of configuration is referred to as
boot from SAN
.
OS Driver
For all QLogic FC adapters currently supported on VMware ESX/ESXi, the driver
is supported natively with ESX; that is, no separate driver installation is required
for VMware ESX/ESXi to recognize the QLogic FC adapters. QLogic FC adapters
on VMware ESX/ESXi require no additional driver installation steps to run the
QLogic FC adapter.
Firmware
The firmware module performs most of the FC protocol-related functions, thus
freeing the system CPU and memory resources from protocol processing. This
efficiency keeps the QLogic FC driver
thin
, which saves runtime system resources
such as CPU and memory.
The QLogic FC adapter firmware is bundled with the driver. This unified approach
ensures that the driver and firmware are always in sync on a customer system
and simplifies the manageability of QLogic FC drivers.
5
Non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) is used to store the per-port adapter config-
uration parameters. These parameters are typically loaded at manufacturing and should
not be modified except by those who have an expert level understanding of the functioning
of QLogic FC adapters. During adapter initialization, the parameters are accessed and
used to configure the adapter. Examples of adapter configuration parameters include FC
connection type (topology), FC data rate, FC tape support, and so on.
Table 1-1. FC Adapter Component Details (Continued)
Callout
Number
Description