Chapter 3: Connecting Hosts
Cabling Considerations
QX and QXS Setup Guide
95
Cabling Considerations
Common cabling configurations address hosts, RAID chassis, drive expansion chassis, and switches. Host
interface ports on the RAID chassis (controllers) can connect to respective hosts via direct-attach or switch-
attach.
Cabling systems to enable use of the optional feature—to replicate volumes—is yet another important
cabling consideration.
Connect the Chassis to Hosts
A
host
identifies an external port to which the storage system is attached. The external port may be a port in
an I/O adapter (such as an FC HBA) in a server. Cable connections vary depending on configuration. This
section describes host interface protocols supported by QXS Storage RAID chassis, while showing a few
common cabling configurations.
Note:
The QXS Storage controllers use Unified LUN Presentation (ULP), a controller feature enabling
a host to access mapped volumes through any controller host port.
ULP can show all LUNs through all host ports on both controllers, and the interconnect information is
managed by the controller firmware. ULP appears to the host as an active-active storage system, allowing
the host to select any available path to access the LUN, regardless of disk group ownership.
Note:
See “Configuring the system > Using the Configuration Wizard” in the
QXS Storage Disk
Storage Management Utility Users Guide (V2 or V3)
to initially configure the system or change system
configuration settings (for example, Configuring host ports).
CNC Technology
The QXS-3, QXS-4, and QXS-6 Series storage use Converged Network Controller technology, allowing
you to select the desired host interface protocol(s) from the available FC or iSCSI host interface protocols
supported by the system. The small form-factor pluggable (SFP transceiver or SFP) connectors used in
CNC ports are further described in the subsections below.
Note:
Controller modules are not shipped with pre-installed SFPs. Within your product kit, you will
need to locate the qualified SFP options, and install them into the CNC ports.
Use the
set host-port-mode
CLI command to set the host interface protocol for CNC ports using
qualified SFP options. The QXS-3, QXS-4, and QXS-6 Series storage ship with CNC ports configured for
FC. When connecting CNC ports to iSCSI hosts, you must use the CLI (not the disk management utility) to
specify which ports will use iSCSI. It is best to do this before inserting the iSCSI SFPs into the CNC ports.
Note:
Refer to iSCSI Considerations
for additional information.
