Host attachment overview
The DS8000 storage unit provides a variety of host attachments so that you can
consolidate storage capacity and workloads for open-systems hosts and System z
or S/390 hosts.
The DS8000 provides extensive connectivity using fibre-channel or ESCON
adapters across a broad range of server environments. You can configure the
storage unit for any of the following system adapter types and protocols:
v Fibre-channel adapters, for support of Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) and Fibre
Connection (FICON
®
) protocol
v Enterprise Systems Connection Architecture
®
(ESCON) adapters
The
DS8100 Models 921 and 931 support a maximum of 16 host adapters and 4
device adapter pairs, and the DS8300 Models 922, 932, 9A2, and 9B2 support a
maximum of 32 host adapters and 8 device adapter pairs.
To reduce the possibility of interactions between system adapters in switched
configurations, you can establish zones for your fibre-channel attachments. You can
minimize contention issues if the zones contain a single port that is attached to a
system adapter with the desired number of ports that are attached to the storage
unit.
To establish zones, use either of the following methods:
v Port number
v Worldwide port name (WWPN)
You
can configure switch ports that are attached to the storage unit in more than
one zone. This enables multiple host adapters to share access to the storage unit
fibre-channel ports. Shared access to a storage unit fibre-channel port might come
from host platforms that support a combination of bus adapter types and the
operating systems.
Open-systems host attachment with fibre-channel adapters
You can attach a DS8000 series to an open-systems host with fibre-channel
adapters.
Fibre channel is a 1 Gbps, 2 Gbps, or 4 Gbps full-duplex, serial communications
technology to interconnect I/O devices and host systems that are separated by tens
of kilometers.
The IBM System Storage DS8000 series supports SAN connections of up to 2 Gbps
with 2 Gb host adapters, and up to 4 Gbps with 4 Gb host adapters. The DS8000
series negotiates automatically and determines whether it is best to run at a 1
Gbps, 2 Gbps, or 4 Gbps link speed. The IBM System Storage DS8000 series detects
and operates at the greatest available link speed that is shared by both sides of the
system.
Note: 4 Gbps link speeds are only available with 4 Gbps fibre-channel adapter
cards.
Fibre-channel technology transfers information between the sources and the users
of the information. This information can include commands, controls, files,
graphics, video, and sound. Fibre-channel connections are established between
fibre-channel ports that reside in I/O devices, host systems, and the network that
16 DS8000 User’s Guide
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