MODULE 6-STORAGE

AREA NETWORK - FC
SAN

PARTICIPANT GUIDE

PARTICIPANT GUIDE
Table of Contents

Storage Area Network - FC SAN ............................................................................... 1

Module Objectives ............................................................................................................... 2

Introduction to SAN ................................................................................................... 3

Business Needs and Technology Challenges ...................................................................... 4
SAN Overview ..................................................................................................................... 5

Knowledge Check ...................................................................................................... 7

Knowledge Check ................................................................................................................ 8

Fibre Channel SAN..................................................................................................... 9

FC SAN Overview .............................................................................................................. 10
FC SAN Components ........................................................................................................ 11
FC Network Interconnecting Devices ................................................................................. 14
FC SAN Device Port Types ................................................................................................ 15
FC SAN Protocol Stack ...................................................................................................... 17
FC Frame .......................................................................................................................... 18
FC Addressing in Switched Fabric ..................................................................................... 19
World Wide Name .............................................................................................................. 20
FC SAN: Additional Information ......................................................................................... 21

Knowledge Check .................................................................................................... 22

Knowledge Check .............................................................................................................. 23

FC SAN Topologies, Link Aggregation and Zoning .............................................. 24

FC SAN Topologies ........................................................................................................... 25
Link Aggregation ................................................................................................................ 29
FC SAN Zoning .................................................................................................................. 30
FC SAN Zoning Types ....................................................................................................... 31
FC Fabric: Additional Information ....................................................................................... 34

Knowledge Check .................................................................................................... 35

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page ii © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Knowledge Check .............................................................................................................. 36

SAN Virtualization .................................................................................................... 37

Block-level Storage Virtualization ....................................................................................... 38
Virtual Fabric - VSAN ......................................................................................................... 40

Knowledge Check .................................................................................................... 41

Knowledge Check .............................................................................................................. 42

Concepts in Practice................................................................................................ 43
Concepts in Practice .......................................................................................................... 44

Exercise .................................................................................................................... 47
Exercise: FC SAN Topologies ............................................................................................ 48

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN - Appendix ......................................... 50

Appendix: FC SAN Protocol Stack ..................................................................................... 51
Appendix: Link Aggregation ............................................................................................... 52
Appendix: FC SAN Zoning ................................................................................................. 53
Appendix: WWN and Port Zoning ...................................................................................... 54
Appendix: Block-level Storage Virtualization ...................................................................... 55

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page iii

 Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 1

Module Objectives

Module Objectives

The main objectives of the module are to:

→ Explain Storage Area Network.

→ Explain Fibre Channel SAN.
→ Understand FC SAN topologies, link aggregation and zoning.
→ Explain SAN virtualization.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 2 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Introduction to SAN

Introduction to SAN

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 3

Introduction to SAN

Business Needs and Technology Challenges

• An effective information management solution must provide:

− Just-in-time information to business users.
− Flexible and resilient storage infrastructure.
• Information management challenges in DAS environment:
− Explosive growth of information storage that remains isolated and
underutilized.
− Proliferation of new servers and applications.
− Complexity in sharing storage resources across multiple servers.
− High cost of managing information.
• Storage area network (SAN) addresses these challenges.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 4 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Introduction to SAN

SAN Overview

Data Center 1 Data Center 2

Client Client

NAS NAS

Compute Clients Compute

Storage Systems Storage Systems

Storage Area Network. (Click image to enlarge)

• Organizations of all sizes use Storage Area Networks (SANs) to increase

storage utilization rates (that is multiple hosts accessing the storage devices),
improve application performance and availability, and to heighten security and
data protection capabilities.
• A SAN consolidates storage silos by interconnecting compute and storage
systems, and uses high-speed, reliable communication protocols, such as Fibre
Channel.

Benefits of SAN

• Consolidates storage resources across multiple compute systems.

− Improves utilization of storage resources.
− Centralizes management.
• Enables connectivity across geographically dispersed locations.

− Enables compute systems across locations to access shared data.

− Enables replication of data between storage systems that reside in separate
locations.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 5

Introduction to SAN

− Facilitates remote backup of application data.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 6 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Knowledge Check

Knowledge Check

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 7

Knowledge Check

Knowledge Check

1. Which is the key benefit of SAN?

a. Eliminates the need to have HBAs on compute systems
b. Reduces the network bandwidth requirements while replicating data across
storage systems
c. Allows organizations to transition from CAPEX to OPEX
d. Improves the utilization of storage resources

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 8 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Fibre Channel SAN

Fibre Channel SAN

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 9

Fibre Channel SAN

FC SAN Overview

Compute Systems

Storage Systems

Click image to enlarge.

• A SAN that uses FC protocol for communication.

• FC protocol (FCP) is used to transport data, commands, and status information
between the compute systems and the storage systems.
• FC is a high-speed network technology that runs on high-speed optical fiber
cables and serial copper cables.
• FC speeds commonly run at 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128 Gb/s.
• Provides high scalability.

Fan-out ratio is the ratio defined between a single port on a storage

device and the total number of servers that are attached to it. A four-
server connection to a single storage port results in a fan-out ratio of
4. If the fan-out ratio is high and the storage array becomes
overloaded, then application performance will go down. Fan-in
specifies accessibility of a host port to storage ports on multiple
arrays.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 10 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Fibre Channel SAN

FC SAN Components

The key FC SAN components are network adapters, cables, and interconnecting
devices.

Click each tab to view details about the components.

Network Adapters

• In an FC SAN, the end devices, such as

compute systems and storage systems are all
referred to as nodes.
• Each node is a source or destination of FC
frames. Each node requires one or more
network adapters to provide a physical interface
for communicating with other nodes.
• Examples of network adapters are FC host bus
adapters (HBAs) and storage system front-end
adapters.

Host Bus Adapter

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 11

Fibre Channel SAN

Cables

• FC SAN implementations primarily use optical

fiber cabling.
• Copper cables may be used for shorter distances
because they provide acceptable signal-to-noise
ratio for distances up to 30 meters.
• Optical fiber cables carry data in the form of light.
There are two types of optical cables: Multimode1
and single-mode2.

Interconnecting Devices

FC Switch

1 A multimode fiber (MMF) cable carries multiple beams of light that are projected
at different angles simultaneously onto the core of the cable. In an MMF
transmission, multiple light beams traveling inside the cable tend to disperse and
collide. This collision weakens the signal strength after it travels a certain distance
– a process that is known as modal dispersion.
2 A single-mode fiber (SMF) carries a single ray of light that is projected at the

center of the core. The small core and the single light wave help to limit modal
dispersion. Single-mode provides minimum signal attenuation over maximum
distance (up to 10 km). A single-mode cable is used for long-distance cable runs,
and the distance usually depends on the power of the laser at the transmitter and
the sensitivity of the receiver.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 12 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Fibre Channel SAN

• The commonly used interconnecting devices in FC SANs are FC hubs, FC

switches, and FC directors.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 13

Fibre Channel SAN

FC Network Interconnecting Devices

FC Switches

• Each node has a dedicated communication path.

• Provides a fixed port count ─ active or unused.
• Active ports can be scaled-up non-disruptively.
• Some components are redundant and hot-swappable.

FC Director

• High-end switches with a higher port count.

• Has a modular architecture.
• Port count is scaled-up by inserting line cards/blades.
• All key components are redundant and hot-swappable.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 14 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Fibre Channel SAN

FC SAN Device Port Types

FC SAN Device Port Types. (Click image to enlarge)

Port Description

N_Port An end point in the fabric. This port is also known as the node
port. Typically, it is a compute system port (FC HBA port) or a
storage system port that is connected to a switch in a switched
fabric.

E_Port A port that forms the connection between two FC switches. This
port is also known as the expansion port. The E_Port on an FC
switch connects to the E_Port of another FC switch in the fabric
ISLs.

F_Port A port on a switch that connects an N_Port. It is also known as a

fabric port.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 15

Fibre Channel SAN

G_Port A generic port on a switch that can operate as an E_Port or an

F_Port and determines its functionality automatically during
initialization.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 16 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Fibre Channel SAN

FC SAN Protocol Stack

FC Protocol Stack (Click to enlarge)

FC Layer Function Features Specified by FC Layer

FC-4 Mapping interface Mapping upper layer protocol (for

example SCSI) to lower FC layers

FC-3 Common services Not implemented

FC-2 Routing, flow control Frame structure, FC addressing,

flow control

FC-1 Encode/decode 8b/10b or 64b/66b encoding, bit,

and frame synchronization

FC-0 Physical layer Media, cables, connector

Click here to learn more about FC SAN protocol stack.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 17

Fibre Channel SAN

FC Frame

• A frame is the fundamental unit of data transfer at the FC-2 layer.

• Consists of five parts: start of frame (SOF), frame header, data field, cyclic
redundancy check (CRC), and end of frame (EOF).

− SOF and EOF: Act as delimiters.

− Frame header: Is 24 bytes long and contains addressing information for the
frame.
− Data field: Contains the data payload, up to 2,112 bytes of actual data—in
most cases, the SCSI data.
− CRC: Checksum facilitates error detection for the content of the frame. It
verifies data integrity by checking whether the content of the frames was
received correctly.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 18 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Fibre Channel SAN

FC Addressing in Switched Fabric

• FC address is assigned to node ports during fabric login.

− Used for communication between nodes in a FC SAN
• Main purpose of an FC address is routing data through the fabric.
• FC address size is 24 bits.

Click each highlighted block for more details.

2 3
1

1: A domain ID is a unique number that is provided to each switch in the fabric.

2: The area ID is used to identify a group of switch ports that are used for
connecting nodes.

3: The port ID identifies the port within the group.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 19

Fibre Channel SAN

World Wide Name

• Unique 64-bit identifier.

• Static to node ports on an FC network.

− Similar to MAC (Media Access Control) address of NIC (Network Interface

Card).
− The FC environment uses two types of WWNs: World Wide Node Name
(WWNN) and World Wide Port Name (WWPN).
− WWNN and WWPN are used to physically identify FC network adapters and
node ports, respectively.

Forma
Company ID 24 Bits Port Model Speed 32 Bits
t Type

Format
Type Reserve 12 Bits Company ID 24 Bits Company Specific 24 Bits

World Wide Name - Array. The top WWN is for an array port, and the bottom WWN is for a HBA.
(Click image to enlarge)

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 20 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Fibre Channel SAN

FC SAN: Additional Information

Click here to understand about Fibre Channel storage networking technology

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 21

Knowledge Check

Knowledge Check

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 22 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Knowledge Check

Knowledge Check

1. Which characteristic describes an FC switch?

a. Each node has a dedicated communication path.
b. Nodes are connected in a logical loop.
c. Nodes share a loop.
d. Provides limited connectivity and scalability.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 23

FC SAN Topologies, Link Aggregation and Zoning

FC SAN Topologies, Link Aggregation and Zoning

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 24 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 FC SAN Topologies, Link Aggregation and Zoning

FC SAN Topologies

FC switches (including FC directors) may be connected to form various different

fabric topologies.

Single Switch Fabric Topology

Single Switch Fabric

FC Director

Compute System Compute System

Storage System

Click image to enlarge.

• Fabric consists of only a single switch.

• Both compute systems and storage systems connect to same switch.
• No ISLs are required for compute-to-storage traffic.
• Every switch port is usable for node connectivity.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 25

FC SAN Topologies, Link Aggregation and Zoning

Full Mesh Topology

Full Mesh Fabric

FC Switches

Compute System

Compute System
Storage System

Click image to enlarge.

• Each switch is connected to every other switch.

• Maximum of one ISL is required
• Compute systems and storage systems can be connected to any switch.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 26 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 FC SAN Topologies, Link Aggregation and Zoning

Partial Mesh Topology

Partial Mesh Topology

FC Switches

Compute System

Compute System
Storage System

Click image to enlarge.

• Not all the switches are connected to every other switch.

• Several ISLs may be required.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 27

FC SAN Topologies, Link Aggregation and Zoning

Core-Edge Topology

Edge Tier Core Tier

(Departmental Switches) (Enterprise Directors)

Storage
System
FC Switches
Compute FC Director
System

Click image to enlarge.

• The edge tier is composed of departmental switches and offers an inexpensive

approach to adding more compute systems in a fabric.
• The edge-tier switches are not connected to each other.
• Each switch at the edge tier is attached to a enterprise director at the core tier
through ISLs.
• Compute systems that require high performance may be connected directly to
the core tier and therefore avoid ISL delays.
• The core-edge topology increases connectivity within the FC SAN while
conserving the overall port utilization.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 28 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 FC SAN Topologies, Link Aggregation and Zoning

Link Aggregation

• Combines two or more parallel ISLs into a single logical ISL, called a port-
channel, yielding higher throughput than a single ISL could provide.
• Distributes network traffic over ISLs, ensuring even ISL utilization.

Click here to learn more about link aggregation.

(a) Without Link Aggregation and (b) With Link Aggregation. (Click image to enlarge)

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 29

FC SAN Topologies, Link Aggregation and Zoning

FC SAN Zoning

A logical private path between node ports in a fabric.

• Each zone contains members (FC HBA and storage system ports).
• Provides security and restricts registered state change notification (RSCN)
traffic.
• Provides access control by enabling only the members in the same zone to
communication with each other.

Click here to learn more about FC SAN Zoning.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 30 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 FC SAN Topologies, Link Aggregation and Zoning

FC SAN Zoning Types

Click each tab to view details about the types of zoning.

WWN Zoning

Click image to enlarge.

Uses World Wide Names to define zones. The zone members are the unique
WWN of the FC HBA and its targets (storage systems). A major advantage of
WWN zoning is its flexibility.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 31

FC SAN Topologies, Link Aggregation and Zoning

Port Zoning

Click image to enlarge.

Uses the switch port ID to define zones. In port zoning, access is determined by the
physical switch port to which a node is connected. The zone members are the port
identifiers (switch domain ID and port number) to which FC HBA and its targets
(storage systems) are connected.

Mixed Zoning

Combines the qualities of both WWN zoning and port zoning. Using mixed zoning
enables a specific node port to be tied to the WWN of another node.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 32 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 FC SAN Topologies, Link Aggregation and Zoning

Click image to enlarge.

Click here to learn more about WWN and Port Zoning.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 33

FC SAN Topologies, Link Aggregation and Zoning

FC Fabric: Additional Information

Click here to understand about Fibre Channel fabric

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 34 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Knowledge Check

Knowledge Check

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 35

Knowledge Check

Knowledge Check

1. Which FC SAN zoning type is determined by the physical switch port to which
the node is connected?
a. WWN zoning
b. WWN zoning and Port zoning
c. Mixed zoning
d. Port zoning

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 36 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 SAN Virtualization

SAN Virtualization

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 37

SAN Virtualization

Block-level Storage Virtualization

Compute System

Virtual Volume
Virtualization
Appliance

Storage Pool

Storage System Storage System

Click image to enlarge.

• Provides a virtualization layer in the SAN.

− Abstracts block-based storage systems

− Aggregates LUNs to create storage pools.
• Virtual volumes from a storage pool are assigned to compute systems.

− Virtualization layer maps virtual volumes to LUNs

• Benefits:

− Online expansion of virtual volumes.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 38 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 SAN Virtualization

− Non-disruptive data migration.

Click here to learn more about block-level storage virtualization.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 39

SAN Virtualization

Virtual Fabric - VSAN

A VSAN:

VSAN 10 VSAN 20

Compute System Compute System

Storage System Storage System

• Enables a group of node ports to communicate with each other using a virtual
topology that is defined on the physical SAN.
− Multiple VSANs may be created on a single physical SAN.
− Each VSAN behaves and is managed as an independent fabric.
− Each VSAN has its own fabric services, configuration, and set of FC
addresses.
− Fabric-related configurations in one VSAN do not affect the traffic in another
VSAN.
− A VSAN may be extended across sites, enabling communication among a
group of nodes, in either site with a common set of requirements.
• Improves SAN security, scalability, availability, and manageability.
• Facilitates an easy, flexible, and less expensive way to manage networks.
• For example, an IT administrator typically isolates the storage pools for multiple
IT services by creating multiple VSANs on an FC SAN.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 40 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Knowledge Check

Knowledge Check

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 41

Knowledge Check

Knowledge Check

1. What is a benefit of implementing VSANs?

a. Provides non-disruptive data backup
b. Improves network security
c. Aggregates LUNs across storage systems
d. Increases the performance of SAN switch by 2X

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 42 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Concepts in Practice

Concepts in Practice

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 43

Concepts in Practice

Concepts in Practice

Dell Connectrix

Connectrix B-Series and Connectrix MDS Series switches offer a range of

enterprise, departmental, edge switches and top-of-rack switches for small to large
enterprise environments. All 32Gbs switches support FC-NVMe.

Features

Fibre Channel connectivity of up to 64 gigabits per second and Gigabit

Ethernet speeds up to 40 GbE.

Scales from 8 to 128 ports per system.

Uses redundant components and multipath deployment to ensure high

availability and failover.

Monitors your storage networking environment automatically with

resilient networking features.

DELL PowerSwitch S4100-ON

The S4100-ON 10GbE switches comprise Dell Technologies latest disaggregated

hardware and software data center networking solutions, providing state-of-the-art
100GbE uplinks, Fibre Channel connectivity and a broad range of functionalities.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 44 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Concepts in Practice

The S4100-ON series are high-performance, multifunction, 1/10/25/40/50/100 GbE

and 8/16/32G FC top-of-rack (ToR) switches purpose-built for applications in high-
performance data center, cloud and computing environments.

DELL MXG610S Fibre Channel Switch

The Dell Networking MXG610s 32G Fibre Channel IO Module for the PowerEdge
MX7000 is the right choice for mission-critical applications accessing data on
external storage.

• Provides industry-leading performance with the latest generation of Fibre

Channel.
• Provides consolidated management for an agile management structure and
simplified server and storage connectivity.
• Employs a responsive design which protects enterprise’s infrastructure with
inherent security and with non-disruptive upgrades to NVMe over Fibre
Channel.
• Enables high-throughput, high-density, low-latency Fibre Channel IO Module
purpose-built for the PowerEdge MX7000, optimized for flash storage and
highly virtualized server environments.

Dell VPLEX

• Provides a solution for block-level storage virtualization and data migration both
within and across data centers.
• Provides the capability to mirror data of a virtual volume both within and across
locations.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 45

Concepts in Practice

• VS6 engine with VPLEX for all-flash model provides the fastest and most
scalable VPLEX solution for all-flash systems.
• Enables organizations to move cold data to inexpensive cloud storage.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 46 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Exercise

Exercise

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 47

Exercise

Exercise: FC SAN Topologies

Scenario

• An organization has a SAN with four fixed

port count switches each attached to every other switch.
• There are four block-based storage systems
with one attached to every switch.
• There are 60 compute systems each attached
to the SAN through two HBAs.

Challenges

• The organization requires an additional 30

compute systems to meet its growth requirements, and each will require at least
two HBAs attached to the SAN.
• An additional block-based storage system also needs to be added to the SAN.
• The addition of new compute and storage systems will require 2 additional
switches. A recent study indicated that the both the current switches and
topology had scalability and availability issues.
• Recent updates to switch microcode resulted in unavailability and disruption to
business activity.
• Further expansion of the SAN is likely in the future.

Deliverables

• Propose a fabric topology to address organization’s challenges and

requirements.
• Suggest what type of switches should be added to the proposed new SAN
design.
• Justify your choice of switches and the fabric topology and how your design will
address the organization’s challenges and requirements.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 48 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Exercise

Debrief

The recommended solution is to deploy two separate SANs each using a core-
edge topology. Each compute system will have a HBA attached to each of the two
fabrics. The block-based storage systems will be attached to the core switch of
each of the two fabrics.
• Deploying two separate fabrics with provide fault tolerance as compute systems
will have two independent paths to connect them to their storage.
• A core-edge topology provides higher scalability than a fully meshed topology.
• Routine maintenance could be performed on switches in one fabric without
impacting the availability of the other fabric.

The new switches should be of a modular design with dual control processors and
be deployed as the core switches in the core-edge design. These core switches
should be populated with some port blades but have some empty blade slots to
accommodate future growth. The existing fixed port switches would be re-deployed
as edge switches in the new core-edge design.

• Using switches with a modular design with dual control processors will improve
resilience to failure and increase SAN availability.
• The highest priority compute systems could also be attached to the core switch
of each of the two fabrics to improve their performance.
• Future expansion of the fabrics could be accommodated by adding additional
fixed port switches as edge switches or adding addition port blades to the
modular director switches.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 49

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN - Appendix

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 50

Appendix: FC SAN Protocol Stack

FC-4 Layer: The uppermost layer in the FCP stack. This layer defines the
application interfaces, and the way Upper Layer Protocols (ULPs) are mapped to
the lower FC layers. The FC standard defines several protocols that can operate on
the FC-4 layer. Some of the protocols include SCSI, High Performance Parallel
Interface (HIPPI) Framing Protocol, ESCON, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM),
and IP.

FC-2 Layer: Provides FC addressing, structure, and organization of data (frames,

sequences, and exchanges). It also defines fabric services, classes of service, flow
control, and routing.

FC-1 Layer: Defines how data is encoded prior to transmission and decoded upon
receipt. At the transmitter node, an 8-bit character is encoded into a 10-bit
transmission character. This character is then transmitted to the receiver node. At
the receiver node, the 10-bit character is passed to the FC-1 layer, which decodes
the 10-bit character into the original 8-bit character. FC links, with a speed of 10
Gbps and above, use 64-bit to 66-bit encoding algorithm. This layer also defines
the transmission words such as FC frame delimiters, which identify the start and
the end of a frame and the primitive signals that indicate events at a transmitting
port. In addition to these, the FC-1 layer performs link initialization and error
recovery.

FC-0 Layer: The lowest layer in the FCP stack. This layer defines the physical
interface, media, and transmission of bits. The FC-0 specification includes cables,
connectors, and optical and electrical parameters for various data rates. The FC
transmission can use both electrical and optical media.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2021 Dell Inc. Page 51

Appendix: Link Aggregation

This image illustrates two examples.

The example here is based on an FC SAN infrastructure with no link aggregation

enabled.

• Four HBA ports H1, H2, H3, and H4 have been configured to generate I/O
activity to four storage system ports S1, S2, S3, and S4 respectively.
• The HBAs and the storage systems are connected to two separate FC switches
with three ISLs between the switches.
• Let us assume that the bandwidth of each ISL is 8 Gb/s and the data
transmission rate for the port-pairs {H1,S1}, {H2,S2}, {H3,S3}, and {H4,S4} are 5
Gb/s, 1.5 Gb/s, 2 Gb/s, and 4.5 Gb/s.

Without link aggregation, the fabric typically assigns a particular ISL for each of the
port-pairs in a round-robin fashion. It is possible that port-pairs {H1,S1} and {H4,S4}
are assigned to the same ISL in their respective routes. The other two ISLs are
assigned to the port-pairs {H2,S2} and {H3,S3}. Two of the three ISLs are under-
utilized, whereas the third ISL is saturated and becomes a performance bottleneck
for the port-pairs assigned to it.

The example on the right has aggregated the three ISLs into a port-channel that
provides throughput up to 24 Gb/s. Network traffic for all the port-pairs are
distributed over the ISLs in the port-channel, which ensures even ISL utilization.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 52 © Copyright 2021 Dell Inc.

Appendix: FC SAN Zoning

Zoning is a logical private path between node ports in a fabric. Whenever a change
takes place in the name server database, the fabric controller sends a Registered
State Change Notification (RSCN) to all the nodes impacted by the change. If
zoning is not configured, the fabric controller sends the RSCN to all the nodes in
the fabric. Involving the nodes that are not impacted by the change increases the
amount of fabric-management traffic.

For a large fabric, the amount of FC traffic generated due to this process can be
significant and might impact the compute-to-storage data traffic. Zoning helps to
limit the number of RSCNs in a fabric. In the presence of zoning, a fabric sends the
RSCN to only those nodes in a zone where the change has occurred.

Zone members, zones, and zone sets form the hierarchy that is defined in the
zoning process. A zone set is composed of a group of zones that can be activated
or deactivated as a single entity in a fabric. Multiple zone sets may be defined in a
fabric, but only one zone set can be active at a time.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2021 Dell Inc. Page 53

Appendix: WWN and Port Zoning

WWN Zoning - If an administrator moves a node to another switch port in the

fabric, the node maintains connectivity to its zone partners without having to modify
the zone configuration. This functionality is possible because the WWN is static to
the node port.

Port Zoning - If a node is moved to another switch port in the fabric, port zoning
must be modified to enable the node, in its new port, to participate in its original
zone. However, if an FC HBA or storage system port fails, an administrator has to
replace the failed device without changing the zoning configuration.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

Page 54 © Copyright 2021 Dell Inc.

Appendix: Block-level Storage Virtualization

Block-level storage virtualization aggregates block storage devices (LUNs) and

enables provisioning of virtual storage volumes, independent of the underlying
physical storage. A virtualization layer, which exists at the SAN, abstracts the
identity of block-based storage systems and creates a storage pool by aggregating
LUNs from the storage systems.

Virtual volumes are created from the storage pool and assigned to the compute
systems. Instead of being directed to the LUNs on the individual storage systems,
the compute systems are directed to the virtual volumes provided by the
virtualization layer. The virtualization layer maps the virtual volumes to the LUNs on
the individual storage systems.

The compute systems remain unaware of the mapping operation and access the
virtual volumes as if they were accessing the physical storage attached to them.
Typically, the virtualization layer is managed via a dedicated virtualization appliance
to which the compute systems and the storage systems are connected.

Block-level storage virtualization enables extending the virtual volumes non-

disruptively to meet application’s capacity scaling requirements. It also provides the
advantage of non-disruptive data migration. In a traditional SAN environment, LUN
migration from one storage system to another is an offline event.

After migration, the compute systems are updated to reflect the new storage
system configuration. In other instances, processor cycles at the compute system
were required to migrate data from one storage system to the other, especially in a
multivendor environment.

With a block-level storage virtualization solution in place, the virtualization layer

handles the migration of data, which enables LUNs to remain online and accessible
while data is migrating. No physical changes are required because the compute
system still points to the same virtual volume on the virtualization layer. However,
the mapping information on the virtualization layer should be changed. These
changes can be executed dynamically and are transparent to the end user.

Module 6-Storage Area Network - FC SAN

© Copyright 2021 Dell Inc. Page 55