Fc San Module Port Types; Fc San Module Limitations - Dell PowerEdge M420 Administrator's Manual

1

FC SAN Module port types

FC SAN Module port types
The Dell NPIV Switch FC SAN Module differs from a typical fabric switch because it is a port
aggregator rather than a switch; instead, it connects to the fabric using node ports (N_Ports).
Typically fabric switches connect to the fabric using ISL (InterSwitch Link) ports, such as E_Ports.
Following are the Fibre Channel (FC) ports that the FC SAN Module uses:

FC SAN Module limitations

The limitations of the FC SAN Module are as follows:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
2
•
F_Port - internal fabric port that connects a blade server (HBA).
•
N_Port - external node port that connects to a switch.
The maximum number of devices that can be connected to a fabric switch through the FC SAN
Module depends on the maximum number of local devices supported by the fabric.
Loop devices are not supported.
Port groups cannot be overlapped. This means that an N_Port cannot belong to two different
groups.
Direct connections to SAN target devices are not supported.
Management Platform Services is not supported.
Name Services is not supported.
Zoning is not supported; security enforcement is done using the ADS policy.
Dell 8/4Gbps FC SAN Module Administrator's Guide
53-1001345-01