Configuring UCS FC Uplinks

[amoussaPersonal]

Hi,

I am confused about configuring the UCS FC Uplinks.

the setup is as follows UCS (2 fabric Interconnects - 2 different VSANS) --> Nexus 5k (2 for redundancy - each FI to a Nexus) --> EMC Storage

I have connected 2 FC ports from the Fabric Interconnect expansion module to the Nexus 5K

I am confused regarding the configuration on the port in the nexus 5K?

Fabric Interconnect is in Normal mode (not switch mode), how should I configure my port on the nexus? is it an F port? should I enable NPV on nexus?

is it right to configure the EMC Storage port as F port (on nexus) ?

I am still new to FC connectivity.

I appreciate if you can include a nexus 5K configuration template

Thanks

[Robert Burns · Accepted solution]

The N5K will need to be in FC Switch mode (opposite of NPV mode).  The FI's will be in NPV mode (aka FC End Host Mode).

On the N5K, both the FI uplink interfaces and the EMC connecting interfaces will be in F mode.  You must ensure that NPIV is enabled on the N5K (simple non-disruptive change).  Each FC port on your N5K will need to be assigned to the appropriate VSAN.  Don't forget to create the VSANs on both UCS and the N5Ks respectfully.

The FC interfaces between the UCS FI's and the N5K must be in the same VSAN (unless you're using VSAN trunking) or they will not come up.  Similarly if you want to create an FC Port Channel you must do so on both sides of the link. 

Once your links are up, you'll need to do your zoning and masking on the array - which a whole other topic.

Regards,

Robert

[Linda Carr]

be sure that you are working with your storage person for the zoning so that you can be sure the correct storage groups are assigned to each of your ports.  If this is a production environment someone needs to keep very good track of the storage allocation and availablility.  If you are doing vm's you need to decide whether you are going to go with thin or thick provisioning and take that into consideration. 

Good luck - this is a great community to get the support that you need from experienced people.