UCS Connecting to two different storrage with two different SAN switch.

[jacobtoms]

I currently have 2 X 6296 ucs  Fabric connected to CISCO SAN Switch (VSAN default) with Hitachi storrage.

I have 4 B200 blades

In this setup two of my b200 blades boot from the SAN. (Esxi 30GB and storrage 1TB) for Call manager

Now my storrage team bring new Hitachi storrage with Brocade SAN switch.

How can I connect my UCS to new brocade with out disconnecting the existing CISCO SAN switch and use the SAN boot for the remaining 2 Blades.

Alos I need to move my existing servers ot the new storrage using vmotion or any other mechanisum.

Regards

Toms

[padramas]

Hello Toms.

On a high level, we need to enable NPIV on Brocade and configure pin groups on UCS service profiles to direct traffic for the HBA to use specific FC uplinks on FI to connect to the new storage.

Detailed information about implementation is available here

Cisco UCS to Brocade Connectivity Guide

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/ps10265/ps10281/whitepaper_C07-730016.pdf

There might other better solutions from the storage array vendor on moving the LUNs from old to new array.

I have not tested the below configuration but I guess it might do the trick.

If you need to initiate it from host end for couple of VMs, then add another HBA ( that connects to new storage ) to UCS blade using old storage array. Then you do regular storage vmotion to move the VMs to new LUNs / datastore.

HTH

Padma

[Walter Dey]

We have done this many times. It's easy, although you always have to consider, if a step is disruptive or not.

FI has to be in Fibrechannel NPV (end host) mode

The cleanest way is to have Cisco and Brocade SAN's in 2 different VSAN's A and B (sorry, I don't like pinning !)

In your SP or SP template  add additional pair of vhba's => 2 vbha's connect to Cisco (VSAN A), 2 to Brocade SAN (VSAN B)

btw. Never use the default VSAN (nr. 1), same applies to VLAN 1

Brocade switches are by default in Access Gateway mode (NPIV); I think the command is per interface, for MDS it is global.

[jacobtoms]

But I belive Bracade doesn't having the VSAN concept. Also my system is connected to the CISCO MDS with VSAN1

[Walter Dey]

I thought that you have a MDS SAN and now connect a Brocade SAN. The fact that Brocade doesn't support VSAN's is irrelelevant, the VSAN tag will be removed from FI outbound, resp. added, for FI inbound traffic.

Using 2 different VSAN's is just used to route the FC traffic to MDS, resp. Brocade SAN.

you can keep VSAN 1 for MDS, although its not best practise, and create a new one for Brocade.