1 cx-700, 1 cx4-120, only one set of switches, help!

[happyadm]

Hello,

We have a new CX4-120. Our current environment runs on a CX-700. We did not buy new switches. We are going to use the switches currently located in the CX-700 to zone both the 120, 700. We want to keep development on the CX-700 and migrate production to the CX4-120. I can migrate the data, no problem using veritas volume manager and mirror the disks from one cx to the other.

My issue is I have never done anything like this and I am not quite sure how to connect up the two. I looked up ISL topics on the forum and could not find anything like what we are doing or at least what I thought we are doing. Please pardon my lack of understanding about this.

I know I need to zone the hba(s) of the servers that have data migrating over to the 120 to sp(s) on the new machine as well as leaving one hba zoned on the 700, but I am unclear on how this all fits. Can I leave the switches in the cx-700 to be used by both?

Thanks again! This is a really great forum.

Happyadm

[AranH1]

Happy,
Is there a reason why you think you need new switches? Do you not have enough ports in your existing switches for the Cx4-120? As long as you have available switch ports there is no need for additional switches just to bring another array online in your infrastructure.

Just create separate zones for the existing hosts that will access the new array. Make sure that your zones mask one hba to one storage port (best practice), and create as many zones as you need to mask a host to multiple storage ports on each array or to multiple arrays.

There are no issues that I have ever encountered with having one host zoned to multiple arrays for storage access.

[happyadm]

HI AranH,

Thank you for your prompt reply. We have existing ports on our current set of switches, and for budget reasons we are not buying new switches. They are 2GB switches and we hoped to go 4gb on the new san, and that is only reason we considered it.

So that's great that I can just zone up the hba(s) accordingly. I guess I need clarification on why we were told that we might need to hook up an ISL and make sure our switches can handle being E-ports for the data migration. I am thinking that might have been the case when we originally planned to buy an additional set of switches for new san and keep the older switches in the cx-700. Can you tell me if this a correct assumption?

Thanks so much!

Happyadm

[nandas]

That must be the correct assumption. ISL is required to connect more than one switch in the same fabric - which will not be the case for you with the existing set of switches.

Aran had already provided the details - you can connect the host to both existing array and new array with proper zoning.

However, you need to consider upgrading the host software like Navisphere Agent, PowerPath, HBA driver/FW and any other related software. Please ensure that the compatibility is maintained with old and new arrays. You may refer to E-Lab navigator available on Powerlink for checking the support compatibilities.

My 2 cents
Thanks,
Sandip

[happyadm]

Thank you Sandip! I appreciate you and Aran getting back to me so quickly. I feel much better now regarding moving forward with this project.

Happyadm

[chiodp]

Your assumption is correct if you plan to buy a new set of switch you want to be able to connect via ISL in this way you will create a single fabric and you can control all zoning of the entire fabric .

In your case you need just to zone the HBA with the new SP port , when you doing this follow the rules describe in the open system configuration guide :

http://powerlink.emc.com/km/live1/en_US/Offering_Technical/Interoperability_Matrix/CLARiiONConfigGui...


Also check the support matrix to see if you need to upgrade driver and navicli and naviagent on the hosts side and also powerpath before starting the migration .

For a step by step procedure on how to attach a host to your clariion you can download and install the customer clariion procedure generator at the following url :

http://powerlink.emc.com/km/live1/en_US/Offering_Technical/Software_Download/Customer_CLARiiONproc.e...

Regards
Pierluca

[kelleg]

When you start the new array, you will probably need to add it to the existing array domain - keep the IP address for the array in the same subnet as the CX700 - the CX4 should be made the Domain Master - it has the highest flare software running. Check the On-Line HELP for additional information if needed.

If you are going to use Mirrorview or SAN Copy to connect the two arrays, then you will need to ensure that the CX700 is also up-to-date with its flare - CX700 can go to release 26 patch 25.

You will also need to update the Navisphere Agent and Navipshere CLI on each host that will be connecting to the new array and any other EMC software on the hosts.

As AranH and Sandip said - the process for connecting the existing hosts to the new array is the same - create the new zones (one HBA <-> one SP port per zone) and let the host log on to the array.

glen

[happyadm]

Thank you so much Glen and Pierluca for the added assistance! I won't be using any replication software, however, I am glad you addressed the software side since I am a little concerned about the cx-700. It's still running navi 6.19, Flare 19, and based on what you have both outlined regarding software versions, I will probably have to upgrade powerpath, navi, flare. We are only using powerpath on one server, the other servers are using solaris native multipathing mpxio.

Thanks again to everyone who has responded!

Happyadm