2007-08-30 16:41:17

by Seokmann Ju

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: FC - NPIV in 2.6.23-rc2

Abhishek Kane wrote:
> Hi,
>
> With the NPIV support been merged into 2.6.23-rc2, i was interested in
> trying it out on my setup. But i understand from the code that this support
> (NPIV) is only for 24xx cards.
> I need to undertand what are the problems in making it available for 23xx
> cards.
It is not supported. There is no technical issues, though, it won't be supported.

> Also, when going through various docs i came across these 2 terms related to
> port virtualization, viz. NPIV & Multiport id. But i couldn't understand the
> inherent difference in these 2 technologies. So if you guys are aware of
> some sought of documentation for this, please let me know.
NPIV is a feature to provide multiple path available on one physical port and it has implemented based on the multiport ID (MID) capability on the switch.
So, you have to have the switch with MID capable on the configuration to support NPIV, besides the controller.

Thank you,
Seokmann


2007-08-30 16:47:31

by Matthew Jacob

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: FC - NPIV in 2.6.23-rc2

> > some sought of documentation for this, please let me know.
> NPIV is a feature to provide multiple path available on one physical port and it has implemented based on the multiport ID (MID) capability on the switch.
> So, you have to have the switch with MID capable on the configuration to support NPIV, besides the controller.
>

No, if the switch doesn't suport NP-IV, the 24XX f/w will come up in
Public Loop mode (FL).

2007-08-30 17:24:20

by Seokmann Ju

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: FC - NPIV in 2.6.23-rc2

Matthew Jacob wrote:
>>> some sought of documentation for this, please let me know.
>> NPIV is a feature to provide multiple path available on one physical port and it has implemented based on the multiport ID (MID) capability on the switch.
>> So, you have to have the switch with MID capable on the configuration to support NPIV, besides the controller.
>>
>
> No, if the switch doesn't suport NP-IV, the 24XX f/w will come up in
> Public Loop mode (FL).
That is correct.
As it should, the F/W with NPIV capability also works on the configuration with non-NPIV switches.

Thank you,
Seokmann

2007-08-30 23:48:03

by Duane Grigsby

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: RE: FC - NPIV in 2.6.23-rc2


-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew Jacob [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2007 9:47 AM
To: Seokmann Ju
Cc: Abhishek Kane; [email protected]; Linux Driver;
[email protected]
Subject: Re: FC - NPIV in 2.6.23-rc2

> > some sought of documentation for this, please let me know.
> NPIV is a feature to provide multiple path available on one physical
port and it has implemented based on the multiport ID (MID) capability
on the switch.
> So, you have to have the switch with MID capable on the configuration
to support NPIV, besides the controller.
>

>> No, if the switch doesn't suport NP-IV, the 24XX f/w will come up in
>> Public Loop mode (FL).
Yes, NPIV is optional, if the switch is NPIV capable then you can create
virtual ports, otherwise it works as it does today. NPIV is a standard
technology that allows sharing a single physical Fabric port (N-port)
among multiple virtual fabric ports. Multiple ID(s) is a HBA feature
that allows multiple virtual Loop ID(s) on a public or private loop
topology.