You can convert control enclosures of an online system
from using 10 Gbps Ethernet host interface adapters for Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) connectivity to using 16 Gbps Fibre Channel host interface adapters.
During this procedure, the FCoE ports that connect the
system to the SAN are reconfigured as Fibre Channel ports. For
the hosts, external storage controllers, and nodes to communicate,
the system must accommodate both types of connectivity. Before you
start this procedure, ensure the appropriate Fibre Channel and FCoE
SAN equipment is installed on the system.
Each 16 Gbps Fibre Channel host interface adapter has four ports. Each 10 Gbps Ethernet host interface adapter has four ports, which can support iSCSI or FCoE I/O operations. Depending on your port usage, you might have to redesign the SAN
connectivity to accommodate the difference in port numbers.
It is not necessary for all control enclosures in a system to have
identical port configurations. The system can operate by using Fibre
Channel on one I/O group, and FCoE on the other I/O group. However,
I/O performance might vary depending on the path that is taken from
host to volume.
Communication between hosts, external controllers,
and the
system might be disrupted during this procedure, impacting I/O throughput.
To minimize disruption, read through the entire procedure before you
start maintenance and schedule an appropriate maintenance period.
For each control enclosure in the system that is to be
converted from 10 Gbps Ethernet host interface adapters to 16 Gbps
Fibre Channel host interface adapters, complete the following steps. Start with node canister 1 of
the control enclosure that is to be converted.
- Identify the node canister that
is to be converted.
- Use the management GUI to remove the node canister from the system.
- Use the service assistant to shut down the node canister.
- Disconnect the cables from the 10 Gbps Ethernet host interface adapter.
- Complete the Replacing a host interface adapter procedure to remove
the node canister from the enclosure. Then, replace the 10 Gbps Ethernet host interface adapter with the 16 Gbps Fibre Channel host interface adapter.
Ensure that you also install the correct SFP transceivers into
the ports on the
16 Gbps Fibre Channel
host interface adapter.
Note: After the node canister starts, the node might not come
online, but instead go to service state with a node error 550. This
code is normal if a second control enclosure is installed. Do not
attempt to fix errors in the Event log at this
stage, but continue with this procedure.
- Use the service assistant to determine
the WWPNs of the 16 Gbps Fibre Channel host interface adapter ports.
On the Home page, ensure that the correct
node is selected. Read the WWPNs from the Ports tab of the Node Detail view.
- Connect the 16 Gbps Fibre Channel host interface adapter ports to your SAN.
- Use the WWPNs identified in step 6 to
correct the zoning on one redundant half of the SAN.
The zoning must include the zones for intra-cluster communication
and host access.
Refer to SAN configuration and zoning rules summary
for more details. Verify that hosts, storage systems, and nodes
on that half of the SAN are configured correctly before you configure
the other redundant half of the SAN.
When the reconfigured node can see all other nodes in
the system, the node error 550 noted in step
5 is
automatically cleared and the node automatically rejoins the cluster.
After node canister 1 is online, a hardware mismatch event (error
code 1470) is shown in the log. This error code indicates that the
two nodes in the enclosure have different hardware. You can ignore
this error.
- Repeat steps 1 through 8 on
node canister 2.
When both node canisters in an enclosure accept the Ethernet
host interface adapter, the mismatching hardware event (error code 1470) noted in
step
8 is
automatically corrected.