2 Chapter 1
Overview of the Lightning 9900™ Subsystem
Extensive connectivity and resource sharing:
– Concurrent operation of UNIX®-based, Windows NT®, Windows® 2000, Linux®,
NetWare®, and S/390® host systems.
– Fibre-channel, Fiber Connection (FICON™), and Extended Serial Adapter™ (ESCON®)
server connections.
– Optimized for storage-area networks (SANs), fibre-channel switched, fibre-channel
arbitrated loop, and point-to-point configurations.
1.1.1 Continuous Data Availability
The Hitachi Lightning 9900™ is designed for nonstop operation and continuous access to all
user data. To achieve nonstop customer operation, the 9900 subsystem accommodates
online feature upgrades and online software and hardware maintenance. See section 1.2 for
further information on the reliability and availability features of the Lightning 9900™
subsystem.
1.1.2 Connectivity
The Hitachi Lightning 9900™ RAID subsystem supports concurrent attachment to S/390®
mainframe hosts and open-system (UNIX®-based and/or PC-server) platforms. The 9900
subsystem can be configured with FICON™ ports, Extended Serial Adapter™ (ExSA™) ports
(compatible with ESCON® protocol), and/or fibre-channel ports to support all-mainframe,
all-open, and multiplatform configurations.
When FICON™ channel interfaces are used, the 9900 subsystem can provide up to 16 logical
control unit (CU) images and 4096 logical device (LDEV) addresses. Each physical FICON™
channel interface supports up to 512 logical paths providing a maximum of 8192 logical paths
per subsystem. FICON™ connection provides transfer rates of up to 100 MB/sec (1Gbps).
When ExSA™ channel interfaces are used, the 9900 subsystem can provide up to 16 logical
control unit (CU) images and 4,096 logical device (LDEV) addresses. Each physical ExSA™
channel interface supports up to 256 logical paths providing a maximum of 8,192 logical
paths per subsystem. ExSA™ connection provides transfer rates of up to 17 MB/sec.
When fibre-channel interfaces are used, the 9900 subsystem can provide up to 32 ports for
attachment to UNIX®-based and/or PC-server platforms. The type of host platform
determines the number of logical units (LUs) that may be connected to each port. Fibre-
channel connection provides data transfer rates of up to 200 MB/sec (2 Gbps). The 9900
subsystem supports fibre-channel arbitrated loop (FC-AL) and fabric fibre-channel topologies
as well as high-availability (HA) fibre-channel configurations using hubs and switches.