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SANConfigurations 2-5
PowerVault Fibre Channel Switches
DellPowerVault Fibre Channelswitches are used for building and managing a SAN.
ThePowerVault 50F and 51F are 8-portFibre Channel switches, and the PowerVault
56Fis a 16-port Fibre Channel switch. The switchis a key component of a SAN. The
switch’sprimary functionis to enable true switched Fibre Channel fabricconfigura-
tions.The PowerVaultFibre Channel switches are necessary for PowerVault650F,
651F,and 660Fstorage system configurations that include more than two servers.
Ina fully redundant SAN configuration, at least two switchesare required. Each
switchconnects to one of the storagecontrollers in the PowerVault650F,651F,or
660Fstorage system, which allows all serversconnected to the switch to access all
logicalunit numbers (LUNs) bound on that storage controller.This why each server
musthave two HBAs installed. Each HBA is connectedto one switch and to one stor-
agecontroller. Due to the failover capabilitiesprovided by the Dell OpenManage
ApplicationTransparent Failover(ATF) software for650Fs and 651Fs and by QLogic
QLDirectfor 660Fs, this configuration eliminates cables,switches, gigabit interface
converters(GBICs), and HBAs as single pointsof failure. If any one of these hardware
componentsfails, connectivity is maintained with no loss of data. Theswitch also
allowsyou to add and remove devices while the SAN is operational.
PowerVault 650F and 651F Disk Processor Enclosures
ThePowerVault 650F storagesystem is a Fibre Channel-attached, externalredundant
arrayof independent disks (RAID) subsystem. Theconfiguration is expandable to 120
hard-diskdrives with additional PowerVault630F disk array enclosures (DAEs).Each
650Fand 630F supports up to 10 hard-disk drives. Thisconfiguration supports one
650Fand up to 11 630Fs connected through link controllercards (LCCs). Standard fea-
turesinclude redundant power supplies, fans,and LCCs.
ThePowerVault 651F is a stand-alonedeskside enclosure. The enclosure contains a
PowerVault650F DPE and a PowerVault630F DAE, whichtogether provide a maxi-
mum of 20 hard-disk dr ives.
PowerVault 660F and 224F Storage System s
ThePowerVault 660F storagesystem is a Fibre Channel-attached, externalRAID stor-
agesystem. The configuration is expandable to 112hard-disk drives withadditional
PowerVault224Fstorage enclosures. Each 660Fand 224F supports up to 14 hard-disk
drives.This configuration supports one 660F and up to seven224Fs connected
throughinput-output (I/O) expansion modules. Standard featuresinclude redundant
powersupplies, fans, I/O expansioncards, and loop resiliency circuit/SCSI enclosure
services(LS) modules.
PowerVault 35F Fibre Channel Multipor t Bridge
ThePowerVault 35F Fibre Channelmultiport bridge is a small computer system inter-
face(SCSI)-to-Fibre Channel protocol converterthat enables SCSI-based high-voltage
differential(HVD) tape libraries and autoloaders,such as the PowerVault130T
DLT4000or DLT7000 library or 120T DLT4000or DLT7000 autoloader, to be attached
tothe Fibre Channel fabric and to be shared between multiple servers in the SAN.