Computerworld - Setting up a storage-area network (SAN) requires working with Fibre Channel hardware. Unlike Ethernet, Fibre Channel is complicated and requires that each part of the system be certified as compliant. Also, there are certain procedures to follow, even when connecting devices to the network.
With this in mind, I chose to partner with Mario Washington, owner of Reboot Computer Services Inc., a Forest Hills, N.Y.-based integration shop. This was a good move, because we ran into compatibility and hardware problems that would have taken me a long time to diagnose alone; Washington recognized them immediately.
For this column, I wanted to build a SAN based on an Apple Computer Inc. server and Xserve RAID unit.
For the Fibre Channel Switch, I chose to use QLogic Corp.'s SANbox 5200 because of its pervasive interoperability. QLogic's products are certified for use with popular servers, storage and networking products from a wide variety of major manufacturers, including Apple Labs, which has certified the SANbox 5200 as being compatible with its hardware. And Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based QLogic touts setup of its switch as being as simple as point and click.
There are other reasons I chose the QLogic switch. Most important, it's the only Fibre Channel switch that's stackable. Stackable IP switches allow businesses to grow their networks in cost-manageable increments, and a Fibre Channel stackable switch does the same thing. You can start with eight ports and activate them in four-port increments. Each stack supports up to four 16-port switches, for 64 ports at speeds of 2GB/sec. per port. The switches can also be trunked together at 10GB/sec., again with just a point and click, so there's no need to hire a specialist just to manage the SAN switch.
Setup of the SANbox was indeed a breeze, requiring only three steps. From the management software main page, I was able to quickly identify a bad port on a host bus adapter card by looking for the "invalid" vendor.
I was also able to easily create zones, which are the Fibre Channel equivalent of a virtual LAN. The SANbox 5200 is really that easy!
In order to properly work with an Exabyte Corp. device, I changed the speed of the one port connected to the library (not the ports connected to the drives) from 2GB to 1GB. I later found out that the switch would have configured itself had I not manually set the port speed. Changing the speed was easily accomplished by highlighting the port in the face plate and selecting
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