Dell SC8000 - Failover Behavior for Legacy Mode and Virtual Port Mode

Front-End Connectivity Modes
Dell Compellent 101
Failover Behavior for Legacy Mode and Virtual Port Mode
Legacymodeandvirtualportmodebehavedifferentlyduringfailureconditionsbecause
theyusedifferentmechanismstoprovidefaulttolerance.
Scenario Virtual Port Mode Legacy Mode
Normaloperatingconditions AllportsareactiveandpassIO. • PrimaryportspassIO.
•Reservedportsremainina
standbymodeuntila
controllerfailure.
Acontrollerfailsinadual‐
controllerStorageCenter
Virtualportsonthefailed
controllermovetophysicalports
onthefunctioningcontroller.
Primaryportsonthefailed
controllerfail
overtoreserved
portsonthefunctioning
controller.
Asingleportfails(single‐or
dual‐controllerStorage
Center)
Anindividualportfailsoverto
anotherportinthefaultdomain.
Theportdoesnotfailover
becausetherewasnocontroller
failure.Ifasecondpathis
available,MPIOsoftwareonthe

serverprovidesfaulttolerance.
Note: InLegacymode,reserveportsandprimaryportsresideonseparate
controllers,providingcontroller‐levelfailoveronly.Legacymodedoesnotprovide
port‐levelfailover.