• DC SAN Backbone Director and DC04 SAN Director support the 16, 32, and 48-port 8 Gb/s
Fibre Channel blades, 10 Gb/s 10/6 FC ISL Blade, MP Router Blade, encryption blade, and the
DC Dir Switch MP Extension Blade.
• SAN Director 4/256 supports the 16, 32, and 48-port 4 Gb/s Fibre Channel blades, 16, 32,
and 48-port 8 Gb/s Fibre Channel blades, 10 Gb/s 10/6 FC ISL Blade, the MP Router Blade,
and iSCSI Director Blade.
The B-series switches offer:
• High availability
• Scalability
• Cost efficiency
Model numbering
The B-series Fibre Channel switches typically use the numbering scheme x/y:
• x—The highest speed at which the switch ports can operate, measured in Gb/s
• y—The number of switch ports
For example, the HP StorageWorks SAN Switch 4/16 is a 4 Gb/s switch with 16 ports.
The 8 Gb/s, 4 Gb/s, and 2 Gb/s switch ports autonegotiate the signaling speed. For example, when
you connect a 4 Gb/s or 2 Gb/s port directly to a 1 Gb/s port, both ports run at 1 Gb/s in each
direction. If the ports are not directly connected, the fabric switch that connects the ports determines
the signaling speed.
Model naming
The B-series Fibre Channel switches are typically called HP StorageWorks SAN, SAN Backbone,
Core, or Director switches. SAN Backbone, Core, and Director switches are core (enterprise-class)
switches. SAN switches are edge (entry-level or mid-range) switches. The suffix -EL, V, or N identifies
entry-level switches.
The B-series embedded switches for HP c-Class BladeSystem servers are called the Brocade 8Gb SAN
Switch for HP BladeSystem c-Class and the Brocade 4Gb SAN Switch for HP c-Class BladeSystem.
The embedded switch for HP p-Class BladeSystem servers is called the Brocade 4Gb SAN Switch for
HP p-Class BladeSystem. The B-series Fibre Channel routers are called the HP StorageWorks 400
Multi-protocol Router (400 MP Router), Multi-protocol Router Blade (MP Router Blade), and Multi-protocol
Router (MP Router). The 8 Gb SAN extension products are called the HP StorageWorks 1606 Extension
SAN Switch and HP StorageWorks DC SAN Director Multi-protocol Extension Blade.
Switch models
Table 18 and Table 19 describe the B-series Fibre Channel switches and routers supported by HP (8
Gb/s and 4 Gb/s B-series Fibre Channel switches). Table 20, Table 21, and Table 22 describe the
HP and Compaq legacy Fibre Channel switches and routers.
HP supports all B-series Fibre Channel switches in a fabric if you:
• Use the firmware versions listed. All like switch models must use the same version when configured
in a single-fabric or multi-fabric SAN (see Table 18 through Table 22). When updating switch
firmware, you can use two successive switch firmware versions temporarily in a single-fabric and
multi-fabric SAN.
• Follow the fabric rules. (See “Fibre Channel switch fabric rules” on page 106.)
B-series switches and fabric rules94