Chapter 1 Product and Architecture Overview 1-9
1.4 Fibre Channel Technology Overview
As a device protocol capable of high data transfer rates, Fibre Channel simplifies
data bus sharing and supports not only greater speed than SCSI, but also more
devices on the same bus. Fibre Channel can be used over both copper wire and
optical cable. It can be used for concurrent communications among multiple
workstations, servers, storage systems, and other peripherals using SCSI and IP
protocols. When a Fibre Channel hub or fabric switch is employed, it provides
flexible topologies for interconnections.
1.4.1 FC Protocols
Two common protocols are used to connect Fibre Channel (FC) nodes together:
■ Point-to-point. The point-to-point protocol is straightforward, doing little more
than establishing a permanent communication link between two ports.
■ Arbitrated loop. The arbitrated loop protocol creates a simple network featuring
distributed (arbitrated) management between two or more ports using a circular
(loop) data path. Arbitrated loops can support more nodes than point-to-point
connections.
The Sun StorEdge 3510 and 3511 FC arrays support both point-to-point and
arbitrated loop protocols. You select the protocol you prefer by setting the desired
Fibre Channel Connection Option in the Configuration parameters of the firmware
application (see “Summary of Array Configuration” on page 5-6).
1.4.2 FC Topologies
The presence or lack of switches establishes the topology of an FC environment. In a
direct attached storage (DAS) topology, servers connect straight to arrays without
switches. In a storage area network (SAN) topology, servers and arrays connect to an
FC network created and managed by switches.
Refer to the Sun StorEdge 3000 Family Best Practices Manual for your array to see
information about optimal configurations for site requirements.
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