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SAN provisioning with FC

You should be aware of the important concepts that are required to understand how ONTAP implements an FC SAN.

  • How FC target nodes connect to the network
    Storage systems and hosts have adapters so that they can be connected to FC switches with cables.
  • How FC nodes are identified
    Each SVM configured with FC is identified by a worldwide node name (WWNN).
  • How WWPNs are used
    WWPNs identify each LIF in an SVM configured to support FC. These LIFs utilize the physical FC ports in each node in the cluster, which can be FC target cards, UTA or UTA2 configured as FC in the nodes.
  • How worldwide name assignments work
    Worldwide names are created sequentially in ONTAP. However, because of the way ONTAP assigns them, they might appear to be assigned in a non-sequential order.
  • How FC switches are identified
    Fibre Channel switches have one worldwide node name (WWNN) for the device itself, and one worldwide port name (WWPN) for each of its ports.