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Change host protocol

If you have a DE Series storage array with SFP+ (optical) host ports, you can change the host port protocol from Fibre Channel (FC) to iSCSI or from iSCSI to FC. You can change the protocol used by the host ports built into the controller (baseboard host ports), the protocol used by the host ports on the host interface card (HIC ports), or the protocol of all host ports.

  1. Determine whether you have dual-protocol SFPs
    Use ThinkSystem System Manager to determine what type of SFP transceivers you have. Because these SFPs can be used with both FC and iSCSI protocols, they are referred to as dual-protocol or unified SFPs.
  2. Obtain the feature pack
    To obtain the feature pack, you need the serial number from the controller shelf, a Feature Code, and the Feature Enable Identifier for the storage array.
  3. Stop host I/O
    You must stop all I/O operations from the host before converting the protocol of the host ports. You cannot access data on the storage array until you successfully complete the conversion.
  4. Change the feature pack
    You change the feature pack to convert the host protocol of the baseboard host ports and the host ports on the DE4000 16G FC or 10GbE iSCSI HIC.
  5. Complete host protocol conversion
    After converting the protocol of the host ports, you need to perform additional steps before you can use the new protocol. The steps you might need to complete depend on the starting and ending protocols of the baseboard host ports and the HIC ports.