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SAN Configurations 2-5
PowerVault Fibre Channel Switches
Dell PowerVault Fibre Channel switches are used for building and managing a SAN.
The PowerVault 50F and 51F are 8-port Fibre Channel switches, and the PowerVault
56F is a 16-port Fibre Channel switch. The switch is a key component of a SAN. The
switch’s primary function is to enable true switched Fibre Channel fabric configura-
tions. The PowerVault Fibre Channel switches are necessary for PowerVault 650F,
651F, and 660F storage system configurations that include more than two servers.
In a fully redundant SAN configuration, at least two switches are required. Each
switch connects to one of the storage controllers in the PowerVault 650F, 651F, or
660F storage system, which allows all servers connected to the switch to access all
logical unit numbers (LUNs) bound on that storage controller. This why each server
must have two HBAs installed. Each HBA is connected to one switch and to one stor-
age controller. Due to the failover capabilities provided by the Dell OpenManage
Application Transparent Failover (ATF) software for 650Fs and 651Fs and by QLogic
QLDirect for 660Fs, this configuration eliminates cables, switches, gigabit interface
converters (GBICs), and HBAs as single points of failure. If any one of these hardware
components fails, connectivity is maintained with no loss of data. The switch also
allows you to add and remove devices while the SAN is operational.
PowerVault 650F and 651F Disk Processor Enclosures
The PowerVault 650F storage system is a Fibre Channel-attached, external redundant
array of independent disks (RAID) subsystem. The configuration is expandable to 120
hard-disk drives with additional PowerVault 630F disk array enclosures (DAEs). Each
650F and 630F supports up to 10 hard-disk drives. This configuration supports one
650F and up to 11 630Fs connected through link controller cards (LCCs). Standard fea-
tures include redundant power supplies, fans, and LCCs.
The PowerVault 651F is a stand-alone deskside enclosure. The enclosure contains a
PowerVault 650F DPE and a PowerVault 630F DAE, which together provide a maxi-
mum of 20 hard-disk drives.
PowerVault 660F and 224F Storage Systems
The PowerVault 660F storage system is a Fibre Channel-attached, external RAID stor-
age system. The configuration is expandable to 112 hard-disk drives with additional
PowerVault 224F storage enclosures. Each 660F and 224F supports up to 14 hard-disk
drives. This configuration supports one 660F and up to seven 224Fs connected
through input-output (I/O) expansion modules. Standard features include redundant
power supplies, fans, I/O expansion cards, and loop resiliency circuit/SCSI enclosure
services (LS) modules.
PowerVault 35F Fibre Channel Multiport Bridge
The PowerVault 35F Fibre Channel multiport bridge is a small computer system inter-
face (SCSI)-to-Fibre Channel protocol converter that enables SCSI-based high-voltage
differential (HVD) tape libraries and autoloaders, such as the PowerVault 130T
DLT4000 or DLT7000 library or 120T DLT4000 or DLT7000 autoloader, to be attached
to the Fibre Channel fabric and to be shared between multiple servers in the SAN.