I/O Connectivity

Fibre Channel Protocol for SCSI

The Fibre Channel Protocol (FC-FCP) standard was developed by the InterNational Committee of Information Technology Standards (INCITS), and published as ANSI standards. The System z Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) I/O architecture conforms to the FC standards specified by the INCITS.

Each FICON Express8, FICON Express4, FICON Express2, and FICON Express channel can be defined in FCP mode. FCP mode provides full fabric attachment of SCSI devices to the operating system images. This allows z/VM, z/VSE, and Linux on System z to access industry-standard SCSI storage controllers and devices.

With FCP channel full fabric support, multiple switches/directors can be placed between the System z server and SCSI device, allowing many “hops” through a storage area network (SAN) and providing improved utilization of intersite-connected resources and infrastructure. This may help to provide more choices for storage solutions or the ability to use existing storage devices and can help facilitate the consolidation of UNIX® server farms onto System z servers, protecting investments in SCSI-based storage.

System z FCP topologies

In April 2009, IBM announced support of Linux on System z (Novell SUSE SLES 10 SP2) with IBM XIV Storage System - a revolutionary open disk system that represents the next generation of high-end disk storage, offering self-tuning and self-healing for consistently high performance and reliability as well as management simplicity and low total costs.

The XIV Storage System is compatible with the System z10 FICON Express8 channel (CHPID type FCP for attachment to SCSI devices) autonegotiating to 4 Gbps when attached to a supported FICON/FCP director or switch. System z10, FICON Express8, and Linux on System z combined with the phenomenal capabilities of XIV Storage System can help support today's fast-growing, dynamic environments.

Requisites, code levels, restrictions, and further information regarding XIV Storage System can be found at:

http://www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/TD105187

Support of FCP enables System z servers to attach to SCSI devices as well as access these devices from z/VM, z/VSE or Linux on System z. This connectivity provides enterprises with a wide range of choices for storage solutions and may allow use of existing storage devices, helping to protect existing hardware investment and reduce total cost of ownership for Linux implementations.

Operating system support for FCP channels

System z supports attachment of Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) devices to z/VM®, z/VSE™, and Linux on System z images using the Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP). Refer to FICON Express8 software support.