I/O Connectivity

FICON Express8S – for zEnterprise 196 and zEnterprise 114

A new generation for FICON, zHPF, and FCP environments
A new generation of features for the storage area network (SAN) is being introduced in support of the new Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) 8 gigabytes per second (GBps) host bus and the new PCIe I/O drawer. These new features have been designed to support path length reductions, increased start I/Os, and improved throughout for the High Performance FICON for System z (zHPF) protocol and the Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP). With two ports per feature, the FICON Express8S features facilitate purchasing the right number of ports, to help satisfy application requirements and better optimize for redundancy.

Ease of use enhancement - IPL from an alternate subchannel set
First came multiple subchannel sets (MSS) (two sets), which was designed to provide greater I/O device configuration capabilities for large enterprises. Two subchannel sets could be defined to each channel subsystem - the base addresses and aliases in subchannel set 0 and the parallel access volume aliases in subchannel set 1; 63.75K subchannels in set-0 and the addition of 64K-1 subchannels in set-1. MSS was delivered on System z9 in September of 2005 and supported by z/OS V1.7 and Linux on System z. This applied to the ESCON and FICON protocols.

Then came a third subchannel set to extend the amount of addressable storage capacity - another 64k subchannels to help complement functions such as "large" or extended addressing volumes and HyperPAV and to help facilitate consistent device address definitions, simplifying addressing schemes for corresponding devices. This was delivered on zEnterprise 196 in September of 2010 and supported by z/OS V1.12 and Linux on System z. This applied to the ESCON, FICON, and zHPF protocols.

Now, we are introducing IPL from an alternate subchannel set to allow enterprises to IPL from subchannel set 1 (SS1) or subchannel set 2 (SS2), in addition to subchannel set 0. Devices used early during IPL processing can now be accessed using subchannel set 1 or subchannel set 2. This is intended to allow the users of Metro Mirror (PPRC) secondary devices defined using the same device number and a new device type in an alternate subchannel set to be used for IPL, IODF, and stand-alone dump volumes when needed.

IPL from an alternate subchannel set is exclusive to z196 and z114, applies to the FICON and zHPF protocols (CHPID type FC), and is supported by z/OS. It is applicable to all of the supported FICON features. The z114 supports two subchannels sets.

FCP channels support T10-DIF for enhanced reliability
Recognizing that high reliability is important to maintaining the availability of business-critical applications, the System z Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) has implemented support of the American National Standards Institute's (ANSI) T10 Data Integrity Field (DIF) standard. Data integrity protection fields are generated by the operating system and propagated through the storage area network (SAN). System z helps to provide added end-to-end data protection between the operating system and the storage device

An extension to the standard, Data Integrity Extensions (DIX), provides checksum protection from the application later through the host bus adapter (HBA), where cyclical redundancy checking (CRC) protection is implemented.

T10-DIF support by the FICON Express8S and FICON Express8 features, when defined as CHPID type FCP, is exclusive to z196 and z114. IBM is working with its Linux distribution partners to include support in future Linux on System z distribution releases. Also to be supported is z/VM V5.4 with PTFs for guest exploitation. Exploitation of the T10-DIF standard is required by the control unit.

FICON Express8S for channel consolidation: FICON Express8S may also allow for the consolidation of existing FICON Express, FICON Express2, FICON Express4, or FICON Express8 channels onto fewer FICON Express8S channels while maintaining and enhancing performance. You can carry forward your FICON Express4 features to zEnterprise 196 (z196) and zEnterprise 114 (z114). FICON Express and FICON Express2 are not supported on z196 and z114 servers.

To request assistance for ESCON or FICON channel consolidation analysis using the zCP3000 tool, contact your IBM representative. They will assist you with a capacity planning study to estimate the number of FICON channels that can be consolidated onto FICON Express8S.

Your IBM representative can also assist you with ESCON to FICON channel migration or refer to IBM Global Technology Services which offers an ESCON to FICON Migration solution, Offering ID #6948-97D, to help facilitate migration from ESCON to simplify and manage a single physical and operational environment while maximizing green-related savings.

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ESCON statements of general direction

Refer to U.S. Announcement letter 111-121 dated July 12, 2011,
IBM zEnterprise 196 enhancements deliver faster access to data and to U.S.
Announcement letter 111-136 dated July 12, 2011, The IBM zEnterprise 114 - A new dimension in computing

The IBM zEnterprise 196 (z196) and the IBM zEnterprise 114 (z114) are the last System z servers to support ESCON channels: IBM plans not to offer ESCON channels as an orderable feature on System z servers that follow the z196 (machine type 2817) and z114 (machine type 2818). In addition, ESCON channels cannot be carried forward on an upgrade to such follow-on servers. This plan applies to channel path identifier (CHPID) types CNC, CTC, CVC, and CBY and to feature numbers 2323 and 2324.

System z customers should continue migrating from ESCON to FICON. Alternate solutions are available for connectivity to ESCON devices. IBM Global Technology Services offers an ESCON to FICON Migration solution, Offering ID #6948-97D, to help facilitate migration from ESCON to FICON. This offering should help customers to simplify and manage a single physical and operational environment.

The above statement is a revision to prior statements of general direction regarding support of ESCON channels on System z.

Refer to U.S. Announcement letter 110-170 dated July 22, 2010
The IBM zEnterprise System -- A new dimension in computing

Refer to U.S. Announcement letter 109-230 dated April 28, 2009
IBM System z enhancements, continuing to manage risk

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