Guidelines And Limitations; Npv Guidelines And Requirements; Npv Traffic Management Guidelines - Cisco MDS 9000 Series Configuration Manual

Configuring N Port Virtualization

Guidelines and Limitations

NPV Guidelines and Requirements

Following are recommended guidelines and requirements when deploying NPV:
• NPV core switches must support NPIV.
• You can have up to 105 NPV devices.
• Nondisruptive upgrades are supported. See the
• Port tracking is supported. See the
• You can configure zoning for end devices that are connected to edge switches using all available member
• Port security is supported on the NPV core switch for devices logged in via NPV.
• NPV uses a load-balancing algorithm to automatically assign end devices in a VSAN to one of the NPV
• Both servers and targets can be connected to an NPV device.
• Remote SPAN is not supported.
• Local switching is not supported; all traffic is switched using the NPV core switch.
• NPV devices can connect to multiple NPV core switches. In other words, different NP ports can be
• NPV supports NPIV-capable servers. This capability is called nested NPIV.
• Connecting two Cisco NPV switches together is not supported.
• Only F, NP, and SD ports are supported in NPV mode.
• In the case of servers that are booted over the SAN with NPV, if an NPV link failover occurs, servers
• NPV switches do not recognize the BB_SCN configuration on the xNP ports because of interoperability

NPV Traffic Management Guidelines

When deploying NPV traffic management, follow these guidelines:
Configuration Guide.
types on a core switch. However, the preferred way of zoning servers connected to any switch in NPV
mode is via pWWN, device-alias, and fc alias. Multiple servers should be configured in the same zone
only when using smart zoning. The smart zoning feature is available on all MDS switches. For more
information, see the Smart Zoning section in the Configuring and Managing Zones chapter of the
MDS 9000 Series Fabric Configuration
core switch links (in the same VSAN) upon initial login. If there are multiple NPV core switch links in
the same VSAN, then you cannot assign a specific one to an end device.
connected to different NPV core switches.
will lose access to their boot LUN temporarily.
issues with the third-party core switches.
Cisco MDS 9000 Series NX-OS Fundamentals
Cisco MDS 9000 Series NX-OS Security Configuration
Guide.
Cisco MDS 9000 Series Interfaces Configuration Guide, Release 8.x

Guidelines and Limitations

Guide.
Cisco
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