Qlogic SANbox 9100 Frequently Asked Questions Manual page 2

SANbox 9000 Series
®
6. Question: Is the CPU Blade(s) hot pluggable/swappable, avoiding an interruption/outage to switch operation?
Answer: The answer is "no" for the SB9100 ENTRY model, as it contains a single CPU Blade 0, and thus cannot support CPU hot swap features. The answer
is "yes" for a dual CPU 9200 BASE model running firmware version 6.6 or later (with or without the FT CPU Failover feature), as the secondary CPU that is not
currently running the supervisor can be hot swapped while the primary CPU is running.
7. Question: Can a user field upgrade from an SB9100 ENTRY model to an SB9200 BASE model?
Answer: Yes – this is accomplished by ordering and installing (in place of the "blanks") a second CPU Blade and a second 4Gb I/O Blade (if the latter is not
already present). No software changes are required and it is a non-disruptive process for an operating switch.
8. Question: Can a channel partner/reseller create an SB9100 ENTRY model in the field by simply removing a CPU Blade and a 4Gb 16-port FC I/O Blade from a
SB9200 BASE model?
Answer:
No. A third step is required, in which the CPU Blade must be replaced with a special CPU Blade "Blank" (QLogic SKU # SB9100-CPBL) and the I/O
Blade must also be replaced with an I/O Slot "Blank" (QLogic SKU # SB9000-SLBL); otherwise, the unit airflow/cooling will not operate properly.
9. Question: Why doesn't the SANbox 9000 ship with 4Gb FC SFPs included?
Answer:
FC 4Gb SFPs are considered an industry "commodity" and are thus very price sensitive on the market. Most channel partners, OEMs and often even
end-user customers like to provide those in lieu of the switch vendor. Additionally, it helps to hold down inventory and associated costs by the elimination of the
warehouse stocking of two separate units . . . one with SFPs and an identical one without SFPs.
10. Question: Can existing, installed SANbox 9000 chassis switches be HyperStacked now or in the future?
Answer: The initial GA product was "hardware ready" for a dual chassis module HyperStack. However, the optional license keyed software feature has just
become available, shipping with firmware version 6.6 for the dual CPU SB9200 BASE model (with Enterprise Fabric Suite™ (EFS) 2007 software version 6.07
being a co-requisite). The license key software can be installed via NDCLA in the field. The software upgrade is chargeable on an individual chassis module
basis – it requires a software License Key for each of the chassis modules in the dual HyperStack. Included with each of the two License Key features are two
of the four required HyperStack Inter-Chassis Connection (ICC) cables.
11. Question: Is the HyperStack architecture the same method used with the current SANbox 5000 Series switches, e.g., stacked with 10Gb ISL XPAK ports?
Answer:
No. The HyperStack architecture has separate/custom backplane-to-backplane ports on the CPU Blades that interconnect the two chassis modules
via the unique HyperStack cables (set of four).
12. Question: Are the four HyperStack cables between the two SB9200 chassis modules redundant, fault tolerant, and hot swappable?
Answer:
Yes: up to three of the four HyperStack ICC cables can fail without interruption to data traffic flow between the two chassis switch modules. A failed
HyperStack ICC cable can be replaced via hot swapping, and is therefore non-disruptive to production operation. The replaced HyperStack ICC cable will auto-
matically come online and begin participating in the data traffic flow.
13. Question: Can a user intermix I/O Blade types across the eight slots in the chassis module, and if so, does the user need to plan on which blades to install in
certain slots?
Answer: Yes, the user has complete I/O Blade intermix flexibility across the eight slots regardless of blade types and quantities of each type. And no, there is
absolutely no need to pay attention to which blade types are installed in which particular slots, as each and every slot has an identical number of data paths
from each of the two CPU Blades. However, absolute maximum performance can be assured if both the server initiator and device target ports are used on the
same I/O Blade (referred to as Local Switching).
14. Question: What is the purpose of the "fixed" blade in the center of the eight I/O Blade slots?
Answer:
That blade is considered a Maintenance Panel (MP) and simply replicates the RJ-45 Ethernet ports on the rear of the chassis module on each CPU
Blade. The MP does contain dual-redundant EEPROMs, one for each CPU Blade, which store the chassis module serial number along with other manufacturing
information.
Stackable Chassis Switch
F A Q s