NPIV Application of the MZ912
The MZ912 supports the NPIV feature. This feature allows you to create multiple virtual N_Port IDs on the MZ912 and assign them to VMs. This section uses Windows, Linux, and VMware ESXi as an example.
Windows or Linux
To create NPIV virtual ports for the MZ912 in Windows or Linux, use OneCommand Manager (OCM) provided by Emulex.
The following procedure uses Windows and an OCM version that supports the GUI. The procedure in Linux is similar.
- Install Lancer on the server and connect the server to storage.
- Install a Windows operating system.
- Upload the driver and the OCM installation package to the server.
- Install and configure OCM.
- Select OneCommand Vision Sensor.
- Select Full Management.
- Select OneCommand Vision Sensor.
- After installing OCM, open it from the desktop or the C:\Program Files\Emulex\Util\OCManager directory.
To open OCM in Linux, run the /usr/sbin/ocm/ocmanager command.
- Enable NPIV on OCM.
Before using OCM to create a virtual port in Windows or Linux, NPIV must be enabled. The NPIV parameter name varies with the OS and is enableNPIV in this example.
- Choose View > Group Adapters by Host Name or click
on the tool bar.
- In the left pane, select a host for which you want to enable NPIV.
- Click the Host Driver Parameters tab.
- In the Host Driver Parameters area, set EnableNPIV to enable.
- Click Apply.
- Choose View > Group Adapters by Host Name or click
on the tool bar.
- Close the tool and restart the OS so that the NPIV configuration takes effect.
- Open OCM again.
- Create an NPIV port on OCM.
- Choose View > Group Adapters by Virtual Ports or click
on the tool bar.
- Select an FC or FCoE port in the left panel.
- In the New Virtual Ports area, select Auto-generate world wide port name or Use the following world-wide port name to generate an FC or FCoE WWPN.
- If you select Auto-generate world wide port name, OCM will generate a unique WWPN automatically.
- If you select Use the following world-wide port name, you need to manually enter a unique WWPN.
A valid WWPN complies with one of the following formats:
- 10:00:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
- 2x:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
- 3x:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
- 5x:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
In the formats, x indicates a hexadecimal integer.
- (Optional) Enter the port name.
- Click Create Virtual Port to create a virtual port.
- If the virtual port is created successfully, a success message is displayed.
- If a message is displayed indicating that the WWPN has been used, enter a different WWPN.
- Click OK. The created virtual port is added to the corresponding physical port in the left panel.
- Choose View > Group Adapters by Virtual Ports or click
on the tool bar.
VMware ESXi
Install ESXi 5.1 on the compute node equipped with the MZ912 and install vSphere Client on a PC (management terminal).
Create a VM, and add a LUN of the FC disk array to the VM on vSphere Client. For details, MZ912 Applications in VMware.
- On vSphere Client, select VM_1, power off VM_1, and click Virtual Machine Properties. In the displayed window, click the Options tab, select Fibre Channel NPIV, select Generate new WWNs, and click OK, as shown in Figure 5-17. You need to set only one WWNN and one or two WWPNs for path redundancy.
- After NPIV is created, the Virtual Machine Properties window is displayed. You can see the NPIV WWNs. See Figure 5-18.
- Power on VM_1. NPIV registers with the FC switch and FC disk array, and then exits because the NPIV WWNs have not been mounted to the LUN of the FC disk array.
- Find the NPIV WWPNs on the FC disk array. If the FC disk array has connection records, you can find the NPIV WWPNs directly. If the FC disk array records only the currently connected initiators, you need to manually add the NPIV WWPNs that have exited. On the FC disk array, assign a LUN to NPIV. Ensure that the LUN is the same as the LUN mounted to the VM. Reset the VM after the configuration is complete. Then you can see that NPIV has been registered with the FC switch and FC disk array and that the mounted LUN is displayed in the VM OS, as shown in Figure 5-19.
In the FC switch, you can create zones by WWN to isolate VMs. Note that the NPIV port, physical FC port on the MZ912, and connected FC disk array port must be in the same zone.
