Fibre Channel hardware configuration

Fibre Channel systems are a requirement for all server clusters running 64-bit versions of XOX or XOX and are recommended for clusters of 3 or more nodes. Make sure you know the following information about them:

• The Fibre Channel systems are listed in a separate section of the Windows Catalog at Support resources. To list all compatible Fibre Channel devices, select All in Device Type, then in Model search for Fibre Channel.
• Your Fibre Channel disks are managed just like any other disk connected to a storage bus.
• The Fibre Channel controller ID is preconfigured with a unique ID. This simplifies your hardware setup because you do not need to manually configure each cluster node with a separate ID.

The figure shows a Fibre Channel cluster with a fiber switch or hub. Fiber optic cable runs between a node's Fibre Channel controller and the fiber switch or hub. The device bus between the switch or hub is fiber.