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Introducing the PowerVault™ 35F: Dell PowerVault 35F User's Guide

Features   |   Specifications   |   PowerVault 35F Benefits   |   How the PowerVault 35F Works   |   Operating as Both a SCSI and Fibre Channel Device   |   Processing SCSI Information

The Dell™ PowerVault™ 35F is a Fibre Channel-to-SCSI bridge. The PowerVault 35F provides connectivity between a Fibre Channel environment and two Fast/Wide/Ultra SCSI buses.

Supported devices include:

• Initiator Devices – Fibre Channel and SCSI hosts
• Sequential Access Devices – Tape drives
• Changer Devices – Tape Libraries

Figure 1. Front panel of the PowerVault 35F

Figure 2. Back panel of the PowerVault 35F

Features

Fibre Channel Features

• Fibre Channel initiator and target modes
• Single 1.0625 Gbps port
• Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) and Switched Fabric (FC-SW) topologies
• Private Loop Direct Attach (PLDA) profile compliant
• Class 3 connection with SCSI-FCP protocol
• GBIC Support

SCSI Bus Features

• SCSI initiator and target modes
• Two auto-negotiating SCSI buses (Narrow, Wide, Fast, Ultra)
• Ultra Wide SCSI for data transfer up to 40 MB/s per bus
• Connection for up to 30 devices (15 per bus)
• Simultaneous commands, tagged command queuing and disconnect/reconnect
• Middle of bus configuration with external termination
• SCSI-2 and SCSI-3 protocols
• 68-pin D shell, P type connectors
• High-voltage Differential support
• Tape and tape changer devices
• SCC, Indexed and Automatic addressing modes

Configuration Features

• Serial RJ-11 connector for terminal access
• Ethernet RJ-45 connector for FTP, Telnet and Web browser access
• Easy field-upgradable firmware

Management Features

• Out-of-band Ethernet TCP/IP
• SNMP with private MIB support

Specifications

Physical Specifications

• Internal power supply with power switch and detachable power cord
• Fibre Channel activity LED
• SCSI Bus 1 activity LED
• SCSI Bus 0 activity LED
• Ethernet activity LED
• Power LED
• Fault LED
• Airflow with internal fan
• Desktop or optional rack mount enclosure

Physical Dimensions

• Width 43.18cm (17.00 inches)
• Depth 22.82cm (8.98 inches)
• Height 4.31cm (1.70 inches, 1U)
• Weight 3.18 kg (7 lbs)

Operating Environment

• 5 to 40 �C
• 5 to 80% Relative Humidity (non-condensing)

Non-operating Environment

• -40 to +55 �C
• 0 to 92% Relative Humidity (non-condensing)

Power

• 100 - 240 VAC, Auto Sensing
• 50/60 Hz, 1.0 Amps

PowerVault 35F Benefits

Point-to-Point

Single initiator to single target

Single Initiator

Single initiator to multiple targets

Multi-Initiator

Multiple initiators to single or multiple targets

Connectivity – SCSI devices may be attached to Fibre Channel storage networks to share data and increase address space.

Distance – SCSI cable length from hosts to devices is increased from 25m to 10,000m, facilitating remote or disaster tolerant sites.

Performance – 100 Mbytes/sec Fibre Channel (200 Mbytes/sec bi-directional) offers increased bandwidth when distributing data across multiple SCSI devices.

Reliability – Low error rates, robust error recovery and flow control provide an enterprise with reliable data delivery.

Scalability – Point-to-point links can be expanded to multi-initiator links supporting interconnected servers, tape drives and tape libraries.

Flexibility – The PowerVault 35F allows Fibre Channel initiators to communicate with SCSI targets.

Consolidation – The PowerVault 35F allows multiple servers to share storage resources, including tape drives and tape libraries.

Centralization – The PowerVault 35F enables existing storage to be moved to a central location to simplify management and maintenance, and to improve security.

Lower TCO – Improving storage management, maintenance and security can lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for enterprise storage.

How the PowerVault 35F Works

The PowerVault 35F is a storage bridge that translates Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) to and from two SCSI buses so devices on these two types of media can communicate with each other. It attaches to a Fibre Channel host, and transfers the command, data, and status information to SCSI targets. The host passes packets to SCSI targets as if the PowerVault 35F were just another device along the path.

The PowerVault 35F provides connections for two SCSI buses into a Fibre Channel environment. It takes advantage of Fibre Channel’s ability to encapsulate SCSI protocol packets to allow a host with a Fibre Channel adapter to access SCSI peripheral devices transparently over a Fibre Channel connection.

Figure 3. Fibre Channel-to-SCSI configuration

Figure 3 shows a Fibre Channel-to-SCSI configuration. Through the PowerVault 35F bridge, any host on the Fibre Channel loop can access the tape drive and library on each SCSI bus.

Operating as Both a SCSI and Fibre Channel Device

The bridge is both a SCSI and Fibre Channel device operating on a SCSI bus and Fibre Channel network simultaneously.

The SCSI Side

On a SCSI bus, the PowerVault 35F acts as a SCSI initiator passing requests from hosts on the Fibre Channel network to target devices on the SCSI bus. Each PowerVault 35F SCSI bus uses a single SCSI ID. The default ID is 7 and can be changed when configuring the PowerVault 35F.

The Fibre Channel Side

In a Fibre Channel loop, the PowerVault 35F is identified by a single Arbitrated Loop Physical Address (AL_PA) or a fabric assigned Source ID. Once the address is acquired, any host on the Fibre Channel loop can access the devices on a SCSI bus transparently over a Fibre Channel connection.

Mapping Devices

To allow Fibre Channel and SCSI devices to address each other, the PowerVault 35F creates a table that maps device identifiers between Fibre Channel and SCSI. During PowerVault 35F configuration, you can choose the mapping method and, in certain cases, customize the device mappings. See Understanding the PowerVault 35F Configuration for more information about address modes and their configurations.

Processing SCSI Information

The following describes how the bridge processes SCSI information:

1. A Fibre Channel host issues a command. The Fibre Channel host encapsulates the command in the Fibre ChannelP protocol and sends the packet to the PowerVault 35F.
2. The Fibre Channel port in the PowerVault 35F receives the packet, interprets the Fibre Channel information, and places the packet in buffer memory.
3. The PowerVault 35F’s processor interprets the information and programs a SCSI controller to process the transaction.
4. The SCSI controller sends the command to the SCSI device (target).

   Figure 4. Information processing
   
   
   

5. The target interprets the command and prepares to either read or write data.
6. Data flows between the host and target through payload buffers.
7. Response information flows from the SCSI target back to the Fibre Channel host.

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