HP StorageWorks Fabric OS 5.3.x administrator guide (5697-0244, November 2009)

228 Using the FC-FC routing service
• MetaSAN
A metaSAN is the collection of SANs interconnected with Fibre Channel routers.
A simple metaSAN can be constructed using a 400 MP Router, 4/256 SAN Director with a B-Series
MP Router blade, or MP Router to connect two or more separate fabrics. Additional 400 MP Routers,
4/256 SAN Director with B-Series MP Router blades, or MP Router can be used to increase the
available bandwidth between fabrics, and for redundancy.
• Proxy device
A proxy device is a virtual device imported into a fabric by a Fibre Channel router, and represents a
real device on another fabric. When a proxy device is created in a fabric, the real Fibre Channel
device is considered to be imported into this fabric. The presence of a proxy device is required for
interfabric device communication.
• Proxy PID
A proxy PID is the port ID (PID) of the proxy device. The proxy device appears to the fabric as a real
Fibre Channel device, has a name server entry, and is assigned a valid port ID. The port ID is only
relevant on the fabric in which the proxy device has been created.
• Phantom domains
The Fibre Channel Router emulates two levels of phantom domains. The first set of phantom domains
are known as front phantom domains. There is one front phantom domain from FCR to an edge fabric.
ate phantom domain is created in the backbone device (in addition to the one in the edge fabric).
The second level of phantom domains is known as a translate phantom domain. The EX_Ports also
present translate phantom domains in edge fabrics as being topologically behind the front domains; if
the translate phantom domain is in a backbone fabric, then it is topologically present behind the Fibre
Channel router because there is no front domain in a backbone fabric.The translate phantom domain is
a router virtual domain that represents an entire fabric. Device connectivity can be achieved from one
fabric to another—over the backbone or edge fabric through this virtual domain—without merging the
two fabrics. Translate phantom domains are sometimes referred to as translate domains or xlate
domains.
If a B-Series MP Router blade is attached to an edge fabric using an EX_Port, it will create translate
phantom domains in the fabric corresponding to the imported edge fabrics with active LSANs defined.
If you import devices into the backbone fabric, then a translate phantom domain is created in the
backbone device in addition to the one in the edge fabric.
If you lose connectivity to the edge fabric due to link failures or the IFL being disabled (for example, by
issuing the portDisable command from the switch in the attached fabric) translate phantom domains
remain visible. This prevents unnecessary fabric disruptions caused by translate phantom domains
repeatedly going offline and online due to corresponding IFL failures. To remove the translate phantom
domain in the backbone, disable all EX_Ports or VEX_Ports through which the translate phantom
domain was created.