HP StorageWorks Fabric OS 5.X Procedures User Guide (AA-RVHWB-TE, September 2005)

116 Administering FICON fabrics
Port and switch naming standards
Fabric OS handles differences in port and switch naming rules between CUP and itself as follows:
• CUP employs 8-bit characters in port address names and switch names; Fabric OS employs 7-bit
characters. When fmsmode is enabled, all characters greater than 0x40 and not equal to 0xFF
(EBCIDC code page 37 [0x25]) are allowed in the name; therefore, it is possible for a channel to set
a name with non-printable characters. If a name contains non-printable characters, they are displayed
as dots. The following characters are also displayed as dots: semicolon (;), comma (,), equal sign (=),
and at sign (@).
NOTE: Configuration files that contain non-printable characters should not be edited manually, because
many editors replace non-printable characters with some other characters without warning the user first.
• CUP has a 24-character unique port name limitation; Fabric OS supports port names up to 32
characters long. When fmsmode is enabled, names longer than 24 characters are truncated.
• To ensure that port names are unique, the characters ~00, ~01, ~02, and so on are appended to
them.
• CUP allows a 24-character switch name; Fabric OS limits the switch name to 15 characters. To
reconcile this difference, Fabric OS files the first 15 characters in the WWN record and stores the
extra characters for CUP use.
Adding and removing FICON CUP licenses
If fmsmode is enabled when the FICON CUP license is removed, the control device is reset. PDCM
enforcement continues. If fmsmode is disabled when the FICON CUP license is removed, no special
action is taken.
If fmsmode is enabled on a switch that does not have a FICON CUP license and then the license is
installed, you must first disable and then reenable fmsmode. If fmsmode is disabled and a FICON CUP
license is installed, no special action is required.
Zoning and PDCM considerations
The FICON PDCM controls whether communication between a pair of ports in the switch is prohibited or
allowed. If there are any differences in restrictions set up with HP Advanced Zoning and PDCM, the most
restrictive rules are applied.
All FICON devices should be configured in a single zone using the Domain, Area notation. PDCM can
then be used to allow or prohibit access between specific port pairs.
PDCM persists across a failover because it is replicated at all times to the standby CP blade. The active
PDCM configuration is saved to the IPL if the ASM bit is set on.
Backing up and restoring configurations
The Fabric OS configUpload command saves up to 16 FICON configuration files, including IPL files.
For details on the behavior of the configDownload command, see ”Restoring configurations in a
FICON environment” on page 75.
Troubleshooting
The following sources provide useful problem-solving information:
• The standard support commands (portLogDump, supportSave, supportShow) or the Fabric
Manager Event Log
By default, the FICON group in the supportShow output is disabled. To enable the capture of
FICON data in the supportShow output, issue the supportshowcfgenable ficon command.
After you get confirmation that the configuration has been updated, the following information is
collected and appears in the output for the supportShow command:
• ficoncupshow fmsmode
• ficoncupshow modereg