HP StorageWorks Fabric OS 6.2 administrator guide (5697-0016, May 2009)

508 FICON fabrics
• 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 nonprintable characters. If a name contains nonprintable 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 nonprintable characters should not be edited manually because
many editors replace nonprintable characters with some other characters without warning you 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 they are unique, the characters ~00, ~01, ~02, and so on are appended to port names.
• 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.
FICON CUP license considerations
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 Prohibit Dynamic Connectivity Mask (PDCM) controls whether or not communication between
a pair of ports in the switch is prohibited or allowed. If there are any differences in restrictions set up with
Advanced Zoning and PDCM, the most restrictive rules are automatically 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.
Zoning and link incident reporting
Non-implicit link incidents (such as NOS recognized or bit error rate threshold exceeded) that are related
to a specific port are reported to registered listeners only if they are in the same zone as the port for which
the link incident is being reported. As long as all FICON devices are in a single zone, link incidents for
FICON ports are reported only to registered FICON listener ports.
The only exception to this is the loss of synchronization link incident. Even though this link incident is related
to a specific port, it can be reported to a registered listener that is in a different zone.
Implicit link incidents (such as WWN card failure or power supply failure) that are not related to a specific
port are reported to registered listeners regardless of zoning configuration.
FICON configuration files
The FICON file access facility is used to store configuration files. This includes IPL and other configuration
files. The Fabric OS saves the IPL and all other configuration files on the switch. A maximum of 16
configuration files, including the IPL file, are supported.
You can upload the configuration files saved on the switch to a management workstation using the
configUpload command. If the switch loses the configuration due to a hardware failure or filesystem
error, use the configDownload command to restore previously uploaded configuration files. Because
data uploaded using the configUpload command also contains the IPL, if Active=Saved mode is
enabled, the switch will ignore the IPL file downloaded with the configDownload command.