FICON Overview FICON Overview Introduction

FICON Overview FICON Overview Introduction
This lesson introduces the concepts and uses for FICON in storage networking solutions. Importance The storage networking market is complex and comprised of many technologies. You will not work directly with FICON systems, but you need to understand what FICON is, where is it used, and how it integrates with other storage networking technologies. In addition, your credibility with a storage customer will be improved if you understand the concepts associated with FICON.

Objective Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to describe the key characteristics of FICON and the environments in which FICON might be used. Performance Objective Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to describe the key characteristics of FICON and the environments in which FICON might be used. Enabling Objectives Define FICON List the standards that define FICON Describe the components of a FICON system Illustrate basic FICON configurations Describe the scalability of an FICON system Describe the performance and distance capabilities of FICON Describe the key management applications and tasks associated with FICON Describe the basic characteristics of the FC-SB protocol Identify practices for configuring fabrics in mixed FCP/FICON environments

Outline What is FICON? FICON Standards FICON Components
FICON Configurations Scalability Performance and Distance Managing FICON Systems The FC-SB Protocol Configuring Fabrics in FCP/FICON Environments FICON Vendors Prerequisites Curriculum Unit 2, Modules 1 and 2 Module 3, Lesson 10 Module 4, Lesson 1

What is FICON? Enterprise System Connection (ESCON):
Since 1991 Primarily an S/390 solution Does not support open systems protocols Limited in performance (nominally 17 MB/s) Fiber CONnectivity (FICON): Replacement for ESCON Uses FC physical and transport layers Supports up to 1Gb/s (FICON) or 2Gb/s (FICON Express) What is FICON? Objective Define FICON Introduction This section defines FICON and describes its key characteristics. Definition Fiber CONnectivity (FICON) is a high-speed input/output (I/O) interface for mainframe systems. FICON is an enterprise connectivity solution introduced as a replacement for Enterprise Systems Connection (ESCON). FICON is based on the same physical-layer and transport-layer specifications as FC. Facts ESCON was introduced in 1991 as a connectivity solution for IBM S/390 systems. ESCON is a switched serial network technology that uses fiber optic media for transport. ESCON was an improvement over the direct-attach parallel “bus-and-tag” connectivity previously used by the mainframe environment. However, ESCON had several critical limitations that needed to be addressed in the mainframe environment. Two of the major drawbacks were: ESCON offers limited performance, providing at most 17 MB/s and more typically 8–9MB/s, which rapidly became insufficient to meet mainframe storage networking demands. ESCON is a proprietary IBM solution that does not support open-systems networking infrastructures and protocols. To address these shortcomings, IBM developed FICON. FICON uses the FC physical and transport layers, and is compatible with open-systems FC fabrics. The initial release of FICON supported up to 1Gb/s, and a more recent software upgrade called FICON Express supports up to 2Gb/s.

FICON Standards FC-FP FC-IP FC-VI FC-LE FC-SB-3 FC-SB-2 FCP-3 FC-BB-2
HIPPI FC-IP IP FC-VI Virtual Interface FC-LE IEEE 802.2 FC-SB-3 In development More than 2 cascaded directors FC-SB-2 SBCCS—FICON FCP-3 SCSI-3 FC-BB-2 ATM, SONET FC-4 FC-PH-3 Physical Layer FC-AL-2 Arbitrated Loop FICON Standards Objective List the standards that define FICON Introduction This section lists the standards that define FICON. Facts The primary standard that defines FICON is called the FC-SB protocol mapping. FC-SB maps the IBM Single Byte Command Code Set (SBCCS) protocol to the FC-3 transport layer. Notice the relationship between FC-SB-2 and FCP-3: they are both FC-4 definitions, as are many other protocols that can run on Fibre Channel. FICON uses FC-FS and FC-PI, which are the current FC physical and transport layer standards (FC-FS and FC-PI supercede FC-PH-3). Although most of the FICON standard is given in FC-SB-2, the additional flexibility to support more than 2 cascaded directors is not supported in FC-SB-2, but will be addressed in FC-SB-3. New Extended Link Services that are specific to FICON are described in FC-SB-3 as well. FC-SB-3 was going through final approval by NCITS in early See for updated information. FC-SW-2 Switched Fabric FC-FS Framing and Signaling FC-PI Physical Interface FC-GS-3 Generic Services FC-0 – FC-3

FICON Bridge Mode (FCV mode)
FICON Components FICON Bridge Mode (FCV mode) FICON Channel with existing ESCON CUs FICON Bridge CU FICON CH CU ESCON FICON bridge provides interface to ESCON director ESCON Director CU Native FICON (FC mode) FICON Components Objective Describe the components of a FICON system Introduction This section introduces the components of a FICON storage system. Facts There are three basic components that make up a FICON switched connectivity solution: A host with FICON Channel Adapter (CH) interfaces A Fibre Channel director-class switch with FICON port modules Storage devices with FICON Control Unit (CU) interfaces FICON channels can operate in two basic modes: FICON channel in bridge mode—commonly known as FCV mode—allows the accessing of ESCON CUs with ESCON interfaces by a FICON channel in FCV mode via a FICON bridge adapter that is installed in a ESCON Director switch. FICON channel in FICON native mode—commonly known as FC mode—allows the connection of FICON native interface CUs in a point-to-point configuration. FICON native mode is compatible with FC transport architecture, including FC-0, FC-1, and FC-2. This means that FICON native interface CUs can be connected through a Fibre Channel director-class switch with FICON port modules. FICON CH FICON Channel with native FICON CUs CU FICON CU Full dynamic switching of FICON CUs FICON CH FICON Director

FICON Components (cont.)
Supports FC0-FC4, FCP, FCP ELS FICON Director Switch FC Port Module FC FC FC Port Module FICON devices FC Port Module FICON Port Module FICON native interfaces can be connected through a Fibre Channel director-class switch with FICON port modules, but it is important to understand that a FICON device cannot be connected to a standard FC port in a standard FC switch. The FICON devices must be connected to FICON ports, and those ports are installed in a director-class switch that supports both FC and FICON. FICON ports must support the FC-SB protocol and additional Extended Link Service (ELS) commands that are specific to FICON implementations. FC ports must support the FCP protocol and ELS commands that are specific to FCP implementations. FC and FICON are both built on the same physical- and transport-layer specifications, but differ in their implementation of functions like login, routing, and name services. FC devices FICON Port Module FICON Port Module Supports FC0-FC4, FC-SB, FC-SB ELS

EMIF Channel N_Port Channels LPAR 1 Channel Image n Channel Image 2 Channel Image 1 N_Port CU N_Port LPAR 2 N_Port Facts A channel provides the logical capability necessary to allow an operating system instance (that is, an LPAR) to access FICON storage resources. A given channel can be shared by multiple LPARs, and can communicate with multiple CUs, as shown in the preceding diagram. The software that allows multiple LPARs to share channel hardware is called the ESCON Multiple Image Facility (EMIF); it is the same software that is used in an ESCON configuration. To manage the three independent communication session, the channel creates logical entities called channel images. A channel image has the logical appearance of a channel. Each channel image denotes one SB-2 ULP instance. To the LPARs, each channel image appears to be an independent channel even though all channel images on a specific channel share the same physical facilities and some common logical facilities. These common logical facilities can include some or all of the SB-2 functions and protocols. Those SB-2 functions and protocols not provided by the common facilities are provided by the individual channel images. The N_Port of a channel performs certain functions for all channel images, such as link synchronization and acquisition of address identifiers). The N_Port of a channel common to multiple channel images simultaneously performs communication functions for multiple channel images by multiplexing work on each function and interleaving frames for each function on the link. Each channel can support up to 256 channel images. CU LPAR n N_Port N_Port

EMIF Channel CU LPAR 1 Channel Image 1 N_Port CU Image n CU Image 2 CU Image 1 CU Image 3 N_Port LPAR 2 Channel Image n Channel Facts A CU provides the logical capability necessary to operate and control one or more storage devices. When the CU N_Port is attached to a fabric, the CU and its devices can be accessible to all channels that are attached that fabric. A CU can communicate simultaneously with more than one channel, just like a channel can communicate with more than one CU. In the preceding diagram, a CU is shared between two channels, each of which supports two channel images. When the CU is shared by multiple channels, each channel path is logically represented separately within the CU as a CU image. This logical relationship is called the logical path. A logical path is the relationship established between a channel image and CU image. The logical path identifies a communication path over which device-level information is transferred and to which device-level allegiances can be associated. The logical path is established as part of the channel and CU initialization procedures by the exchange of SB-2 link-control frames. When the logical path is established, device-level communication is allowed on that logical path. All device-level protocols depend upon the existence and identity of logical paths. Device-level protocols are executed over an established logical path by means of the exchange of information units between the channel and the CU. When a logical path is not established, only link-level communication is permitted. Each CU can support up to 256 CU images. Up to 256 devices (physical disks) can be attached to each CU image. LPAR 3 Channel Image 1 N_Port LPAR n Channel Image n

FICON fiber optic cable support: Native FICON uses single-mode 9µ cables: 10km unrepeated distance (20km for some implementations) 100km with repeaters Use of existing multimode 62.5µ and 50µ cables: 550m total distance Requires Mode Conditioner Patch (MCP) cables Facts Native FICON channels use single-mode 9µ fiber optic cabling. These cables support distances of up to 10 km without repeaters; some implementations support 20km. The maximum distance can be extended up to 100km with the use of repeaters. FICON channels can also be connected using existing 62.5µ and 50µ multimode cable plants. The use of multimode cables requires the installation of mode conditioner patch cables at each end of the link. When multimode fiber is used, the total link distance is reduced to 550 meters.

9µ 50/62.5µ Tx Rx The preceding diagram illustrates an MCP jumper cable. The fiber that is connected to the optical transmitter is a 9µ single-mode fiber, which is then spliced to a 50µ or 62.5µ multimode fiber. The fiber that is connected to the optical receiver is a multimode fiber; the receive fiber does not need to be spliced because the lens in the receiver optics subassembly is capable of focusing and receiving optical signals directly from a multimode fiber. Fiber patch panel Fiber patch panel Multimode MPC MPC

FICON Configurations FICON Bridge (FCV)
Channel Aggregation with FICON Bridge (FCV Mode) S/390 or zSeries S/390 or zSeries Channel Subsystem Channel Subsystem CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH FCV FICON Bridge Link Channel path Director port ESCON Director ESCON Director FICON Configurations Objective Illustrate basic FICON configurations Introduction This section illustrates supported FICON configurations. Facts The previous diagram illustrates the result of using a FICON bridge to aggregate a number of ESCON channel connections. This configuration is called “FCV mode,” and uses a FICON Bridge port in an ESCON Director. The FICON channel (in FCV mode) connected to the FICON Bridge port can support channel paths to standard ESCON CUs. The items on the left of the diagram show a number of ESCON channels supporting paths to different CUs, connected through an ESCON Director. With the installation of one S/390 FICON channel (in FCV mode) in the processor and one FICON Bridge card in the ESCON Director, as shown in the diagram on the right, the aggregation of the eight ESCON channel connections into one FICON channel provides benefits such as simplified management and maintenance, and the ability to support up to 8 concurrent operations on one channel. The FICON Bridge adapter has 8 internal link controllers (LC) that manage I/O operations between the FICON (FCV mode) channel and an ESCON CU. The ESCON side operates in normal ESCON mode. LCs do not need to be assigned to specific CUs. Multiple FICON bridge adapters can be installed in an ESCON director. For example, up to 16 FICON bridge adapters can be installed in an IBM 9032 Model 5 ESCON Director. ESCON Channel to FICON Director configuration is supported by using a similar ‘Gateway’ or bridge to connect from the Channel to the Director. CH CU CU CU CU CU CU CU CU CU CU CU CU CU CU CU Storage Device Storage Device

FICON Configurations Native Point-to-Point
FICON Native Mode—Point-to-Point S/390 or zSeries Channel Subsystem FC FC FC Link Channel path Director port Facts The preceding diagram shows a native FICON direct-attach implementation. In this implementation, a FICON channel in the host connects the processor directly to a FICON CU. The FICON channel and CU both operate in Fibre Channel (FC) mode, supporting the FC-SB-2 specification, and are compatible with the FC transport architecture. Whereas FCV mode FICON essentially just consolidates a number of ESCON channel workloads into a single link for improved manageability, FICON native mode offers the full benefits of FICON. The major benefit in this type of implementation is that the FICON channel(s) have a link bandwidth improvement over ESCON (at least five to eight times greater), and it supports multiplexing of data transfer from different devices on the same CU. This enables a mixed workload on a single CU over one or more links. The additional benefits of a FICON native implementation include the ability to maintain performance at a greater distances and the ability to support more devices per channel and per FICON link. CU CU CU Storage Device

FICON Configurations Native Mode Switched
FICON Native Mode—Point-to-Point Switched S/390 or zSeries Channel Subsystem FC FC FC Link Channel path Director port FICON Director Facts The preceding diagram shows an example of a FICON switched topology. This implementation requires: A FICON channel adapter operating in native FC mode A FICON CU operating in native FC mode A director-class FC switch that supports FICON (FC-SB-2) ports The benefits of this implementation are that it includes connectionless switching and avoids the overhead of protocol conversion that is required in FCV mode. Like the FICON native point-to-point channel connections, it supports multiple ongoing I/O operations over a single FICON channel interface. This configuration, which is typically known as “switched fabric” in FC terminology, is typically known as “point-to-point switched” in FICON terminology. CU CU CU Storage Storage Storage

FICON Configurations Cascaded Switches
FICON Native Mode—Cascaded Switches S/390 or zSeries Channel Subsystem FC FC FC Both paths are dynamic FICON Director Facts FICON supports cascaded directors. FICON cascade is currently limited to two switches and is only supported on zSeries hosts. Cascade is currently not supported on S/390 G5 or G6 processors. More than two directors can be connected together, but a given channel can only be one hop (two switches) away from its CUs. Unlike ESCON, both paths through both switches can be dynamic. FICON does not require static paths when using cascaded directors. FICON Directors CU CU CU Storage Storage Storage CU Storage

FICON Configurations High-Availability
Site 1 Facts The following recommendations apply to configuring FICON devices for high-availability: Configure redundant fabrics. Each fabric can contain 1 or 2 FICON directors. Two cascaded directors are permitted on zSeries processors; however, cascaded directors are not supported on OS/390 systems. Provide redundant FICON connections with as few common hardware elements as possible. That is, configure redundant FICON connections on: Different channels Channels in different channel groups Through different switches/fabrics Spread channel devices and storage devices across different physical hardware connections. Spread the channels for a given OS instance across different physical hardware connections. The preceding diagram shows a two-site FICON configuration. Each site contains an OS/390, two zSeries servers, and an enterprise storage array with FICON CUs. Two fabrics—shown with solid lines and dotted lines—are implemented for redundancy. Each fabric contains two cascaded directors, with one director located at each site. The configuration shown here could be used to implement a disaster-tolerance solution. Note, however, that the OS/390 servers at each site cannot talk to the storage at the remote site, because cascaded directors are not supported for OS/390 processors. Site 2

FICON Configurations FICON Express
Improvements to original release of FICON Enable near “wire speed” OS ULP interface improvements; no changes to physical components Typically used in 2Gb environments Facts After the original release of FICON, IBM continued to work on improvements to the protocol. This work led to the introduction of FICON Express. FICON Express is a new version of FICON that is designed to run at near “wire speed,” meaning that it is nearly 100% efficient in its utilization of the available bandwidth. The improvements in FICON Express are mainly a function of the operating system ULP interfaces, and have no impact on the physical layer components. A FICON Express channel can sustain close to full wire speed rate for large data transfers doing all reads or all writes, and can deliver about 200 MB/s (over 2Gb/s FC) for a mix of large read and write data transfers. However, the data transfer time for any application is some fraction of the total job elapsed time, and the realized benefit of the FICON Express improvement will vary by workload. FICON Express supports 1Gb/s and 2Gb/s FC links, but it is typically deployed in 2Gb/s environments. Host adapters that support FICON typically have SC-type connectors, just like 1Gb/s FC environments, and host adaptors that support FICON Express have LC-type connectors, just like 2Gb/s FC environments.

Scalability Scalability requirements:
ESCON/FICON used for storage, printers, FEPs, etc A mainframes can run multiple LPARs A data center can require hundreds of channels LAN FEPs Scalability Objective Describe the scalability of an FICON system Introduction This section discusses the scalability of FICON, and compares FICON to ESCON in terms of scalability. Facts Whereas Fibre Channel is generally used only to connect hosts and storage devices, ESCON and FICON channels are used to connect Front End Processors (FEPs), printers, and other devices in addition to storage devices. In addition, a mainframe can run multiple operating system images (LPARs), each of which has its own storage resources, FEPs, printers, and so forth. It is not unusual for data centers to require hundreds of ESCON and FICON ports. Scalability is a major issue in mainframe environments. When a business needs to grow its mainframe computing capacity, it is far cheaper to add processors to a mainframe CPC than to purchase additional CPCs, but the CPCs must also be able to handle additional I/O capacity to support the additional processors. Processors Storage Printers FICON Directors

Scalability (cont.) Channel aggregation:
Fewer connections needed, relieving channel constraints More controllers and devices supported per FICON link Each FICON channel can handle over 4,000 I/O operations per second, equivalent to eight ESCON channels. FICON addressing capabilities: 16K device addresses/channel (vs 1024 with ESCON) 256 channel images per channel (vs 16 with ESCON) FICON provides significantly increased scalability over ESCON: Channel aggregation: A single FICON channel can replace multiple ESCON channels. With FICON, fewer connections are needed to transport the same or greater amounts of data, meaning more controllers and devices can be supported per FICON link than per ESCON link. This means fewer channels, director ports, and CU ports, reduced infrastructure costs, and simpler management. More scalable addressing: ESCON can address up to 1024 device addresses (physical disks) per ESCON channel. With FICON, the addressability is increased to 16,384 devices per FICON channel. FICON also supports 256 channel images per channel, versus ESCON’s 16 channel images per channel, so FICON allows more LPARs and applications to use the same channel.

Scalability (cont.) FICON Channel Aggregation Improvements (FCV Example on S/390 G6 System) Without FICON With FICON S/ G6 Processor S/ G6 Processor 28 ESCON cards x 4 channels/card =112 ESCON channels 36 FICON cards x 8 sessions/channel = 288 ESCON channels 64 ESCON cards x 4 channels/card + More storage controllers and devices can be supported per FICON link, relieving channel constraints in configuring S/390 processors. Channel constraint occurs when a customer wants to install additional ESCON channels to support attachment of additional I/O, but the S/390 processor is already at or near the 256 channel limit. FICON channels in FCV bridge mode provide additional I/O connectivity while keeping within the S/390’s 256 channel architecture limit. The following calculations illustrate the additional scalability provided by FICON, using the S/390 G6 processor as an example: Without FICON, an S/390 G6 system can accommodate 256 ESCON channels (64 cards with 4 channels per card). With FICON (FCV mode) aggregation, an S/390 G6 system can accommodate the equivalent connectivity of 400 ESCON channels: Up to 36 FICON channels can be installed. In FCV mode, each FICON channel provides the equivalent of 8 ESCON channels, so 36 FICON channels provides the equivalent of 288 ESCON channels. Up to 112 ESCON channels can also be retained (28 ESCON cards with 4 channels per card). 112 ESCON channels, plus the 288 ESCON-equivalent channels provided by the 36 FICON channels, equals 400 total I/O channels. The number of ESCON and FICON channels supported varies by processor. = 256 channels = 400 channels

Performance and Distance
200 Bandwidth in MB/s ESCON FICON FICON EXPRESS 1Gb/s link 2Gb/s link 150 100 Performance and Distance Objective Describe the performance and distance capabilities of FICON Introduction This section discusses the performance and distance capabilities of FICON. Facts The introduction of FICON increased the maximum per-channel bandwidth available to mainframe systems by a factor of 10, from 20MB/s to 200MB/s. The preceding graphic shows the effective bandwidth of ESCON, FICON, and FICON Express: ESCON can support a maximum of 20MB/s. Typical effective data rates range between 8MB/s and 17MB/s, depending on the channel hardware and software drivers that are used. FICON has an effective data rate of approximately 75MB/s on a 1Gb/s link. FICON Express running on a 1Gb/s link has an effective data rate that is close to 100MB/s for large-block sequential reads and writes. FICON Express also supports 2Gb/s links. This graphic shows the maximum capabilities of each channel type measured in a test environment that simulates highly sequential reads and writes. This test environment is representative of the type of channel programs used in disk to tape backup jobs or other highly sequential batch jobs. 50

Performance and Distance (cont.)
ESCON 3km ESCON XDF 23km ESCON XDF with repeaters 60km FICON 10km The preceding graphic shows the supported distances for different ESCON and FICON channel configurations: ESCON can support 3km with multimode LED links. ESCON with an XDF single-mode link can support 23km. With repeaters, up to 60km is possible with ESCON XDF. Native FICON and FICON Express with single-mode cabling supports up to 10km. With an approved Request for Product Qualification (RPQ), IBM will certify greater distances with specific hardware and software combinations. For example, an RPQ can be submitted to determine if the link environment (quality of signal) will support a distance of up to 20 km for 1 Gbps FICON or up to 12 km for 2 Gbps FICON. The vendor must prove that the attenuation of the signal does not exceed the allowable link loss budget. With repeaters, the maximum RPQ-certified distance for FICON and FICON Express is currently 100km. FICON can be carried over DWDM networks at distances up to 150km. FICON with RPQ 20km FICON with RPQ and repeaters 100km FICON over DWDM with amplifiers 150km Distance

Max Effective Single Direction Link Bandwidth vs Distance (1Gb/s link) 100 80 60 Effective MB/s 40 With traditional parallel channels, the distance from a host processor to the CUs was limited to 400 feet. This distance limitation was eliminated with the introduction of the ESCON channels in 1990 where the published distance was up to 3 km without switches or repeaters, and up to 60 km with switches or repeaters. However, the data rate drops rapidly after 9km for ESCON. This phenomenon is known as “droop.” Droop for both ESCON and FICON is a matter of physics. Droop begins when the link distance reaches the point where the time light takes to make one round trip on the link is equal to the time it takes to transmit the number of bytes that will fit in the receiver’s buffer. Although ESCON begins to experience droop at about 9km, FICON can extend for over 100km without experiencing loss of performance. The preceding graphic shows the effective data rate for ESCON, FICON, and FICON Express (1Gb/s link speed) at various distances. 20 0Km 40Km 80Km 120Km 160Km 200Km ESCON FICON FICON Express Distance

ESCON Tape Vaulting or Mirroring FICON Tape Vaulting or Mirroring Local Site Remote Site Local Site Remote Site ESCON ESCON XDF FICON FICON ESCON FICON Requires ESCON Director at both sites Data rate droop starting at 9Km Requires FICON Director at only one site Data rate droop negligible at 10km (no repeaters) Data rate droop negligible at 100km with repeaters Remote tape vaulting and remote mirroring are key business applications for ESCON and FICON. These applications can take advantage of FICON’s distance and performance advantages. With a single-mode XDF link and repeaters, ESCON can perform backups or data replication over distances of up to 60km. However, performance at this distance will be under 10MB/s. Limited per-channel performance requires more channels to send the same amount of data. In addition, XDF links require that an ESCON director is present at both sites; XDF can be used only for switch-to-switch connections. With FICON, remote backup and mirroring applications can achieve about 65MB/s—and even better with FICON Express. Performance does not degrade for distances up to 10km with no repeaters, and up to 100km with repeaters. FICON’s support for multiplexed connectivity sessions overcomes the significant scalability limitations of ESCON, requiring fewer channels, CUs, and fiber pairs. Furthermore, only one director is required with FICON; hosts and storage can be located up to 100km from the switch when repeaters are used. 20 17 9 3.5 100 65 45 25 MB/sec MB/sec Km Km

Managing FICON Systems
IOCP/HCD SA/390 S/390 Channel Subsystem FC FC FC IOCP Define channel paths Manage/monitor ports Managing FICON Systems Objective Describe the key management applications and tasks associated with FICON Introduction This section introduces the management applications used to manage FICON Directors. Facts In OS/390 and z/OS environments, FICON systems are managed primarily using two OS/390 management applications: Input/Output Configuration Program (IOCP) is used to configure logical channel paths through the fabric, assigning port addresses, logical switch addresses, and Channel Path IDs (CHPIDs). IOCP is a command-line interface. A related management tool called the Hardware Configuration Dialog (HCD) is a GIU-based tool that can be used to automatically generate IOCP scripts. System Automation for OS/390 (SA/390) is used to manage FICON directors. SA/390 allows administrators to perform functions like blocking and unblocking ports, as well as monitoring and error reporting functions. SA/390 is the successor to the ESCON Manager application. IOCP and SA/390 are also used to manage ESCON systems. FC Director FC Director SA/390 CU CU CU Storage Storage Storage

Managing FICON Systems (cont.)
FICON logical channel paths must be explicitly defined by the system operator: Every pair of communicating ports requires a channel path definition Channel paths are identified by CHPIDs Channel paths are defined with IOCP Same as ESCON Facts In FICON, as in ESCON, all logical channel paths must be defined by the system operator. This is true even on director switches that support both FC and FICON; it is a requirement of the FICON protocol. In Fibre Channel, when you connect an HBA port and a storage port to any pair of switch ports in the fabric, the HBA port and the storage port can immediately communicate (assuming that they are in the same fabric zone). In ESCON and FICON, you must explicitly define every possible logical path between every pair of ports that need to communicate with each other, using the IOCP program. Each channel path is identified by an ID called the Channel Path ID (CHPID).

IOCP channel definitions: RESOURCE PARTITION=((PROD1,1),(PROD2,2)) CHPID PATH=(20,21,22),TYPE=FC,SWITCH=40, SHARED,PARTITION=(PROD1,PROD2) IOCP CU definitions: CNTLUNIT CUNUMBR=8000,UNIT=2105, PATH=(20,21,22),LINK=(40E9),CUADD=0, UNITADD=((00,nn)) CNTLUNIT CUNUMBR=8100,UNIT=2105, PATH=(20,21,22),LINK=(40EA),CUADD=1, UNITADD=((00,nn)) CNTLUNIT CUNUMBR=5F00,UNIT=2105, PATH=(22),LINK=(4F14),CUADD=2, UNITADD=((00,nn)) LPAR PROD1 LPAR PROD2 EMIF 20 21 22 A1 A0 A2 34 Switch 40 Switch 4F IOCP definitions for FICON channel paths are similar to IOCP definitions for ESCON channel paths: CHPIDs are defined with the PATH keyword, using TYPE=FC. In ESCON, TYPE=CNC for storage devices. The SHARED keyword indicates that a CHPID can be shared between multiple LPARs. Control units are associated with CHPIDs. When cascaded directors are present, the LINK value in the CNTLUNIT statement is a two-byte number that refers to the switch ID and the port ID. When only one director is present, the LINK value is a one-byte number that refers only to the port ID, as in ESCON. C5 E9 EA 14 8000 8100 5F00

Operator uses IOCP to configure CUP CNTLUNIT CUNUMBR=F008,PATH=(E8,F8), UNIT=2032,UNITADD=((00,1)),LINK=(FE) IODEVICE ADDRESS=(F008,1),UNITADD=00, CUNUMBR=(F008),UNIT=2032 IOCP SA/390 SNMP over Ethernet (out-of-band) Facts In an ESCON environment, ESCON Directors are managed primarily using two OS/390 management applications called System Automation for OS/390 and Input/Output Configuration Program (IOCP). System Automation is the successor to the ESCON Manager application that was formerly used to manage ESCON functions. In a FICON environment, FICON Director vendors provide their own out-of-band management applications—the same applications that are used to manage standard FC functions. However, OS/390 administrators can use System Automation and IOCP to manage FICON Directors over an in-band connection by implementing an option called the Control Unit Port (CUP). A FICON Director that is configured to support a CUP assigns a logical CU ID to the FICON Director so that an OS/390 system can communicate with the switch; this is similar to the concept of FC Well-Known Addresses, which are assigned to fabric service interfaces on an FC switch. The CUP is the interface that allows OS/390 systems to manage the switch over in-band FICON. The CUP allows configuration of FICON-specific fabric parameters, such as specifying which ports are allowed or prohibited from communication from which ports. If the FICON Director is used in a mixed FICON/FCP environment then administrators must still use the vendor’s GUI to manage FC-specific parameters, such as FC zoning, that are not applicable to FICON. The CUP must be configured on each switch by using the IOCP program. After the CUP has been configured with IOCP, SA/390 can be used to manage the switch. The following is a sample IOCP definition for a CUP; address FE is the “well-known address” for the CUP: CNTLUNIT CUNUMBR=F008,PATH=(E8,F8),UNIT=2032, UNITADD=((00,1)),LINK=(FE) IODEVICE ADDRESS=(F008,1),UNITADD=00,CUNUMBR=(F008),UNIT=2032 CUP (in-band) Operator uses SA/390 to manage switch Operator uses vendor GUI to manage switch CUP

The FC-SB Protocol FICON is built on the FC layered architecture:
FC layers are designed to allow multiple ULPs to coexist in the same fabric: FC-4 defines ULP mapping for SCSI-3 (FCP) and FICON (FC-SB) FC-0–FC-3 are common to both FCP and FICON The same switch and port can support FCP, FC-SB, etc. FCP and FICON devices cannot communicate with each other SCSI-3 SBCCS The FC-SB Protocol Objective Describe the basic characteristics of the FC-SB protocol Introduction This section describes the key characteristics of the FC-SB protocol. Facts FICON leverages the FC layered architecture. FC’s logical layers are designed to allow multiple Upper Layer Protocols (ULP) to coexist in the same fabric: The combination of layers FC-0, FC-1, FC-2, and FC-3 define the functionality of an FC port, and are common for both FCP and FICON as well as all other ULPs. The FC-4 layer is where the unique mapping of ULPs such as SCSI, FICON, and other ULPs occur. The FCP protocol defines the mapping of SCSI to FC-0–FC-3. The FC-SB protocol defines the mapping of SBCCS to FC-0–FC-3. The current version of FC-SB is FC-SB-2. FC-SB-3 is in development. The same FC switch and port can support multiple ULPs, including FCP and FC-SB, so FICON is capable of participating in an open-systems FC SAN. However, FCP and FICON devices cannot communicate with each other. FCP FC-SB FC-3 Common Services FC-2 Framing & flow control FC-1 Encoding FC-0 Physical interface

The FC-SB Protocol (cont.)
Significant differences between FCP and FICON: Different addressing scheme FICON supports, but does not use the Name Server No FICON soft zoning (no WWNs) No FICON routing protocol—IOCP defines paths Additional FICON Extended Link Services While FICON and FCP both use Fibre Channel for the transport mechanism, there are significant differences between FICON and FCP: FICON uses a different addressing scheme than FCP. FICON ports log in to the Name Server after fabric login, but FICON ports do not use the Name Server during normal operations. This means that FICON channels do not query the Name Server to discover accessible targets. Instead, the system operator must define channel paths from channel to CUs. FICON devices do not have WWNs, and FICON does not use the Name Server, so FICON does not support soft zoning. There is no routing protocol defined for FICON. In a cascaded director environment, logical paths must be configured manually using IOCP. FICON relies on a number of Extended Link Services that are intended specifically for FICON as defined under FC-SB-2 and FC-PH. Due to these differences, FICON is not supported on standard FC switches. Director-class FC switches are specifically engineered to support FICON and the FC-SB protocol.

FC-SB-2 Frame Format Words 1 4 6 24 8 32 1 4 1 4 Bytes S O F E O F Idles FC Header SB-2 Header Idles Data Payload CRC Facts The FC-SB-2 frame format is similar in most respects to the FCP frame format. FC-SB-2 and FCP frames both consist of an SOF and EOF, a standard FC header, and a 4-byte CRC32, and are preceded and followed by IDLEs. An FC-SB-2 frame also contains a unique 32-byte FC-SB-2 header that is contained in the optional headers area of the FC frame payload and provides all required information for addressing and control of the data transfer. The SB-2 header consists of the following elements: The Channel image source or destination address The CU image source or destination address The device (disk) Unit Address An Information Unit (IU) header that contains session-level information A DIB header that contains transaction-level information Reserved CH_ID CU_ID Device Address IUI DH_FLGS CCW Number Token Command / Data / Status / Control / Link Header IU Count DIB Data Count LRC SB-2 Header IU Header DIB Header

Port addresses are configured manually with IOCP 8-bit channel and CU image addresses are located in the SB-2 header Switch Domain ID must be statically assigned Constant Bit Facts An FC port address, or Fibre Channel ID (FCID), consists of 3 bytes that define Domain, Area and Port addresses. In FICON, these 3 bytes are used for different purposes: For a single-switch FICON implementation, only the second byte (the Area field in FCP) is used and is mapped to a switch port. The most-significant byte (the Domain field in FCP) is the basis for a FICON cascade configuration, which allows FICON frames to be routed outside of a single director-class switch. The least-significant byte (the Port field in FCP) is not used in FICON. This field is set to a constant value for the entire fabric. The 8-bit channel image and CU image addresses are located in the SB-2 header. When joining a new switch to a fabric, the Principal Switch assigns Domain IDs to all switches to avoid conflicting addresses. Most FC switches allow the switch Domain ID to be statically assigned. When using FICON it is important to statically assign the Domain ID so that the Domain ID (which is the FICON Switch address) does not change when joining new switches to the fabric. In a FICON environment each Domain ID should be carefully configured and locked to avoid loss of connection in a production environment. IOCP CHPID definitions always reference the switch to which the channel is connected: CHPID PATH=(20,21),TYPE=FC,SWITCH=40,SHARED,PARTITION=(LP1,LP2) In a non-cascade environment, CNTLUNIT definitions use a 1-byte port address: CNTLUNIT CUNUMBR=8000,UNIT=2105,PATH=(20,21),LINK=(E9), CUADD=0,UNITADD=((00,nn)) In a cascade environment, CNTLUNIT definitions use a 2-byte switch-port address: CNTLUNIT CUNUMBR=8000,UNIT=2105,PATH=(20,21),LINK=(40E9), CUADD=0, UNITADD=((00,nn)) Switch 40 E9 CHPID PATH=(20,21) … SWITCH=40 … CNTLUNIT … PATH=(20,21) … LINK=(E9) … Switch 40 Switch 41 E9 C3 CHPID PATH=(20,21) … SWITCH=40 … CNTLUNIT … PATH=(20,21) … LINK=(41C3) …

Name Server and FC: Facilitates FC port discovery, PLOGI and PRLI Foundation for FC soft zoning Name Server and FICON: No PRLI—uses IOCP to define logical paths No soft zoning FICON ports register with FCNS during FLOGI to accommodate management applications Facts FCP relies heavily on the FC Name Server (FCNS) to support functions like port discovery, port login (PLOGI) and process login (PRLI), and soft zoning. For example, FCP initiator N_Ports use the FCNS to obtain the WWNs and FCIDs of permitted FCP target N_Ports during port login. FICON, however, does not support these functions: FICON does not perform PRLI to create logical paths between ULP instances, as the IOCP channel path definition process defines logical paths. In FICON, the IOCP operator manually configures logical channel paths by associating channels with the predefined port address of the CU N_Ports with which the channels must communicate. FICON do not recognize soft zones. FICON ports can be soft-zoned at the switch, but the only effect of doing so is to isolate those ports from FCP ports. FICON ports register with the FCNS during FLOGI to accommodate management applications. Otherwise, FICON does not actively use the FCNS.

LPAR Channel CU LPAR 2 Channel Image N_Port F_Port F_Port N_Port CU Image FC-PI LPAR FLOGI FLOGI FC-FS Facts All FICON N_Ports to an FC switch must first successfully execute a fabric login (FLOGI) to the fabric F_Port, as described in the FC-FS specification, before the N_Ports can successfully execute any other FC-2 ELS or before sending any FC-4 protocol frames. The FLOGI process determines the presence or absence of a fabric. The response to the FLOGI attempt is an ACC frame, just as in FCP. The ACC frame will indicate whether the N_Port is connected to another N_Port (point-to-point) or an F_Port (switched). If a fabric is present, the fabric assigns or confirms the N_Port identifier of the N_Port which initiated the FLOGI. The switch address portion of the full 24-bit address is determined by the FICON channel during the FLOGI process. In response to the FLOGI, the switch returns an ACC with a non-zero destination ID (D_ID) that includes the 8-bit switch address, the 8-bit port address, and an 8-bit constant. If a fabric is present, as determined by the response to the FLOGI, the channel N_Port proceeds with destination port logins (PLOGI) to fabric services, such as the FCNS, using the well-known addresses of those services. The channel N_Port then executes PLOGI to all of the destination ports that were configured for that channel in IOCP. After PLOGI, the FC-SB-2 Establish Logical Path (ELP) function is used to establish a logical path between each channel and its configured destination ports. The ELP is performed from a channel image (processor LPAR image) to a CU image to request the establishment of a logical path. A channel attempts to establish logical paths to all of the the CU images that are described in its configuration definition. In terms of flow control, FICON uses the FC-2 buffer-to-buffer credit flow control mechanism to pace the transfer of frames from one N_Port to the attached F_Port. In addition, the FC-SB-2 IU Pacing status parameter is sent by the CU to the channel to indicate the maximum number of IUs a channel can send before a command response IU is expected. PLOGI to FCNS PLOGI to FCNS PLOGI (N_Port to N_Port) FC-SB Establish Logical Path (ELP)

Configuring Fabrics in FCP/FICON Environments
FC Hosts Storage FICON leverages existing FC director-based SAN connectivity: One fabric One set of SAN devices One cable plant Sometimes called “intermix” FC FICON Director FC Clients FC FC FC FC LAN FICON Configuring Fabrics in FCP/FICON Environments Objective Identify practices for configuring fabrics in mixed FCP/FICON environments Introduction This section describes practices for configuring fabrics in mixed FCP/FICON environments. Facts FCP (SCSI-3), FICON (SB-2), IP, and other protocols can use the common FC layers (FC-0 – FC-3) for encoding, routing, and fabric services. The ability to intermix FICON and FCP in the data center provides benefits in storage management by consolidating mainframe and open-systems storage into: One fabric One set of SAN devices, including multiprotocol director-class switches and multiprotocol enterprise storage arrays One cable plant The term “intermix” was originally used to describe the ability of a switch to support multiple upper layer Fibre Channel protocols transparently. Note, however, that some vendors use “intermix” as a marketing term. FICON ESCON FEP Mainframe ESCON Director ESCON

Configuring Fabrics in FCP/FICON Environments (cont.)
IBM zSeries supports Linux with virtual machines Allows Linux to access mainframe ESCON/FICON storage Also supports open systems FCP: Same FICON adapters Different firmware Applications: CPU-intensive workloads Server/storage consolidation FC FICON FC Facts IBM supports Linux on its traditionally closed zSeries mainframes. IBM’s implementation of Linux supports multiple virtual machines, or logical partitions (LPARs), running on a single zSeries server. IBM’s implementation of Linux for zSeries servers supports FICON. In addition, Linux for zSeries now supports open systems FCP for connecting to Fibre Channel storage. An FCP configuration uses the same FICON channel adapters as a FICON configuration; a special version of the adapter firmware is loaded to support FCP. With support for both FICON and FCP, Linux can seamlessly read and write to both mainframe storage and open-systems storage. Combined with the zSeries’ support for Linux virtual machines, this configuration provides an open-systems approach to server and storage consolidation in IBM environments. OS/390 mainframe systems perform well for data-intensive applications, such as OLTP and “business intelligence” applications like data mining. However, OS/390 systems do not perform well for CPU-intensive applications, such as graphics rendering. Linux running on zSeries systems can provide better performance for CPU-intensive workloads. FICON LINUX FCP FC z/OS FC FICON FICON FC zSeries server

Best practices in mixed FCP/FICON environments: Place FICON and FCP ports in separate VSANs: Separate FICON and FCP devices to reduce unnecessary control traffic (e.g. RSCNs, FCP PLOGI, SCSI probes) Turn off FSPF and RSCNs in FICON zones Statically assign Domain IDs in all FICON VSANs Place all FICON ports in a single zone: Zoning is not required because there is no auto-discovery Operators must manually configure all channel paths Use zones to isolate FICON from FCP if VSANs are not supported Use Port Prohibit for additional security Facts In a SAN with a mix of FICON and FCP nodes, it is advisable to put FICON and FCP ports in separate VSANs. This will prevent FICON ports from being clogged with unnecessary traffic, like RSCN frames, FCP PLOGIs, and SCSI probes. FSPF and RSCN services should be disabled in FICON zones, as they are not needed. Even if FICON and FCP devices are in the same VSAN and zone, they still cannot communicate because they support different ULPs. A FICON node cannot successfully complete PLOGI with an FCP node. If a FICON frame is accidentally routed to a FCP port then it will be discarded. Domain IDs must be statically assigned to all FICON VSANs. If a Domain ID changes, the FICON Switch ID would need to be updated in all IOCP CHPID and CNTLUNIT definitions. FICON does not require zoning because FICON devices do not have an auto-discovery mechanism. Operators must manually configure all desired channel paths. In a FICON environment, all FICON devices can be put in a single zone. If the FICON ports are on a third-party switch that does not support VSANs, use zones to segregate the FICON ports from the FCP ports. FICON directors also provide a feature called Port Prohibit that prevents port pairs from being able to communicate with each other within the director. Port Prohibit is enforced in hardware, and is similar to the concept of hard zones. Port Prohibit only works within a single director, and cannot be configured across ports spanning an ISL. Port Prohibit adds an additional layer of security by preventing malicious (or careless) IOCP operators from configuring inappropriate channel paths.

FC Hosts Storage FC FC Clients FCP VSAN FC FC FICON Director FC FC LAN The preceding diagram illustrates a mixed FCP/FICON SAN in which FCP and FICON devices are segregated into separate VSANs. RSCNs and FSPF are disabled in the FICON VSAN, and Domain IDs are statically assigned within the FICON VSAN. FICON RSCN disabled FSPF disabled Static Domain ID FICON VSAN FICON FEP Mainframe

FICON Vendors FICON director vendors: Disk storage vendors:
McDATA Intrepid INRANGE FC/9000 SANera DS10000 Cisco MDS 9000 (CY2003) Brocade SilkWorm (announced) Disk storage vendors: IBM ESS EMC Symmetrix HDS Lightening STK Shared Virtual Array Tape storage vendors: IBM MagStar tape libraries STK tape libraries FICON Vendors Objective List the key vendors in the FICON market Introduction This section lists the key vendors in the FICON market. Facts So far, the the FICON market consists of many of the same roster of vendors seen in the ESCON market: The INRANGE FC/9000 and McData Intrepid product family are IBM-certified director-class switches that support FICON connectivity. SANera, a new entrant into the Fibre Channel switching market, recently announced a director-class product, the DS10000, that supports FICON. Cisco and Brocade have recently announced that they will support FICON in their director-class switches. Cisco plans to introduce support for FICON in the MDS 9000 Family later in 2003. The IBM ESS, EMC Symmetric, HDS Lightening, and StorageTek Shared Virtual Arrays support both ESCON and FICON interfaces. IBM MagStar and StorageTek tape libraries provide FICON interfaces. IBM sells ESCON directors as IBM products, but did not do so for FICON directors.

Lesson Review Identify these FICON configurations: a. b. c.
Practice Identify the FICON configurations shown in the preceding diagram: ___________________ a. b. c. Bridge (FCV) Mode Native (FC) Mode Cascade

Lesson Review (cont.) How many FICON directors can be present in a FICON fabric? What are the differences between FICON and FICON Express? In what way is FICON more scalable than ESCON? What software allows multiple logical partitions (LPARs) to share channels? How many FICON directors can be present in a FICON fabric? A fabric can include up to 2 directors A fabric can include up to 3 directors A fabric can include any number of directors, but data paths cannot span more than 2 directors A fabric can include any number of directors, but data paths can include only one dynamic path segment What are the differences between FICON and FICON Express? FICON supports 1Gb/s; FICON Express supports 2Gb/s FICON supports half-duplex; FICON Express supports full-duplex operation FICON Express uses bandwidth more efficiently than FICON FICON uses multimode cables; FICON Express uses single-mode cables to support longer distances In what way is FICON more scalable than ESCON? Multiple ESCON channels can be aggregated into one FICON channel Multiple FICON channels can be aggregated, whereas ESCON channels cannot FICON supports highly-available configurations, whereas ESCON does not More FICON adapters can be installed in each processor unit than ESCON channels What software allows multiple logical partitions (LPARs) to share channels? FICON Express Driver ESCON Multiple Image Facility (EMIF) FICON Multiple Image Facility (FMIF) Input/Output Control Program (IOCP)

Lesson Review (cont.) Which byte(s) of an FCID correspond to a FICON address in a cascade configuration? How are port addresses configured on a FICON director? What is the recommended zoning configuration for FICON ports? Which byte(s) of an FCID correspond to a FICON address in a cascade configuration? Area Area and Port Domain Domain and Area Port How are port addresses configured on a FICON director? Port addresses are assigned by the switch during FLOGI Port addresses are negotiated during PLOGI Port addresses are configured using the CUP Port addresses are configured using IOCP What is the recommended zoning configuration for FICON ports? Place all FICON ports in a single zone Turn off zoning for FICON ports Use hard zoning to secure FICON ports Use soft zoning to secure FICON ports

Summary FICON is a replacement for ESCON that is built on the FC physical and transport layers FC-SB is the FICON standard that maps SBCCS to FC-3 Basic FICON configurations: FICON Bridge Mode (FCV mode) Native FICON (FC mode) FICON directors are FC directors with FICON port modules FICON Express is a software performance enhancement to FICON Summary: FICON Overview In this lesson, you learned about the key standards that define FICON components, FICON’s scalability, performance, and distance characteristics, various FICON configurations, the FC-SB protocol, and some practical considerations for implementing FICON in open-systems environments.

Summary (cont.) FICON channel aggregation is a key benefit of FICON
Key performance and distance specifications: 1Gb/s or 2Gb/s Actual data flow: FICON = 75%, FICON Express = 100% 10km unrepeated 100km repeated 150km repeated with RPQ No data droop at 100km

Summary (cont.) FICON management applications:
IOCP configures channel paths HCD is a GUI for IOCP SA/390 manages directors Director CUP ports must be configured Key FCP and FICON differences: FICON addresses use 1- or 2-byte subset of FCID FICON does not support routing FICON does not support soft zoning

Summary (cont.) New Linux support for FICON and FCP on FICON channels
Best practices: Use VSANs to isolate FICON and FCP ports Place all FICON ports in one zone Turn off FSPF and RSCN in FICON VSAN Switch/Domain IDs must be static Use Port Prohibit

FICON Overview FICON Overview Introduction

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