Fibre Channel topology

The term Fibre Channel topology indicates how devices are connected to each other. Fibre channel provides the following types of topology:

• Fabric: Uses a fabric switch to connect a large number of devices (up to 16 million) together.

• FC-AL (Fibre Channel-Arbitrated Loop): A shared interface that can connect up to 126 devices (AL-ports) together.

• Point-to-point: The simplest fibre topology connects two devices directly together.

When configuring your storage system, use the LUN Manager window to specify whether the hosts and the storage system are connected using a fabric switch.

If a fabric switch is used, specify FC-AL or point-to-point in the LUN Manager window. If a fabric switch is used, consult the documentation for the fabric switch to learn whether FC-AL or point-to-point should be used. Some fabric switches require you to specify point-to-point to get the system running.

If no fabric switch is used, specify FC-AL.

The combination of the topology which is specified in Connection Type and the port speed which is specified in Port Speed is restricted. For details, see Combination of data-transfer speed and connection type.