HP MDS 8/12c Fabric Switch.

[mabuhantash]

hi

I have HP C7000 enclosure , with  MDS 8/12c Fabric switch. the enclosure is in production and connected directly to HP and IBM storage.

I have new 24 port Brocade switch. , what is the best solution for connecting to the new Brocade switch with minimus distruption, does the Inertop mode in that configuration supported.

regards

[dynamoxxx]

So Brocade will become your "core" switch ? I would look into utilizing NPIV on brocade and enabling NPV mode on MDS. Enabling NPV mode is disruptive, it will erase all configuration from the MDS switch. If your hosts are running multipathing software you should be able to do it one fabric at a time. You will need to convert your MDS zoning into Brocade zoning so when you move storage ports to Brocade and connect MDS (post NPV conversion) to Brocade ..if all zones are already in place, hosts will login to storage ports and multipathing software should re-establish the paths.

[mabuhantash]

thanks

this is option and disruptive, in case I make the brocade as access gateway this is other options and non disruptive.

what about the interop mode options it is supported in that setup ?? please advice and see if it is disruptive.

[dynamoxxx]

i am not sure if 9124e ( i believe that's what MDS 8/12) is supports NPIV. If you just purchased the Brocade switches, how likely is it that the HP enclosure will be retired before the Brocade switches ? If the HP enclosure has to be retired before the Brocade switches, you leave yourself with a dummy pass-through switch (Brocade in AG mode).

changing from native Cisco mode to interop mode is always disruptive.

@dynamoxxx