Migrating between switches

[jhowell]

We have a small SAN based on a 9140 switch. We need to expand and have purchased a 9509. I'd like to connect the switches, migrate the connections in my production VSAN onto the 9509, leave the test VSAN on the 9140, and then disconnect the two switches, creating two fabrics. Is there an easy way to do this? I've tried setting up a trunk between the switches but I think I need to create a common domain; as this is disruptive I want to avoid that if possible.

[Michael Brown]

Here is what I would suggest. I assume that the 9140 has all active ports in a single VSAN. I would create that same VSAN number in the 9509, and assign it a different Domain ID. Then connect an ISL cable between the 2 devices. If the VSAN comes up on the E or TE port, the active zoneset from the 9140 should show up in the 9509. If the zone members were created by using the device PWWN, then you move devices over at your leisure. Once all devices are migrated, you can disconnect the ISL to the 9140 and do with it what you want.

In the 9140 to view the current status, here are some commands for the CLI to help you determine what is currently in place.

show vsan membership (shows which physical ports are in which vsan)

show flogi database (shows which devices are logged into the 9140)

show zoneset active vsan x (shows the currently active zoning database for the vsan noted in the command by x)

Steps to do on the 9509.

create the vsan

place the desired number of ports into the vsan

take these ports out of shutdown mode

bring up the ISL between the 2 swtiches

check for the zoneset to show up in the 9509

Again, if the zone members are PWWN, then you can move the devices at your own pace from the 9140, to the 9509. If the zone members are not by PWWN, then you would need to generate the corresponding zones to maintain connectivity as devices are migrated.

If the host/storage are dual attached to the 9140, you can make the migration 1 path at a time and incur no down time.

I hope this helps,

Mike

[jhowell]

Do the ports have to be configured prior to connecting the switches? I had created the VSAN before creating the trunk link but configured a port after that. Then when I moved a fiber between the switches the zoning didn't follow and the port wouldn't work. These are all Windows systems, BTW.

[Michael Brown]

It sounds like the link between switches did not come up, or if it was a TE port, the VSAN did not come up. The Domain ID for the VSAN in the 9509 can not be the same as the domain ID for the VSAN in the 9124. Each switch must use a different domain in the VSAN.

If you view the interface on both ends, while it should be working, you can email me at mikbrown@cisco.com with the displays.

issue 'show interface fc x/y' on both ends.

The end ports do not have to be configured before the link is made active. The link ports however should be set correctly.

In the 9124 you should set the port to the 9506 to E port mode and dedicated as far as the mode/speed goes.

On the 9506, depending on the module type you are attaching to, you may have to do the same.

On the 24 and 48 port line cards, the rate mode must be dedicated and the switchport mode must be E for it to operate as an ISL.

Thanks,

Mike

[Michael Brown]

One point I did not mention, if any of the hosts involved are AIX or HP-UX, any change of target device FCID will be disruptive. Email me at mikbrown@cisco.com if this is the case and we need to take that into consideration.

Thanks,

Mike