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Technical white paper

HP 3PAR StoreServ
Persistent Ports
Table of contents
Terminology ...........................................................................................................................................................................2
Executive summary ..............................................................................................................................................................2
Features and benefits ...........................................................................................................................................................2
Whats new with Persistent Ports in HP 3PAR OS 3.1.3 ...................................................................................................3
What does it do......................................................................................................................................................................3
Requirements ........................................................................................................................................................................3
Configuration considerations ..............................................................................................................................................4
How does it work ...................................................................................................................................................................6
Setting the FC switches for NPIV .........................................................................................................................................8
Best practice, zoning, and multi-pathing considerations for FC and FCoE ....................................................................9
Firmware upgrades with Persistent Ports ...................................................................................................................... 10
HP Virtual Connect considerations with Persistent Ports ............................................................................................. 11

Technical white paper | HP 3PAR StoreServ Persistent Ports

Terminology
N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV)A Fibre Channel (FC) facility that allows multiple N_Port IDs to share a single physical

N-Port on an FC switch.
Host facing portA port on an host bus adapter (HBA) in an HP 3PAR StoreServ array that has been configured to

provide host access to the array.


Partner nodesA pair of nodes on an HP 3PAR StoreServ array that are connected to a common set of disk

enclosures (chassis).
Host Port Native IdentityThe primary port identity of an HP 3PAR host facing port (for example, 0:1:1).
Host Port Guest IdentityA host ports Guest identity is associated with a corresponding host facing ports Native

identity on its partner node (for example, on Native port 0:1:1 the Guest identity would be 1:1:1). This corresponding
Guest identity on the partner node will be the same slot and port as the partner nodes Native identity. The host
port Guest identity is used to log into the SAN fabric by a nodes partner if the node owning the Native identity
becomes unavailable.
FCoEFCoE is a computer network technology that encapsulates FC frames onto lossless 10 or 100 Gb

Ethernet networks.
iSCSIiSCSI is an IP-based protocol for linking data storage devices over an IP network and transferring data by carrying

SCSI commands over IP networks.

Executive summary
Mission critical tier 1 storage environments require extreme high availability (HA). Tier 1 customers running hundreds
(or thousands) of servers in an enterprise environment feel that a dependency on host multi-pathing failover software
during firmware upgrades, node failures, or in response to a loss_sync event (a physical layer problem between the
storage array and the switch) introduces the risk of a service disruption and hence should be avoided. HP 3PAR Persistent
Ports technology allows for a non-disruptive environment (from the host multi-pathing point of view) where host-based
multi-pathing software will not be involved in maintaining server connectivity to the storage during firmware upgrades,
in the event of a node failure, in response to an array port being taken offline administratively or as the result of a hardware
failure in the SAN fabric that results in the storage array losing physical connectivity to the fabric.
Persistent Ports technology does not negate the need for properly installed, configured, and maintained host multi-pathing
software. Although Persistent Ports technology will isolate a server from the need for path failover during firmware
upgrades, in the event of a fabric hardware failure resulting in a loss_sync or in the event a node becomes available due to
a panic or loss of power, it will not protect from cable problems or host HBA failures that do not result in a loss_sync on
the storage array node. Protection from these events is only provided by a properly configured multi-pathing environment.

Features and benefits


HP 3PAR Persistent Ports functionality works for the following transport layers:
FC
FCoE
iSCSI

HP 3PAR Persistent Ports functionality provides transparent and uninterrupted failover in response to the following events:
HP 3PAR OS firmware upgrade
Node maintenance that requires the node to be taken offline (e.g., adding a new HBA)
HP 3PAR node failure
HP 3PAR array loss_sync to the FC fabric
Array host ports being taken offline administratively

In most cases no configuration changes are required on the servers in an environment using the HP 3PAR StoreServ system
for Persistent Ports functionality to be leveraged. All configuration work is done on the HP 3PAR StoreServ and SAN fabric.

Technical white paper | HP 3PAR StoreServ Persistent Ports

Whats new with Persistent Ports in HP 3PAR OS 3.1.3


Persistent Ports support in HP 3PAR OS 3.1.2 was limited to FC connectivity only, and it could only respond to a node being
taken offline for firmware upgrades, a node failure, or an HP 3PAR OS CLI controlport command.
With the release of HP 3PAR OS 3.1.3 the functionality of Persistent Ports has been significantly improved:
Added support for FC over Ethernet and iSCSI connections.
Can detect when a host configured HBA port on the array loses connectivity to a fabric (loss_sync) FC connections and

failovers the ports to its peer ports.


Persistent Ports failover speed improvements.

loss_sync recovery is only supported for FC connections. The following occurs on a loss_sync event (for example, on the
failure of a GBIC in the FC switch the server node is connected to):
1.
2.
3.
4.

Detection of loss of signal/loss of sync/link down.


Wait five seconds to confirm failure.
Effect the port failover.
After a loss_sync event has cleared, we wait 10 seconds before failing back to the Native port.

If the HP 3PAR StoreServ detects that the Guest port has also suffered a loss_sync event or that the partner node is
down, the failover will not occur. loss_sync will not override a failover initiated administratively via the CLI.

What does it do
With HP 3PAR Persistent Ports technology each host facing port (FC, FCoE, and iSCSI) on an HP 3PAR StoreServ node has both a
Native and a Guest identity associated with it. The Guest identity on a node corresponds to a Native port on the partner
HP 3PAR node in a node pair. To provide greater resiliency and to avoid dependency on host multi-pathing software, HP 3PAR
Persistent Ports technology transparently configures the network to redirect I/O requests from the Native port on one node to
the Guest port on another node in response to firmware upgrades, node failure, loss_sync events, or administrative
requests. This redirection is done in a manner that is transparent to high-level host software sending I/O requests to the node
being upgraded and hence removes the need for host level multi-pathing software to respond to the event.
It is possible that in some cases certain OSs may log errors as a result of loss-sync or firmware upgrades that results from
perturbations on the SAN fabric but these perturbations do not result in the multi-pathing software having to intervene
potentially resulting in interruption to high-level host I/Os.
For FC and FCoE connections Persistent Ports technology leverages SAN fabric NPIV functionality for transparent migration
of a servers Native port Worldwide Name (WWN) to a Guest port on the other node in the node pair. For iSCSI
connections, it migrates a ports IP address from the Native port on one node and the Guest port on the other node in a node
pair (This IP address migration is followed by an unsolicited Address Resolution Protocol [ARP] to force the updating of IP to
MAC mappings on the network).

Requirements
Persistent Ports functionality is supported for HP 3PAR OS 3.1.2 and later only (with functionality restrictions on HP 3PAR
OS 3.1.2). Starting with HP 3PAR OS 3.1.3 support for FCoE connected hosts and iSCSI connected hosts has been added, and
the ability to detect an array node suffering loss_sync (a physical layer problem occurring between the HP 3PAR node and
the switch it is connected to) has been added. There is no Persistent Ports support on pre-HP 3PAR OS 3.1.2 releases.
For HP 3PAR StoreServ FC host ports, the following requirements must be met:
The same host port on host facing HBAs in the nodes in a node pair must be connected to the same FC fabric and

preferably different FC switches on the fabric (for example, 0:1:1 and 1:1:1).
The host facing HBAs must be set to target mode.
The host facing HBAs must be configured for point-to-point connection (no support for loop).
The FC fabric being used must support NPIV and have NPIV enabled.

Technical white paper | HP 3PAR StoreServ Persistent Ports

For HP 3PAR StoreServ ports FCoE host ports, the following requirements must be met:
The same CNA (Converged Network Adapter) port on host facing HBAs in the nodes in a node pair must be connected to

the same FCoE network and preferably different FCoE switches on the network (for example, 0:1:1 and 1:1:1).
The host facing CNAs must be set to target mode.
The FCoE network being used must support NPIV and have NPIV enabled.

For HP 3PAR StoreServ iSCSI host ports, the following requirements must be met:
The same host port on host facing CNAs in the nodes in a node pair must be connected to the same IP network and

preferably different IP switches on the fabric (for example, 0:1:1 and 1:1:1).
There are no special requirements placed on the server HBAs and CNAs other than they must be supported as per Single
Point of Connectivity Knowledge (SPOCK). See hp.com/storage/spock

Configuration considerations
Persistent Ports requires that corresponding Native and Guest host ports on a node pair be connected to the same
FC fabric or IP network and the switches they are connected to must support and be configured for NPIV in the case of
FC and FCoE. This means that for a minimum configuration to provide Persistent Ports functionality, where the node pair is
connected to redundant FC SAN fabrics, each node in a node pair must have at least two FC host ports cabled with one port
connected to each fabric. Figure 1 shows a minimum two-fabric redundant configuration that supports Persistent Ports for
FC and figure 2 shows a configuration that will not support Persistent Ports functionality. Notice that the same slot:port on
each node in the node pair are connected to the same FC fabric.
Figure 1. Minimum configuration. Both the Native and Guest ports must be connected to the same FC fabric, FCoE network, or
iSCSI network.

In minimum configurations HP 3PAR StoreServ 7000 arrays that only have default FC port configurations (two ports) may
not have enough host ports to enable Persistent Ports in a dual fabric (figure 2) if ports are used for HP 3PAR Remote Copy
software or HP 3PAR Peer Motion software. For these configurations the optional four port FC HBA is required to provide
enough FC host ports per node to allow Persistent Ports.

Technical white paper | HP 3PAR StoreServ Persistent Ports

Figure 2. Example of a configuration that does not support Persistent Ports.

A best practice configuration will utilize a network mesh architecture where the Native and Guest ports in a Persistent
Ports pair are connected to different switches in the mesh (This is the case whether the connections are FC, FCoE, or iSCSI).
This allows the loss_sync functionality of Persistent Ports to recover from a switch failure in a FC-based configuration.
See figure 3 for a best practice Persistent Ports configuration using FC that will protect from a node loss_sync event in the
event of a switch failure.
Figure 3. Example of a best practice Persistent Ports configuration showing a FC mesh.

Technical white paper | HP 3PAR StoreServ Persistent Ports

How does it work


With Persistent Ports FC, FCoE, or iSCSI host ports on an HP 3PAR StoreServ node pair have both a Native and a Guest
identity associated with them. By having a Native and a Guest identity associated with its host ports a node can be the
backup for its partner node should that node fail or lose connectivity to its network. A host port on a node can only have a
Native and Guest identity if both it and its partner nodes corresponding host port (the same port on an HBA or CAN in the
same slot) are connected to a common SAN fabric, FCoE network, or iSCSI subnet.
For FC and FCoE the Native identity for a port is the Port WWN that port has on a given node. For example,
20110002AC0008EB for the HBA in Node 0, Slot 1, Port 2. Node 0s partner node, Node 1, has a Native port with a similar
identity, 21110002AC0008EB, for the HBA in Node 1, Slot 1, Port 2 (see figure 4). So, for this example the Native and
Guest identities for nodes 0 and 1 would be:
Node 020110002AC0008EB (Native) and 21110002AC0008EB (Guest)
Node 121110002AC0008EB (Native) and 20110002AC0008EB (Guest)
Figure 4. Native and Guest identity on host ports.

Its a little different with iSCSI since iSCSI does not use WWNs. In an iSCSI configuration, the Native and Guest port WWNs
do not move; the IP address configured on the Native port moves to the Guest port and an unsolicited ARP is transmitted to
notify the network of the change in the IP to MAC address mapping (see figure 5).

Technical white paper | HP 3PAR StoreServ Persistent Ports

Figure 5. Native and Guest IP identity on CNA ports.

With Persistent Ports, during a firmware upgrade, a node failure or if a node fails or in the case of FC loses connectivity to a
fabric due to a loss_sync the Native identity of a port on one node in a node pair becomes the Guest identity on the
corresponding port on that nodes partner in response to a failure or CLI command. See figure 6 for an example of
Persistent Ports failover as the result of a node failure.
Figure 6. If a node fails, its partner nodes port Guest identity takes over.

In the event of a failure or a planned activity on Node 0 in figure 6, the Guest port on Node 1 logs on to the fabric using the
Guest identity for port 0:1:1. This happens in a few seconds and is not visible at the SCSI layer.
When a Persistent Port failover occurs the FailoverState of the host ports can be one of the following states:
noneFailover not in operation.
failover_pendingFailover to partner request has been issued but not yet completed (transient state).
failed_overThis port is failed over to its partner.
failback_pendingFailback request has been issued but not yet completed (transient state).
activeThe partner port is failed over to this port.

Technical white paper | HP 3PAR StoreServ Persistent Ports

active_downThe partner port failed over to this port, but this port is down, e.g., cable missing.
active_failedThe partner port failed over to this port, but the action failed, e.g., FC switch did not have NPIV enabled.

For example, with 0:1:1 failing over to 1:1:1, port 0:1:1 has the FailoverState of failover_pending:
Table 1. Test_sys cli% showport 0:1:1 1:1:1
N:S:P

Mode

State

----Node_WWN----

-Port_WWN/HW_Addr-

Type

Protocol Label

Partner

FailoverState

0:1:1

target

ready

2FF70002AC0008EB

20110002AC0008EB

host

FC

1:1:1

failover_pending

1:1:1

target

ready

2FF70002AC0008EB

21110002AC0008EB

host

FC

0:1:1

active

Once the failover is complete, observe that 0:1:1 has the FailoverState as failed_over and 1:1:1 has the FailoverState
of active:
Table 2. Test_sys cli% showport 0:1:1 1:1:1
N:S:P

Mode

State

----Node_WWN----

-Port_WWN/HW_Addr-

Type

Protocol Label

Partner

FailoverState

0:1:1

target

ready

2FF70002AC0008EB

20110002AC0008EB

host

FC

1:1:1

failed_over

1:1:1

target

ready

2FF70002AC0008EB

21110002AC0008EB

host

FC

0:1:1

active

If the path fails on 1:1:1, observe that 1:1:1 has the FailoverState as active_down (This is the case where the host port on
Node 1 is active for both the Native and Guest identities fails.):
Table 3. Test_sys cli% showport 0:1:1 1:1:1
N:S:P

Mode

State

----Node_WWN----

0:1:1

target

ready

1:1:1

target

ready

-Port_WWN/HW_Addr-

Type

Protocol Label

Partner

FailoverState

2FF70002AC0008EB 20110002AC0008EB

host

FC

1:1:1

failed_over

2FF70002AC0008EB 21110002AC0008EB

host

FC

0:1:1

active_down

Setting the FC switches for NPIV


The FC fabric and the HP 3PAR StoreServ node pair is connected to support NPIV and be configured for NPIV.
On Brocade, use the portCfgNPIVPort command to set NPIV on the SAN switch the HP 3PAR StoreServ is connected to:
portCfgNPIVPort
Enables or disables NPIV functionality on a port and sets the per-port login limit.
Synopsis

portcfgnpivportenable [slot/]port
portcfgnpivportdisable [slot/]port
portcfgnpivportsetloginlimit [slot/]port login_limit

Technical white paper | HP 3PAR StoreServ Persistent Ports

On Cisco, use the following steps to enable or disable NPIV on the switch when the HP 3PAR StoreServ is connected to:
Command

Purpose

switch# config t

Enters configuration mode

switch(config)# feature npiv

Enables NPIV for all VSANs on the switch

switch(config)# no feature npiv

Disables (default) NPIV on the switch

Best practice, zoning, and multi-pathing considerations for FC and FCoE


Older HP 3PAR server HBA zoning best practices for FC are not sufficient for Persistent Ports to work properly. Following the
old best practice did not require server HBAs to have a physical path to both nodes (and in fact the same slot:port) in a node
pair. Old best practices only required that a server HBA be connected to a single HP 3PAR StoreServ node. As we have seen,
for Persistent Ports to work, a server HBA must have a physical path (be cabled to) to both the Native port and a path to
the Guest port on a node pair (see figure 1) which means it must be cabled to both nodes in the node pair.
Even though for Persistent Ports to work the server HBA must have a connection to both the Native and Guest ports on a
node pair; it is not necessary for it to be zoned to both the Native and Guest port. The server HBA may be zoned to the same
slot:port combination on both nodes in a node pair if you desire, but the only requirement is that it be zoned to the Native
port. If you zone the server HBA to both ports, load-balancing software can be used to load balance host I/Os across the
ports. Use HP 3PAR WWPN zoning only, do not use switch port zoning. See figure 7 for an example of HBAs zoning to both
nodes for Persistent Ports support and figure 8 for an example of zoning to only one node.
The server HBA can be configured to use load-balancing algorithms across the nodes if it is zoned to both nodes, but this is
not required.
Figure 7. Host HBA zoning example for Persistent Ports support, single initiator multiple target example.

Technical white paper | HP 3PAR StoreServ Persistent Ports

Figure 8. Host HBA zoning example for Persistent Ports support, single initiator multi-target example.

If an existing HP 3PAR StoreServ is being upgraded to HP 3PAR OS 3.1.3 or later and Persistent Ports functionality
is desired, check the cabling of the existing servers connected to the array and help ensure that common HBA
slot: port pairs on partner nodes are connected to the same fabric. If they arent, then zoning changes and or
cabling changes on the SAN fabric will be required.

Warning
SAN cabling changes and SAN zoning changes may require configuration changes on the server to help ensure the servers
ability to access its logical unit numbers (LUNs) on the storage.

Firmware upgrades with Persistent Ports


Firmware upgrade on the HP 3PAR StoreServ involves rebooting one controller node at a time. With Persistent Ports, when
a node reboots as part of the upgrade process its partner node logs into the FC fabric using the Guest identity. This all
occurs in a manner that is transparent to the host using the HP StoreServ array, so no multi-pathing failover has to occur as
a result. When the node being upgraded comes back online it logs into the fabric using its original Native port identity and all
the servers I/O requests are then transparently redirected back to that node.

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Technical white paper | HP 3PAR StoreServ Persistent Ports

HP Virtual Connect considerations with Persistent Ports


The HP Virtual Connect (VC) technology simplifies the networking configuration for the server administrator using an
HP Blade System c-Class environment. The HP VC technology virtualizes the connections between the server and the
LAN and SAN network infrastructure.
HP Virtual Connect Firmware 3.70 or later supports two VC SAN configurations, Fabric-Attach and Direct-Attach. With Direct
Attach FC support, users can now connect HP 3PAR Storage systems directly to the HP VC FlexFabric Module with no need
for an expensive intermediate SAN fabric. In addition to being much more cost-efficient, management of your storage
solution is made easier. Valuable IT resources are freed up, along with reduced costs.
The VC Direct Attach Auto-configured zoning (aka Implicit Zoning) allows servers connected to a Direct-Attach fabric access
to storage devices connected to the uplinks within that Direct-Attach Fabric. There is no manual zoning configuration
required. The zoning is automatically configured based on the VC fabric definitions and profile SAN connectivity selections.
When a VC Direct-Attach Fabric is using multiple uplinks (figure 6) hosts will see as many paths to the storage as there are
uplinks to the HP 3PAR StoreServ array. The concept of login-balancing or login-redistribution is not applicable in this case
as these concepts are only provided on uplinks within a VC Fabric-Attach fabric.
Persistent Ports requires that corresponding Native and Guest host ports on a node pair be connected to the same
FC fabric. This means that for a minimum configuration to provide Persistent Ports functionality where the node pair is
connected to redundant VC SAN fabrics, each node in a node pair must have at least two FC host ports configured with one
port connected to each fabric. The figure below shows configuration that supports Persistent Ports configuration
functionality.
Uplinks from a VC module in one bay should be connected to the same port pair (Native and Guest) in a pair nodes node.
Figure 9. StoreServ host port connections to HP VC FlexFabric modules.

A maximum of four uplinks per VC are available and as a result a total of eight uplinks from both VCs in a blade chassis are
available to be connected to the array. The host will see as many paths as the number of the uplinks from the VC connect to
the HP 3PAR StoreServ array.
The user can create multiple VC SANs to isolate servers and in this case isolate the servers workload (figure 8).

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Technical white paper | HP 3PAR StoreServ Persistent Ports

Figure 10. Using multiple VC SANs to isolate servers.

When connecting more than one HP 3PAR StoreServ array, it is recommended to create multiple VC SANs to isolate the
traffic of the arrays.
Figure 11. Using multiple VC SANs to isolate multiple arrays sharing a pair of HP VC FlexFabric Modules.

When connecting multiple HP 3PAR StoreServ arrays, the user should consider whether a single pair of VC FlexFabric
modules is sufficient or whether they should consider adding multiple VC FlexFabric Module pairs. Please note that the
maximum number of HP 3PAR StoreServ arrays supported by a VC FlexFabric in a Direct Attach mode is four HP 3PAR
StoreServ arrays.
Per the HP VC user and installation guide, it is recommended that all VC domains connected to the same HP 3PAR Storage
system use different HP pre-defined ranges of WWN addresses. This will help avoid storage networking issues and potential
loss of data associated with duplicate WWNs on the HP 3PAR StoreServ array system.
For more information, see the HP Virtual Connect FlexFabric Cookbook.

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Technical white paper | HP 3PAR StoreServ Persistent Ports

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Copyright 20122014 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only
warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should
be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.
4AA4-4545ENW, March 2014, Rev. 2

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