HPE SAN Essentials II: Advanced B-series Networking

This course is designed for advanced B-Series SAN administrators and is a follow-up to the SAN Essentials I: Administration Fundamentals class. It does not cover basics since those are discussed in the  Fundamentals training. This course introduces new topics such  as advanced Fibre Channel (FC) features, additional B-Series management options, SAN extension technologies, advanced SAN security, and hardware installation. All practical parts are based on B-Series devices. This course helps students gain the experience  needed to tackle the challenges of working in medium-sized and enterprise-class B-Series SAN environments.

Audience

Intermediate to advanced technical  professionals seeking a learning path that  includes more advanced knowledge of SAN  technologies and experience in HPE B-series  SAN environments.

Prerequisites

• HPE SAN Essentials I: Administration Fundamentals (HM9Q1S)
• A good technical understanding of networking and storage concepts
• Basic experience in managing Windows systems

Course Objectives

At the conclusion of this course, you should be  able to:

• Explain advanced FC terminology
• Describe the role of the principal switch
• Talk about FCP routing
• Explain ISLs and trunking
• Explain advanced FC concepts ,SAN services, and associated well-known addresses
• Describe FC stack, Classes of Service, and frame structure
• Discuss additional zoning types (Peer, TDPZ, TI, QoS) as well as ingress rate limiting
• List and talk about SAN extension options, B-Series Extended Fabrics, and Buffer-to[1]Buffer Credits
• Describe FCIP technology including tunnels, circuits FCIP QoS, performance and security
• Discuss FC-FC routing including definitions and elements.
• Talk about Virtual Fabrics including IDs, types of logical switches and links between them
• Present SAN security in both theory and practice (policy distribution, SCC, DCC, FCS policies as well as IP Filter and AUTH policies)
• Talk about performance monitoring on HPE StoreFabric B-series products (Fabric Vision, with focus on Flow Vision and MAPS)
• Talk about additional SAN management options and switch firmware
• Present basic troubleshooting and diagnostics methods by using SAN Network Advisor, Web Tools, and CLI.
• Perform Firmware upgrade

Detailed Course Outline

FCP Routing and Trunking

• Fabric Terminology
• Principal switch
• Upstream and downstream links
• Fabric Initialization Process
• Basics of FSPF and frame routing within a fabric
• FCping
• Inter-Chassis Link
• Trunking

Advanced Fibre Channel Theory and Services

• FC stack and layers
• Class of service
• Frame structure and frame head
• Advanced Fibre Channel terminology
• Flow control
• Link and fabric services
• Well known addresses
• Fabric and N_Port login sequence
• Registered State Change Notification
• Peer Zoning
• Target Driven Zoning
• QoS zoning
• Virtual Channels implementation
• QoS naming convention
• QoS over routers
• QoS configuration
• TI Zoning theory
• TI Zoning implementation
• TI Zone Failover
• TI and FSPF
• TI Zoning configuration
• Ingress Rate Limiting

Long Distance Connectivity

• Why extend the SAN?
• Long distance cabling
• HPE Supported SAN extension technologies
• Cables and SFPs
• C/DWDM
• Fabric OS Extended Fabrics theory and configuration
• Working with Buffer-to-Buffer Credits

Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP)

• FCIP and its role in SAN extension
• FCIP Tunnels
• FCIP Circuits
• FCIP Trunking
• FCIP performance and security
• Selective Acknowledgement
• Compression
• Adaptive Rate Limiting (ARL)
• FCIP QoS
• FastWrite and Open Systems Tape Pipelining
• FCIP network best practices, advantages and disadvantages.
• Basic configuration and analysis overview
• FC-FC Routing & Virtual Fabrics Introduction
• SAN scaling and Fabric services limits
• LSAN Zoning
• EX_Ports
• Domains
• Trunking
• Integration of Fibre Channel routing and FCIP
• Supported platforms
• Virtual fabrics overview and terminology
• Logical Switch types
• FIDs and Domain IDs
• ISL Sharing
• ISL Types
• Basic configuration
• VF Supported platforms

SAN Security

• Security policies list
• Policy Database Distribution
• Switch Connection Control (SCC) policy
• Setting Device Connection Control (DCC) policy
• Fabric Configuration Server (FCS)
• FCS Switch Operations
• Authentication policy for fabric elements (FCAP and DH[1]CHAP)
• IP Filter policies and rules
• How to configure them
• Encryption and compression

Performance

• B-Series Fabric Vision Introduction
• Fabric Vision Elements
• Dashboards
• Flow Vision Overview
• What is Flow?
• Flow Vision Elements – Flow Monitor
• Flow Monitor Example
• Flow Vision Elements – Flow Learning
• Flow Learning Example
• Flow Vision Elements – Flow Generator
• SIM port attributes and configuration
• Flow Generator Example
• Flow Generator + Monitor
• Flow Generator + Monitor Example
• Flow Vision Elements – Flow Mirroring
• Flow Mirror Example
• Flow Vision - IO Insight and VM Insight
• Monitoring and Alerting Policy Suite (MAPS)
• MAPS monitoring categories
• MAPS Groups, and Conditions
• MAPS Rules, and Policies
• MAPS Dashboard
• Port monitoring using MAPS
• Monitoring Flow Vision Flow Monitor data with MAPS
• Fabric performance impact monitoring using MAPS
• Other Features: Fabric Performance Impact (FPI) Monitoring
• Other Features: Configuration and Operational Monitoring Policy Automation Services Suite (COMPASS)
• Other Featureas: ClearLink Diagnostics, Forward Error Correction (FEC), Credit Loss/Buffer Credit Recovery
• Fabric Vision licensing
• SAN Network Advisor and Fabric Vision technology

Management and Troubleshooting

• HPE SAN Network Advisor - its features and  editions
• Configuration backup
• CP details for B-Series switches and Directors
• Firmware management and upgrade process
• General approach
• Information to collect
• Supportshow and supportsave
• Common issues
• Tools and features to use
• Diagnostic Tools and D_Port use
• Checking FRUs status via SAN Network Advisor, Web Tools, and CLI

Detailed lab outline

• FC Routing (locating Principal Switch, changing
• Link Cost, working with trunks)
• Fabric Channel Theory (Optional)
• Configuring Traffic Isolation zoning (CLI)
• Installing and configuring SAN Network Advisor
• Configuring Traffic Isolation zoning (Web Tools)
• TI zone checking (SNA)
• Configuring QoS zoning (SNA)
• Long distance (managing buffers)
• Configuring FCIP (SNA)
• Configuring Virtual Fabrics
• Security - users and RBAC (SNA)
• Fabric Vision (Flow Vision, MAPS, thresholds, reporting) (SNA)
• Configuring and troubleshooting zoning (SNA)
• Checking health and troubleshooting switches (SNA)
• Checking health and troubleshooting switches (CLI)
• D_port functionality