SAN Host Entries

A SAN host entry is a record in Oracle FS System Manager (GUI) that represents a group of one or more initiators. An initiator is the World Wide Name (WWN) of an FC HBA port or the name of an iSCSI initiator. You create host entries manually using the GUI, or automatically using Oracle FS Path Manager (FSPM).

Note: The GUI uses the term host to refer to SAN host entries. Also, the term SAN host refers to any computer that is connected to the Oracle FS System by way of a Storage Area Network.

The Oracle FS System can contain the following types of SAN host entries:

Unassociated host

The Oracle FS System automatically creates unassociated SAN host entries when an initiator is discovered on the SAN. The name of the initiator and the unassociated SAN host entry are the same.

Associated host

A host entry that an administrator associates with one or more host initiators. Use the Associate Hosts option to manually associate the initiators as associated hosts. After associating the initiators to the host, the associated host is a host entry, referred to in the GUI as a host.

FSPM host

A host that FSPM associates with one or more host initiators after logging in to the Pilot. FSPM manages the association of the initiators on the FSPM host to the FSPM host name.

The FSPM host entry contains the following information:

The name of the FSPM host, which is the SAN host that runs FSPM
The list of initiators, which includes the FC ports in the host system, and, if iSCSI is configured, the names of the iSCSI initiators

If the Oracle FS System has LUNs, you can map them to any type of host entry. Mapping the LUNs makes them visible to all of the initiators that the host entry owns.

You can move initiators into associated host entries as necessary. When you move an initiator from an unassociated host to an associated host, the system adds the unassociated initiator to the host entry and deletes the unassociated host entry. The system moves the mapped LUNs to the host entry and retains the LUN mappings.

For example, you want to move a LUN (mapped to LUN number 3) to a host that contains a LUN (mapped to LUN number 5). After the move, the associated host contains both LUNs, each mapped to its respective LUN number. If the new and existing LUN numbers are the same, the Oracle FS System assigns a new LUN number to the newly mapped LUN.

Moving initiators from one associated host entry to another requires the following actions:

Remove the initiator from the first host entry.
Associate the initiator to the new host entry.

The LUN mappings from the original host entry are not applied to the new host entry. If, after moving the initiator, there are no more initiators that are associated with the original host entry, then the Oracle FS System removes that entry.

When you delete a SAN host entry, the Oracle FS System creates an unassociated host for each initiator that is connected to the system. When deleting a host, you have the following options:

Keep all of the LUN mappings that belong to the deleted host with each new unassociated host. Keeping the LUN mappings allows you to map a LUN to another host.
Delete all of the LUN mappings that belong to the deleted host.