Configure a vHBA

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Use this procedure to enable a minimum vHBA configuration.

Note - VHBAs are supported only for the virtualization switch. VHBAs are not supported for the leaf switch.

Create a named server profile and bind it to a physical-server connection.
```
add server-profile myserver ceasar@iowa:ServerPort24
```

Find an FC card on which you can terminate a vHBA.

For example, sanFc2Port16GbCard.

show iocard
slot        state    descr    type                   v-resources
----------------------------------------------------------------
1           up/up             sanFc2Port16GbCard     0
2           up/up             sanFc2Port16GbCard     0
3           up/up             sanFc2Port16GbCard     0
4           up/up             sanFc2Port16GbCard     0
4 records displayed

Find an FC slot/port to which you will assign a vHBA.

In this example, 2/1 is used:

show ioport                                                          
name       type             state       descr         v-resources
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1/1        sanFc16GbPort     up/up                     0
1/2        sanFc16GbPort     up/up                     0
2/1        sanFc16GbPort     up/up                     0
2/2        sanFc16GbPort     up/up                     0
3/1        sanFc16GbPort     up/up                     0
3/2        sanFc16GbPort     up/up                     0
4/1        sanFc16GbPort     up/up                     0
4/2        sanFc16GbPort     up/up                     0
8 records displayed

The FC port (sanFc16GbPort) must be connected to an FC switch. In this case, the show ioport state will be up/up. If you see up/down, the cable might be disconnected from the port or the port could be disabled on the remote switch.

An FC port can auto negotiate its speed up to the following speeds:

4, 8, and 16 Gbps
8 and 16 Gbps

Create a vHBA, bind it to the server profile, and specify a slot /port on which to terminate the vHBA.
```
add vhba vhba1.myserver 2/1
```
In this example, the vHBA is vhba1 and the server profile is myserver. The FC slot is 2, and the FC port is 1. When you add a vHBA and specify a termination point, a vHBA is automatically created on the server (assuming the correct host software is installed). If devices connect through that port, the hosts will begin to discover the targets.

To create another vHBA, repeat Step 3 and Step 4.
Note - vHBAs must be distinct on each chassis. For example, a vHBA named VH1.SP1 cannot exist on two different chassis that connect to one or more common servers.

Verify that the vHBA was created and its state is up.
```
show -list vhba vhba1.myserver
-----------------------------------------------------------------
name           vhba1.myserver
state          up/up
fabric-state   initialized
if             2/1
if-state       
wwnn           50:01:39:71:00:02:D1:1E
wwpn           50:01:39:70:00:02:D1:1E
map    
local-id       0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1 record displayed
```
The state is up when the FC port is connected to a reachable FC switch.

If the state is resourceUnavailable, there is no FC connection. This field also displays resourceUnavailable when the server profile is not bound to a physical host resource, or the host cannot communicate.

There are three-levels of oper-status on the Oracle Fabric Interconnect: card, port, and vhba.

The access-control zoning on the switch must be set up properly in advance. Go to the switch and verify that the WWNs have logged in properly. Otherwise, you not see the appropriate devices through the vHBA in the CLI. When you perform the setup correctly, the prescan feature enables an unbound vHBA to display the discovered targets and LUNs in the network environment. At this point, an unbound vHBA can be bound to a server profile. For more information, see Target Prescan and Rescan.

The Oracle fabric interconnect supports both port zoning and soft zoning. In most cases, port zoning is preferred, but the method of zoning you use in your SAN is matter of choice based on how the SAN is connected.

Related Information

vHBA Attributes and State