vHBA Topology
The following figure displays a typical vHBA topology.
An IB connection exists between the Oracle Fabric Interconnect and host servers supporting the Oracle Virtual Networking vHBA host software stack. Up to 24 IB ports are supported. A 2-port FC I/O card connects to a SAN FC switch fabric. All the host server vHBAs multiplex through the FC ports on the I/O card. A storage array is attached to the switch fabric. Initiators are host servers that request I/O processing and actively seek out and interact with target devices on the SAN. Targets are passive storage devices (arrays, JBODs, RAIDs, and so on) that respond to requests sent by initiators. The fabric interconnect itself is an I/O initiator that provides a conduit for host-server initiators to send commands to the fabric.
Note - Some target devices also function as data replicators. In this case, these targets function as I/O initiators replicating data (syncing) to other locations.
The vHBA host software defines how the FC protocol is transported over IB. Without this software and the details of the transport, the vHBA will not function and the payload cannot be sent over IB.
Both initiators and targets have a WWNN and a WWPN. A 2-port FC card has one WWNN, and each port has its own WWPN. These IDs register with one another to establish communication.
NPIV enables multiple FC initiators (WWNs) to log in and occupy a single physical port. The switch (between the Oracle Fabric Interconnect and the storage device) must support NPIV and NPIV must be turned on. Some switches might require a software upgrade to support NPIV.
Without NPIV, a vHBA cannot log into the fabric. Some switches require you to configure the maximum number of NPIV logins.
Note - Reset the Oracle fabric interconnect's FC I/O module whenever the firmware is changed on the upstream FC switch. The I/O module rediscovers the updated FC settings with the set iocard slot reset command.