System requirements

Required hardware and cables

You must have the following equipment for a MetroCluster. See the System Configuration Guide to confirm that this information is current.

Required equipment	MetroCluster	MetroCluster with QuickLoop	Fabric Attached MetroCluster
Distance between nodes	30 to 500 meters	500 meters to 10 kilometers	500 meters to 30 kilometers
Appliance type for nodes	Two of the same type of any F800 series appliance	Two F880 or two F825 appliances
Storage	Up to the maximum for mirrored clusters. See the System Configuration Guide for storage maximums.	Four or eight TB of storage of DS14 disk shelves in the cluster. The DS14 disk shelves must have optical LRCs.	Up to 32 TB of storage for DS14 and DS14mk2 FC disk shelves.
Cluster adapter supported	IB cluster adapter VI cluster adapter, Rev. B	VI cluster adapter, Rev. B	VI-MC cluster adapter
FC HBA (FC HBA for Disk) adapters	None	Two per node The ports on the FC HBA adapters are labeled 1 and 2. However, the software refers to them as a and b. You see these labeling conventions in the user interface and system messages displayed on the console.
Switches	None	Two 16-port, Brocade 3800 switches or two 8-port Brocade 3200 switches.	Four 16-port, Brocade 3800 switches, or Four 8-port Brocade 3200 switches, or two Brocade 3800 switches on one side of the cluster and two Brocade 3200 switches on the other side of the cluster.
SFP modules	None	Two per ISL, long distance One per switch port used, short distance	Two per ISL, long distance One per switch port used, short distance
Cables	Four SC/LC FC-AL to disk shelf cables Two SC/LC VI cluster adapter-to-switch cables Four SC/LC disk shelf-to-switch cables	Four SC/LC FC-AL to disk shelf cables Two SC/LC VI cluster adapter-to-switch cables Four SC/LC disk shelf-to-switch cables Four LC/LC node-to-switch cables Two LC/LC ISL (Inter Switch Links) cables, not provided in shipment	LC/LC node-to-switch cables SC/LC (for DS14) or LC/LC (for DS14mk2 FC) disk shelf-to-switch cables Two LC/LC ISL cables, not provided in shipment HSSDC2-to-HSSDC2 for DS14 disk shelves with ESH modules or DB-9 to DB-9 shelf-to-shelf cabled

Required software, firmware, and licenses

You must have the following software, firmware, and licenses for a MetroCluster or Fabric Attached MetroCluster:

Fabric Attached MetroClusters--Data ONTAP 6.4.1 or later
Non-switched MetroClusters--Data ONTAP 6.2 or later
MetroClusters with QuickLoop--Data ONTAP 6.3.1 or later
Diagnostics 3.1 or later
Firmware:
- Filer firmware--See the NOW Web site at http://now.netapp.com/NOW/tools/releasetable.shtml for current filer firmware.
- Disk firmware--See the NOW Web site at http://now.netapp.com/NOW/download/tools/diskfw/ for current disk firmware.
- Switch firmware--See the NOW Web site at http://now.netapp.com/NOW for the current switch firmware.
Node licenses that must be installed on any MetroCluster:
- syncmirror_local
- cluster_remote
- cluster
Extended Fabric license installed on the switches, for Fabric Attached MetroClusters separated by more than 10 kilometers and up to 30 kilometers.

Required manuals

The following list specifies the manuals you should have available when installing a MetroCluster:

Brocade SilkWorm 3200 Hardware Reference
Brocade SilkWorm 3800 Hardware Reference
Brocade SilkWorm 3900 Hardware Reference
Brocade Fabric OS Reference
Data ONTAP System Administrator's Guide
Data Protection Guide
F800 Series Field Service Guide