Planning for gFilers with FC-AL adapters

Upgrade issues for gFilers with FC-AL adapters

If your gFiler has FC-AL adapters, you might need to change the jumpers on the adapter when you upgrade. For gFilers, an FC-AL adapter is the Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter (HBA) that connects to your storage subsystem.

If the gFiler is running Data ONTAP release...	Then...
6.5 or later	The operation can be 1 Gb and 2 Gb or 1 Gb only. You do not need to change adapter settings.
6.4, 6.4.1, 6.4.2x*	The operation must be 1 Gb only--the jumper must be on pins 2 and 3 no matter what firmware version is running on the gFiler.

* Data ONTAP 6.4.3 and 6.4.4 are not supported on gFilers. For filers running Data ONTAP 6.4.3 or 6.4.4, the operation can be 1 Gb and 2 Gb or 1 Gb only.

Configuring FC-AL adapters on the gFiler

The procedure described in this section applies if the FC-AL adapters on your gFiler have the following marketing and spare part numbers:

X2050A (SP-2050A)--Connects to storage
X2051A (SP-2051A)--Connects to a tape backup device

To configure FC-AL adapters, complete the following steps, using the figure for reference.

Note
Do not apply any configuration changes to FCP target-mode adapters.

Step	Action
1	Verify that your system is running the correct software and, if applicable, the correct firmware for your FC-AL adapter configuration. Caution You must verify the software and firmware requirements of your system. Having the incorrect software or firmware version on your system might cause your FC-AL adapters to function improperly.
2	Wearing an antistatic grounding leash, carefully remove the new FC-AL adapter from the plastic bag. If you are configuring existing FC-AL adapters in your system, remove these adapters from your system chassis, as described in your hardware guide. Caution Do not remove your FCP target-mode adapters or change the jumper settings on your FCP target-mode adapters.
3	If you are configuring your FC-AL adapter for...	Then...
	1 Gb and 2 Gb operations	(Optional) Verify that both jumpers are on pins 1 and 2. If not, change the jumpers to pins 1 and 2.
	1 Gb operation only Note This configuration requires that all devices connected to your FC-AL adapters are configured for 1 Gb operation.	Verify that both jumpers are on pins 2 and 3. If not, change the jumper to pins 2 and 3.
4	Verify that both jumper posts J3 and J4 on the adapter have the same jumper settings. Caution Your FC-AL adapter does not function properly if the two jumper posts have different jumper settings.
5	Install your FC-AL adapter, as described in your gFiler hardware guide.