Connecting to third-party devices

Supported interface for FAS270/FAS270c

You can connect third-party devices to your appliance through an optical Fibre Channel interface using the Fibre Channel C (orange) port on the back of the CPU module. The FAS270/FAS270c does not support connections to a parallel SCSI interface.

Note
Your appliance has one external Fibre Channel port that you can use for "target mode" to support FCP SAN, or "initiator mode" to support tape devices. This port supports one or the other, but not both concurrently.

Supported interface for FAS250

You can connect third-party devices to your appliance through a copper Fibre Channel interface. The FAS250 does not support connections to a parallel SCSI interface or optical Fibre Channel interface.

Rules for connecting the third-party devices

Observe the following rules for connecting the third-party devices:

Use a cable that is
- Appropriate to the Fibre Channel connection on your appliance
- Of an approved length for the third-party device
  Note
  See the documentation for the third-party device.
Check the System Configuration Guide at http://now.netapp.com to verify support for your third-party device. An unsupported tape backup device might cause the appliance to halt.
For additional information about Fibre Channel cables, see http://now.netapp.com/NOW/knowledge/docs/san/guides/FC_cable/.

Preparing the third-party devices

To prepare the third-party devices, turn off all third-party devices and go to the following sections, as applicable: