IBM System z10 EC Reference Manual

Also see for System z10 EC: Reference guide

Contents

17Extended distance FICON is transparent to operating sys-tems and applies to all the FICON Express4 and FICONExpress2 features carrying native FICON traffic (CHPIDtype FC). For exploitation, the control unit must support thenew IU pacing protocol.The channel will default to current pacing values whenoperating with control units which cannot exploit extendeddistance FICON.Concurrent UpdateThe FICON Express4 SX and LX features may be addedto an existing z10 EC concurrently. This concurrent updatecapability allows you to continue to run workloads throughother channels while the new FICON Express4 features arebeing added. This applies to CHPID types FC and FCP.Continued Support of Spanned Channels and LogicalPartitionsThe FICON Express4 and FICON Express2, FICON andFCP (CHPID types FC and FCP) channel types, can bedefined as a spanned channel and can be shared amonglogical partitions within and across LCSSs.Modes of OperationThere are two modes of operation supported by FICONExpress4 and FICON Express2 SX and LX. These modesare configured on a channel-by-channel basis – each ofthe four channels can be configured in either of two sup-ported modes.• Fibre Channel (CHPID type FC), which is native FICONor FICON Channel-to-Channel (server-to-server)• Fibre Channel Protocol (CHPID type FCP), which sup-ports attachment to SCSI devices via Fibre Channelswitches or directors in z/VM, z/VSE, and Linux onSystem z10 environmentsNative FICON ChannelsNative FICON channels and devices can help to reducebandwidth constraints and channel contention to enableeasier server consolidation, new application growth,large business intelligence queries and exploitation of OnDemand Business.The FICON Express4, FICON Express2 and FICONExpress channels support native FICON and FICONChannel-to-Channel (CTC) traffic for attachment to serv-ers, disks, tapes, and printers that comply with the FICONarchitecture. Native FICON is supported by all of thez10 EC operating systems. Native FICON and FICONCTC are defined as CHPID type FC.Because the FICON CTC function is included as part ofthe native FICON (FC) mode of operation, FICON CTC isnot limited to intersystem connectivity (as is the case withESCON), but will support multiple device definitions.FICON Support for Cascaded DirectorsNative FICON (FC) channels support cascaded directors.This support is for a single hop configuration only. Two-director cascading requires a single vendor high integrityfabric. Directors must be from the same vendor since cas-caded architecture implementations can be unique. Thistype of cascaded support is important for disaster recov-ery and business continuity solutions because it can helpprovide high availability, extended distance connectivity,and (particularly with the implementation of 2 Gb/sec InterSwitch Links) has the potential for fiber infrastructure costsavings by reducing the number of channels for intercon-necting the two sites.