73136211. Copper cable2. Passive SFP transceiverHost adaptersEach connection from a host port on a controller to a host is made through a host adapter on the host.A host adapter can be a host bus adapter (HBA) for Fibre Channel or SAS connections, a hostchannel adapter (HCA) for InfiniBand connections, or an Ethernet adapter for iSCSI connections.The host adapter provides the interface to the internal bus of the host. For hardware redundancy, usetwo host adapters in each host computer. The two host adapters must be of the same type (HBAs,HCAs, or Ethernet adapters). For duplex controller shelves, connect each host adapter to a differentcontroller in the controller shelf to make sure that the server can access data even if one HBA or onecontroller fails.Attention: Possible loss of data access – Do not use a combination of HBAs from differentvendors in the same storage array. For the HBAs to perform correctly, use HBAs from only onemanufacturer.You can obtain information about supported host adapters from the NetApp Interoperability MatrixTool.Related informationNetApp InteroperabilityHost interface cardsA host interface card (HIC) is a component of a controller that contains host ports. A controller mightalso have host ports, called baseboard host ports, that are not on a HIC. Different types of HICs areinstalled in a controller depending on the types of host connections a storage array supports. A HIC iscabled to a host adapter on a server: a host bus adapter (HBA) for Fibre Channel or SAS, a hostchannel adapter (HCA) for InfiniBand, or an Ethernet adapter for iSCSI. The host connection mightbe direct or through a switch fabric. The host adapter in the host must support the same interfaceprotocols as the type of HIC to which it is cabled.Network interface cardsA network interface card (NIC) is an expansion board that is installed in the host server. Someservers are equipped with an integrated NIC. The NIC supports Ethernet technology. The NIC isCabling concepts and best practices | 11
