[Info-vax] ES47 2G FC and rx2800 i4 8G FC in same VMS Cluster with Shadowsets on shared storage controller? Is this possible?

[Colin Butcher]

Brocade FC switches implement 3 speeds: 1/2/4, 2/4/8, 4/8/16, and so on.

The fastest switch you'll get that also handles the 2GigFC KGPSA in the 
ES47s will run at 8GigFC. You might be able to have cascaded switches in 
the same fabric to handle a wider range of speeds, but you'll add 
latency due to the extra switch hops and you could run into firmware 
interoperability issues.

The 16GigFC storage should run at 4GigFC (16/8/4), as should the 16GigFC 
HBAs in the rx2800s, so that might work for you as part of a migration 
design with your 4GigFC switches, changing over to faster switches later 
once the Alphas are gone.

Fibrechannel is cut-through switching, not store and forward switching.

Cheers, Colin.