Is anyone using FTS with an IBM Nseries?

There isn't anything special to configure on the VMAX once the FA ports are converted to DX ports. As long as proper zoning is in place you should be able to see the external array ports when issuing the following command:

  symsan -sid 000 list -sanports -dx all -port all -detail

Once you have masking in place you should be able to see the volumes masked to the DX ports using the following command:

  symsan -sid 123 list -sanluns -dx 7f -port 0 -wwn 500601683b60013f

In the command above the WWN is from the external array port.

I don't have personal experiece wit hthe IBM N series but the minimum enginuity requirement is 5876.159.102 so I would check that first. For the host profile the VMAX will appear as an open systems host so use that or Windows as the host type. The VMAX is Active/Active so I don't think ALUA is an appropriate setting.

You can check few things to ensure there is no infra issue:

1) Make sure your DX ports are logging on to the switch.

2) Is your IBM array logging on to the DX port of the VMAX?

3) If you have double checked your zoning, check it again.

4) Engage EMC Support to dial in to the array and check the DX port for any errors?

regards,

Saurabh

Thanks for the reply but unfortunately I'm still having problems.  I should have included the Enginuity code level in the first posting.  We are running 5876.159.102.  I believe we have the proper zoning based on reading the Design and Implementation Best Practices for EMC Symmetrix Federated Tiered Storage document and the design provided by our EMC technical engineer.  I have tried both with ALUA enabled and disabled on the igroup, neither have worked.  I have only tried Windows as the operating system.

Here is the output from the Nseries showing the VMAX DX ports logged in on two ports on he Nseries:

NSERIES1> igroup show VMAX_DX

    VMAX_DX (FCP) (ostype: windows):

        50:00:09:73:00:0c:65:e0 (logged in on: vtic, 0b)

        WWPN Alias(es): VMAX1_D09H0

        50:00:09:73:00:0c:65:e1 (logged in on: vtic, 2a)

        WWPN Alias(es): VMAX1_D09H1

        50:00:09:73:00:0c:65:e4 (logged in on: vtic, 0b)

        WWPN Alias(es): VMAX1_D10H0

        50:00:09:73:00:0c:65:e5 (logged in on: vtic, 2a)

        WWPN Alias(es): VMAX1_D10H1

Here is the output from the symsan command from our Solution Enabler host:

C:\>symsan list -sanports -dx all -port all

Symmetrix ID: 00019XXXXXXX

No results found.

This is a single fabric environment with our "A" path on port 0b on the Nseries which is zoned to ports D09H0 and D10H0 and our "B" path on port 2a on the NSeries which is zoned to ports D09H1 and D10H1.  The A and B paths are on different blades in our SAN director.  Both the Nseries an the VMAX are connected directly to the SAN director.

We configured FTS to another storage system several months ago.  In that case the symsan command would show the remote array.  Before we masked any devices to the VMAX we removed it because we were experiencing severe storage issues on the other device; since this was one of the last changes made it removed to try to correct the problem.  It turns out it was unrelated but we never re-established the connections because it wasn't needed.

Any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this issue?  Thanks.

Your zoning sounds correct and you stated that you can see the VMAX DX ports logged into the IBM frontend ports so we can see that it is working. That is typically the base level configuration that will allow you to see the IBM ports using the symsan command on the VMAX. You could try disabling and then enabling the zones to get the IBM ports to login again to the DX ports.

FTS is pretty straightforward to setup and there really isn't much to confgure once you have the zoning and masking in place. So if you still aren't seeing anything from the VMAX then I would open up a SR. If you do please post back here with the resolution so we know what fixed it.

Thanks for posting back with the solution. Good details to know.