VSC7148

The VSC7148 is typically used to distribute Fibre Channel signals to an array of disk drives in managed and un- managed arrays. The use of an I2C Interface allows access to status information and control of configuration through an easily-implemented, industrystandard, protocol.

The VSC7148 easily interfaces with the SSC100 or VSC120 Enclosure Management Controllers to offer unsurpassed diagnostic capability within the industry. The SSC100 (or VSC120) communicates with the VSC7148 through the I2C interface to provide complete loop status, configuration, and diagnostic control to the host. In this configuration, up to fifteen drives on a single loop may be accessed with a single Fibre Channel connector.

Serial data from the loop enters the FC-AL port of the SSC100 where the data is processed, returned to the loop, and handed to the VSC7148 for drive communications. In addition, the VSC7148 is the only device on the market that supports two loops within a single device. The External Loop may be configured for all Fibre Channel data traffic while the SnoopLoop may be used for monitoring or isolating specific ports for diagnostics. With this architecture, a design engineer has the flexibility to offer full Fibre Channel support on the External Loop while isolating error conditions and performing loop diagnostics on the Snoop Loop. When coupled with the SSC100's initiator features, the VSC7148 can provide fault isolation conditions and JBOD quality characteristics back to the host in realtime. When used in a managed JBOD application, the VSC7148/SSC100 chipset allows fault isolation down to the lowest Field Replaceable Unit (FRU) to reduce downtime and support costs, and lead to higher availability.