Troubleshooting Apple Fibre Channel Card connectivity issues

Resolution

If a computer with an Apple Fibre Channel Card connected to a Fibre Channel switch does not recognize Fibre-attached storage devices, following the steps below may resolve the issue.

1. Ensure that the model of Apple Fibre Card and the Apple Fibre Cables being used are compatible. For more information, see this article.
2. If using fiber optic transceivers, ensure that the same make and model of transceiver is the same on any given cable. For a list of transceivers that are compatible with Apple Fibre Cards, see this article.
3. Ensure that each Xserve RAID is running Xserve RAID Admin Tools 1.5.1 and ensure Host Cache Flushing is disabled. For more information on Host Cache Flushing, see this article. For more information on Xserve RAID Admin Tools 1.5.1, see this article.
4. Expect to receive a brief Fibre communication interruption when an Xserve RAID encounters a bad block. When bad blocks are encountered, LBA errors appear in the Xserve RAID event logs. For information on LBA errors and how to proactively remove bad blocks, see this article.
5. Ensure your switch is configured in accordance with the parameters defined in the applicable article below:
   
   • Qlogic switches
   • Emulex switches
   • All other Fibre Channel switches
6. In some instances, Fibre Channel switches may not correctly recognize Apple Fibre Channel Cards. In some cases, this issue may be resolved by using Apple Fibre Channel Utility to set the Topology to Point-to-Point, then rebooting your computer.
7. In some instances, Fibre Channel switches may not correctly recognize Apple copper SFP-SFP cables. Check with your switch vendor for Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) compatibility or for troubleshooting using supported optical SFPs.