Fibre Channel hardware compatibility guide
Learn more about compatibility for cables and cards. Click any image to see a larger version.
Cable Compatibility
The following table summarizes compatibility between Apple Fibre Channel cards, Xserve RAID, Apple copper Fibre Channel cables and third-party optical transceivers. Click any image to see a larger version.
Note: Using 2 gigabit (Gb) optical transceivers reduces communications between 4 Gb devices to 2 gigabits per second (Gb/s). Likewise, communications between a 2 Gb Fibre Channel card or an Xserve RAID with a 4 Gb Fibre Channel card is reduced to 2 Gb/s.
| Apple 2 Gb SFP-SFP cable | Apple 2 Gb SFP-HSDDC2 cable | Apple 4 Gb SFP-SFP cable |
|---|---|---|---|
Appearance |
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Apple dual-channel 2 Gb Fibre Channel card (PCI, PCI-X, PCI Express) | Yes | Yes | Yes (at 2 Gb/s speeds) |
Apple dual-channel/ quad-channel 4 Gb Fibre Channel PCI Express Card | Do not use | Do not use | Yes |
Xserve RAID | Yes | Yes | Yes (at 2 Gb/s speeds) |
Promise VTrak | No | No | Yes |
Third-party Fibre Channel switches | Check with switch vendor for compatibility |
Card Compatibility
This table summarizes compatibility between PPC and Intel computers with 2 Gb and 4 Gb cards. Click any image to see a larger version.
| Apple dual-channel 2 Gb Fibre Channel card (PCI) | Apple dual-channel 2 Gb Fibre Channel Card (PCI-X) | Apple dual-channel 2 Gb Fibre Channel Card (PCI-Express) | Apple dual-channel 4 Gb Fibre Channel card | Apple quad-channel 4 Gb Fibre Channel card |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Power PC-based Macintosh computers | Yes (bootable) | Yes (bootable) | Yes (bootable) | Do not use | Do not use |
Intel-based Macintosh computers | Do not use | Do not use | Yes (Not bootable) | Yes (bootable) | Yes (bootable) |
Xserve RAID | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Promise VTrak | Do not use | Do not use | Do not use | Yes | Yes |
Appearance |
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Product Number* | LSI7202P | LSI7202XP | LSI7202EP | LSI7204EP | LSI7404EP |
Part Number | M8940G/A and /B | M9274G/C | MA900G/A | MB842G/A MA462G/A MB355G/A | MB843G/A MA465G/A MB356G/A |
Firmware versions | 2.00.17 | 1.02.18 | 1.02.18 | 1.03.14, 1.03.20, 1.03.23 | 1.03.14, 1.03.20, 1.03.23 |
FCode version (2GB HBA) | 1.00.29 | 1.00.37 | 1.00.37 |
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EFI versions (4GB HBA) |
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| 1.05.03, 1.05.05, 1.05.06 | 1.05.03, 1.05.05, 1.05.06 |
*How to determine Host Bus Adapters (HBA) Product Number:
Apple Fibre Card product numbers are located on stickers attached to the Fibre card. In addition, the part numbers are displayed in Apple System Profiler's Fibre Channel section.
Additional information
Here is a list of optical transceivers that are compatible with the 2 Gb and 4 Gb Apple Fibre Channel cards:
4 Gb short-haul transceiver (supports up to 500 m with 50/125 m MMF)
Finisar FTLF-8524-P2BNL
Finisar FTLF-8524-P2BNL-LS
2 Gb short-haul transceiver (supports up to 500 m with 50/125 m MMF)
Finisar FTRJ-8519-P1BNL
Pico Light PL-XPL-VE-S24-11
Pico Light PL-XPL-VC-S23-11
JDS Uniphase JSM-21S0AA1
JDS Uniphase JSP-21S0AA1
JDS Uniphase JDS-42S4AA1
2 Gb long-haul transceiver (supports up to 10 km with 9/125 m SMF)
Finisar FTRJ-1319-P1BTL
Note: Certain Fibre Channel switches require that specific optical transceivers be connected to them. In cases like these, the required transceiver should be connected to the switch, while the other end of the optical cable should be connected to a transceiver that is supported by the Apple Fibre Channel Card.
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