The scenario depicts a resilient storage network connection in a Cisco and NetApp FlexPod environment. To achieve the failover and load-balancing capability shown, storage VLANs must be configured on the ports that connect the Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnects (FIs) to the NetApp storage system.

There are two primary, officially sanctioned methods for this connectivity:

1. Switched Connectivity: The FIs are connected to upstream switches (e.g., Cisco Nexus), which in turn connect to the NetApp storage. In this design, the ports on the FIs are configured as uplink ports.

2. Direct-Attached Connectivity: The FIs are connected directly to the NetApp storage controllers. In this design, the ports on the FIs are configured as appliance ports.

Both configurations require the storage VLANs to be accessible on these respective port types to allow traffic to flow from the UCS blades to the storage array.

C. fabric ports: These ports are internal to the UCS domain, connecting the Fabric Interconnects to the I/O Modules (IOMs) in the blade chassis, not to the external storage array.

D. switch ports: This is a generic term. In UCS Manager, ports are assigned specific roles like "uplink" or "appliance" for external connectivity; "switch port" is not a specific role for this purpose.

1. Cisco UCS Manager Network Management Guide, Release 4.0, "Ports and Port Channels" Chapter:

Section: Ethernet Ports: This section defines the different port roles. It states, "An appliance port is a port on the fabric interconnect that is configured to connect to a storage device." It also defines, "An uplink port is a port on the fabric interconnect that is configured to carry traffic between the fabric interconnect and the network." This confirms that both are valid, distinct port types for external connectivity, with appliance ports being specific to storage.

2. NetApp Technical Report TR-4334: "FlexPod Express with Cisco UCS Mini and NetApp FAS2500 Series," Page 18:

Section: Cisco UCS Configuration: This document describes a direct-attach configuration. It explicitly states, "The ports on the fabric interconnects that are used to connect to the NetApp controllers are configured as appliance ports." This validates the use of appliance ports for direct storage connection.

3. Cisco Validated Design (CVD): "FlexPod Datacenter with Cisco UCS 4.0, VMware vSphere 6.7 U1, and NetApp ONTAP 9.5," Page 43:

Section: Cisco UCS Configuration > Configure VLANs: This document describes the more common switched FlexPod architecture. It details the VLAN configuration, stating, "The VLANs created for the infrastructure and tenants are trunked on the uplink ports from the Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnects to the Cisco Nexus switches." This validates the use of uplink ports for storage connectivity in a switched environment.