Stephen Foskett's
Symmetrix World Wide Name Calculator
Version 2.5

This version has been superceded by an updated one! Look here instead!

This calculator allows you to convert EMC Serial and Port Numbers into their corresponding Fibre Channel World Wide Names for use with Volume Logix and other applications. You can also convert WWNs back to Serial Numbers and ports! This calculator has NOT been updated to function with the new 4-port Fibre cards or DMX Symmetrix! Look here for an updated version!

This app is written in JavaScript so you can save the page and use it without being connected to any server.

Tested in Navigator 4 and IE 5. Different browsers may offer limited or non-functional support for JavaScript, so this calculator may not work for you. Be sure to verify the results by hand using the formula below until you are comfortable with the results.

Enter Symmetrix Information:
Serial Number:
(eg: 123456789)
World Wide Name:
(eg: 50060481D6F34542)
Port Number:
(eg: 03a)

Here's how the SSN/WWN conversion works. Reverse the process to convert from WWN to SSN.

Remember that this is for EMC Symmetrix ports only, not Sun HBAs. The only known way to get an HBA WWN is to look for it when the card is configured on bootup.

  1. All EMC WWNs begin 5006048. These are your first 7 digits.
  2. Find the Serial Number for a Symmetrix. This is a 9-digit number and can often be found printed inside the Symmetrix cabinet or in the EMC Control Center software. (eg: 123456789)
  3. Convert the serial number to binary. (eg: 111010110111100110100010101)
  4. Remove the last two bits of the binary serial number and set these aside. (eg: 01)
  5. Convert the remaining binary number to hexadecimal. This is your next 7 WWN digits. (eg: 1110101101111001101000101 becomes 1d6f345)
  6. Find the FA port number and letter. (eg: 03a)
  7. Encode the port letter as follows: A becomes 00, B becomes 01 (eg: A in our example becomes 00)
  8. Place these two binary digits at the end of the two bits saved above. (eg: 0100)
  9. Convert this to hexadecimal. This is your next WWN digit. (eg: 4)
  10. Finally, subtract one from the port number and convert this to hexadecimal. This is your final WWN digit. (eg: 3 becomes 2 which converts to 2 in hex)
  11. This should give you a 16-digit hexadecimal number corresponding to the WWN for that port. (eg: SSN 123456789, port 03a becomes 50060481D6F34542)

What's changed?


Written by Stephen Foskett, stephen at fosketts dot net

The permanent home of this calculator is at Gweep dot Net.