VPlex encapsulation

Hi,

We are in the process of planning some fairly major migrations using VPLex.

We will be using the VPlex encapsulation process to virtualise our existing LUNs behind the Vplex, then at a future date migrate these onto new Storage.

So onto my question...

During previous migrations using HDS storage we have used a product called Hitachi Tiered Storage manager (pretty similar to what the VPlex does).

With HTSM it is possible to map the LUNs being virtualised to a spare port on the Source Subsystem then virtualise these behind the target Subsystem prior to the Host cutover

ie. the host is connected to ports 1a and 1b on the source subsystem for instance, however the LUNs assigned to that host are also presented down a different pair of ports ie. 1c & 1d and it is these ports that connect to the virtualisation Subsystem.
(SCSI reservations etc. are handled by setting a mode on the externalistion ports)

What this means is that there is much less downtime when you come to cut the Servers over to the new storage as you don't have to wait for the "encapsulation" process to complete. Furthermore, it is also possible to gather the UID/WWID information up front, which saves a lot of time bringing the virtualised LUNs back into the OS.

Is there similar functionality with VPlex ?

e.g. Can I map my host LUNs to a spare port on my source Subsystem, connect my VPlex to these ports, and encapsulate the LUNS up front prior to the host cutover, or does the VPlex need to sit in the datapath post encapsulation for some reason ?