HP AE370A - Brocade 4Gb SAN Switch 4/12 Administrator'S Manual Download

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Fabric OS 5.2.x administrator guide 221

router cost IFLs to another port group (for example ports 8–15). For VEX_Ports, you would use ports in

the range of 16-23 or 24-31.

You can connect multiple EX_Ports or VEX_Ports to the same edge fabric. The EX_Ports can all be on the

same 400 MP Router or 4/256 SAN Director with an B-Series MP Router blade, or they can be on multiple

routers. Multiple EX_Ports create multiple paths for frame routing. Multiple paths can be used in two

different, but compatible, ways:

•

Failing over from one path to another

•

Using multiple paths in parallel to increase effective data transmission rates

EX_Ports and VEX_Ports, when connected, are assigned different router port costs and traffic will flow only

through the EX_Ports. Routing failover is automatic, but it can result in frames arriving out of order when

frames take different routes. The 400 MP Router and 4/256 SAN Director with an B-Series MP Router

blade can force in-order delivery, although frame delivery is delayed immediately after the path failover.
Source EX_Ports can balance loads across multiple destination EX_Ports attached to the same edge fabric

using exchange IDs from the routed frames as keys to distribute the traffic.

Setting a proxy PID

When a 400 MP Router or 4/256 SAN Director with an B-Series MP Router blade is first configured, the

PIDs for the proxy devices are automatically assigned. Proxy PIDs (as well as phantom domain IDs) persist

across reboots.
The most common situation in which you would set a proxy PID is when you replace a switch. If you

replace the switch and want to continue using the old PID assignments, you can configure it to do so; this

value remains in the system even if the blade is replaced. So you can minimize disruption to the edge

fabrics by setting the proxy PIDs to the same values used with the old hardware.
The

fcrProxyConfig

command displays or sets the persistent configuration of proxy devices. Used with

the

-s

slot

option, it can also influence the assignment of the xlate domain port number (which is used to

determine the Area_ID field of the PID) and the Port_ID field. Like the PIDs in a fabric, a proxy PID must be

unique. If the

slot

argument results in a duplicate PID, it will be ignored. Proxy PIDs are automatically

assigned to devices imported into a fabric, starting at f001. For Proxy IDs projected to a McDATA edge

fabric in McDATA fabric mode, use valid ALPAs (lower 8 bits).
See the

fcrProxyConfig

command in the

Fabric OS Command Reference Manual

for more details.

Use the

fcrXlateConfig

command to display or assign a preferred domain ID to a translate domain.

See the

fcrXlateConfig

command in the

Fabric OS Command Reference Manual

for more details.

Matching fabric parameters

By default, EX_Ports and VEX_Ports detect, autonegotiate, and configure the fabric parameters without user

intervention.
You can optionally configure these parameters manually. Execute the

configure

command on a switch

in the edge fabric to change the fabric parameters of a switch in the edge fabric. Execute the

portCfgEXPort

command to change the fabric parameters of an EX_Port on the 400 MP Router or

4/256 SAN Director with a B-Series MP Router blade. If you want to change the fabric parameters of a

VEX_Port, then use the

portCfgVEXPort

command.

If using the

-p

option with the

portCfgEXPort

command, note that the PID mode for the 400 MP Router

or 4/256 SAN Director with an B-Series MP Router blade (the backbone fabric PID mode) and the edge

fabric PID mode do not need to match, but the PID mode for the EX_port or VEX_Port and the edge fabric

to which it is attached must (the

-t

option disables the Negotiate fabric parameter feature). Otherwise, the

PID mode is autonegotiated. The various edge fabrics may have different PID modes.
Fabric parameter settings must be the same on EX_Ports or VEX_Ports and on the fabrics to which they are

connected: E_D_TOV (error-detect timeout value), R_A_TOV (resource-allocation timeout value), and PID

format. You can set the PID format on an EX_Port when you configure an interfabric link.
The default values for E_D_TOV and R_A_TOV for an EX_Port or VEX_Port match those values on other

switches. Only if you have adjusted these parameters for the fabric do you need to adjust them for an

EX_Port or VEX_Port.