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Configuring E-ports on Brocade FC switches using FC ports

For Brocade switches on which the Inter-Switch Links (ISL) are configured using FC ports, you must configure the switch ports on each switch fabric that connect the ISL. These ISL ports are also known as E-ports.

  • All of the ISLs in an FC switch fabric must be configured with the same speed and distance.

  • The combination of the switch port and small form-factor pluggable (SFP) must support the speed.

  • The supported ISL distance depends on the FC switch model.

  • The ISL link must have a dedicated lambda, and the link must be supported by Brocade for the distance, switch type, and Fabric Operating System (FOS).

You must not use the L0 setting when issuing the portCfgLongDistance command. Instead, you should use the LE or LS setting to configure the distance on the Brocade switches with a minimum of LE distance level.

You must not use the LD setting when issuing the portCfgLongDistance command when working with xWDM/TDM equipment. Instead, you should use the LE or LS setting to configure the distance on the Brocade switches.

You must perform this task for each FC switch fabric.

The following tables show the ISL ports for different switches and different number of ISLs in a configuration running ONTAP 9.4. The examples shown in this section are for a Lenovo B6505 FC SAN switch switch. You should modify the examples to use ports that apply to your switch type.

You must use the required number of ISLs for your configuration.

Switch modelISL portSwitch port
Lenovo B6505 FC SAN switchISL port 120
ISL port 221
ISL port 322
ISL port 423
Lenovo B6510 FC SAN switch and Brocade DCX 8510-8ISL port 140
ISL port 241
ISL port 342
ISL port 443
ISL port 544
ISL port 645
ISL port 746
ISL port 847
Brocade G610ISL port 120
ISL port 221
ISL port 322
ISL port 423
Brocade G620, G620-1, G630, and G630-1, and Lenovo ThinkSystem DB630S 32G FC SAN switchISL port 140
ISL port 241
ISL port 342
ISL port 443
ISL port 544
ISL port 645
ISL port 746
ISL port 847
  1. Configure the port speed: portcfgspeed port-number speed

    You must use the highest common speed that is supported by the components in the path.

    In the following example, there are two ISLs for each fabric:

    FC_switch_A_1:admin> portcfgspeed 20 16
    FC_switch_A_1:admin> portcfgspeed 21 16
         
    FC_switch_B_1:admin> portcfgspeed 20 16
    FC_switch_B_1:admin> portcfgspeed 21 16
  2. Configure the trunking mode for each ISL: portcfgtrunkport port-number

    • If you are configuring the ISLs for trunking (IOD), set the portcfgtrunk port-number port-number to 1 as shown in the following example:

      FC_switch_A_1:admin> portcfgtrunkport 20 1
      FC_switch_A_1:admin> portcfgtrunkport 21 1
      FC_switch_B_1:admin> portcfgtrunkport 20 1
      FC_switch_B_1:admin> portcfgtrunkport 21 1

    • If you do not want to configure the ISL for trunking (OOD), set portcfgtrunk port-number to 0 as shown in the following example:

      FC_switch_A_1:admin> portcfgtrunkport 20 0
      FC_switch_A_1:admin> portcfgtrunkport 21 0
      FC_switch_B_1:admin> portcfgtrunkport 20 0
      FC_switch_B_1:admin> portcfgtrunkport 21 0
  3. Enable QoS traffic for each of the ISL ports: portcfgqos --enable port-number

    In the following example, there are two ISLs per switch fabric:

    FC_switch_A_1:admin> portcfgqos --enable 20
    FC_switch_A_1:admin> portcfgqos --enable 21
         
    FC_switch_B_1:admin> portcfgqos --enable 20
    FC_switch_B_1:admin> portcfgqos --enable 21
  4. Verify the settings: portCfgShow command

    The following example shows the output for a configuration that uses two ISLs cabled to port 20 and port 21. The Trunk Port setting should be ON for IOD and OFF for OOD:

     
    Ports of Slot 0   12  13   14 15    16  17  18  19   20  21 22  23    24  25  26  27 
    ----------------+---+---+---+---+-----+---+---+---+----+---+---+---+-----+---+---+---
    Speed             AN  AN  AN  AN    AN  AN  8G  AN   AN  AN  16G  16G    AN  AN  AN  AN 
    Fill Word         0   0   0   0     0   0   3   0    0   0   3   3     3   0   0   0  
    AL_PA Offset 13   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  ..   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  .. 
    Trunk Port        ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  ..   ON  ON  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  .. 
    Long Distance     ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  ..   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  .. 
    VC Link Init      ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  ..   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  .. 
    Locked L_Port     ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  ..   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  .. 
    Locked G_Port     ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  ..   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  .. 
    Disabled E_Port   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  ..   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  .. 
    Locked E_Port     ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  ..   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  .. 
    ISL R_RDY Mode    ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  ..   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  .. 
    RSCN Suppressed   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  ..   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  .. 
    Persistent Disable..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  ..   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  .. 
    LOS TOV enable    ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  ..   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  .. 
    NPIV capability   ON  ON  ON  ON    ON  ON  ON  ON   ON  ON  ON  ON    ON  ON  ON  ON 
    NPIV PP Limit    126 126 126 126   126 126 126 126  126 126 126 126   126 126 126 126 
    QOS E_Port        AE  AE  AE  AE    AE  AE  AE  AE   AE  AE  AE  AE    AE  AE  AE  AE 
    Mirror Port       ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  ..   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  .. 
    Rate Limit        ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  ..   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  .. 
    Credit Recovery   ON  ON  ON  ON    ON  ON  ON  ON   ON  ON  ON  ON    ON  ON  ON  ON 
    Fport Buffers     ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  ..   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  .. 
    Port Auto Disable ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  ..   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  .. 
    CSCTL mode        ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  ..   ..  ..  ..  ..    ..  ..  ..  .. 

    Fault Delay       0  0  0  0    0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0    0  0  0  0
  5. Calculate the ISL distance.

    Because of the behavior of FC-VI, the distance must be set to 1.5 times the real distance with a minimum distance of 10 km (using the LE distance level).

    The distance for the ISL is calculated as follows, rounded up to the next full kilometer:

    1.5 × real_distance = distance

    If the distance is 3 km, then 1.5 × 3 km = 4.5 km. This is lower than 10 km, so the ISL must be set to the LE distance level.

    If the distance is 20 km, then 1.5 × 20 km = 30 km. The ISL must be set to 30 km and must use the LS distance level.

  6. Set the distance on each ISL port: portcfglongdistance port distance-level vc_link_init distance

    A vc_link_init value of 1 uses the ARB fill word (default). A value of 0 uses IDLE. The required value might depend on the link being used. The commands must be repeated for each ISL port.

    For an ISL distance of 3 km, as given in the example in the previous step, the setting is 4.5 km with the default vc_link_init value of 1. Because a setting of 4.5 km is lower than 10 km, the port needs to be set to the LE distance level:

    FC_switch_A_1:admin> portcfglongdistance 20 LE 1
         
    FC_switch_B_1:admin> portcfglongdistance 20 LE 1

    For an ISL distance of 20 km, as given in the example in the previous step, the setting is 30 km with the default vc_link_init value of 1:

    FC_switch_A_1:admin> portcfglongdistance 20 LS 1 -distance 30
         
    FC_switch_B_1:admin> portcfglongdistance 20 LS 1 -distance 30
  7. Verify the distance setting: portbuffershow

    A distance level of LE appears as 10 km.

    The following example shows the output for a configuration that uses ISLs on port 20 and port 21:

    FC_switch_A_1:admin> portbuffershow

    User  Port     Lx      Max/Resv    Buffer Needed    Link      Remaining
    Port  Type    Mode     Buffers     Usage  Buffers   Distance  Buffers
    ----  ----    ----     -------     ------ -------   --------- ---------
    ...
     20     E      -          8         67      67       30km
     21     E      -          8         67      67       30km
    ...
     23            -          8          0      -        -        466
  8. Verify that both switches form one fabric: switchshow

    The following example shows the output for a configuration that uses ISLs on port 20 and port 21:

    FC_switch_A_1:admin> switchshow
    switchName: FC_switch_A_1
    switchType: 109.1
    switchState:Online   
    switchMode: Native
    switchRole: Subordinate
    switchDomain:       5
    switchId:   fffc01
    switchWwn:  10:00:00:05:33:86:89:cb
    zoning:             OFF
    switchBeacon:       OFF
     
    Index Port Address Media Speed State  Proto
    ===========================================
    ...
    20   20  010C00   id    16G  Online FC  LE E-Port  10:00:00:05:33:8c:2e:9a "FC_switch_B_1" (downstream)(trunk master) 
    21   21  010D00   id    16G  Online FC  LE E-Port  (Trunk port, master is Port 20)
    ...

    FC_switch_B_1:admin> switchshow
    switchName: FC_switch_B_1
    switchType: 109.1
    switchState:Online   
    switchMode: Native
    switchRole: Principal
    switchDomain:       7
    switchId:   fffc03
    switchWwn:  10:00:00:05:33:8c:2e:9a
    zoning:             OFF
    switchBeacon:       OFF
     
    Index Port Address Media Speed State Proto
    ==============================================
    ...
    20   20  030C00   id    16G  Online  FC  LE E-Port  10:00:00:05:33:86:89:cb "FC_switch_A_1" (downstream)(Trunk master)
    21   21  030D00   id    16G  Online  FC  LE E-Port  (Trunk port, master is Port 20)
    ...
  9. Confirm the configuration of the fabrics: fabricshow 

    FC_switch_A_1:admin> fabricshow
       Switch ID   Worldwide Name      Enet IP Addr FC IP Addr Name
    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    1: fffc01 10:00:00:05:33:86:89:cb 10.10.10.55  0.0.0.0    "FC_switch_A_1"
    3: fffc03 10:00:00:05:33:8c:2e:9a 10.10.10.65  0.0.0.0   >"FC_switch_B_1"

    FC_switch_B_1:admin> fabricshow
       Switch ID   Worldwide Name     Enet IP Addr FC IP Addr   Name
    ----------------------------------------------------------------
    1: fffc01 10:00:00:05:33:86:89:cb 10.10.10.55  0.0.0.0     "FC_switch_A_1"

    3: fffc03 10:00:00:05:33:8c:2e:9a 10.10.10.65  0.0.0.0    >"FC_switch_B_1
  10. Confirm the trunking of the ISLs: trunkshow

    • If you are configuring the ISLs for trunking (IOD), you should see output similar to the following:

      FC_switch_A_1:admin> trunkshow
       1: 20-> 20 10:00:00:05:33:ac:2b:13 3 deskew 15 MASTER
          21-> 21 10:00:00:05:33:8c:2e:9a 3 deskew 16
       FC_switch_B_1:admin> trunkshow
       1: 20-> 20 10:00:00:05:33:86:89:cb 3 deskew 15 MASTER
          21-> 21 10:00:00:05:33:86:89:cb 3 deskew 16

    • If you are not configuring the ISLs for trunking (OOD), you should see output similar to the following:

      FC_switch_A_1:admin> trunkshow
       1: 20-> 20 10:00:00:05:33:ac:2b:13 3 deskew 15 MASTER
       2: 21-> 21 10:00:00:05:33:8c:2e:9a 3 deskew 16 MASTER
      FC_switch_B_1:admin> trunkshow
       1: 20-> 20 10:00:00:05:33:86:89:cb 3 deskew 15 MASTER
       2: 21-> 21 10:00:00:05:33:86:89:cb 3 deskew 16 MASTER
  11. Repeat 1Step 1 through 10Step 10 for the second FC switch fabric.
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