SAN Design: March 29, 2001 3:18 pm
53-0001575-01 BROCADE Technical Note Page: 22 of 31
FIGURE 17. Valid and Invalid Configurations using Inter Switch Links
3.3 CABLING AND MEDIA INTERFA CESFibre channel supports several cable and optical media interface options. •The shortest supported optical cable length is 2 meters. Using shorter cables could exceed the expected signal output at the optical
GBIC and is not recommended per the Fibre Channel standards.
NOTE:Recent recommendations to the T11 standards group have resulted in approval of a shorter cable lengths as part of
the Fibre Channel standards. Lengths of 12 inches are in the final stages of being ratified by the standards group.
•With Short Wave Length GBICs (Gigabit Interface Connectors), cable lengths can be 200m (with 62.5 micron multi-mod fiber) or
500m (with 50 micron multi-mode fiber cable).
•With Long Wave Length GBICs, single mode fiber cable lengths of up to 10 KM are supported
•These cables and distances are what BROCADE supports with the standard shipping product and BROCADE components. A
BROCADE OEM switch model may use different components and may allow for different distances.
•Copper cabling is also supported. A passive copper GBIC can be used with cable lengths of up to 13m. The BROCADE supplied
GBIC uses an HSSDC connector [this connector type is an alternative to the DB-9 connector used in many Gigabit Link Module
(GLM) copper connections]. Active copper GBICS allow the distance to be increased to 30m. Copper is typically used intra-cabinet
Valid Configuration Using 16 ISL’s
Not Valid Config - 9 ISL’s
Between Two Switches
Note: connection of more than 8 ISLs leaving
7 or less open ports does not make sense for
traffic routing in a 16 port switch.