Brocade Communications Systems 53-1001761-01 manual CEE and LAN integration

3 CEE and LAN integration

FCoE devices log in to one of the six FCoE ports on the Brocade 8000 switch. The FCoE ports provide FC services to FCoE initiators and enable bridging between FCoE initiators and FC targets. FCoE ports differ from regular FC ports in that they are not directly associated with an external physical port on the switch. Instead, each FCoE port supports up to four logical traffic paths. Brocade’s implementation of FCoE on the Brocade 8000 switch provides integral NPIV support so that multiple FCoE initiators can log in to a single FCoE interface.

When a CNA logs into the fabric, it is assigned a new MAC address using a function called Fabric Provided MAC Address (FPMA). This address is used for all FCoE communication. The first three bytes of the MAC address are provided by the FC-MAP and the last three bytes are determined by the FCID. The VF_Port or FC entity that the CNA logs in to determines the FCID.

NOTE

The Brocade 8000 switch also supports the FIP or Fabric Initialization Protocol standard for CNAs to discover FCFs and initialize an FCoE connection.

Integrating a Brocade 8000 switch on a SAN

Perform the following process to install a new Brocade 8000 switch.

1.On the Brocade 8000 switch, verify that the Zone database is empty and change the domain ID to a unique number. If there are any non-default fabric configuration changes in the existing fabric, ensure that these are also configured on the new switch. For details, see the “Administering Advanced Zoning” and “Performing Basic Configuration Tasks-Domain IDs” sections of the Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide.

2.Power off the Brocade 8000 switch and connect the Inter-Switch Link (ISL) cables to the core FC switch or director. For details, see the Brocade 8000 Hardware Reference Guide.

NOTE

Connecting a new Brocade 8000 switch to the fabric while it is powered off ensures that reconfiguration will not occur.

3.Power on the Brocade 8000 switch and verify that the ISLs are online and the fabric is merged.

4.Check to make sure the existing Zone database files for the fabric were copied over to the Brocade 8000 switch. For details, see the same sections of the Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide.

5.Use the FOS CLI command nsShow to display any FCoE or FC devices connected to the switch. Any CNAs should be able to log in to the fabric and can be zoned using standard management tools, including the FOS CLI or Web Tools.

6.Enter the copy command to save the running-configfile to the startup-configfile.

7.Repeat this procedure for the second Brocade 8000 switch attached to Fabric B.

CEE and LAN integration

Because Brocade FCoE hardware is IEEE 802.1Q compliant, it easily integrates into the existing LAN infrastructure in a variety of data center network topologies. In a typical installation, the Brocade 8000 switch acts as an access layer switch connecting to a distribution or core layer switch in the LAN.

22	Converged Enhanced Ethernet Administrator’s Guide
	53-1001761-01