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Logical switch overview 10
FIGURE 23 Assigning ports to logical switches
A given port is always in one (and only one) logical switch. The following scenarios refer to the
chassis after port assignment in Figure 23.
•If you assign P2 to Logical switch 2, you cannot assign P2 to any other logical switch.
•If you want to remove a port from a logical switch, you must move it to a different logical switch.
For example, if you want to remove P4 from Logical switch 3, you must assign it to a different
logical switch, either Logical switch 2, Logical switch 4, or Logical switch 1 (the default logical
switch).
•If you assign a port to a logical switch, it is automatically removed from the logical switch it is
currently in. If you assign P3 to Logical switch 3, P3 is automatically removed from Logical
switch 2.
•If you do not assign a port to any logical switch, it remains in the default logical switch, as is the
case with ports 0, 1, 7, and 8.
See “Adding and removing ports on a logical switch” on page 229 for instructions for assigning and
moving ports on logical switches.
A logical switch can have as many ports as are available in the chassis. In Figure 23, the chassis
has 10 ports. You could assign all 10 ports to a single logical switch, such as Logical switch 2; if you
did this, however, then no ports would be available for Logical switches 3 and 4.
You can move only F_Ports and E_Ports from one logical switch to another. If you want to configure
a different type of port, such as a VE_Port or EX_Port, you must configure them after you move
them. Some types of ports cannot be moved from the default logical switch. See “Supported
platforms for Virtual Fabrics” on page 220 for detailed information about these ports.

Logical switches and connected devices

You can connect devices to logical switches, as shown in Figure 24 on page 214. In Logical switch
2, P2 is an F_Port that is connected to H1. In Logical switch 3, P4 is an F_Port that is connected to
D1. H1 and D1 cannot communicate with each other because they are in different fabrics, even
though they are both connected to the same physical chassis.
Before port assignment After port assignment
Logical switch 2
Logical switch 4
Logical switch 3
P4
P3
P2
P1
P0
P9
P8
P7P5
P6
Logical switch 4
P6
Logical switch 3
P5
P4
Logical switch 2
P3
P2
Logical switch 1
(Default logical switch)
P0
P9
P8P7P1
Logical switch 1
(Default logical switch)