Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide 531
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Appendix

E

Hexadecimal

Hexadecimal overview

Hexadecimal, or simply hex, is a numeral system with a base of 16, usually written using unique
symbols 0–9 and A–F, or a–f. Its primary purpose is to represent the binary code that computers
interpret in a format easier for humans to read. It acts as a form of shorthand, in which one
hexadecimal digit stands in place of four binary bits. For example, the decimal numeral 79, with the
binary representation of 01001111, is 4F (or 4f) in hexadecimal (4 = 0100, F = 1111).
Hexadecimal numbers can have either an 0x prefix or an h suffix. The address 0xFFFFFA is the
same address as FFFFFAh.
This type of address is called a hex triplet. Fibre Channel uses hexadecimal notation in hex triplets
to specify well-known addresses and port IDs.
Example conversion of the hexadecimal triplet Ox616000
Notice the PID in the nsShow output is in hexadecimal.
switch:admin> nsshow
{
Type Pid COS PortName NodeName TTL(sec)
N 610600; 2,3;10:00:00:00:c9:29:b3:84;20:00:00:00:c9:29:b3:84; na
FC4s: FCP
NodeSymb: [36] "Emulex LP9002 FV3.90A7 DV5-5.10A10 "
Fabric Port Name: 20:08:00:05:1e:01:23:e0
Permanent Port Name: 10:00:00:00:c9:29:b3:84
Port Index: 6
Share Area: No
Device Shared in Other AD: No
Redirect: No
The Local Name Server has 1 entry }
1. Separate the triplets: 61 06 00
2. Convert each hexadecimal value to a decimal representation:
61 = Domain ID = 97
06 = Area (port number) = 06
00 = Port (ALPA) = 0 (not used in this instance, but is used in loop, shared areas in PID
assignments on blades, NPIV, and Access Gateway devices)
Result: hexadecimal triplet 610600 = decimal triplet 97,06,00