Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide 47
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Blade terminology and compatibility 3
The maximum number of application blades supported on a Brocade DCX is eight with any
combination. For example, 4 FA4-18, 8 FR4-18i. There is no restriction on port blades (FC8-16,
FC8-32, FC8-48, FC10-6 and FC8-64). The FC8-64 is supported, but only with Fabric OS v6.4.0.
The maximum number of application blades supported on a Brocade DCX-4S is four with any
combination. There is no restriction on port blades (FC8-16, FC8-32, FC8-48, FC10-6, and FC8-64).
The FC8-64 is supported, but only with Fabric OS v6.4.0.
Table 6 lists the maximum number of application blades you can insert in a Brocade DCX and
DCX-4S backbone chassis for a specific Fabric OS release. Software functionality is not supported
across application blades.
FS8-18 Unsupported Supported
FX8-24 Unsupported Supported
1. During power up when an FCOE10-24 is detected first before any other AP blade
in a chassis with Fabric OS v6.3.0 and later, all other AP and FC8-64 blades will be
faulted. If a non-FCOE10-24 blade is detected first, then any subsequently-detected
FCOE10-24 blades will be faulted. Blades are powered up starting with slot 1.
TABLE 6 Blade compatibility within a Brocade DCX and DCX-4S backbone
Intelligent blade Fabric OS v6.2.0 Fabric OS v6.3.0 Fabric OS v6.4.0
DCX DCX-4S DCX DCX-4S DCX DCX-4S
FR4-18i1
1. On the Brocade 48000, the blade can co-exist with an FC4-16IP, but the iSCSI devices are not exported and
imported for FC routing services. The iSCSI functionality over FCIP is not supported, but the FCIP link is the same as
other FC E_Ports. This is not restricted by software.
848484
FA4-182
2. The hardware limit is enforced by software. The FA4-18 blade can co-exist with the FR4-18i (and interoperable
at the Layer 2 level), but there is no multi-protocol-level interoperability support provided. Coexistence implies that
both types of blades are able to reside in the same chassis. Additionally, FA4-18 blade Layer 2 functions should be
compatible with FCR, FCIP, and iSCSI (iSCSI on the Brocade 48000 only). Specifically for FCR coexistence,
physical devices directly connected to the FA4-18 blade can be exported to edge fabrics and physical devices
directly connected to the FA4-18 blade can communicate with devices imported into the backbone fabric. Similar
coexistence of physical devices connected to the FA4-18 blade applies to FCIP and iSCSI.
242444
FS8-18 4 4 4 4 4 4
FCOE10-243
3. Not compatible with other application blades or with the FC8-64 in the same chassis. Refer to Table 5 on
page 46 for more information.
n/a n/a 2 2 2 2
FX8-244
4. The hardware limit is enforced by software.
n/a n/a 2 4 4 4
TABLE 5 Port blades supported by each platform (Continued)
Port blades Brocade 48000 (CP4) Brocade DCX and DCX-4S