Brocade Communications Systems IP250 user manual 697

Configuring a switch for FICON operation 21

Observe the following best practices:

•Always check the version of firmware on a switch

•Unless otherwise advised by a certified Fabric OS support professional, always load the most recently qualified firmware.

•Before upgrading or downgrading firmware read the upgrade and downgrade considerations in the firmware release notes.

4.If incorporating more than one switch into a fabric, refer to planning steps in “Cascaded FICON fabric” on page 709.

5.Make a record of the following information for the switch:

•Fabric name.

•Switch name.

•Domain ID (DID).

Domain IDs are entered in either decimal or hexadecimal. If you enter the domain ID in decimal, ensure you use the correct hexadecimal equivalent. For example, if the first byte of the link address is 33, then the domain ID in decimal is 51. Also, use a domain ID that is the hexadecimal equivalent of the Switch ID in the IOCP. For example, for Switch ID 1F, set Domain ID to 31 in decimal or 1F in hexadecimal.

The recommended best practice is the make the hexadecimal equivalent of the domain ID match the switch ID in HCD or IOCP. Also, use a unique domain ID for every switch, although this is obviously not possible in very large data centers.

•Fabric ID (FID).

Configure a FID if you are enabling a virtual fabric. A FID can be any number between

1-128, and all switches in the same fabric must have the same FID. Note that FMS cannot be enabled in the default switch on the 8-slot Backbone Chassis or 16 Gbps 8-slot Backbone Chassis. Therefore, the recommended best practice is leave the default switch FID at 128 and create a new logical switch for all FICON ports. A simple FID numbering scheme starting from 1 is recommended. There is no correlation between the FID and the DID.

•Management IP address.

•Administrator password.

Although the Management application is typically configured for managing the switch as an admin user, root will also work. The default admin password is “password.” You do not need to change the password during installation; however if the password is changed, the password for device discovery must be changed also. Although launched from the Management application, Element Manager (Web Tools) passwords do not propagate the Management application.

The recommended best practice is to create identical passwords for all switches in the same fabric. This not only simplifies discovery, but in most cases since users are given access to a fabric, not an individual switch, there are fewer passwords to remember and maintain.

•Call home number.

This may not apply. If using a call home service you will need the phone number for the service and an understanding of what is being covered in the service agreement.

Brocade Network Advisor IP User Manual	697
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