HP B-series Fabric OS 6.3.2e Release Notes (5697-1816, March 2012) - includes all 6.3.2x versions

DCFM is available in three versions (see the DCFM release notes for full support details):
• DCFM Professional—An application bundled with B-series switches that is ideally suited for
small- and medium-size businesses that need a lightweight management product to manage
their smaller fabrics (one physical fabric at a time, up to 1,000 ports).
• DCFM Professional Plus—A SAN management application designed for medium-size businesses
to manage up to four physical fabrics (Fabric OS, M-EOS, and mixed fabrics) and up to 2,560
switch ports. DCFM Professional Plus supports Brocade director products (for example, DC04
SAN Director and 4/256, but not DC SAN Backbone Director), FC switches, FCIP switches,
FCR switches/Integrated Routing (IR) capabilities, FCoE/CEE switches, and Brocade HBAs.
Enterprise-class customers who want to manage departmental SANs can consider deploying
this product.
• DCFM Enterprise—An application designed for enterprise-class customers that provides
unparalleled performance and scalability (24 physical fabrics, up to 9,000 switch ports).
DCFM Enterprise configures and manages DC SAN Backbone Directors, along with other
B-series directors, routers, switches, and HBAs. DCFM Enterprise is required to manage FICON
fabrics, and fabrics with the DC SAN Backbone Director. Existing EFCM and FM customers
that have active Maintenance and Support contracts are provided a seamless migration path
to DCFM Enterprise.
NOTE: Beginning with version 10.4.0, DCFM provides limited management of Fabric OS switches
or fabrics using Administrative Domains (ADs). Environments using ADs must use DCFM 10.4.0
or later, or use the CLI or Web Tools for management. See the DCFM 10.4.0 User Guide for
details. When managing a 2408 FCoE Converged Network switch in Access Gateway mode,
DCFM 10.4.0 or later is required. Use of earlier DCFM releases prevents management of zoning
on the fabric.
EFCM and FM compatibility
With the introduction of DCFM, both EFCM and FM have been put into sustaining mode.
Consequently, neither EFCM nor FM are qualified or supported to manage switches operating
with Fabric OS 6.3.x firmware. Significant compatibility issues exist between FM and Fabric OS
6.3.x, including (but not limited to) compromised functionality in the zoning dialog and performance
graphs, port enabling/disabling, and FICON wizard. HP strongly recommends that customers
migrate from these products to DCFM.
Fabric OS compatibility
Table 1 (page 13), “Supported Fabric OS versions,” lists the earliest versions of software supported
in this release, that is, the earliest supported software versions that interoperate. HP recommends
using the latest software versions to get the greatest benefit from the SAN.
When using the Virtual Fabrics (VF) feature, HP recommends that all switches participating in a
fabric with a logical switch use the latest firmware available. All switches must be operating at the
minimum firmware levels or later, as noted in the Fabric OS Interoperability table.
When using either the Encryption SAN Switch or DC Switch Encryption FC Blade, switches attached
to hosts and targets on switches that are part of the encryption flow must operate at the following
minimum levels:
• 2-Gb platforms must operate with Fabric OS 5.3.2b or later.
• 4-Gb and 8-Gb platforms must operate with Fabric OS 6.2.2f, 6.3.2d or later.
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