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

When connecting to an extension device that does not support ARB primitives (such as some TDM
products), the following configuration must be used:
• portcfgqos -disable <port>
• portcfgcreditrecovery –disable <port>
• portcfglongdistance <port><LD|LD>0<distance>
The fabric parameter fabric.ops.mode.longdistance is now deprecated and should not
be used.
8-Gb link initialization and fill words
Overview
The Fibre Channel Physical Interfaces (FC-PI) standard defines the requirements for a physical layer.
It considers all aspects of transmit, receive, and cable-plant performance requirements for optical
and electrical links. The FC-PI standard has been modified to support new physical-layer variants
that operate at higher data rates than those specified in FC-PI-2. The standard enables
interoperability of transmitter devices, receiver devices, interconnects, and components from different
manufacturers.
New variants include support for a data rate of 800 MB/s. The previous implementation by Brocade
was to use Idles for link initialization and as fill words, which works for 1-Gb, 2-Gb, 4-Gb, and
most 8-Gb devices. However, some of the new 8-Gb devices may require that the ARB(FF)/ARB(FF)
sequence have successful link initialization. Brocade has developed an implementation of
ARB(FF)/ARB(FF) for initialization and fill words. The portcfgfillword command, first introduced
in Fabric OS 6.1.2, configures the ARB(FF)/ARB(FF) implementation. See the Fabric OS Command
Reference Manual supporting Fabric OS 6.3.1 for details on the portcfgfillword command.
portcfgfillword behavior summary
• Default mode
The only mode of operation in releases prior to Fabric OS 6.1.2 was the Idle implementation.
Fabric OS 6.2.0a and 6.2.0b defaulted to ARB(FF)/ARB(FF) for 8-Gb devices. With 6.1.2x
and 6.2.0d and later, the default reverted to the Idle implementation. The portCfgFillWord
command was also implemented beginning with these versions, and enables the user to
configure the ARB(FF) configuration.
• Existing product
For products in the field, this change has no effect on current configurations. The mode is
currently 0, and during a firmware upgrade, the mode will remain 0 and no devices will be
impacted. If a new device is added to the configuration, and it requires the ARB(FF) sequence,
the ports can be configured at that time.
Loading Fabric OS 6.1.2x or later does not automatically change the mode (with the exception
of 6.2.0a and 6.2.0b, as noted above). In current configurations, the mode must be changed
manually. This does not affect 1-Gb, 2-Gb, or 4-Gb devices. Any mode settings of 1, 2, or 3
have no effect on these devices; they affect only devices that negotiate or are fixed at 8-Gb
speeds.
• Changing the mode after Fabric OS 6.1.2x or later has been installed
If you change the mode after installing Fabric OS 6.1.2x or later, with the exception as noted
above for 6.2.0a and 6.2.0b, the portCfgFillWord command changes the configuration
parameter in accordance with the selected mode, and automatically disables/enables the
port for which the command was invoked. Subsequent link initializations will default to the
new mode setting.
Important notes and recommendations 31