McDATA 4Gb SAN Switch for HP p-Class BladeSystem User Guide (AA-RW20B-TE, December 2005)

McDATA® 4Gb SAN Switch for HP p-Class BladeSystem user guide 81
Fabric Device Management Interface
Fabric Device Management Interface (FDMI) provides a means to gather and display device information
from the fabric, and allows FDMI capable devices to register certain information with the fabric, if FDMI is
enabled. McDATA Web Server or McDATA Element Manager will report any and all FDMI information
reported by the entry switch, if FDMI is enabled on the entry switch. To view FDMI data, FDMI must be
enabled on the entry switch and on all other switches in the fabric which are to report FDMI data.
FDMI is comprised of the fabric-to-device interface and the application-to-fabric interface. The
fabric-to-device interface enables a device’s management information to be registered. The
application-to-fabric interface provides the framework by which an application obtains device information
from the fabric. Use the FDMI HBA Entry Limit field on the Switch Properties dialog to configure the
maximum number of HBAs that can be registered with a switch. If the number of HBAs exceeds the
maximum number, the FDMI information for those HBAs can not be registered.
Use the FDMI Enabled option on the Switch Properties dialog to enable or disable FDMI. If FDMI is
enabled on an HBA, the HBA forwards information about itself to the switch when the HBA logs into the
switch. If FDMI is enabled on a switch, the switch stores the HBA information in its FDMI database.
Disabling FDMI on a switch clears the FDMI database. If you disable FDMI on a switch and then re-enable
it, you must reset the ports to cause the HBAs to log in again, and thus forward HBA information to the
switch.
Click the Devices data window tab in the topology display and click (i) in the Details column of the Devices
data window to view detailed FDMI information for a device. The Detailed Devices Display dialog displays
the specific information for that device. See ”Devices data window” on page 48 for more information.
Broadcast support
Broadcast is supported on the switch and allows for TCP/IP support. Broadcast is implemented using the
proposed standard specified in Multi-Switch Broadcast for FC-SW-3, T11 Presentation Number
T11/02-031v0. Fabric Shortest Path First (FSPF) is used to set up a fabric spanning tree used in
transmission of broadcast frames. Broadcast frames are retransmitted on all ISLs indicated in the spanning
tree and all online N_Ports and NL_Ports. When a broadcast frame is received, these zones are enforced
at the N_Ports and NL_Ports. If the originator of the broadcast is in a zone, the frame is retransmitted on all
online N_Ports and NL_Ports within the zone. If the originator of the broadcast frame is not in a zone, the
frame is retransmitted on online N_Ports and NL_Ports that are not in a zone. The default setting is
disabled.
In-band management
In-band management is the ability to manage switches across inter-switch links using McDATA Web Server,
SNMP, or the application programming interface. The switch comes from the factory with in-band
management enabled. If you disable in-band management on a particular switch, you can no longer
communicate with that switch by means other than an Ethernet connection.