Fabric OS Administrator's Guide v7.0.0 (53-1002148-02, June 2011)

20 Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide
53-1002148-02
The Ethernet interface on your switch
2
Use Control-C to exit or press 'Enter' key to proceed.
for user - root
Changing password for root
Enter new password: <hidden>
Password changed.
Saving password to stable storage.
Password saved to stable storage successfully.
(output truncated)
The Ethernet interface on your switch
The Ethernet (network) interface provides management access, including direct access to the
Fabric OS CLI, and allows other tools, such as Web Tools, to interact with the switch. You can use
either Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) or static IP addresses for the Ethernet network
interface configuration. On Brocade enterprise-class platforms, you must set IP addresses for the
following components:
• Both Control Processors (CP0 and CP1)
• Chassis management IP
On the Brocade switches, you must set the Ethernet and chassis management IP interfaces.
Setting the chassis management IP address eliminates the need to know which CP is active and
automatically connects the requestor to the currently active CP.
You can continue to use a static Ethernet addressing system or allow the DHCP client to
automatically acquire Ethernet addresses. Configure the Ethernet interface IP address, subnet
mask, and gateway addresses in one of the following manners:
• Using static Ethernet addresses (refer to “Static Ethernet addresses” on page 22)
• Activating DHCP (refer to “DHCP activation” on page 23)
NOTE
When you change the Ethernet interface settings, open connections such as SSH or Telnet may be
dropped. Reconnect using the new Ethernet IP address information or change the Ethernet settings
using a console session through the serial port to maintain your session during the change. You
must connect through the serial port to set the Ethernet IP address if the Ethernet network interface
is not configured already. For details, refer to “Connecting to Fabric OS through the serial port” on
page 16.
Virtual Fabrics and the Ethernet interface
On the Brocade DCX and DCX-4S, the single-chassis IP address and subnet mask are assigned to
the management Ethernet ports on the front panels of the CPs. These addresses allow access to
the chassis—more specifically, the active CP of the chassis—and not individual logical switches. The
IP addresses can also be assigned to each CP individually. This allows for direct communication
with a CP, including the standby CP. On the Brocade DCX and DCX-4S Backbones, each CP has two
management Ethernet ports on its front panel. These two physical ports are bonded together to
create a single, logical Ethernet port, and it is the logical Ethernet port to which IP addresses are
assigned.