Technical data

Fabric OS v6.1.0_del1 Release Notes, v1.0 Page 7 of 13
Firmware Upgrades and Downgrades
Brocade Fabric OS v6.1.0_del1 should only be loaded onto the Brocade M5424 SAN IO Module. This
version of FOS is not supported on any other Brocade switch.
Fabric Scalability
Fabric OS v6.1.0_del1 supports the same fabric scalability as Fabric OS v5.3.x, that is 2,560 ports
with 50 domains.
Other Important Notes and Recommendations
Adaptive Networking/Flow-Based QoS Prioritization:
• When using QoS in a fabric with 4G ports or switches, FOS v6.0 or later must be installed on
all products in order to pass QoS info. E_Ports from the DCX to other switches must come up
AFTER 6.0 is running on those switches.
• Any products that are not capable of operating with FOS 6.0 may NOT exist in a fabric with
Flow based QoS. Major problems will occur if previous generation 2G products exist in the
fabric.
FCS Automatic Distribution
• When using the FCS Automatic Distribution feature in Fabric OS v6.0 or later, all switches in
the fabric must be running FOS v6.0 or later. If any switches are running FOS v5.x or earlier,
only manual distribution can be used.
• FOS v6.0 or later will only allow FCS automatic distribution when in strict mode, requiring
only switches with FOS v6.0 or later.
Access Gateway
• When in Access Gateway mode, the Automatic Port Configuration policy may not work
when attached to M-EOS switches. M-EOS ports should be set to G_port to prevent
problems with port type discovery.
Port Fencing
• The default settings for port fencing have very low thresholds, and may fence ports that
experience a small number of errors. It is recommended that these threshold values be
increased for use in production environments. Different platforms may require different
threshold settings for optimum behavior. Port Fencing is only available with the optional
Fabric Watch license.
Port Mirroring
• Proper behavior of Port Mirroring functionality requires that the entire frame path must
contain either only 8G ASICs or only 4G ASICs. If a frame path contains a mix of 8G and 4G
ASICs then this functionality will not work as intended.