Users Guide

90 Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide
53-1002920-02
Ports
3
Port identification by port area ID
The relationship between the port number and area ID depends upon the PID format used in the
fabric. When Core PID format is in effect, the area ID for port 0 is 0, for port 1 is 1, and so forth.
For 32-port blades (FC8-32, FC8-32E, FC16-32), the numbering is contiguous up to port 15; from
port 16, the numbering is still contiguous, but starts with 128. For example, port 15 in slot 1 has a
port number and area ID of 15; port 16 has a port number and area ID of 128; port 17 has a port
number and area ID of 129.
For 48-port blades (FC8-48, FC8-48E, FC16-48), the numbering is the same as for 32-port blades
for the first 32 ports on the blade. For ports 32 through 47, area IDs are not unique and port index
should be used instead of area ID.
For the 64-port blade (FC8-64), the numbering is the same as for 32-port blades for the first 32
ports on the blade. For ports 32 through 63, area IDs are not unique and port index should be used
instead of area ID.
If you perform a port swap operation, the port number and area ID no longer match. On 48-port
blades, port swapping is supported only on ports 0 through 15.
To determine the area ID of a particular port, enter the switchShow command. This command
displays all ports on the current (logical) switch and their corresponding area IDs.
Port identification by index
With the introduction of 48-port blades, indexing was introduced. Unique area IDs are possible for
up to 255 areas, but beyond that there needed to be some way to ensure uniqueness.
A number of fabric-wide databases supported by Fabric OS (including ZoneDB, the ACL DDC, and
Admin Domain) allow a port to be designated by the use of a “D,P” (domain,port) notation. While
the “P” component appears to be the port number, for up to 255 ports it is actually the area
assigned to that port.
NOTE
The port area schema does not apply to the Brocade DCX-4S and DCX 8510-4 Backbones.
Configuring a device-switch connection
To configure an 8 Gbps (and 8 Gbps only) connection between a device and a switch, use the
portCfgFillWord command. This command provides the following configuration options:
• Mode Link Init/Fill Word
• Mode 0 IDLE/IDLE
• Mode 1 ARBF/ARBF
• Mode 2 IDLE/ARBF
• Mode 3 If ARBF/ARBF fails, use IDLE/ARBF
ATTENTION
Although this setting only affects devices logged in at 8 Gbps, changing the mode is disruptive
regardless of the speed at which the port is operating.