Users Guide

Broadcom BT-FC-UG128-100
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Emulex Boot for the Fibre Channel Protocol User Guide
6.9.10 Selecting Trunking
Trunking enables you to combine multiple physical FC links to form a single logical link (aggregated port). The aggregated
port’s maximum link speed is the sum of the maximum link speeds of the individual physical links comprising the aggregated
port. For example, an aggregated port comprised of two physical links running at 32Gb/s each have a potential logical
(aggregate) link speed of 64Gb/s. The actual link speed of the aggregated port depends on the states (active or non-active)
of the individual physical links comprising the aggregated port.
The physical links comprising an aggregated port are referred to as lanes. Both 2-lane and 4-lane aggregated ports are
supported. For LPe35002 adapters, only 2-lane port aggregation is possible. If 2-lane port aggregation is configured on a
dual port adapter, the two physical links are combined to form a single 2-lane aggregated port whose aggregate speed is
potentially 64Gb/s, assuming both physical links are active.
LPe35004 adapters support both 2-lane port aggregation and 4-lane port aggregation. If 2-lane port aggregation is
configured on an LPe35004 adapter, the four physical links on the adapter are divided among two separate aggregated
ports. The two lowest numbered physical links form the first aggregated port, and the two highest number physical links form
the second aggregated port. If 4-lane port aggregation is configured on an LPe35004 adapter, all four physical links are
combined to form a single 4-lane trunk whose aggregate speed is potentially 128 Gb/s, assuming all four links are active.
NOTE: The following information pertains to trunking:
 Trunking (also referred to as FC port aggregation) is supported only on LPe35000-series adapters.
 Trunking is not supported at 8Gb/s speeds, and the link will not come up at this speed.
 The Brocade FA-PWWN and trunking features are mutually exclusive. You can enable either FA-PWWN or
trunking, but not both.
 Neither FA-PWWN nor Dynamic D_Port can coexist with the trunking feature. If trunking is enabled, the
firmware automatically disables FA-PWWN and Dynamic D_Port.
If you are using an adapter that does not support trunking, the Select Trunking option is not available.
This option enables or disables trunking. The default setting is disabled.
NOTE: Changing the trunking mode resets the adapter to factory default settings. You must configure the HBA and boot
parameters after changing the trunking mode for BFS to work.
To enable or disable trunking, perform these steps:
NOTE: Before you enable or disable trunking on the Emulex adapter, follow the instructions from Brocade to enable or
disable trunking on the corresponding ports in the switch.
1. From the adapter list (Figure 31), select the adapter for which you want to enable or disable trunking and press Enter.
2. From the main configuration menu (Figure 32), select Configure HBA and Boot Parameters and press Enter.
3. In the Configure HBA and Boot Parameters window (Figure 6.9.1), navigate to Trunking mode. Press Enter.