User Manual

8/20q Fibre Channel Switch QuickTools switch management user guide 21
2 Managing fabrics
This section describes the following options for managing fabrics:
• ”Fabric services” on page 21
• ”Rediscovering a fabric” on page 21
• ”Adding a new switch to a fabric” on page 22
• ”Replacing a failed switch” on page 22
• ”Transparent Router” on page 23
• ”Event Browser” on page 28
• ”Device information and nicknames” on page 31
• ”Zoning” on page 35
Fabric services
Fabric services security includes Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and In-band
management. SNMP is the protocol governing network management and monitoring of network devices.
SNMP security consists of a read community string and a write community string, that are basically the
passwords that control read and write access to the switch. The read community string (public) and write
community string (private) are set at the factory to these well-known defaults and should be changed
when SNMP is enabled using the System Services or SNMP Properties dialog boxes. If SNMP is enabled
(default) and the read and write community strings have not been changed from their defaults, you risk
unwanted access to the switch. See ”Enabling SNMP configuration” on page 21 for more information.
SNMP is enabled by default.
In-band management is the ability to manage switches across inter-switch links using QuickTools, SNMP,
management server, 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 a direct Ethernet or serial connection. See
”Enabling in-band management” on page 21 for more information.
Enabling SNMP configuration
To enable the SNMP configuration:
1. Select Switch > SNMP > SNMP Properties to open the SNMP Properties dialog box.
2. Select the SNMP Enabled option in the SNMP Configuration area.
3. Click OK to save the change to the database.
Enabling in-band management
To enable in-band management:
1. Select Switch > Switch Properties to open the Switch Properties dialog box.
2. Select the In-band Management Enable option.
3. Click OK to save the change to the database.
Rediscovering a fabric
After making changes to or deleting switches from a fabric view, it may be helpful to again view the actual
fabric configuration. The Rediscover Fabric option clears out the current fabric information being displayed,
and rediscovers all switch information.
To rediscover a fabric, select Fabric > Rediscover Fabric. The Rediscover function is more comprehensive
than the Refresh function.