HP StorageWorks Fabric OS 5.0.0 Fabric Watch User Guide (AA-RW1TA-TE, May 2005)

17Fabric OS 5.0.0 Fabric Watch user guide
Introduction to fabric health
Fabric health refers to the capability of the fabric to support data to be routed through it. A
healthy fabric enables effective data transmission between networked devices.
Although the concept of fabric health initially seems fairly simple, it can be a deep and
complex topic due to the number of factors that are involved. One of the more obvious criteria
for fabric health is the condition of the network hardware. A switch or port failure could easily
prevent data packets from reaching their destination. Network traffic can also influence fabric
health.
If the number of packets routed through a port exceeds the port bandwidth, it causes network
delays and packet losses. Even environmental factors can become issues, as network
hardware can fail to function properly when stored in locations that do not meet the
environmental conditions for the device. For example, switches can fail when stored in rooms
that are too hot.
Because of the varied and complex factors in determining fabric health, you need fabric
monitoring software such as Fabric Watch to help you to quickly detect, identify, and resolve
fabric health issues by continuously monitoring possible issues and reporting any potential
concerns. Fabric Watch automatically provides detailed reports on detected issues and helps
you correct failures.
Fabric Watch provides customizable monitoring thresholds. You can configure Fabric Watch
to provide notification before problems arise, such as reporting when network traffic through
a port is approaching the bandwidth limit. This information enables you to perform
preemptive network maintenance such as trunking or zoning and avoid potential network
failures.
Changes to this guide for OS v5.0.0
The following changes are new to v5.0.0 and are not included elsewhere in this guide.
• On page A-2 of the user guide, under the heading “Environment Class” the settings for
Temperature have been updated to include Brocade 4Gb SAN Switch for HP p-Class
BladeSystem as follows: