Brocade Web Tools Administrator's Guide v6.2.0 (53-1001194-01, April 2009)
Web Tools Administrator’s Guide 187
53-1001194-01
Chapter
14
Administering Extended Fabrics
In this chapter
•Extended link buffer allocation overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
•Configuring a port for long distance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Extended link buffer allocation overview
If the link is used over long distances, use the Extended Fabric tab of the Switch Administration
window to configure the long-distance setting of a port. Because buffer credits are a switch
resource, you must own the switch in order to modify extended fabric settings on a port. The EGM
license must be enabled on the switch; otherwise, access to configuring long distance is denied
and an error message displays.
The EGM license is required only for 8 Gbps platforms, such as the Brocade DCX and DCX-4S
enterprise-class platforms, the Encryption Switch, the 300, 5300, and 5100 switches. For non-8
Gbps platforms, all functionalities are available without EGM license.
The Extended Fabric tab displays information about the port speed, long-distance settings, and
buffer credits, as shown in Figure 91 on page 188. For detailed information on managing extended
fabrics, see the Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide.
The Extended Fabric tab displays the following information:
• Port Number
• Buffer Limited—Indicates whether the port is buffer limited. A buffer-limited port can come
online with fewer buffer credits allocated than its configuration specifies, allowing it to operate
at a reduced bandwidth instead of being disabled for lack of buffers.
Buffer-limited operation is supported for the LS and LD extended ISL modes only and is
persistent across reboots, switch disabling and enabling, and port disabling and enabling.
• Port Speed—The port speed is displayed as follows:
• 1G—1 Gbps
• 2G—2 Gbps
• 4G—4 Gbps
• 8G—8 Gbps
• N1—Negotiated 1 Gbps
• N2—Negotiated 2 Gbps
• N4—Negotiated 4 Gbps
• Auto-Negotiation
• Buffer Needed/Allocated—The number of buffers needed and the number of buffers that are
actually allocated.