Brocade Fabric OS v7.2.1a Release Notes v1.0

Fabric OS v7.2.1a Release Notes v1.0 Page 5 of 55
Overview
Fabric OS (FOS) v7.2.1a is a patch release based on FOS v7.2.1. All hardware platforms and features
supported in FOS v7.2.1 are also supported in FOS v7.2.1a. This release also contains fixes for many defects
including those from the FOS v7.2.0d patch releases.
Due to the impact of defect 491192 and 494570, Brocade recommends all customers planning or using FOS
v7.2.1 to upgrade to FOS v7.2.1a.
Note: If customers are already running FOS v7.2.1 on their switches, and the “Custom.index” on the switches
are either 0 or 4, they can choose to continue running the same FOS version because defect 491192 and
494570 do not apply to these switches. To find out the “Custom.index” setting on a switch, users can run CLI
command “configShow |grep Custom”.
Resolution of Important Defects
 DEFECT000491192 - After upgrade to FOS 7.2.x, hosts are unable to establish paths to new targets.
 DEFECT000494570 - FOS7.2.0c containing Defect 491192 fix with pre-existing logical switch may still
experience fabric wide performance issue or host cannot see target after slot offline event
 DEFECT000477009 - A host connected to a NPIV port on an Access Gateway has multiple virtual
clients. Only the physical HBA is able to login. The virtual client logins are rejected.
 DEFECT000492849 - FCIP link became unstable after some runtime.
 DEFECT000461189 - Unable to launch WebTools using Google Chrome browser and IE11 with Java
update 45 or 51.
Additional Hardware Platform Support
Brocade Fabric OS v7.2.1 supports all platforms supported with FOS v7.2.0 plus the following:
 5432 (embedded switch)
 6548 (embedded switch)
New Features & Support
In addition to fixes for defects, FOS v7.2.1 also includes:
 Support for FIPS-140 level 2 certification for FOS v7.2.1 release stream
o Support for NIST SP800-131A compliant cryptographic algorithms and key length
 Support for Clearlink Diagnostic Port (D-port) capability with 8G Long Wave Length (LWL) and Extended
Long Wave Length (ELWL) SFPs
o Support is not available with shortwave 8G SFPs,
o Supported on Brocade 16G Gen5 platforms only
o The 8G LWL/ELWL SFPs do not support electrical loopback or optical loopback tests. Support
is limited to:
 Link traffic tests across the 8G LWL/ELWL SFPs and
 Link distance measurements for links that are longer than 100 meter.
 Support for Forward Error Correction (FEC) counters for admin users through CLI and SNMP
o Supported on Brocade 16G Gen5 platforms only
Optionally Licensed Software
Fabric OS v7.2 includes all basic switch and fabric support software, as well as optionally licensed software
that is enabled via license keys.
Optionally licensed features include:
Brocade Ports on Demand—Allows customers to instantly scale the fabric by provisioning additional ports via
license key upgrade. (Applies to select models of switches).