Brocade Fabric OS Command Reference Manual - Supporting Fabric OS v5.3.0 (53-1000436-01, June 2007)

Fabric OS Command Reference Manual 635
53-1000436-01
spinFab
2
spinFab
Runs functional test of switch-to-switch ISL cabling and trunk group operation.
Synopsis spinfab [-nmegs count][-ports itemlist][-setfail mode]
Description Use this command to verify the intended functional operation of the ISL links between switches. At
the maximum speed of 4 Gbit/sec, set the routing hardware such that test frames received by each
E_Port retransmit on the same E_Port. Next, send several frames to the neighbor port attached to
each active E_Port specified. The default action for such frames is to route them back to the
sender, which never occurs for normal traffic. The frames circulate until the test stops them.
The frames are continuously transmitted and received in all ports in parallel. The port LEDs flicker
green rapidly while the test is running. While the frames are circulating, the RX frame count and
port CRC and encoder error statistics are monitored and errors will be generated if a port stops or a
low-level error occurs. Every one million frames, the circulating frames are captured to verify that
they are still circulating and that they are still in-order. In this manner, the entire path to the remote
switch might be verified, as can be the proper in-order delivery operation of any trunk groups
present.
The switch remains in normal operation while this test is running; however, some performance
degradation occurs due to the ISL links being saturated with test frames. Because of this, you
should use caution when running this test on live fabrics. Consider only testing one trunk group or
ISL link at a time, and do not run the tests for extended periods of time.
Use portloopback test with appropriate parameters, however the test will be local to the port for ISL
link-failure isolation. If this test fails, replace the cable with a loop-back plug and run portloopback
to verify the local switch and media. If these pass, the fault lies in the cable or remote switch and
media.
The frames are continuously transmitted and received in all ports in parallel. The port LEDs flicker
green rapidly while the test is running.
When trunk groups are present, the entire trunk group must be included in the range of ports to
test or false failures can occur. If multiple ISL links are present between two switches that support
trunking, then it is likely that trunk groups are present and all ports between the two switches
should be tested at the same time.
The execution of this command is subject to Admin Domain restrictions that may be in place.
Operands This command has the following operands:
-nmegs count Specify in millions the number of frames to send. The test will progress until
the specified number of frames has been transmitted on each port. The
default value is 10 million frames. This command only approximately counts
the frames and the actual number of frames sent will be slightly larger,
particularly at 2 Gbit/sec link speeds.
-ports itemlist Specify a list of user ports to test. By default, all of the ISL ports in the current
switch will be tested. Refer to itemList help pages for further details.