HP StorageWorks Fabric OS 5.x Fabric Watch Administrator Guide (AA-RVJ0B-TE, September 2005)

12 An introduction to Fabric Watch
Following an event, Fabric Watch adds an entry to the internal port log for an individual switch and
freezes the log to ensure that detail-level information is available.
• RapiTrap
Following an event, Fabric Watch forwards event information to a proxy switch, which then forwards
the information to a server to notify you.
• Email notification
Following an event, Fabric Watch creates and sends an Informational email to a designated recipient.
Fabric Watch is designed for rapid deployment. Simply enabling Fabric Watch permits immediate fabric
monitoring. Fabric Watch is also designed for rapid custom configuration. You can easily create and
modify configuration files using a text editor and then distribute configurations to all the switches in the
SAN through the Fabric OS configuration management utility. Fabric Watch also comes with
preconfigured profiles for rapid implementation.
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.