DCFM Enterprise User Manual (53-1001775-01, June 2010)

590 DCFM Enterprise User Manual
53-1001775-01
Virtual Fabrics requirements
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Terminology
Table 27 lists definitions of Virtual Fabrics terms.
Virtual Fabrics requirements
To configure Virtual Fabrics, you must have at least one Virtual Fabrics-enabled physical chassis
running Fabric OS 6.2.0 or later in your SAN. Use one of the following options to discover a Virtual
Fabrics-enabled physical chassis on the Management application topology:
• Discover a Virtual Fabrics-capable seed physical chassis running Fabric OS 6.2.0 or later.
Virtual Fabrics is disabled by default. This physical chassis displays as a legacy switch. Once
discovered, you must enable Virtual Fabrics.
• Discover a Virtual Fabrics-enabled seed physical chassis running Fabric OS 6.2.0 or later with
Virtual Fabrics enabled, and at least one logical switch defined on the core switch. The physical
chassis displays as a virtual switch.
• Upgrade a physical chassis already in your SAN to Fabric OS 6.2.0 or later. Virtual Fabrics is
disabled by default. This switch displays as a legacy switch. Once upgraded, you must enable
Virtual Fabrics.
TABLE 27 Virtual Fabrics terms
Term Definition
Physical chassis The physical switch or chassis from which you create logical switches and fabrics.
Logical switch A collection of zero or more ports that act as a single Fibre Channel (FC) switch. When
Virtual Fabrics is enabled on the chassis, there is always at least one logical switch: the
default logical switch. You must assign each logical switch (default or general) in the
same chassis to a different logical fabric. The logical switch supports all E_Ports and
F_Ports. Note that EX_ports are only allowed on the base switch.
Default logical switch A logical switch that is created automatically when the Virtual Fabrics feature is
enabled in a physical chassis. Initially, all ports in a chassis belong to the default logical
switch. The default logical switch always exists as long as Virtual Fabrics is enabled.
You cannot delete the default logical switch. The default logical switch supports all
E_Ports and F_Ports.
Base switch A special logical switch used to communicate among different logical switches. The
legacy EX_port is connected to the base logical switch. Inter-Switch Links (ISLs)
connected to the base switch are used to communicate among different fabrics. The
base switch supports E_Ports and EX_Ports.
Fabric ID (FID) An identifier you assign to a logical switch (default or general) or a base switch to
designate to which logical or base fabric it belongs.
Logical fabric A fabric with at least one logical switch.
Base fabric A fabric formed from base switches that have the same FID. The base fabric provides
the physical connectivity across multiple segments of a fabric over which logical
switches in the fabric can establish logical connectivity.
Extended ISL (XISL) An ISL physically connected between two base switches that carries traffic for multiple
logical fabrics. By default, logical switches are configured to be able to use XISLs;
however, you can configure a logical switch to not use XISLs. XISL use is not supported
in the following cases:
• FICON logical fabrics
• Logical switches in an edge fabric connected to an FC router