HP StorageWorks Fabric OS 6.x administrator guide (5697-7344, March 2008)

486 Implementing an interoperable fabric
Trunking
HP switches support trunking when participating in an M-EOS Native fabric. Trunk ports (bandwidth
aggregation) only apply to ISL between two HP switches.
NOTE: Trunking is allowed between Brocade switches in Native mode only. Trunking is disabled between
Brocade switches running in McDATA Open Fabric mode.
• Fabric OS frame-based trunking is supported for frame-based ISLs. Multiple ISLs between a
Brocade switch and an M-EOS type switch are allowed, but no frame-based trunking will occur.
• Fabric OS exchange-level trunking (DPS) and source-port route balancing (DLS) are
supported for connections between Brocade switches and M-EOS switches.
• M-EOS Open Trunking is supported for outbound ISLs from any M-EOS switch to any switch in the
fabric.
M-EOS 9.6.2 features not supported by Fabric OS 6.0
Domain ID offset configuration
Domain ID offset is used by McDATA switches in assigning the first byte of the PID for attached end
devices. McDATA Fabric mode supports a Domain ID range from 1 to 31 and McDATA Open Fabric mode
supports a Domain ID range of 97-127; the starting offset of this range of Domain IDs can be modified. The
offset value, which can be any multiple of 0x20 up through 0xC0, is added to the actual Domain ID of the
switch and is used in assigning the PID. Traditionally, M-EOS based switches used an offset of 0x60, or 96
in decimal notation. For example, a switch with a Domain ID configured to 3 would assign a value of 99
(0x63) to the first byte of all PIDs.
HP StorageWorks switches do not support Domain ID offset configuration, and requires the default 0x60
(96) offset value.
Diagnostic test differences
The diagnostic tests porttest and spinfab are designed to work with an E_Port linked to
Brocade-attached switches. These diagnostics will fail if the E_Port is linked to a McDATA switch.
Optional 6.0 licensing
The following optional licensed features are available and supported with Fabric OS 6.0:
Table 106 Supported optional features
License Feature
Ports on Demand Provision additional ports through license key upgrade.
Extended Fabrics Allows up to 500 km of switched-fabric connectivity at full
bandwidth over long distances.
Fabric Watch Monitors mission-critical switch operations.
ISL Trunking Over Extended
Fabrics
ISL Trunking has been enhanced to enable trunking over long
distance links up to 250 km through a new command—LD
(variable distance). This feature will only work when forming
trunks between a Brocade and McDATA switch in the fabric.