Specifications
DATA CENTER BEST PRACTICES
SAN Design and Best Practices 13 of 84
fig05_SAN_Design
Figure 5. Example of three-chassis ICL conguration for 8 Gbps platform.
Note: Refer to the Brocade DCX Hardware Reference Manual for detailed ICL connectivity. ICLs can be used
instead of ISLs for a Brocade DCX/DCX-4S core-edge fabric—taking into account that the ICL cable length is 2
meters or less. Also, an ICL connection is considered a “hop of no concern” in a FICON environment.
UltraScale ICL Connectivity for Brocade DCX 8510-8 and DCX 8510-4 with Gen 5 Fibre Channel Only
The Brocade DCX 8510-8 and DCX 8510-4 platforms use second-generation UltraScale ICL technology from
Brocade with optical QSFP. The Brocade DCX 8510-8 allows up to 32 QSFP ports, and the Brocade DCX 8510-
4 allows up to 16 QSFP ports to help preserve switch ports for end devices. Each QSFP port actually has
four independent 16 Gbps links, each of which terminates on a different ASIC within the core blade. Each
core blade has four ASICs. A pair of connections between two QSFP ports can create 32 Gbps of bandwidth.
Figure 6 shows a core-edge design based on UltraScale ICLs supporting 2304 16 Gbps ports with a minimum
of 256 Gbps of bandwidth between the chassis (12:1 oversubscription). As more UltraScale ICLs are added,
oversubscription can be reduced to 6:1.
fig06_SAN_Design
Domain 1
Brocade
DCX 8510-8
Domain 2
Brocade
DCX 8510-8
Domain 3
Brocade
DCX 8510-8
Domain 4
Brocade
DCX 8510-8
Domain 5
Brocade
DCX 8510-8
Domain 6
Brocade
DCX 8510-8
Figure 6. UltraScale ICL-based core-edge design.
To connect multiple Brocade DCX 8510 chassis via UltraScale ICLs, a minimum of four ICL ports (two on each
core blade) must be connected between each chassis pair, as shown in Figure 7. With 32 ICL ports available on
the Brocade DCX 8510-8 (with both ICL POD licenses installed), this supports ICL connectivity with up to eight
other chassis and at least 256 Gbps of bandwidth to each connected Brocade DCX 8510. The dual connections