Users Guide

• There should a maximum of 64 server fabric login (FLOGI) requests or fabric discovery (FDISC) requests per server MAC address
before forwarded by the FC Flex IO module to the FC core switch. Without user configuration, only 32 server login sessions are
permitted for each server MAC address. To increase the total number of sessions to 64, use the max sessions command.
• A distance of up to 300 meters is supported at 8 Gbps for Fibre Channel traffic.
• Multiple domains are supported in an NPIV proxy gateway (NPG).
• If the switch contains FC Flex IO module, you cannot create a stack and a log message states that %Error: cannot configure
stack group when FC module is enabled. Similarly, FC Flex IO modules do not function when you insert them into a stack
of I/O Aggregator switches.
Guidelines for Working with FC Flex IO Modules
The following guidelines apply to the FC Flex IO module:
• All the ports of FC Flex IO modules operate in FC mode, and do not support Ethernet mode.
• FC Flex IO modules are not supported in the chassis management controller (CMC) GUI.
• The only supported FCoE functionality is NPIV proxy gateway. Configure the other FCoE services, such as name server, zone server,
and login server on an external FC switch.
• FC Flex IOM module is a field-replaceable unit (FRU). Its memory type is electrically erasable programmable read-only memory
(EEPROM), which enables it to save manufacturing information, such as the serial number. It is hot-swappable, assuming that the
module that is removed is replaced by the same type of module in that same slot.
• The FC Flex IO does not have persistent storage for any runtime configuration. All the persistent storage for runtime configuration is
on the I/O Aggregator baseboard.
• With both FC Flex IO modules present in the I/O Aggregator switches, the power supply requirement and maximum thermal output are
the same as these parameters needed for the M1000 chassis.
• Each port on the FC Flex IO module contains status indicators to denote the link status and transmission activity. For traffic that is
being transmitted, the port LED shows a blinking green light. The Link LED displays solid green when a proper link with the peer is
established. If there is no connectivity, the LEDs are not lit
• The I/O Aggregator switches continue to operate in FCoE Gateway mode even if connectivity to a ToR switch does not exist.
• The I/O Aggregator examines whether the FC Flex IO module is inserted into the switch. When the FC Flex IO module is present
during the boot process, the switch runs in FCoE NPIV gateway mode by default.
• When an FC Flex IO module is present in the I/O Aggregator, the software autoconfigures the DCB settings on the ports that support
DCB and does not retrieve these settings from the ToR switch.
• Active fabric manager (AFM) is compatible with FC Flex IO modules.
• All SNMP MIBs that are supported for I/O Aggregator switches apply equally for FC Flex IO modules. The interface MIB indicates the
FC interface when you install the FC flex IO module. The interface MIB statistical counters compute and display the FC interface
metrics.
• When the Dell Networking OS sends FC frames (the initial FLOGI or FLOGO messages), or converts FLOGI to FDISC messages or
processes any internally generated FC frames, the software computes and verifies the FC cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value
before sending the frame to FC ports.
• Fabric worldwide name (WWN) verification is available for eight FC ports. Single-switching WWN capability is provided when the
switch operates in NPIV mode.
• With FC Flex IO modules, you can connect the IOA in Simple MUX mode to a single fabric.
• With FC Flex IO modules on an IOA, the FC port speed is set to auto. The following parameters are automatically configured on the
ENode facing and FC ports
• Description: SAN_FABRIC
• Fabric-id: 1002
• Fcoe-vlan: 1002
FC Flex IO Modules
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