Users Guide
1-2 Dell PowerVault 56F 16-Port Fibre Channel Switch User’s Guide
DELL CONFIDENTIAL - Preliminary 4/11/00
(Rev. 11/3/98) FILE LOCATION: S:\SYSTEMS\Labrador\Ug\89TMRc10.fm
The switch includes the following features:
Ability to perform initial setup, including setting up the switch’s Internet Protocol
(IP) address from the front panel controls.
GBIC modules support fiber and copper transmission media. The switch’s modu-
lar construction gives the switch a range of flexibility in creating, upgrading,
maintaining, and configuring a fabric.
Integrated multifunction application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) devices are
used throughout the switch.
Design does not require microprocessor data path interaction, resulting in a
worst-case data transfer latency of less than 2 microseconds from any port to
any port at peak Fibre Channel bandwidth of 100 megabytes per second (MB/
sec). The latency may differ when the destination or device is a loop.
Virtual channels allow the switch to use congestion management techniques that
are performed automatically by the switch.
The switch’s firmware allows discovery of all connected devices and determines
optimum data paths without intervention.
The switch interoperates with the PowerVault 51F. If compatibility mode is
enabled on the PowerVault 56F switch, it can also interoperate with the
PowerVault 50F.
Switch ports support E_Port, F_Port, and FL_Port modes of operation with the
software selecting the optimum mode of operation.
A minimum aggregate routing capacity of 8,000,000 frames per second is specified
for Class 2, Class 3, and Class F frames. Non-blocking throughput of up to
16 by 100 MB/sec end-to-end is provided.
A maximum switch latency of less than two microseconds is specified for Class 2,
Class 3, and Class F frames when the output port is free.
You can perform initial configuration of the switch from the front panel controls.
You can also manage the switch remotely via Telnet, the Switch Manager, or Dell
OpenManage™ products.