Brocade Fabric OS v7.1.2a Release Notes v1.0

Licensing
• The Fabric Vision license (included in some software bundles) is being introduced in 2013 to enable
new functionality in FOS v7.2 and later releases. When installed on a switch operating with FOS
v7.1.x, the licenseshow command will display this license as the “Fabric Insight license”. When
running FOS v7.1.x or earlier, existence of this license does not affect any functionality on the switch.
Native Connectivity (M-EOS interoperability)
• A switch running FOS v7.0 or later cannot form E-port connectivity with any M-EOS platform.
• Platform running FOS v7.1 does not support EX port configuration in Interopmode 2 or Interopmode 3.
• Device sharing between a switch running FOS v7.1 and McDATA fabrics is allowed via Integrated
Routing platforms using FOS v7.0.x (or earlier) firmware.
Port Initialization
Users may observe that a port is in “Port Throttled” state when an F_Port is being initialized. This is mostly an
informational message that is shown in switchshow output indicating systematic initialization of F_Ports.
However, a port may remain in “Port Throttled” state for an extended period of time and may never come
online if it fails to negotiate speed successfully with the neighboring port. Users are advised to check the speed
setting of the neighboring switch port to determine the cause of the speed negotiation failure.
Example Output:
74 9 10 36ed40 id N8 In_Sync FC Disabled (Port
Throttled)
Port Mirroring
• Port Mirroring is not supported on the Brocade 7800.
Port Statistics
• On 16G capable ports, the enc_in (number of encoding errors inside of frames) and enc_out
(number of encoding errors outside of frames) counters will not be updated when a port is operating
at either 10G or 16G speed. This is due to the different encoding scheme used at 10G and 16G
speeds when compared to 8G/4G/2G speeds. Because of this, Fabric Watch alerts and Port Fencing
based on ITW (Invalid Transmission Word) thresholds will not function as these enc_in and enc_out
counters will not be incremented when operating at either 10G or 16G (ITW is computed based on
enc_in and enc_out counters). Also any CLI or GUI that displays enc_in and enc_out counters will
show no incrementing of these counters when a port is operating at either 10G or 16G.
Both enc_in and enc_out counters contain valid information when a Condor3-based port is operating
at speeds
other than
10G and 16G.
Virtual Fabrics
• When creating Logical Fabrics that include switches that are not Virtual Fabrics capable, it is possible
to have two Logical Switches with different FIDs in the same fabric connected via a VF incapable
switch. Extra caution should be used to verify the FIDs match for all switches in the same Logical
Fabric.
• A switch with Virtual Fabrics enabled may not participate in a fabric that is using Password Database
distribution or Administrative Domains. The Virtual Fabrics feature must be disabled prior to deploying
in a fabric using these features.
• ISL R_RDY mode is not supported in a base switch with FOS version 7.0 or higher.
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