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606 Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide
53-1002745-02
FC-FC routing and Virtual Fabrics
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FC-FC routing and Virtual Fabrics
If Virtual Fabrics is not enabled, FC-FC routing behavior is unchanged. If Virtual Fabrics is enabled,
then in the FC-FC routing context, a base switch is like a backbone switch and a base fabric is like a
backbone fabric.
If Virtual Fabrics is enabled, the following rules apply:
• EX_Ports and VEX_Ports can be configured only on the base switch.
When you enable Virtual Fabrics, the chassis is automatically rebooted. When the switch
comes up, only one default logical switch is present, with the default fabric ID (FID) of 128. All
previously configured EX_Ports and VEX_Ports are persistently disabled with the reason
“ExPort in non base switch”. You must explicitly create a base switch, move the EX_Ports and
VEX_Ports to the base switch, and then enable the ports.
If you move existing EX_Ports or VEX_Ports to any logical switch other than the base switch,
these ports are automatically disabled.
If you want to change an EX_Port or VEX_Port on the logical switch to be a non-EX_Port or
VEX_Port, you must use the portCfgDefault command. You cannot use the portCfgExPort
command because that command is allowed only on the base switch.
• EX_Ports can connect to a logical switch that is in the same chassis or a different chassis.
However, the FID of the EX_Port must be set to a different value than the FID of the logical
switch to which it connects.
• EX_Ports and VEX_Ports — those in FC routers and those in a base switch — cannot connect to
any edge fabric with logical switches configured to use XISLs.
If you connect an EX_Port or VEX_Port to an edge fabric, you must ensure that there are no
logical switches with XISL use enabled in that edge fabric. If any logical switch in the edge
fabric allows XISL use, then the EX_Port or VEX_Port is disabled. Refer to “Configuring a logical
switch to use XISLs” on page 299 for instructions on disallowing XISL use.
Because XISL use is disallowed, dedicated links must be configured to route traffic across
switches in the same logical fabric, as shown in Figure 23 on page 282.
ATTENTION
If you connect an EX_Port or VEX_Port from an FC router running Fabric OS v6.1.x or earlier to a
logical switch that allows XISL use, the EX_Port or VEX_Port is not disabled; however, this
configuration is not supported.
• Backbone-to-edge routing is not supported in the base switch. Refer to “Backbone-to-edge
routing with Virtual Fabrics” on page 608 for information about how to configure legacy FC
routers to allow backbone-to-edge routing with Virtual Fabrics.
• All FCR commands can be executed only in the base switch context.
• The fcrConfigure command is not allowed when Virtual Fabrics is enabled. Instead, use the
lsCfg command to configure the FID.