Switch Interoperability
S e n d f e e d b a c k t o n x 5 0 0 0 - d o c f e e d b a c k @ c i s c o . c o m
Table 43-2
are specific to Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switches while in interop mode.
Table 43-2
Switch Feature
Domain IDs
Timers
F_S_TOV
D_S_TOV
E_D_TOV
R_A_TOV
Trunking
Default zone
Zoning attributes
Zone propagation
VSAN
TE ports and SAN
port channel s
FSPF
Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch CLI Software Configuration Guide
43-10
lists the changes in switch operation when you enable interoperability mode. These changes
Changes in Switch Operation When Interoperability Is Enabled
Changes if Interoperability Is Enabled
Some vendors cannot use the full range of 239 domains within a fabric.
Domain IDs are restricted to the range 97 to 127, to accommodate McData's
nominal restriction to this same range. Domain IDs can either be static or
preferred, which operate as follows:
Static: Cisco switches accept only one domain ID; if a switch does not get
•
that domain ID it isolates itself from the fabric.
Preferred: If the switch does not get its requested domain ID, it accepts any
•
assigned domain ID.
All Fibre Channel timers must be the same on all switches as these values are
exchanged by E ports when establishing an ISL. The timers are F_S_TOV,
D_S_TOV, E_D_TOV, and R_A_TOV.
Verify that the Fabric Stability Time Out Value timers match exactly.
Verify that the Distributed Services Time Out Value timers match exactly.
Verify that the Error Detect Time Out Value timers match exactly.
Verify that the Resource Allocation Time Out Value timers match exactly.
Trunking is not supported between two different vendor's switches. This
feature may be disabled on a per port or per switch basis.
The default zone operation of permit (all nodes can see all other nodes) or deny
(all nodes are isolated when not explicitly placed in a zone) may change.
Zones may be limited to the pWWN and other proprietary zoning methods
(physical port number) may be eliminated.
On a Brocade switch, use the cfgsave command to save fabric-wide
Note
zoning configuration. This command does not have any effect on Cisco
Nexus 5000 Series switches if they are part of the same fabric. You
must explicitly save the configuration on each Cisco Nexus 5000 Series
switch.
Some vendors do not pass the full zone configuration to other switches, only
the active zone set gets passed.
Verify that the active zone set or zone configuration has correctly propagated
to the other switches in the fabric.
Interop mode only affects the specified VSAN.
Note
Interop modes cannot be enabled on FICON-enabled VSANs.
TE ports and SAN port channels cannot be used to connect Cisco switches to
non-Cisco SAN switches. Only E ports can be used to connect to non-Cisco
SAN switches. TE ports and SAN port channels can still be used to connect a
Cisco switch to other Cisco SAN switches even when in interop mode.
The routing of frames within the fabric is not changed by the introduction of
interop mode. The switch continues to use src-id, dst-id, and ox-id to load
balance across multiple ISL links.
Chapter 43
Advanced Fibre Channel Features and Concepts
OL-16597-01