Switch Fabric Modules - Brocade Communications Systems MLX Series Installation Manual

Router modules
Forward Error Correction (FEC) on Backplane Serdes Links
The operating margin of the longer backplane traces in the Brocade MLXe series 16Ke and 32Ke chassis may be reduced due to signal
attenuation. In the normal coding scheme (8b/10b), CRC errors are detected and the corrupt packets are dropped. With FEC enabled on
the serdes links, single burst errors can be corrected on the fly so packet drops are avoided.
Line Module Shutdown
Line Module Shutdown is an RAS feature that improves reliability of the XMR/MLX chassis. The LP card is shutdown when both MPs are
down or MP's are disconnected from the chassis. L2 and L3 traffic is stopped, and the router stops forwarding all traffic. Hardware
flooding and dropping control traffic required for processing by the router is thereby avoided.

Switch fabric modules

<Link>Table 15 lists all switch fabric modules that are available for Brocade MLX and NetIron XMR routers. For a detailed compatibility
matrix of which fabric modules can be used with which router configurations, refer to the relevant Release Notes.
TABLE 15 Switch fabric modules available for Brocade MLX and NetIron XMR routers
Part number Description
NI-X-SF1 Switch fabric module for 4-slot routers
NI-X-SF3 Switch fabric module for 8- and 16-slot routers
NI-X-32-SF Switch fabric module for 32-slot routers
NI-X-4-HSF High speed switch fabric module for 4-slot routers
NI-X-16-8-HSF High speed switch fabric module for 8- and 16-slot routers
NI-X-32-HSF High speed switch fabric module for 32-slot routers
Switch fabric modules switch packets from one interface module to another. Brocade MLX and NetIron XMR routers can be configured
with multiple switch fabric modules as described:
•
4-slot router: Accommodates three switch fabric modules (two required and one redundant) for a fully-loaded system. Ships with
two switch fabric modules. You must purchase an additional switch fabric module to equip your router for redundancy.
•
8-slot router: Accommodates three switch fabric modules (two required and one redundant) for a fully-loaded system. Ships
with two switch fabric modules. You must purchase an additional switch fabric module to equip your router for redundancy.
•
16-slot router: Accommodates four switch fabric modules (three required and one redundant) for a fully-loaded system. Ships
with three switch fabric modules. You must purchase an additional switch fabric module to equip your router for redundancy.
•
32-slot router: Accommodates eight switch fabric modules. Brocade MLX and XMR routers ship with eight switch fabric
modules.
NOTE
Brocade MLX Series and NetIron XMR router switch fabric modules are dedicated, which means that they function properly in
these routers only. If you attempt to install a Brocade MLX Series or NetIron XMR router switch fabric module in another Brocade
device or a switch fabric module intended for another Brocade device in a Brocade MLX Series or NetIron XMR router, the router
and switch fabric module will not function properly.
<Link>Figure 25 shows the front panel of a switch fabric module.
30 Brocade MLX Series and Brocade NetIron XMR Installation Guide
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