Spinfab - Brocade Communications Systems 8 Command Reference Manual

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spinFab

spinFab
Runs functional test of interswitch link (ISL) cabling and trunk group operation.
Synopsis spinfab [-nmegs count][-ports itemlist][-setfail mode][-fports flag]
Description Use this command to verify the intended functional operation of interswitch links (ISLs) at the
maximum speed by setting up the routing hardware so that test frames received by each E_Port are
retransmitted on the same E_Port. Several frames are subsequently sent to the neighbor port
attached to each active E_Port specified. Because the default action for such frames is to route
them back to the sender, which never occurs during normal traffic, the frames circulate until the
test terminates.
The frames are continuously transmitted and received in all ports in parallel. The port LEDs flicker
green rapidly while the test is running.
M->N/M->M loopback ports are tested as well, using the same algorithm, if loopback cables or
loopback plugs are present in the switch.
While the frames are circulating, the RX frame count and port CRC and encoder error statistics are
monitored. If a port stops or a low-level error occurs, the test generates an error message. Every
one million frames, the circulating frames are captured to verify that they are still circulating and in
the appropriate order. In this manner, the test can verify the entire path to the remote switch as
well as the proper in-order delivery operation of any trunk groups present.
The switch remains in normal operation while this test is running. However, some performance
degradation may occur due to the ISLs being saturated with test frames. For this reason, use
caution when running this test on live fabrics. Consider testing only one trunk group or ISL at a
time, and do not run the tests for extended periods of time.
Combine this test with portLoopBackTest for ISL link failure isolation. If spinFab fails, replace the
cable with a loopback plug and run portLoopBackTest to verify the local switch and media. If these
pass, the fault lies in the cable, the remote switch, or media.
The frame size depends on the amount of buffer credit available on the port. There are eight
possible frames that can be sent. Especially with trunking groups, all eight possible frames are
used unless there is extensive traffic running on the link. The payload sizes of those eight frames
are 1024, 12, 8, 1024, 512, 1024, 12, and 1024.
Notes On switches running Fabric OS v6.4.0 and later, you can now use spinFab to test ports that
previously caused nonspecific test results or were skipped by spinFab. The following port types now
support the spinFab diagnostics.
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896
Loopback ports
E_Ports
Trunk master ports
Ports with index numbers greater than 255.
Ports with swapped areas.
Ports in logical switches.
Ports in Base Switches.
Trunk Slave ports.
Long Distance ports.
Fabric OS Command Reference
53-1001764-02