HP A7533A - Brocade 4Gb SAN Switch Base Release Note page 5

signing individual ports to a logical switch. Each logical switch is managed as a completely inde-
pendent layer 2 Fibre Channel switch, and can be deployed in independent fabrics known as
logical fabrics.
VF allows the user to create a special logical switch known as the base switch, which is used for
connectivity to other base switches and also as a backbone fabric for FCR. Individual logical
fabrics can utilize this shared base fabric for connectivity to other switches, providing efficient use
of resources by sharing common ISL and ICL connections among multiple logical fabrics.
VF is part of the base Fabric OS and does not require a license. VF is fully compatible with legacy
Brocade products, as well as M-series switches and directors.
FCR and FCIP enhancements
FCIP (SCSI) Read Tape Pipelining anticipates host read operations and buffers data to reduce
latency from the FCIP WAN.
LSAN Tagging provides special behavior for designated LSAN zones by using either a new speed
tag or enforce tag. The enforce tag allows individual FCRs to be configured only to import devices
in specific LSAN zones, increasing scalability. The speed tag allows designated targets to remain
imported, allowing sensitive hosts to discover targets much faster. This is useful when performing
boot over LSAN operations
SOTCP enhancements improve network congestion management in Slow Start Mode and helps
prevent host I/O timeouts.
Support for Pathinfo over MetaSAN. The Pathinfo command has been enhanced to provide
path information across routed fabrics, which is especially useful when troubleshooting connectivity
problems across routed fabrics.
FSPF cost in the FCR backbone fabric uses the most efficient route to reach a destination fabric,
preventing the use of an FCIP link when an ISL is available.
In-band management link over FCIP connections for the 400 MP Router allows a management
station to communicate with a remote 400 MP Router through the GE ports. This allows a single
management station located on the WAN side of the 400 MP Router to communicate with the
management interface on the CP for management tasks such as firmware downloads, SNMP
polling, SNMP traps, troubleshooting, and configuration.
Enhanced native connectivity with McDATA products
Fabric OS 6.2 and M-EOS 9.9 now support Frame Redirection in McDATA Open Fabric Mode
(interopmode 3) fabrics. Frame Redirection zones must be created and activated from Fabric OS
platforms.
Fabric OS platforms now support EX_Port connections to McDATA Open Fabric Mode Mi10Ks
using the 239 DID setting.
Security enhancements
Configurable stateless IPv6 auto-configuration is supported.
IPsec with IPv6 support provides greater security for management ports and configurable security
policies for IPv4/IPv6 addresses.
A switch-wide policy requiring HBA authentication requires that the FC-SP bit be set in FLOGI. If
the bit is not set, the FLOGI is rejected and the port is disabled.
A new warning for RADIUS login allows users to specify how many days in advance they should
be notified of password expiration.
An LDAP enhancement adds the ability to provide an alternate UPN (userPrincipalName) to domain
authentication.
Port beaconing support
HP StorageWorks Fabric OS 6.2.1 release notes 5