Port Mirroring; Buffer Credit Recovery; Port Fencing - HP StorageWorks 4/8 - SAN Switch Release Note

Port Mirroring

Fabric OS 6.1.0a added support for Port Mirroring to 8-Gb ports. Port Mirroring mirrors traffic in
both directions between a source and destination ID pair to a single mirror port. The user can connect
an FC analyzer to this mirror port to capture all mirrored traffic and perform troubleshooting or
analysis.

Buffer credit recovery

Fabric OS 6.1.x implemented the credit recovery protocol, described in FC-FS standards. This feature
is supported only on E_Ports and allows switches to automatically recover buffer credits that were
accidentally lost over time. Buffer credit recovery prevents link performance degradation that can
occur due to loss of credits.
FCIP performance enhancements
Fabric OS 6.1.x increased committed rate tunnel performance (utilization) when compressibility
exceeds 2:1. Previous firmware releases capped FC data rates to two times the committed rate of the
FCIP tunnel. As a result, when the compression ratio exceeds 2:1, FC throughput remains constant at
twice the committed rate and the link utilization decreases. Fabric OS 6.1.x monitors compressibility,
adjusts to more compressible data, and works to fill the FCIP tunnel to the committed rate.

Port Fencing

Fabric OS 6.1.x added the new Port Fencing capability that automatically isolates a port that is
behaving outside the bounds of a normal, expected operation. This enhances overall stability of the
fabric so that an isolated event does not cause a major disruption. The Port Fencing capability is
included as part of the optional licensed Fabric Watch feature.
LDAP
Fabric OS 6.1.x added LDAP enhancements that allow Active Directory server roles to be mapped
to the various switch roles.
Parameter added for slotshow command
An optional m parameter for the slotshow command may be used to display the model names for
each blade installed in a DC SAN Director or 4/256 SAN Director chassis.
Scripting
Many automatic page breaks in CLI output for commands have been removed to facilitate scripting.
Notification of duplicate WWN entry
A RASLog entry will occur when a switch detects that a duplicate WWN has logged in.
HP StorageWorks Fabric OS 6.1.2b release notes 5