Ports; Port Types; Backbone Port Blades - HP StoreFabric SN6500B Administrator's Manual

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Ports

Ports

Ports provide either a physical or virtual network connection point for a device. Brocade devices
support a wide variety of ports.

Port Types

The following is a list of port types that may be part of a Brocade device:
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Backbone port blades

Because Backbones contain interchangeable port blades, their procedures differ from those for
fixed-port switches. For example, fixed-port models identify ports only by the port number, while
Backbones identify ports by slot/port notation.
NOTE
For detailed information about the Brocade DCX and DCX 8510 Backbone families, refer to the
hardware reference manuals.
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D_Port — A diagnostic port lets an administrator isolate the inter-switch link (ISL) to diagnose
link level faults. This port runs only specific diagnostics tests and does not carry any fabric
traffic. Refer to the Fabric OS Troubleshooting and Diagnostics Guide for more information on
this port type.
E_Port — An expansion port that is assigned to ISL links to expand a fabric by connecting it to
other switches. Two connected E_Ports form an Inter-Switch Link (ISL). When E_Ports are used
to connect switches, those switches merge into a single fabric without an isolation
demarcation point. ISLs are non-routed links.
EX_Port — A type of E_Port that connects a Fibre Channel router to an edge fabric.
From the point of view of a switch in an edge fabric, an EX_Port appears as a normal E_Port.
It follows applicable Fibre Channel standards as other E_Ports. However, the router terminates
EX_Ports rather than allowing different fabrics to merge as would happen on a switch with
regular E_Ports. An EX_Port cannot be connected to another EX_Port.
F_Port — A fabric port that is assigned to fabric-capable devices, such as SAN storage devices.
G_Port — A generic port that acts as a transition port for non-loop fabric-capable devices.
L_/FL_Port — A loop or fabric loop port that connects loop devices. L_Ports are associated with
private loop devices and FL_Ports are associated with public loop devices.
M_Port — A mirror port that is configured to duplicate (mirror) the traffic passing between a
specified source port and destination port. This is only supported for pairs of F_Ports.
Refer to the Fabric OS Troubleshooting and Diagnostics Guide for more information on
port mirroring.
U_Port — A universal Fibre Channel port. This is the base Fibre Channel port type, and all
unidentified or uninitiated ports are listed as U_Ports.
VE_Port — A virtual E_Port that is a gigabit Ethernet switch port configured for an FCIP tunnel.
VEX_Port — A virtual EX_Port that connects a Fibre Channel router to an edge fabric. From the
point of view of a switch in an edge fabric, a VEX_Port appears as a normal VE_Port. It follows
the same Fibre Channel protocol as other VE_Ports. However, the router terminates VEX_Ports
rather than allowing different fabrics to merge as would happen on a switch with regular
VE_Ports.
Fabric OS Administrator's Guide
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