Enabling And Disabling Brocade Vcs Mode - Brocade Communications Systems VDX 6720-24 Quick Start Manual

Enabling and disabling Brocade VCS mode

Enable or disable a single switch for VCS™ mode as soon as passwords have been assigned and an IP address has
been set. Enabling VCS mode is disruptive since a reboot is required once the mode has been enabled. Enabling or
disabling VCS mode also causes the default configuration file for that mode to be applied.
The basic configuration tasks include enabling or disabling VCS mode explicitly, setting VCS parameters, and
applying the default configuration. If you disable VCS mode, you do not have to set the other parameters. For more
details about enabling VCS mode and setting VCS parameters, please see the Brocade Network OS Administrator's
Guide and the Brocade Network OS Command Reference Guide.
Enabling VCS mode
Perform the following steps to enable VCS mode.
1. Log in to the switch using an account that has the admin role.
2. Enter the vcs enable command, including the RBridge parameter, as in the following example.
vcs rbridge-id 1 enable
The switch reboots when you confirm that you want to enable VCS mode.
When the switch comes back up, if it is connected to other VCS-enabled switches, the negotiation protocols
begin, determining which switch in the fabric is the principal switch and making sure that all domain IDs, and
therefore RBridge IDs, are unique. Should the insistent domain ID not be unique, you can change it. Once the
domain IDs are determined to be unique, they are equated to the RBridge IDs.
The switch with the lowest World Wide Name (WWN) becomes the principal switch, primarily for purposes of
determining the uniqueness of the ID of the other switches in the fabric. The WWN is a unique identifier burned
into the switch at the factory.
Another parameter that can be changed if necessary is the VCS ID. This identifies the VCS fabric of which the
switch can be a part. By default, the VCS ID of every Brocade Brocade VDX 6720 is 1. Change the VCS ID if you
need to create a new, separate VCS fabric.
3. If you need to change the VCS ID, enter the vcs vcs-id x command, where x is the new VCS ID number.
4. Enter the copy running-config startup-config command to apply the current running configuration to the startup
configuration. This is important to capture any changes that have been made to the running configuration so
that they will persist the next time the switch reboots in the same mode.
5. Reboot the switch.
When the switch comes back up it will be enabled in VCS mode.
Disabling VCS mode
Perform the following steps to disable VCS mode.
1. Log in to the switch using an account that has the admin role.
2. Enter the no vcs enable command.
3. Reboot the switch.
4. When the switch comes back up, enter the copy running-config startup-config command to apply the default
configuration to the startup configuration.
Brocade VDX 6720 QuickStart Guide
Publication Number: 53-1002085-03
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