High Integrity Fabrics - Brocade Communications Systems Brocade 8/12c User Manual

High integrity fabrics

The High Integrity Fabric (HIF) mode option automatically enables features and operating
parameters that are necessary in multiswitch Enterprise Fabric environments. When HIF is
enabled, each switch in the fabric automatically enforces a number of security-related features
including Fabric Binding, Switch Binding, Insistent Domain IDs, and Domain Register for State
Change Notifications (RSCNs).
For Pure Fabric OS fabrics, HIF activates the Switch Connection Control (SCC) policy, sets Insistent
Domain ID, and sets the Fabric Wide Consistency Policy (FWCP) for SCC in strict mode.
For mixed Fabric OS and M-EOS fabrics:
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Activating HIF mode enables the following features:
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For Fabric OS switches, HIF activates the SCC policy, sets Insistent Domain ID, and sets the
FWCP for SCC in tolerant mode.
For M-EOS switches, HIF activates Enterprise Fabric Mode, Fabric Binding, Switch Binding,
Insistent Domain ID, and RSCNs.
Fabric Binding (M-EOS only). Allows or prohibits switches from merging with a selected fabric.
NOTE
NOTE: Fabric Binding cannot be disabled while HIF is active even if the switch is offline.
Switch Binding (M-EOS only). This feature, enabled through a device's Element Manager,
allows or prohibits switches from connecting to switch E_Ports and devices from connecting to
F_Ports.
NOTE
NOTE: Switch binding can be disabled while Enterprise Fabric Mode is active if the switch is
offline.
Switch Connection Control (Fabric OS only). This feature, enabled through a device's Element
Manager, prevents unauthorized switches from joining a fabric.
Fabric Wide Consistency Policy (Fabric OS only). This feature makes sure that switches in the
fabric enforce the same policies.
Domain RSCNs (M-EOS only). This feature, enabled through a device's Element Manager,
indicates that an event occurred to a switch in a fabric. The only cause would be a switch
entering or leaving the fabric. Notifications are sent fabric-wide and are not constrained by a
zone set. Domain RSCNs are not sent between end-devices.
Insistent Domain ID (Fabric OS and M-EOS). This feature, enabled through a device's Element
Manager, sets the domain ID as the active domain identification when the fabric initializes.
When Insistent Domain ID is enabled, the switch isolates itself from the fabric if the preferred
domain ID is not assigned as the switch's domain ID.
High integrity fabrics
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