Brocade SilkWorm 48000 Director Release Notes

This document contains important information about the Brocade SilkWorm 48000 director and associated blades for installation in Sun storage area networks (SANs). Read this document so that you are aware of issues or requirements that can impact the installation and operation of this product.



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This document contains the following sections:


Features in This Release for the FC10-6 Blade

The FC10-6 blade for the Brocade SilkWorm 48000 director is being released with the Brocade Fabric Operating System (Fabric OS) 5.3.0. The FC10-6 part number is
SG-XSWBRO10GB-M6-Z.

Before you install the FC10-6 blade, the SilkWorm 48000 director must be running Fabric OS version 5.3.0 (minimum).

The FC10-6 blade provides an additional 6 ports for the SilkWorm 48000 Fibre Channel SAN director, with maximum of 384 ports. Each 6-port blade includes:



Note - The blade can be purchased with or without the six 10-gBit Small Form Factor Pluggable (XFP) connectors.


With its 10-gBit/sec transmission speed, the SilkWorm 48000 director with the FC10-6 blade installed is ideal for very large SAN deployments or standalone director implementations. There is extended distance support up to 80 kilometers (49.6 miles).

Software Compatibility

The Fabric OS 5.3.0 switch firmware and Fabric Manager 5.3 is qualified on the Brocade FC10-6 port blade. See Downloading and Installing Patches for more information.



Note - Switch firmware V5.3.0 must be running on the SilkWorm 48000 director.



FC4-48 Blade Features

The FC4-48 blade for the Brocade SilkWorm 48000 director is being released with the Brocade Fabric Operating System (Fabric OS) 5.3.0. The FC4-48 part number is
SG-XSWBRO4GB-M48-Z.

Before you install the FC4-48 blade, the SilkWorm 48000 director must be running Fabric OS version 5.3.0 (minimum).

The FC4-48 blade provides an additional 48 ports for the SilkWorm 48000 Fibre Channel SAN director, increasing the maximum to 384 ports. Each 48-port blade includes:

With its 4 Gbit/sec transmission speed, the SilkWorm 48000 director is ideal for very large SAN deployments or standalone director implementations. The SilkWorm 48000 has enhanced Interswitch Link (ISL) trunking with up to 8 ports in a trunk group with a bandwidth of 32 Gbit/sec. There is extended distance support up to 500 kilometers (310.68 miles) for 1 Gb, 250 km (155.34 miles) for 2 Gb, and 100 km (62.13 miles) for 4 Gb.


System Requirements

This section contains the following topics:

Software Requirements

This section lists the latest software requirements.

Basic Software Requirements

Solaris

Linux

Microsoft Windows

Other

Brocade Management Software Requirements

Several options are available for managing a SilkWorm 48000 director. The following is a list of the available options and any operating requirements:

Supported Hardware

The following is a list of the storage devices, host bus adapters (HBAs), and servers supported by the SilkWorm 48000 director.

Supported Storage Platforms

Supported Host Bus Adapters

Supported Server Platforms

Solaris 10 (x64/x86), Windows 2000/2003 Server, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4, SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9/10

Solaris 9/10 for SPARC

Solaris 10 for SPARC

Fabric OS (Switch Firmware) Requirements

TABLE 1 summarizes the versions of the Brocade Fabric OS that are supported in conjunction with this release. Use the current software release versions to optimize the benefits of a SAN.


TABLE 1 Minimum Brocade Fabric OS Requirements

SilkWorm 2000 Series

SilkWorm 3200 and 3800

SilkWorm 3250, 3850, 3900, 12000, and 24000

SilkWorm 4100

SilkWorm 200E and 4800 Switch

SilkWorm 7500

SilkWorm 12000

Brocade Fabric Manager

General Compatibility

2.6.1

3.2.1a

4.1.0

4.4.0b

5.0.1a

5.1.0d

4.1.0

5.1

With Secure Fabric Enabled

2.6.1

3.2.1a

4.1.0

4.4.0b

5.0.1a

5.1.0d

4.1.0

5.1

Recommended Software Versions

2.6.2d

3.2.1a

5.3.0a

5.3.0a

5.3.0a

5.3.0a

5.0.5b

5.1




Note - SilkWorm 3250, 3850, and 24000 are supported by Fabric OS v4.2.0 or later.
SilkWorm 3250, 3850, and 24000 are supported by Fabric Manager 4.1.1 or later.
SilkWorm 3900 is supported by Fabric OS v4.1.0 or later.
SilkWorm 4100 is supported by Fabric Manager 4.4.0 or later.
SilkWorm 4900 is supported by Fabric OS v5.1.0a or later.
SilkWorm 4900 is supported by Fabric Manager 5.1 or later.
SilkWorm 200E and 48000 are supported by Fabric Manager 5.0 or later.



Downloading and Installing Patches

The section that follows provides instructions for downloading and installing patches for the SilkWorm 48000 director.

Required SAN Foundation Patches

This product requires Sun StorEdgetrademark SAN Foundation software. For more information about the Sun StorEdge Open SAN Architecture, refer to:

http://www.sun.com/storage/san

For instructions on downloading Sun StorEdge SAN Foundation software driver packages and patches required to run the switches with supported hardware from Sun, see the Sun StorEdge SAN Foundation Software 4.4.12 Release Notes, Including Sun StorEdge Traffic Manager for the Solaris Operating System, part number 819-0610-xx. You can find this document at:

http://www.sun.com/products-n-solutions/
hardware/docs/Network_Storage_Solutions/san_software/index.html


procedure icon  To Download and Install the Patches

Use the following procedure to retrieve the patches for your OS. Use patch ID 124898-xx for the 5.3.0 firmware.

1. Access the SunSolve web site at:

http://sunsolve.sun.com.

2. Accept the terms and conditions of the License Agreement.

3. Click Patches and Updates under the Support category.

4. Under PatchFinder, type the patch ID and click Find Patch.

Do not type the -xx revision number. PatchFinder automatically finds the latest patch.

5. Verify that you have retrieved the correct patch.

6. Print the page.



Note - Printing this page also prints the patch README file, which contains the installation instructions, special instructions, special guidelines, and notes.


7. Download the patch by clicking on either HTTP or FTP as shown in the following line:

Download Patch (nn,nnn,nnn bytes) HTTP FTP.

8. Click PatchFinder and repeat the process from Step 3 for each patch.

9. When you are finished downloading all the patches, install the patches by following the instructions in each patch README file.

 


Related Documentation

The Brocade Fabric OS v5.3.0 Release Notes are available with the Brocade Fabric Operating System 5.3.0 patch, 124898-06 .

See To Download and Install the Patches for more information.


Service Contact Information

If you need help installing or using this product in the United States, call
1-800-USA-4SUN, or go to: