SAN Switches

Shikhar Bhargava
IBM SAN Team - Hess
 Working with Switches
 Roles of switches
 Configuration of switches
 Management of switches
Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Command Line Interface (CLI)

To power on:

1. Connect one end of the power cord to the AC inlet on the

switch; connect the other end to a power source.
2. Set the AC power switch to I.
The switch runs POST each time it is powered on, reset, or rebooted.
POST requires approximately three minutes.

To power off:

1. Set the AC power switch to O.

2. Remove the power cords from the power sources.
NOTE:

Removing all power from the switch triggers a system reset. All
devices are returned to their initial state the next time the switch is
powered on.
Logging Into the Switch

To perform the initial login into a switch:

1. Verify that the switch is connected to your IP network through the
RJ-45 Ethernet port to enable connection through telnet.
2. Open a telnet connection to the switch.
3. The login prompt is displayed if the telnet connection successfully
found the switch in the network.
4. Enter the user ID (usually user or admin) at the login prompt.
5. Enter the admin password.
6. Verify that the login was successful. A prompt is displayed showing
the switch name and user ID to which you are logged.
You can customize the switch names for the logical switches. If you
chose to change the default switch name, use a switch name that is
unique and meaningful.

Switch Names:
• Can be up to 15 characters in length.
• Must begin with an alpha character.
• Can consist of any combination of alphanumeric and
underscore characters.

1. Enter the switchname command.

2. Enter the new name in quotes, as shown in the following
example:
switchName "sw10"
3. Record the name for future reference.
To verify that your switch is operating correctly, display
information about the switch and port status.
To display information about the switch and port status:

1. Enter the switchshow command at the command line. This

command displays a switch summary and a port summary.
To verify that you have fabric-wide switch connectivity, display a
summary of information about the fabric.
1. Enter the fabricshow command at the command line. This
command displays a summary of all the switches in the fabric.

switch:admin> fabricshow
This command displays port status information.
1. Enter the portshow command at the command line. This
command displays a summary of the specified port.

switch:admin>portshow 0
To verify that you have fabric-wide device connectivity, display the
fabric-wide device count. The number of devices listed in the Name
Server (NS) should reflect the number of devices that are
connected.
To display the fabric-wide device count from a switch:

1. Enter the nsshow command to verify that the storage devices

have successfully registered with the Name Server.

switch:admin> nsshow

2. Enter the nsallshow [type] command at the command line.

This command displays 24-bit Fibre Channel addresses of all
devices in the fabric.

switch:admin> nsallshow
Disabling a Switch

To disable a switch:

Enter the switchdisable command at the command line. All Fibre

Channel ports on the switch are taken offline. If the switch was part
of a fabric, the fabric reconfigures.

The switch must be disabled before making configuration changes

(using configure or configDefault) or before running many of the
diagnostic tests. All commands that require the switch to be disabled
send an error if invoked while the switch is enabled.

The switch does not need to be disabled before rebooting or

powering off.

As each port is disabled, the front panel LED changes to a slow

flashing yellow.
Enabling a Switch

To enable a switch:
Enter the switchenable command at the command line.

All Fibre Channel ports that passed the POST test are enabled. If the
switch was part of a fabric, it rejoins the fabric. When this command
is issued, the 10 second fabric stability count down is displayed. If
this switch remains the principal switch at the end of the
countdown, then it assigns itself a domain ID. If another switch
assumes the principal role, then this switch becomes a subordinate
switch, and accepts a domain ID from the principal.

As each port is enabled, the front panel LED changes to green for
online ports, black for disconnected ports, or yellow for uninitialized
ports.
To disable a port:
At the command line, enter the portdisable command using the
following syntax:

switch:admin>portdisable portnumber

Specify the portnumber that you want to disable. If the port is

connected to another switch, the fabric may reconfigure. If the port is
connected to one or more devices, these devices are no longer
available to the fabric.
The front panel LED of a disabled port flashes yellow with a two
second cycle.
Verify that the port has been disabled using switchshow:

switch:admin>switchshow

Further verify that the port is disabled by using portshow:

switch:admin>portshow

Notice that the state value is now OFFLINE.

To enable a port:

Enter the portenable command at the command line, using the

following syntax:

portenable portnumber

If the port is connected to another switch, the fabric may

reconfigure. If the port is connected to one or more devices,
these devices become available to the fabric.
The front panel LED of an enabled and online port is green.

Verify that the port has been enabled using switchshow:

switch:admin>switchshow
PRINCIPAL

The switch with the lowest WWN is set as Principal switch.

A switch may be forced to become a principal switch (with
commands)
Ensure unique Domain IDs throughout the fabric
Time synchronization across the fabric

SUBORDINATE

Any other switch than the principal switch participating in

the fabric is subordinate switch.
• The switch with the lowest WWN will be the principal switch

• Using the fabricprincipal command will set a priority bit to make

that switch the preferred principal next time there is an election

• Upstream ISLs are principal routes to the principal switch;

downstream routes go away from it

• Using the tsclockserver command will associate a principal switch

with an NTP time server; the date command then becomes read-only
for the rest of the switches in the fabric
1. Obtain required items
2. Make a serial connection
3. Apply power to the switch and log in
4. Set the IP address
5. Create an Ethernet connection
6. Modify the FC domain ID (optional)
7. Install the SFP transceivers
8. Connect the cables
9. Verify the configuration
10. Back up the configuration
11. Set the switch date and time
12. Synchronize the local time with an external source
13. Set the time zone
Interpreting LED activity

System activity and status can be determined through the LEDs on

the switch. There are three possible LED states that display either
green or amber:
• A steady light
• A flashing light
• No light

LEDs display either green or amber colors. A steady green light indicates a healthy state. Sometimes,
the LEDs flash any of the colors during boot, POST, or other diagnostic tests. This is normal; it does not
indicate a problem unless the LEDs do not indicate a
healthy state after all boot processes and diagnostic tests are complete.
When the switch is powered on or rebooted, the switch performs POST.
Total boot time with POST is at least three minutes.

POST
POST is a system check that is performed each time the switch is
powered on, rebooted, or reset. During POST, the LEDs flash different
colors. Any errors that occur during POST appear in the error log.

Monitor POST diagnostic tests via the error log or the CLI. The POST
process consists of:
• Displaying preliminary POST diagnostics
• Initializing the operating system
• Initializing the hardware
• Performing diagnostic tests that check several functions, including
circuitry, port functionality, memory, statistics counters, and serialization
Boot

Boot completes in approximately three minutes during POST. The boot

process consists of:
• Defining the universal port configuration set
• Initializing the links
• Analyzing the fabric

If any ports are connected to other switches, the switch participates in

a fabric configuration.
• Assigning domain IDs and port addresses.
• Constructing the unicast routing tables.
• Enabling normal port operation.
1. Verify that the switch LEDs indicate that all components are
healthy.

2. Verify that the switch prompt appears on a workstation monitor

connected to the switch. If there is no switch prompt when POST
completes, press Enter. If the switch prompt still does not appear, try
opening another Telnet session or accessing the results using another
management tool. If this does not work, the switch did not
successfully complete POST.

3. Review the system log for errors. Any errors detected during POST are
written to the system log, accessible through the errshow command.
Command Line Interface
Discuss in detail later ….
 Thank you
for
your time and patience