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All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of, and are used to identify, products or
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Notice: This document is for informational purposes only and does not set forth any warranty, expressed or implied, concerning
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this document at any time, without notice, and assumes no responsibility for its use. This informational document describes
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Export of technical data contained in this document may require an export license from the United States government.
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Document History
Document TitlePublication NumberSummary of ChangesDate
This section describes text formatting conventions and important notice formats used in this
document.
Text formatting
The narrative-text formatting conventions that are used are as follows:
bold textIdentifies command names
italic textProvides emphasis
DRAFT: BROCADE CONFIDENTIAL
Identifies the names of user-manipulated GUI elements
Identifies keywords and operands
Identifies text to enter at the GUI or CLI
Identifies variables
Identifies paths and Internet addresses
Identifies document titles
code textIdentifies CLI output
Identifies command syntax examples
For readability, command names in the narrative portions of this guide are presented in mixed
lettercase: for example, show media. In actual examples, command lettercase is often all
lowercase. Otherwise, this manual specifically notes those cases in which a command is case
sensitive.
Command syntax conventions
Command syntax in this manual follows these conventions:
commandCommands are printed in bold.
--option, optionCommand options are printed in bold.
-argument, argArguments.
[ ]Optional element.
variableVariables are printed in italics. In the help pages, values are underlined
enclosed in angled brackets < >.
...Repeat the previous element, for example “member[;member...]”
valueFixed values following arguments are printed in plain font. For example,
--show WWN
or
|Boolean. Elements are exclusive. Example:
--show -mode egress | ingress
Notes, cautions, and warnings
The following notices and statements are used in this manual. They are listed below in order of
increasing severity of potential hazards.
viiiBrocade VDX 6710 Hardware Reference Manual
53-1002xxx-01
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NOTE
ATTENTION
CAUTION
DANGER
A note provides a tip, guidance or advice, emphasizes important information, or provides a reference
to related information.
An Attention statement indicates potential damage to hardware or data.
A Caution statement alerts you to situations that can be potentially hazardous to you.
A Danger statement indicates conditions or situations that can be potentially lethal or extremely
hazardous to you. Safety labels are also attached directly to products to warn of these conditions
or situations.
Key terms
For definitions specific to Brocade and Fibre Channel, see the Brocade Glossary.
For definitions of SAN-specific terms, visit the Storage Networking Industry Association online
dictionary at:
http://www.snia.org/education/dictionary
Notice to the reader
This document may contain references to the trademarks of the following corporations. These
trademarks are the properties of their respective companies and corporations.
CorporationReferenced Trademarks and Products
Microsoft CorporationWindows, Windows NT, Internet Explorer
Sun Microsystems, Inc.Sun, Solaris
Netscape Communications CorporationNetscape
Red Hat, Inc.Red Hat, Red Hat Network, Maximum RPM, Linux Undercover
Velcro Industries B.V.Velcro
Additional information
This section lists additional Brocade and industry-specific documentation that you might find
helpful.
For additional Brocade documentation, visit the Brocade Web site:
http://www.brocade.com
Release notes are available on the MyBrocade web site and are also bundled with the Network OS
firmware.
Other industry resources
For additional resource information, visit the Technical Committee T11 Web site. This Web site
provides interface standards for high-performance and mass storage applications for Fibre
Channel, storage management, and other applications:
http://www.t11.org
For information about the Fibre Channel industry, visit the Fibre Channel Industry Association Web
site:
http://www.fibrechannel.org
Getting technical help
Contact your switch support supplier for hardware, firmware, and software support, including
product repairs and part ordering. To expedite your call, have the following information available:
1. General Information
• Switch model
• Switch operating system version
• Error numbers and messages received
• Support save output
• Detailed description of the problem, including the switch or fabric behavior immediately
following the problem, and specific questions
• Description of any troubleshooting steps already performed and the results
• Serial console and Telnet session logs
• syslog message logs
2. Switch Serial Number
xBrocade VDX 6710 Hardware Reference Manual
53-1002xxx-01
The switch serial number and corresponding bar code are provided on the serial number label,
as illustrated below.:
*FT00X0054E9*
FT00X0054E9
The serial number label is located as follows:
• Brocade VDX 6720 — On the switch ID pull-out tab located on the bottom of the port side
of the switch
Document feedback
Quality is our first concern at Brocade and we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and
completeness of this document. However, if you find an error or an omission, or you think that a
topic needs further development, we want to hear from you. Forward your feedback to:
DRAFT: BROCADE CONFIDENTIAL
documentation@brocade.com
Provide the title and version number of the document and as much detail as possible about your
comment, including the topic heading and page number and your suggestions for improvement.
The Brocade VDX 6710 is a top-of-rack switch designed to accommodate traditional 1 Gigibit
Ethernet (GbE) server connections to the Brocade 10 GbE VCS™ technology. The Brocade VDX
6710 switches run on the Brocade Network Operating System (Network OS) v2.1.0. For details
about Network OS, refer to the Brocade Network OS Administrator’s Guide.
A key feature of the Brocade VDX 6710 switches is Brocade VCS™ technology, which includes
virtual cluster switching, a new set of technologies that allows users to create flatter, virtualized,
and converged data center networks. VCS fabrics are scalable, permitting users to expand at their
own pace, and simplified to allow users to manage the fabric as a single entity. VCS-based Ethernet
fabrics are convergence-capable, enabling Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) storage.
1
The Brocade VDX 6710 switch offers 48 1 GbE, direct-attach copper ports along with six 10 GbE
SFP+, optical ports.
Platform components and capabilities
The Brocade VDX 6710 switches offer the following common features and capabilities:
• A system motherboard that features a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) CPU running
at 1.3 GHz with integrated peripherals
• An RJ45 10/100/1000 Ethernet out-of-band management port
• An RJ45 10/100/1000 Ethernet port for RLO (enabled through an external dongle on the
serial port) available in a future software release
• An RJ45-fronted serial (RS-232) port for terminal access
• A USB port for firmware upgrades and system log downloads
• Support for long-range and short-range SFP+ GbE transceivers
• Support for optical cables and active twin axial (twinax) copper cables
• Support for direct-attach copper cables
• Support for inter-switch link (ISL) trunking
• A rack-mount design using existing rail kits (fixed and mid-mount or Telco rail kits) on a 19-inch
• Extensive diagnostics and system-monitoring capabilities for enhanced high Reliability,
• Optimized airflow - a choice of front-to-back or back-to-front flow
• A real-time clock (RTC) with battery
• SEEPROM for switch identification
• Voltage monitoring
• Fan monitoring
• Three temperature sensors
• I2C interface to monitor and control environmental aspects
• Note that port numbering for the Brocade VDX 6710 begins with 1, not 0.
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EIA rack, also suitable for reduced-depth racks
Availability, and Serviceability (RAS)
Feature specific to the VDX 6710-include:
• 1U form factor enclosure
• 24 10GbE SFP+ ports (also configurable to 1 GbE)
• One forwarding ASIC
• 600 nanosecond (ns) port-to-port latency
• 15-inch depth
• Dual, hot-swappable 250W AC power supplies with three integrated cooling fans each
eature specific to the VDX 6710- include:
• 2U form factor enclosure
• 60 10GbE SFP+ ports (also configurable to 1 GbE)
• Nine forwarding ASICs arranged in a 3/6, core/edge configuration
• One forwarding FC ASIC
• 600ns port-to-port latency, 1.8μs across port groups
• 17-inch depth
• Dual, redundant, hot-swappable 500W AC power supplies
• Triple, hot-swappable cooling fans in an n+1 configuration
Software features
The Brocade VDX 6710 switches support the following features. For more details on these features,
refer to the Brocade Network OS Administrator’s Guide.
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Brocade VDX 6710 overview
Layer 2/Layer 3 security features
• VLANs
• Spanning Tree Protocol(STP, RSTP, MSTP) PVST+/PVRST+
• Support for Unicast and multicast capabilities, IGMP snooping
• Layer 2 multi-path based on Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL)
• Layer 2 access control lists (ACLs)
• Switch Port Analyzer (SPAN), also known as port mirroring
• Management access ACLs
Virtualization
• Automatic Migration of Port Profiles (AMPP)
• Support for VLAN, QoS, security, and FCoE port profiles
• VM aware network automation
•
Link aggregration
1
• 802.3ad LACP support
• Virtual Link Aggregation Group (vLAG) – LAG that spans multiple physical switches
The port side of the Brocade VDX 6710 switch includes the system LEDs, management ports and
LEDs, USB port, and Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) ports and the corresponding port status LEDs.
Figure 1 shows the port side of the Brocade VDX 6710.
FIGURE 1Port side view of the Brocade VDX 6710
1Switch ID pull-out tab2Serial console port (RJ45)
3USB port4System power LED
5System status LED6Ethernet management port (RJ45)
To install and operate the switch successfully, ensure compliance with the following requirements:
• The primary outlet is correctly wired, protected by a circuit breaker, and grounded in
accordance with local electrical codes.
• The supply circuit, line fusing, and wire size are adequate, as specified by the electrical rating
on the switch nameplate.
• The power supply standards are met. Refer to Tab le 10 on page 40, for more information.
Environmental considerations
For successful installation and operation of the switch, ensure that the following environmental
requirements are met:
• Because the Brocade VDX 6710 switches can be ordered with fans that either move air front to
back or back to front, be sure to orient your switch with the airflow pattern of any other devices
in the rack. All equipment in the rack should force air in the same direction to avoid intake of
exhaust air.
• A maximum of 102 cubic meters/hour (60 cubic feet/minute) and a nominal flow of 74.8 cubic
meters/hour (44 cubic feet/minute) of airflow is available to the air intake vents.
• The ambient air temperature does not exceed 40°C (104°F) while the switch is operating.
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Cabinet considerations
For successful installation and operation of the switch in a cabinet, ensure the following cabinet
requirements are met:
• The cabinet must be a standard EIA cabinet.
• The cabinet space required is one rack unit; 4.45 cm (1.75 in.) high and 48.3 cm (19 in.) wide.
• The equipment in the cabinet is grounded through a reliable branch circuit connection and
maintains ground at all times. Do not rely on a secondary connection to a branch circuit, such
as a power strip.
• Airflow and temperature requirements are met on an ongoing basis, particularly if the switch is
installed in a closed or multicabinet assembly.
• The additional weight of the switch does not exceed the cabinet’s weight limits or unbalance
the cabinet in any way.
• The cabinet is secured to ensure stability in case of unexpected movement, such as an
earthquake.
Recommendations for cable management
The minimum radius to which a 50 micron cable should be bent under full tensile load is 5.1 cm (2
in.). For a cable under no tensile load, that minimum is 3.0 cm (1.2 in.).
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NOTE
Standalone installation for a Brocade VDX 6710
Cables can be organized and managed in a variety of ways; for example, use cable channels on the
sides of the cabinet or patch panels to reduce the potential for tangling the cables. The following
list provides some recommendations for cable management:
You should not use tie wraps with optical cables because they are easily overtightened and can
damage the optic fibers. Velcro-like wraps are recommended.
2
• Plan for the rack space required for cable management before installing the switch.
• Leave at least 1 m (3.28 ft) of slack for each port cable. This provides room to remove and
replace the switch, allows for inadvertent movement of the rack, and helps prevent the cables
from being bent to less than the minimum bend radius.
• For easier maintenance, label the cables and record the devices to which they are connected.
• Keep LEDs visible by routing port cables and other cables away from the LEDs.
Items required for installation
The following items are required for installing, configuring, and connecting the Brocade VDX 6710
switches for use in a network and fabric:
• A workstation with an installed terminal emulator, such as HyperTerminal.
• An unused IP address and corresponding subnet mask and gateway address.