Brocade BR-X6-2164 Port Blade, FC32-64, Bundled with Qty-8 4x32G QSFP SWL QSFPs
The FC32-64 port blade contains 16 ICL QSFP ports. Each QSFP optics supports four ports for connecting FC devices. With a breakout cable connected to the QSFP transceiver, connections are provided for up to four devices.
Breakout capability allows four SFP+ front ports on qualified Fibre Channel and Ethernet QSFP transceivers to operate at multiple speeds. For example, SFP+ front ports on an FC 4x32G SWL QSFP+ transceiver each operate at 32G or four SFP+ front ports on a 40GbE QSFP+ transceiver can each operate at 10GbE. By default Ethernet ports operate in non-breakout mode, so you must enable breakout mode for ports containing Ethernet transceivers using the portcfgbreakout --enable command.
Connection speeds depend on the QSFP transceiver installed. For example, a 4x32G QSFP+ transceiver would provide four 32/16G connections and a 4x16G QSFP+ transceiver provides four 16/8/4G connections.
The following list shows considerations for using these blades:
- Port and extension blades can be mixed in device slots 3, 4, 7, and 8, but CR32-4 blades must be installed in slots 5 and 6. Up to four hot-swappable port blades can be installed in a single chassis to provide up to 192 32G FC ports.
- It is recommended that two fan assemblies be installed on the Brocade Brocade X6-4 chassis if blades are being used.
Port blades contain the following LED indicators.
- Green blade power LED
- Amber blade status LED
- Bicolor green/amber port status LEDs
Flexport allows you to configure individual ports on the FC32-64 blade for Fibre Channel (FC) or Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) connections when qualified FC or Ethernet transceivers are installed in the ports. Configure FC (default) or Ethernet operation for a port using the portcfgflexport command.
- FC operation allows the connection of blades to fabric storage, servers, and switches. An FC transceiver must be installed in a port to configure FC operation for that port. Supported FC transceivers include 4x32G ICL QSFP and 4x16G QSFP+ transceivers.
- FCoE operation allows the connection of blades to FCoE devices as part of a unified fabric. The FCoE devices can be servers or connections through an FCoE Initialization Protocol snooping bridge (FSB). An Ethernet transceiver must be installed in a port to configure FCoE operation for that port. Supported Ethernet transceivers include 40GbE, 4x10GbE, and 4x25GbE QSFP+ transceivers.
For more details on FCoE, Flexport, and breakout mode features and commands, refer to the Brocade Fabric OS Administration Guide and Brocade Fabric OS Command Reference Manual.
