Planning for Brocade
IBM Spectrum
Control can monitor Brocade switches and
fabrics by connecting directly to the switches, or by using the SMI agent that is embedded in
Brocade Network Advisor (BNA).
Supported Brocade models
To see the Brocade models, firmware versions, and agents that are used by IBM Spectrum
Control, see the IBM Spectrum Control interoperability matrix.
Monitoring fabrics and switches
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- For switches with Fabric OS 8.2.1 or later, connect directly to the switch and use the REST API to
manage the switches and fabrics.
IBM Spectrum Control connects to the switch that you added, and automatically discovers the fabrics and switches that they manage. The discovered fabrics and switches are automatically added for monitoring, if they have the same credentials as the switches that you added. When you add switches, you can schedule probes and performance monitors to collect data for your switches and fabrics.
- For switches with a Fabric OS version earlier than 8.2.1, use the BNA Storage Management
Initiative (SMI) agent to manage the switches and fabrics. The SMI agent is embedded in the BNA. BNA
can manage multiple fabrics within and across data centers. When you configure BNA, you set up one
switch to be the seed switch that interconnects to all the other switches in the
fabric.
When you add fabrics and switches for monitoring, you can specify the SMI agent that manages them. IBM Spectrum Control connects to the agent and automatically discovers the fabrics and switches that it manages.
BNA can manage multiple fabrics within and across data centers. When you configure BNA, you set up one switch to be the seed switch that interconnects to all the other switches in the fabric.
Important: The embedded SMI agent is only available in the Professional Plus and Enterprise editions of BNA. BNA is no longer available for purchase, although it is supported by Broadcom until February 2022. For more information about end of support for BNA, see https://www.broadcom.com/support/fibre-channel-networking/eol.Updating BNA: You can access Brocade FOS firmware and Network Advisor updates (not new installations) through IBM Fix Central. You no longer need to open a case with IBM support to request them. For more information, see https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/1098741.
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Choosing whether to use REST API or BNA to monitor switches
Use the following table to help decide how to monitor your Brocade switches:
Monitoring method | Use in these situations |
---|---|
Direct REST API (No other software is required) |
Consider the following additional information when you are connecting directly to switches:
|
SMI-S (Network Advisor is required) |
|
- BNA is supported by Broadcom until February 2022. However, support for new models of switch will not be added to the SMI agent.
- You cannot manage a mixture of directly connected switches and switches that are managed by BNA on the same fabric.
- If you are adding switches that are not supported by BNA, then you must connect to the new switches directly and use Fabric OS REST API to manage them.
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Restrictions for connecting directly to Brocade switches
Consider the following information when you are planning to monitor directly connected switches that are running Fabric OS 8.2.1 or later:
- Brocade switches and their associated fabrics can be monitored only through one data source at a time. If you upgrade from an earlier version of IBM Spectrum Control, you must remove the fabrics that are monitored through BNA before you can add the switches in those fabrics by direct connection.
- To schedule probes for Brocade switches, use the Switches page, not the Fabrics page.
- ISLs and trunks are shown for switches only after both the switch and the connected switch are probed.
- In rollup mode, information is only displayed for the default logical switch when virtualization is enabled on the switch. Information is not displayed for the physical switch.
- You can't create zones if you are monitoring your fabrics and switches by using Fabric OS REST API.
- You can't receive asynchronous events from your switches if you are monitoring your fabrics and switches by using Fabric OS REST API.
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