Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.

Balakrishna Wusirika

Badrinath Kollu

David Aaron Skirmont

Saumitra Buragohain

Kyuh Kim

Meenakshi Garg

Venugopal Tummala

Gin Man Cheung

Raymond Grigsby

A diagnostic testing utility is used to perform single link diagnostics tests including an electrical loopback test, an optical loopback test, a link traffic test, and a link distance measurement test. To perform the diagnostic tests, two ports at each end of a link are identified and then statically configured by a user. The ports will be configured as D_Ports and as such will be isolated from the fabric with no data traffic flowing through them. The ports will then be used to send test frames to perform the diagnostic tests.

Diagnostic port for inter-switch link testing in electrical, optical and remote loopback modes

A diagnostic testing utility is used to perform single link diagnostics tests including an electrical loopback test, an optical loopback test, a link traffic test, and a link distance measurement test. To perform the diagnostic tests, two ports at each end of a link are identified and then statically configured by a user. The ports will be configured as D_Ports and as such will be isolated from the fabric with no data traffic flowing through them. This configuration can be static or can be on request or on errors. The ports will then be used to send test frames to perform the diagnostic tests. After completion of requested or on error testing the ports can return to normal operation.

Diagnostic port for inter-switch and node link testing in electrical, optical and remote loopback modes

A fabric having switches interconnected with multiple parallel interswitch links can be configured using staged port bring up. Only one of the multiple parallel interswitch links between any two switches and the corresponding switch ports can be selected and initialized. The fabric can be configured with the selected ISLs. Once the fabric has stabilized, unselected ISLs and the corresponding switch ports can be incrementally initialized. The number of unselected ISLs to be initialized can be determined based on the available computing resources of the fabric switches.

Staged port initiation of inter switch links

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Pleasanton, CA, United States of America

Balakrishna Wusirika