8 switches for me to cascade.what's the best topology and what need to be mentioned for me?

[Anonymous]

HI,guys!

I have 8 switches(2 fabric) for me to cascade.here are some parameters about this stuff.

1)two Brocade 3900 Switch with 32 4Gb ports each.

2)four Brocade 4100 Switch with 32 4Gb ports each.

3)two EMC/Brocade DS-5000B Switch with 16 4Gb ports each.

What's the best topology for me to choose?consider the expansibility and manageability.

Where we want to add switches for this fabric,is there any consideration when we add it?Will the operation affect the host and storage.

And ,what else do i need to be attention about when implementing these fabrics.what i now know is the unique Domain-IDs.Are there anything else need to be concerned?

Thanks indeed for any helpful advice!

[Antonio Bongiorno T…]

Depend required Port to connect Server /tape etc, i would Build Dual Fabric whit this component as follow

2x 4100 as Core,

1x 5000 as Edge

1x 3900 as Edge

Both 4100 can be used to connect Storage as DualPath / Multi Path, this is the safely config.

5000 and 3900 can be used for Server and / or tape connectivity.

keep in mind 3900 support only FOS 5.3.2c , 4100 and 5000 are supported for FOS 6.x

in some case i would use different Domain ID in both Fabric to avoid confusion.

Fabric_A

1- 4100 Domain ID 1

2- 4100 Domain ID 3

3- 5000 Domain ID 5

4- 3900 Domain ID 7

Fabric_B

1- 4100 Domain ID 2

2- 4100 Domain ID 4

3- 5000 Domain ID 6

4- 3900 Domain ID 8

[Anonymous]

Thank you ,TechHelp24!

it's really helpful for me!

and just one more question,can i add a new switch when the host & storage is online.are there any risks?

[Antonio Bongiorno T…]

you can add switch at any time in the existing fabric, with same procedure, set Domain ID, make sure the new switch not have a config etc..

[Anonymous]

THANK A LOT!