10 Gbps Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)

PCIe Converged Network Adapter (CNA)

8 Gbps & 4 Gbps Fibre Channel (FC)

PCIe Host Bus Adapter (HBA)

Software Release v2.1.0.0

Update 1

October 2009

Brocade Adapter v2.1.0.0 Release Notes Page 1 of 12

Document History

Document Title Summary of Changes Publication Date

Brocade FC HBA and FCoE CNA 2.1.0.0 Software Release 2.1.0.0 September 30, 2009
Release Notes

Brocade FC HBA and FCoE CNA 2.1.0.0 Software Release 2.1.0.0 October 30, 2009
Release Notes update 1

Table of Contents
Topic Page

Brocade Adapters 4

Product Description 5

Brocade Adapter Release 2.1.0.0 Overview 7

Release Content in Software Release 2.1.0.0 8

Important Notes 10

Documentation Updates 11

Product Support 12

Brocade Adapter v2.1.0.0 Release Notes Page 2 of 12

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Brocade Adapter v2.1.0.0 Release Notes Page 3 of 12

Brocade Adapters
The Brocade 1010 (single port) and 1020 (dual port) 10 Gbps Ethernet to PCIe 2.0 (x8)
Converged Network Adapters (CNAs) provide industry leading server I/O connectivity solutions
for a converged enterprise data center. These adapters not only extend the storage connectivity
solutions but also provide comprehensive networking connectivity. Brocade CNA leverages IEEE
standards for Data Center Bridging (DCB) to provide a highly-efficient way to transport Fibre
Channel storage traffic over Ethernet links, addressing the highly-sensitive nature of storage
traffic. The Brocade CNA enumerates independent storage and network devices.

The Brocade 815 (single port) and 825 (dual port) 8 Gbps FC to PCIe 2.0 (x8) Host Bus Adapters
redefine server IO connectivity solutions for the enterprise data center. 4 Gbps HBA options are
also available with the Brocade 415 (single port) and 425 (dual port). Unlike legacy FC HBAs,
Brocade FC HBAs not only deliver high performance capabilities but also extend advanced fabric
services and technologies to the servers, allowing storage administrators to deploy and manage
data services throughout the data center.

Combined with the Brocade Data Center Fabric (DCF) architecture, the Brocade adapters offer a
complete end-to-end solution that delivers unmatched performance, scalability, and manageability.
These release notes for the new Brocade 10 Gbps CNA and for the Brocade 8 Gbps and 4 Gbps
series adapters provide information regarding the product’s use and any known issues at the time
of publication.
For up-to-date information on the Brocade HBA, visit the Brocade HBA website at
www.brocade.com/HBA.

Brocade Adapter v2.1.0.0 Release Notes Page 4 of 12

Product Description
Adapter Models
Information in this document is related to the following adapter models:
Brocade 415 Single-port 4 Gbps Fibre Channel to PCIe HBA
Brocade 425 Dual-port 4 Gbps Fibre Channel to PCIe HBA
Brocade 815 Single-port 8 Gbps Fibre Channel to PCIe HBA
Brocade 825 Dual-port 8 Gbps Fibre Channel to PCIe HBA
Brocade 1010 Single-port 10 Gbps Ethernet to PCIe CNA
Brocade 1020 Dual-port 10 Gbps Ethernet to PCIe CNA

Brocade Adapter Software Components

Brocade Adapter Software Installer
This package enables a single step installation for all software components including
Host Connectivity Manager (HCM), drivers, firmware, agent, Brocade Command Utility
(BCU), and APIs.
Driver
Single driver package (per OS and server platform) to support all Brocade HBAs and
CNAs. The drivers will be packaged appropriately for each operating system.
Firmware
The adapter firmware is bundled as part of the driver, and will automatically be
updated once the driver is updated.
Multi-Boot Code Image
A multi-boot code image (BIOS/EFI) allows an adapter to be plugged into a server to
support boot from SAN functionality for x86, IEM64T, AMD64, and IA64 server
platforms. Server administrators can set up a bootable LUN in the SAN through an
easy to use configuration utility menu.
Driver Update Disks (DUDs)
DUDs (provided in ISO and zip format) are needed to install the drivers during an
OS installation to LUNs attached to the SAN.
LiveCD
The LiveCD can be used to boot up the diskless or OS-less servers. The Brocade
Command Utility (BCU) can then be used to update the boot code.
Agent
The management agent is automatically installed as part of the driver installation
process and can be started manually or automatically.
Host Connectivity Manager (HCM)
HCM is the Brocade Adapter management tool that has an intuitive and easy-to-use
graphical user interface (GUI). This is a Java-based application and can run on
standard servers and workstations or a dedicated management server. HCM is used
to configure, and manage local, as well as remote, adapters from a single interface. In
addition, data center administrators can use the tool for detailed configuration tasks,
device level monitoring, and comprehensive diagnostics. The minimum set of
requirements to support HCM include:
• Single-processor or multiprocessor server or workstation.
• Pentium III with 450 MHz (or equivalent) or greater for Windows, Red Hat,
Novell, and Solaris x86. Sun Ultra 60 for Solaris SPARC.
• At least 256 MB of physical RAM; 512 MB recommended.
• Video card capable of at least 256 colors and a screen resolution of 800 x 600
pixels required
• At least 150 Mb disk space
• Internet Explorer (5.0 or later), Netscape Communicator (5.0 or later), Firefox
(1.0 or greater)

Brocade Adapter v2.1.0.0 Release Notes Page 5 of 12

 • TCP/IP protocol stack for communications to management agents on hosts
containing a Brocade FC HBA/FCoE CNA model 415, 425, 815, 825, 1010, or
1020

Brocade Command Line Utility (BCU)

Brocade also includes the Brocade BCU which is a command line utility used to
configure and manage local HBAs and CNAs from the console. Many of the GUI
configuration options are also available through the BCU. Run “bcu –help” to get more
information about BCU options.
APIs
SNIA HBA API v2.0 is supported. For both Windows and Solaris, the SNIA HBA API
libraries are part of the OS. For Linux and VMware, separate API libraries are
provided as part of the driver package.

Supported Operating Systems (OS):

Brocade software components including drivers, agent, APIs, and management tools are
supported on leading operating systems including Microsoft Windows 2003/2008/2008 R2,
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4/5, Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10/11, Sun Solaris 10,
VMware 3.5 and VMware 4.0. HCM is supported on Windows XP and Windows Vista in
addition to the existing OS drivers above. Please visit the Brocade website at
www.brocade.com/HBA for more information.

Supported Server Platforms:

Brocade software components including drivers, agents, APIs, and management tools are
supported on leading server platforms including Intel x86, Intel IEM64T, AMD64, Intel IA64,
and SPARC. Please visit the Brocade website at www.brocade.com/HBA for more
information.

Brocade Adapter v2.1.0.0 Release Notes Page 6 of 12

Brocade Adapter Release 2.1.0.0 Overview

The Brocade Adapter Software Release 2.1.0.0 extends the feature supported for CNAs with Fibre
Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) technology. In addition, this
release will continue to support the HBAs with native Fibre Channel (FC) technology.
Key features and enhancements supported for the Software Release 2.1.0.0 include the following:

CEE Features:
• Network Priority configuration via IEEE Data Center Bridging (DCB) CEE configuration.
• Other CEE features supported by previous releases

Storage (FCoE) Features:

• FCoE Boot over SAN
• FCoE Target Rate Limiting
• CNA FCoE Interrupt Coalescing
• FIP: 2.0, 1.06, 1.03
• Other storage features supported by previous releases

Network Driver Features:

• NIC Teaming, Link Aggregation (IEEE 802.3ad) on Windows (Linux and VMware was already
supported in previous release)
• Other network features supported by previous releases

Operating System Updates:

• Red HAT 4.8 and 5.4
• Windows 2008 R2

Brocade Adapter v2.1.0.0 Release Notes Page 7 of 12

Release Content in 2.1.0.0
This release includes the following software components and they are included in the ISO image:

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Brocade Adapter v2.1.0.0 Release Notes Page 8 of 12

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Brocade Adapter v2.1.0.0 Release Notes Page 9 of 12

Important Notes

General:
1. Brocade 415, 425, 815, and 825 HBAs support direct-attach configuration to storage in Point-to-
Point (P2P) mode only (not in Arbitrated Loop mode).
2. HCM SupportSave in this release may not collect complete supportSave data and may show an
error. Run bfa_supportsave on the host containing the adapter in addition to collecting the HCM
SupportSave when requesting technical assistance.
3. In a mixed configuration with FC HBAs and FCoE CNAs on the same server, the latest revision of
BIOS – release 2.1 version should be flashed on both the products. The BIOS can be updated on
each adapter using the command “bcu boot –upload” to replace the boot firmware.
4. Driver configuration parameters Latency and Delay are not persistent across driver
disable/enable or reboots.

Windows:
1. On Windows 2003 with boot from SAN setup, if the target containing the boot LUN is lost for more
than 90 seconds, the system might fail. Reboot the server to recover.
2. Windows selects the first port visible during normal boot (and this can be different from the port that
was selected for booting under HBA BIOS configuration). If multiple paths are configured to the
same boot LUN, and if the path on which Windows has discovered the boot LUN goes down, then
Windows might experience a failure.
3. In Windows, the driver installation will fail if the HBA or CNA ports don'
t show up under Device
Manager. This can happen on a freshly-built OS, if the driver package is installed and uninstalled
without a reboot. Rescan hardware devices using Device Manager to work around the issue.
4. In a Windows environment, stop the HCM agent prior to disabling the driver using Device Manager.
5. In Windows, the Brocade Adapter Installer checks for minimally required Microsoft STORPort
hotfixes and reports an error if required or newer hotfix is not installed.
• Windows Server 2008:
o Recommended: KB968675.
• Windows Server 2003 SP2:
o Recommended: KB943545.
o Required: KB932755

Linux:
1. When Network Manager is enabled, network traffic may not pass through multiple CNA network
interfaces. The work around is to disable Network Manager or setup Network Manager to use the
appropriate NIC interface.
2. Upgrade the RHEL 4.7 kernel from 2.6.9-78 to the latest patch 2.6.9-78.0.5 to avoid OS failures
after an invalid operand from hcmagent process.
3. Always use KMP binary RPMs for SLES 11 and avoid using NOARCH RPMs. SLES11 has BFA
driver 1.1.0.2 as part of its distribution. If a non-KMP RPM of BFA driver is installed over this, any
YaST2 based install will revert back to 1.1.0.2 version of the driver.

Solaris:
1. Solaris driver installation (using silent installation) requires a manual reboot.

Brocade Adapter v2.1.0.0 Release Notes Page 10 of 12

VMware:
1. With HCM in an ESX 4.0 environment, storage reports are visible, but corresponding LUNs are not
displayed.
2. Brocade HCM Agent needs to be restarted if firewall settings on port# 514 changed in ESX 3.5 or
ESX 4.0. By default, ESX 3.5 and ESX 4.0 block the syslog outgoing port 514. If syslog Host
configuration or DCFM integration is performed, open port 514 using the following command:
esxcfg-firewall -o 514,udp,out,syslog.

Documentation Updates

1. For Solaris, launch the HCM application from the command prompt using the following command
sh /opt/brocade/fchba/client/Host_Connectivity_Manager
2. In Windows Server 2008 where Brocade HBA is used to boot from SAN, if the user uninstalls the
HBA driver and attempts to install a new driver without rebooting the system, Windows will fail the
installation and render the system non-bootable. The recommended practice is to install the new
HBA driver without uninstalling the existing HBA driver.

Brocade Adapter v2.1.0.0 Release Notes Page 11 of 12

Product Support
For technical assistance, please feel free to contact your designated Brocade reseller or OEM. You
can reach Brocade technical support using one of the following options:

Continental US:
1-888-ATFIBRE (1-888-283-4273)
Europe, Middle East & Africa:
+800-AT FIBREE (+800 28 34 27 33)
Asia Pacific:
+800-AT FIBREE (+800 28 34 27 33)
For areas unable to access a toll free number:
1-408-333-6061

support@brocade.com
www.brocade.com/HBA

Brocade Adapter v2.1.0.0 Release Notes Page 12 of 12