TE CHNI C AL SUPPORT BUL LETIN

DE CE MB E R 9, 2 00 9

TSB 2009- 067- A

SEVERITY: High Disruptive Operational

PRODUCTS AFFECTED:
Products that are upgrading from Brocade FOS v6.1 to FOS v6.2 on any of the following
platform/configurations
1) Any 8G platform, such as DCX, 5300, 5100 and 300, using FCR via integrated routing
2) 48000 using FCR via the FR4-18i blade
Platforms configured to use Brocade Virtual Fabrics should also pay attention to this alert.
The fix for the above issue can affect the performance of these platforms
CORRECTED IN RELEASE:
Defect 270541 and Defect 265272 document the fixes for this issue. Brocade Fabric OS
v6.2.2 and v6.3.0c and above contain a fix for this issue.

BULLETIN OVERVIEW

FCR customers that upgrade from FOS v6.1 to FOS v6.2 or from FOS v6.1 through FOS
v6.2 to FOS v6.3 could lose routing entries after completing the firmware upgrade.

Brocade produces and publishes Technical Support Bulletins to OEMs, partners and customers that have a
direct, entitled, support relationship in place with Brocade.
Please contact your primary service provider for further information regarding this topic and applicability for your
environment.

2009 Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. TSB 2009-067-A

PROBLEM STATEMENT

FCR via integrated routing on the 8G platforms is sharing an internal data table with Virtual
Fabrics. An HA Fail-over or HA Reboot event that happens after upgrading will assume
that this shared table has always been used, but switches that were upgraded from FOS v6.1
are still using an older data table. When the routing information is synchronized after the
HA event, some data can be lost which can lead to lost routes.
In addition to potentially losing information at the time of firmware upgrade, the fact that
the internal table is now shared with Virtual Fabrics means that without the applied fix, any
customer using FCR via integrated routing on FOS v6.2 firmware must keep all Fabric ID
(FID ) values lower then 85. Using an FID value above 85 without the fix can lead to
conflicts and lost routes.
Similarly, on the 48000, upgrading from Brocade FOS v5.3, which contains a very old data
table, can also have entries lost at the time of upgrade and conversion to the newest FOS
v6.2 format.
Additionally, to address the integrated routing issue, the FCR data will be converted and
stored into the new FOS v6.2 shared table format with Virtual Fabrics. The older data
format tables used in FOS v6.1 will be lost, but the data will be preserved in the new data
format tables used by FOS v6.2 and above.
This means that once a switch has been upgraded to a version of FOS that contains this fix,
and if FCR via integrated routing or if Virtual Fabrics are being used, this switch cannot be
downgraded to any earlier version of FOS. Also, this switch can only be upgraded to
firmware versions that also contain the same fix. For example:
A switch running FOS v6.2.2 cannot be downgraded to any prior version of firmware
without causing lost routes if FCR via integrated routing or Virtual Fabrics are currently
in use.
A switch running FOS v6.2.2 can only be safely upgraded to FOS v6.3.0c, FOS 6.3.1 or
higher versions that also contain the fix, including any patches released on FOS 6.2.2.
For example, upgrading to FOS v6.3.0b will cause lost routes if FCR via integrated
routing or Virtual Fabrics are currently in use.
A switch running FOS v6.3.0c can be safely downgraded to FOS v6.2.2 only if FCR via
integrated routing or Virtual Fabrics is currently in use.
These restrictions on upgrade and downgrade do not apply to customers using FCR via the
FR4-18i blade or the Brocade 7500 switch.

2009 Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. TSB 2009-067-A

RISK ASSESSMENT

Customers using FCR via integrated routing can lose routes across EX ports after upgrading
from FOS v6.1 to any FOS v6.2 code level. Whenever an HA fail-over event takes place
after upgrading to FOS v6.2 routes across the EX ports can be lost. This includes HA Failover due to error, user invoked, or an HA Fail-over as a result of a firmware upgrade or
downgrade.
Customers using FCR via integrated routing with FID values of 85 or greater can also
experience routing issues when new mappings are created.
48000 customers using FCR via the FR4-18i blade that were running Brocade FOS v5.3
firmware, and have upgraded through FOS v6.0 and FOS v6.1 without ever experiencing a
switch reboot or power cycle while at the FOS 6.X code versions, can experience a loss of
routes across the EX ports at the time of upgrade from FOS 6.1 to any FOS 6.2 code level.

SYMPTO MS

Traffic between a host and target across an EX link will stop. Connectivity will be lost due
to no valid route being found.
WORKAROUND

For customers using FCR via integrated routing, a cold reboot after upgrading to FOS v6.2
will cause the data to be re-written into the new shared data table. These customers will still
need to manage their FIDs. They can only us a maximum of 85 FIDs total; although any
value can be assigned after the code boot work-around since FOS v6.2 will dynamically
allocate the selected FID values into the tables available 85 slots.
48000 customers using FCR via the FR4-18i blade that have previously upgraded from FOS
v5.3 firmware will need to perform a switch reboot while at any FOS v6.x version of code
prior to upgrading to FOS v6.2 firmware.
A bounce of the host and/or target ports may also be required to get traffic flowing again if
any EX routes were previous lost.

2009 Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. TSB 2009-067-A

CORRECTIVE ACTION

Customers using FCR via integrated routing should upgrade to FOS v6.2.2 or higher to
avoid any potential lost routes. Customers at this code level can use any FID value and must
upgrade to FOS v6.3.0c or higher firmware when planning to upgrade.
Customers that have already upgraded to FOS v6.2.0 or FOS v6.2.1 firmware that are using
FCR via integrated routing should upgrade to FOS v6.2.2 or FOS v6.3.0c or higher firmware
to obtain the fix for this issue. Upgrading to any firmware level below 6.2.2 or any FOS 6.3
firmware below v6.3.0c can cause EX_port routes to be lost.

2009 Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. TSB 2009-067-A