brocade fcx series switches frequently asked questions

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Q What environment is the Brocade FCX Series primarily designed for?A The Brocade FCX-S models are primarily designed for the access layer of an enterprisecampus Ethernet network. Campus access switches are often deployed in wiring closets,providing Ethernet connectivity to offices, workstations, and devices within closeproximity. Switches in wiring closets are connected to a centralized aggregation or coreswitch, creating the campus network. The Brocade FCX 24S-F provides 24 Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) ports, making it very well suited for deploying fiber to the desktopand for distance extension.The Brocade FCX 624 and Brocade FCX 648 are primarily designed for enterprise datacenter environments that require a high-performance Gigabit Ethernet switch at theaccess layer to minimize management overhead.Q What are the main differences between the Brocade FCX 624, Brocade FCX 648, andBrocade FCX-S models?A The Brocade FCX 624 and Brocade FCX 648 models are designed from the ground up fordata center environments, whereas the Brocade FCX-S models are primarily designed forthe access layer of an enterprise campus. As a result, the main differences between theBrocade FCX 624, Brocade FCX 648, and the Brocade FCX-S models are:• The Brocade FCX-S offers dedicated 16 GbE stacking ports; the Brocade FCX 624and Brocade FCX 648 rely solely on 10 GbE ports for stacking.• The Brocade FCX-S offers two optional 10 GbE XFP ports; the Brocade FCX 624and Brocade FCX 648 offer four optional 10 GbE SFP+ ports.• The Brocade FCX-S has four built-in SFP combo ports; the Brocade FCX 624 andBrocade FCX 648 have four optional SFP combo ports.• The Brocade FCX-S has side-to-back airflow; the Brocade FCX 624 and BrocadeFCX 648 have reversible front-to-back airflow.• The Brocade FCX-S has a removable fan assembly with a single blower; theBrocade FCX 624 and Brocade FCX 648 have a removable fan assembly with fourblowers.• The Brocade FCX-S offers 24- and 48-port models with PoE+ options; the BrocadeFCX 624 and Brocade FCX 648 do not have PoE options.Q Does the Brocade FCX Series have Layer 3 capabilities?A All Brocade FCX models have full IPv4 and IPv6 Layer 3 capabilities, including staticroutes—routing between directly connected subnets—RIPv1/v2 announce, VRRP, DHCPRelay, OSPFv2, and RIPv1/v2. They also include multicast routing protocols such as PIMand rich Layer 3 features such as Policy-Based Routing (PBR), VRRP, and VRRP-E.Advanced models (-ADV) include BGP capabilities, GRE, and IPv6 over IPv4 tunnels.Q Can Brocade FCX switches be upgraded to support features added by the –ADV modelsin the field?A Yes. Brocade FCX switches running Brocade IronWare version 7.1 and above supportkey-based software upgrade activation. Customers can purchase an “ADV” softwareupgrade license to upgrade any Brocade FCX Series switch to full Layer 3 capabilities.The “ADV” software license adds BGP routing, GRE, and IPv6 over IPv4 tunnelscapability.2 of 8
Q What are the primary feature advantages of the Brocade FCX Series compared to theBrocade FastIron LS and FastIron GS switches?A The Brocade FCX Series offers many features not found in the FastIron ® LS or FastIronGS switches, including:• Dedicated stacking ports: FastIron LS and FastIron GS switches use the 10 GbEports for stacking. The 10 GbE ports on the Brocade FCX Series are freed up forconnectivity to the aggregation or core layers.• Higher-performance stacking: The Brocade FCX Series has dedicated 16 GbEstacking ports, while FastIron LS and FastIron GS switches use 10 GbE ports forstacking.• Dual, hot-swappable, redundant power supplies in a 1U form factor: The FastIronGS switch has dual power supplies, but in a 1.5U form factor.• PoE+ capabilities: The FastIron GS switch only delivers up to Class 3 PoE power.• Out-of-band management port: FastIron LS and FastIron GS switches aremanaged in-band.• Greater buffering capabilities: The Brocade FCX Series has more than double thebuffering capabilities of FastIron LS and FastIron GS switches.• Full Layer 3 capabilities: The Brocade FCX Series has more Layer 3 features thanFastIron LS or FastIron GS switches, including multicast routing.• 24 fiber port model: The Brocade FCX Series includes the Brocade FCX 24S-F,which provides 24 SFP ports for deploying fiber to the desktop and for distanceextension.• Supports more scalable environments:- 16,000 routes versus 1000 with the FastIron GS switch- 32,000 MAC address table size versus 16,000 with FastIron LS and FastIronGS switches- 4000 ACLs versus 1000 with FastIron LS and FastIron GS switchesQ How can Brocade FCX Series switches be expanded when 24 or 48 ports are notenough?A All Brocade FCX Series switches support stacking to facilitate port expansion whileminimizing management overhead. Up to eight switches can be included in a stack,scaling the logical switch up to 384 ports.Brocade FCX-S models include two dedicated 16 GbE stacking ports. These stackingports provide a 64 Gbps bus between Brocade FCX switches. In addition, all Brocade FCXswitches can be stacked using their optional 10 GbE XFP or SFP+ ports.Q Do the switches need to be physically stacked in order to grow the logical switch?A No. When using the 16 GbE stacking ports, the switches can be either situated on top ofeach other in a rack in a “daisy-chained ring” configuration, or stacked horizontally in a“braided ring” configuration in which alternating switches are connected to each other.IronStack technology also supports using the optional 10 GbE XFP or SFP+ fiber opticports for stacking, allowing the switches participating in the stack to be situated fartherapart from each other.3 of 8
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