SAN Switches

Shikhar Bhargava
IBM SAN Team - Hess
 Collectinglogs
 Supportshow
 Supportsave
 Viewing logs
 Understanding the pattern
 SAN Toolbox
Logs are hands and eyes of a person to get the gist of events
and happening on the switch. As being remote they can only
visualize through logs what actually would have happened.

Every time an issue is faced the logs are suppose to be

collected verified and analyzed.

Collection of logs can be done in different ways ….

Running separate commands and capturing output.

Running batch file and capturing the output in a file ..
Loading to an FTP …
Supportshow

Suportsave
supportShow command is a switch command used to gather
information about the switch and the fabric; it can provide valuable
clues about what is happening in your switch network. It is like a
macro in that it executes a long list of switch commands, which
Brocade identifies as important for the troubleshooting process.
Note that the commands that supportShow executes vary between
Fabric OS releases.The v2.4.1 supportShow command executes the
following switch commands:

It is important to execute the supportShow command at the time

the problem is occurring, rather than waiting until the fabric is
functioning normally.
 version
uptime portRouteShow
tempShow fabricShow
psShow topologyShow
licenseShow qlShow
diagShow faShow
errDump portCfgLport
switchShow nsShow
portFlagsShow nsAllShow
portErrShow cfgShow
mqShow configShow
portSemShow faultShow
portShow traceShow
portRegShow portLogDump

One benefit of supportShow is that you do not have to repeatedly

retrieve various types of data, since most of the data you need is
available from supportShow in one place. As this command rapidly
streams in a telnet window, capture mode should be turned on prior
to executing the command so that it can be captured to a text file for
later review.
RASLOG,
TRACE,
SupportShow,
Core file,
FFDC data

To execute the supportSave command on the chassis, you will

need to log in to the switch on an account with the admin role
Connect to the switch and log in using an account assigned to the
admin role

Type the appropriate supportSave command based on your needs:

If you are saving to an FTP or SCP server, use the following syntax:
supportSave

-n : Does not prompt for confirmation

-c : Uses the FTP parameters saved by the supportFtp command
-u : Stores the files on USB Device in predefined directory [-d /support]
-t : For use if timeout issues encountered [-t N] N=1 to 5 (Mins)
Some information, such as boot information is only outputted
directly to the console. In order to capture this information you
have to connect directly to the switch through its management
interface, either a serial cable or an RJ-45 connection.

1. Connect directly to the switch using hyperterminal.

2. Log in to the switch using an account assigned to the admin

role.

3. Set the utility to capture output from the screen.

4. Type the command or start the process to capture the required

data on the console
1. Connect to the switch through a Telnet or SSH utility.

2. Log in using an account assigned to the admin role.

3. Set the Telnet or SSH utility to capture output from the screen.

4. Type the command or start the process to capture the required

data on the console
# Supportftp

1. Verify that the FTP service is running on the remote server.

2. Connect to the switch and log in as admin.

3. Enter the supportFtp -s command and respond to the prompts.

# Supportftp –e : enables the automatic transfer of trace dumps

# Supportftp –t : sets periodic checking of the remote server

 Enter the supportSave -c command and respond to the prompts

switch:admin> supportsave -c
This command will collect RASLOG, TRACE, supportShow, core file,
FFDC data and other support information and then transfer them to a
FTP/SCP server or a USB device. This operation can take several
minutes.
NOTE: supportSave will transfer existing trace dump file first, then
automatically generate and transfer latest one. There will be two
trace dump files transfered after this command.
OK to proceed? (yes, y, no, n): [no] y
 switch:admin> switchshow
switchName:Sprint5100
switchType:66.1 <=== convert this number using Table
switchState:Online
switchMode:Native
switchRole:Principal
switchDomain:1
switchId:fffc01
switchWwn:10:00:00:05:1e:82:3c:2a
zoning:OFF
switchBeacon:OFF
FC Router:OFF
FC Router BB Fabric ID:128

The number 66 is the switchType and the .1 is the revision of the motherboard
of the switch. The revision number is not necessary when converting the
number.
Check a collected output from switch …
Pattern is nothing but a sequence of how an operation is done.
The problem or the issue arises only when there is a break in that
pattern. That being the primary reason for the issue it is
necessary to have a good understanding of the same.

Understanding the pattern means to observe or to notice the

normal operations so that at the time of break in the pattern it
can be identified easily and resolved.

It only requires the reading and understanding of the threshold

values and meanings of the parameters. Different parameters are
relevant for different situations.

It requires book study and lot of research.

Loss of Sync

Loss of signal

Link failure

Invalid_word

Invalid_crc
DEMONSTRATION ….