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sunhux

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ISL from Cisco MDS-9148-16 to HP Storageworks & IBM fabric switches : compatibility matrix

I would like to link our MDS-9148 (with MDS-SFP-8GSW) to

a) HP Storageworks fabric switch AM867A with HP Shortwave SFPs
    & Kernel version: 2.6.14.2  &  Fabric OS version  v6.3.1a

b) IBM fabric switch (I don't have the model & its version currently
    (I think IBM OEM from Brocade)

Purpose of the above is so that devices on the HP & IBM switches
can be seen by the servers on the Cisco MDS & vice versa

Q1:
Is ISL supported between MDS & the above two brands of switches?
Where can I find the support/compatibility matrix?

Q2:
Is ISL (connecting the SFPs of one switch to the SFPs of the other
switch) the only option or there's other types of connections?  Pls
elaborate if there's other options.

Q3:
I recall reading somewhere that for ISL, an FC switch needs to be
able to support a certain type of port.  Is it N-port, F-port, L-port
or ?
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sunhux

ASKER

The Cisco MDS & HP AM867A are 8Gbps switches
while the IBM switch is 4Gbps : will different speed
switches link to each other & supposedly this will
be the lower speed of the two ?
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ASKER

The Cisco MDS & HP AM867A are 8Gbps switches
while the IBM switch is 4Gbps : will different speed
switches link to each other & supposedly this will
be the lower speed of the two ?
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ASKER

Can I safely say HP Storageworks & IBM switches are OEM'ed
from Brocade?

What's the command to check if a HP Storageworks & Brocade
switch has the needed license for ISL?  Does it cost a lot to
buy such an ISL licence or we simply can't buy it as it depends
on whether a specific model support ISL?
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ASKER

The link that you gave the message "This webpage is not available".

Are you able to download it & attach here in EE?
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ASKER

Should NPIV be enabled on the Brocade ports?

Does NPIV need a license?

The question is, is there a specific license for NPIV ? or is it included in the fabric license?
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ASKER

Which specific link in www.hp.com/go/sandesignguide  do I need
to click to get to that doc or rather if you could download it & 
attach here, that would be ideal

Is "licenseshow" a valid command for the HP Storageworks switch
model that I listed above?
I don't think EE will be happy if I upload a 300MB PDF. Good luck anyway.