Feature Name

Description

Release

Where Documented

Port Beaconing

This feature is supported on Cisco MDS switches that are operating in Cisco N-Port Virtualizer (Cisco NPV) mode.

8.4(1)

Configuring Interfaces

Port Beaconing

This feature can be used to identify individual switch and directly attached peer ports in a data center environment.

8.3(1)

Configuring Interfaces

Buffer-to-Buffer Credit Recovery

This feature is supported for F ports.

8.2(1)

Configuring Interface Buffers

Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)

New FCoE commands were introduced and some FCoE commands were modified to align with the commands used in Fibre Channel.

8.2(1)

Congestion Management

Port Monitor

The link connecting a core switch to a Cisco NPV switch should be treated as an Inter-Switch Link (ISL) (core port) in the port monitor. Previously, core ports were included as access ports and were subject to any portguard actions configured. This allows portguard actions on true access (edge) ports, while ports connecting to Cisco NPV switches remain unaffected.

8.1(1)

Configuring Interfaces

Congestion Drop Timeout and No-Credit Frame Timeout Values for Fibre Channel

The link connecting a core switch to a Cisco NPV switch should be treated as an ISL (core port) for the purposes of congestion-drop, no-credit-drop, and slowport-monitor thresholds for Fibre Channel. Previously, core ports were subject to any change in the congestion-drop or no-credit-drop mode F value.

8.1(1)

Congestion Management

Slow Drain Detection and Congestion Isolation

The new Congestion Isolation feature can detect a slow-drain device via port monitor or manual configuration and isolate it from other normally performing devices on an ISL. Once the traffic to the slow-drain device is isolated, the traffic to the rest of the normally behaving devices remain unaffected. Traffic isolation is accomplished via the following three features:

1. Extended Receiver Ready—This feature allows each ISL between supporting switches to be split into four separate virtual links, with each virtual link assigned its own buffer-to-buffer credits. One virtual link is for control traffic, one is for high-priority traffic, one is for slow devices, and the remaining one is for normal traffic.

2. Congestion Isolation—This feature allows devices to be categorized as slow by either configuration command or by the port monitor.

3. Port monitor portguard action for Congestion Isolation—Port monitor has a new portguard option to allow the categorization of a device as slow, so that it can have all the traffic flowing to the device routed to the slow virtual link.

8.1(1)

Congestion Management