Brocade Communications Systems Brocade Backbone DCX 8510-4 - Manual (Page 28)

8 Brocade DCX 8510-4 Backbone Hardware Reference Manual
53-1002177-05
High availability
1
High availability
The following features contribute to the Brocade DCX 8510-4 high-availability design:
• Redundant, hot-swappable FRUs, including blades, power supplies, blowers, and WWN cards
• Enhanced data integrity on all data paths
• Fabric Shortest Path First (FSPF) rerouting around failed links
• Integration with Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) managers
• Automatic control processor failover
• Nondisruptive “hot” software code loads and activation
• Easy configuration, save, and restore
The high-availability software architecture of the Brocade DCX 8510-4 provides a common
framework for all applications that reside on the system, allowing global and local states to be
maintained through any component failure. High-availability elements consist of the High
Availability Manager, the heartbeat, the fault/health framework, the replicated database,
initialization, and software upgrade.
The High Availability Manager controls access to the standby control processor, facilitates software
upgrades, prevents extraneous CP failover activity, closes and flushes streams, provides flow
control and message buffering, and supports a centralized active and standby state.
Reliability
The Brocade DCX 8510-4 uses the following error detection and correction mechanisms to ensure
reliability of data:
• Error Detection and Correction over main control processor memory.
• Error Detection and Correction mechanism, which checks for encoder errors and fault isolation
(EDFI), such as cyclic redundancy checking (CRC), parity checking, checksum, and illegal
address checking.
• Power-on self-test (POST).
• Dual control processors that enable hot, nondisruptive fast firmware upgrades.
• One serial port and two Ethernet ports (on each control processor) for management and for
service. Offline control processor diagnostics and remote diagnostics simplify troubleshooting.
The standby control processor monitors diagnostics to ensure the system is operational should
a failover be necessary.
• Bus monitoring and control of blades and other field-replaceable units (FRUs).