FAQ

BROCADE NETWORK ADVISOR

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Introduction Brocade Network Advisor is an enterprise-level, full lifecycle network management solution

that helps organizations simplify daily network operations and focus on strategic IT

initiatives. With its feature-rich, easy-to-use interface, Brocade Network Advisor automates

repetitive tasks while enabling organizations to proactively manage their networks.

For product information, visit: www.brocade.com/networkadvisor.

General Questions and Answers

Whats New in Brocade Network Advisor 12.2? Packaging and Licensing

Upgrade and Migration Paths

Device Support

Brocade Network Advisor System Requirements

Learn More

General Questions and Answers Q What environments can benefit from Brocade Network Advisor? A Brocade Network Advisor is ideal for Brocade-based infrastructure deployed in data

center, cloud, wired/wireless campus, and service provider environments.

Q What key SAN and IP features are available in Brocade Network Advisor? A The following key SAN features are available:

Support for Brocade Fabric OS (FOS) 7.2, including Flow Vision and Monitoring and Alerting Policy Suite (MAPS) features

Enhanced dashboard and scope options unique to MAPS and Flow Vision

Single dialog for bulk configuration and deployment of MAPS policies and rules

Application-level performance management enabled by Flow Vision

Support for Secure FTP, Secure Copy Protocol (SCP) support in firmware management, and technical supportSave

Bottleneck Detection configuration options

Increased scale per Brocade Network Advisor instance

Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) historical trending support

FICON Port Decommissioning

Boot LUN Zoning support

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Bulk port configuration for adapters

Brocade ClearLink Diagnostics port testing enhancements for Brocade Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) and Brocade UltraScale Inter-Chassis Links (ICLs) on Brocade DCX

8510 Backbones with Gen 5 Fibre Channel

The following key IP features are available:

Logical chassis management

In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) support

VLAN management enhancements, including Private VLAN (PVLAN) views

Brocade HyperEdge stacking support

Customizable reporting capabilities

Customizable configuration change and CLI Manager parameterization enhancements

IP telemetry configuration support for Policy-Based Routing (PBR)

Brocade VCS fabric management licensing enhancements

Unified access management support for wired and wireless campus environments

Q What dashboard features are available in Brocade Network Advisor? A Features include:

Global time and network scope filters: Set global time and network scope filters for dashboard widgets, making it easier to correlate and troubleshoot network errors.

Custom dashboards: Create and save custom dashboards for quick access to the most critical network insights.

Custom dashboard widgets: Customize dashboard widgets and have a greater selection of health status and performance widgets to display.

Drill-down capability: Drill down into the widget to access additional information for quick diagnostics.

Support for Brocade Fabric Vision technology: Access unique dashboard widgets that support Brocade Fabric Vision technologies, such as Monitoring and Alerting Policy

Suite (MAPS) and Flow Vision. These technologies can help to quickly identify network

health, performance, and security issues.

Q Does Brocade Network Advisor provide integration with third-party management solutions?

A Brocade Network Advisor provides out-of-the-box support for leading data center orchestration frameworks from IBM, HP, and EMC.

Q What VMware interation does Brocade Network Advisor provide? A For increased visibility into virtual environments within SAN and IP networks, Brocade

Network Advisor offers native integration withVMware vCenter. vCenter Operations

Manager customers can also utilize the free Brocade SAN Management Pack for VMware

vCenter Operations Manager as their jump-off point for network analysis, using Brocade

Network Advisor to further investigate for root-cause discovery and remediation.

Q What is the Brocade SMI Agent? A The Brocade SMI Agent provides seamless integration with industry-leading third-party

management tools. It gathers information from Brocade devices and allows third-party

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applications to manage Brocade SAN infrastructures. The Brocade SMI Agent is included

in the SAN versions of Brocade Network Advisor; however, a stand-alone version of the

SMI Agent also can be downloaded from MyBrocade. The Brocade SMI Agent is based

on the Storage Management Initiative-Specification (SMI-S), which is led by the Storage

Networking Industry Association (SNIA) to enable unified management of IT

environments.

Q Does Brocade Network Advisor support other IP networking vendor devices (such as Cisco, Juniper, and HP ProCurve)?

A Yes. Brocade Network Advisor can manage third-party IP devices as long as they meet minimum standard SNMP MIB requirements. Brocade Network Advisor supports the

following features for third-party devices:

Discovery and topology mapping

Role manager

Event collector and log

Event processor

Custom reports

Trap forwarding

Performance monitoring

Wired devices report

Note: Configuration (configuration wizard, CLI configuration manager) and sFlow-related

features are not supported.

Q How do I access Brocade Network Advisor software and user manuals? A Brocade Network Advisor software and user manuals can be downloaded by anyone with

a MyBrocade account. Simply follow these steps:

1. Log into your MyBrocade account at http://my.brocade.com. 2. Select downloads from the top menu. 3. Enter Brocade Network Advisor in the search field and click the Search button. 4. Select Brocade Network Advisor 12.2 (the Brocade Network Advisor manuals can

optionally be selected). Next, select the download image and/or release notes.

Whats New in Brocade Network Advisor 12.2? Q What new features are available in Brocade Network Advisor 12.2? A The following key features have been added:

Platform software support: Brocade Network OS 4.1, Brocade NetIron 5.6 and the Brocade MLX 4-port 40 GbE module, Campus Indus 08.0.10

VCS Virtual Fabric support

VCS fabric diagnostics enhancement

Brocade MLX Series diagnostics, troubleshooting, and monitoring enhancements

Brocade Vyatta vRouter support

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Q What version of firmware and hardware are supported with Brocade Network Advisor? A Brocade Network Advisor supports Fibre Channel switch firmware and Brocade FOS 7.1

features. Brocade Network Advisor also supports the 96-port Brocade 6520 Switch with

Gen 5 Fibre Channela high-density, purpose-built building block for large enterprise data centers to support data center consolidation, growing workloads, and highly

virtualized, private cloud storage environments.

Q Are there any new IP license changes associated with Brocade Network Advisor 12.2? A To reduce costs and simplify licensing, there is new licensing to enable advanced VCS

fabric management for Brocade Network Advisor 12.2. The new IP Base license provides

management for multiple VCS fabrics, including advanced management features.

Additional licenses are required to support more than 50 IP devices and for MPLS

management. The old IP Data Center license has been retired.

Packaging and Licensing Q Where can I purchase Brocade Network Advisor? A Brocade Network Advisor is sold globally by most major storage vendors, value-added IP

resellers, and distributors, as well as directly by Brocade. Brocade Network Advisor

Professional is included with every Brocade hardware purchase at no charge.

Q Are evaluation copies of Brocade Network Advisor available? A Yes. Evaluation copies are available via download from www.brocade.com. Registration

is required. Brocade provides full-featured evaluation versions that operate for 75 days

after installation.

Q How is Brocade Network Advisor packaged? A Brocade Network Advisor is available as IP-only, SAN-only, or SAN+IP bundle packages.

Q What are the different Brocade Network Advisor licenses for SAN? A Brocade Network Advisor for SAN is available in three types of licenses:

SAN Professional: No charge. Up to 1,000 switch ports, one fabric, Brocade FOS only.

SAN Professional Plus: For charge. Supports up to 2,560 switch ports and 36 fabrics.

SAN Enterprise: For charge. Supports up to 9,000 switch ports and 36 fabrics. This license is required for Brocade DCX Backbone and FICON management.

Professional Plus and Enterprise bundles are required to use the Brocade Network

Advisor Plugin for VMware vCenter and the Brocade Management Pack for Microsoft

SCOM. The integrated SMI Agent is also available without the management interface;

this no-GUI client version of Brocade Network Advisor does not require a license.

Q What Brocade DCX 8510 Backbone models do Brocade Network Advisor SAN Enterprise

and Brocade Network Advisor SAN Professional Plus support?

A Brocade Network Advisor SAN Enterprise supports the Brocade DCX 8510-8 and the Brocade DCX 8510-4. Brocade Network Advisor SAN Professional/Professional Plus

supports only the Brocade DCX 8510-4.

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Q What are the different Brocade Network Advisor licenses for IP? A Brocade Network Advisor for IP is available in the following licenses:

IP Professional: No charge. Up to 20 devices (physical chassis).

IP Base: For charge. Additional licenses available based on the number of IP and/or MPLS devices.

Q What VCS fabric management capabilities does the IP Base edition support?

A The IP Base edition provides full VCS fabric management for fabrics with up to two nodes. Advanced features include:

VCS fabric diagnostics (Layer 2 traceroute)

Automatic Migration of Port Profiles (AMPP) management

sFlow reports for VCS fabrics

Brocade Network Advisor Plugin for VMware vCenter support for IP

Q What is the maximum number of VCS fabrics that Brocade Network Advisor can manage? And the maximum number of Brocade VDX switches?

A There is no limit in terms of the number of VCS fabrics that Brocade Network Advisor can manage, as long as the total number of IP devices, including Brocade VDX switches, is

less than 5,000. Brocade Network Advisor has no limit on the maximum number of

Brocade VDX switches per VCS fabric domain that it can manage. However, Brocade VCS

Fabric technology itself has a maximum of 32 switches per fabric.

Q Can the Professional edition support the Brocade VDX platform?

A Yes. The Professional edition supports stand-alone Brocade VDX switches but does not provide visibility or control of VCS fabrics.

Upgrade and Migration Paths Q Can I upgrade to Brocade Network Advisor 12.2? A Existing Brocade Network Advisor and Brocade Data Center Fabric Manager (DCFM)

customers can upgrade to Brocade Network Advisor 12.2 without acquiring new license

keys, provided that they have a current Brocade Technical Support agreement in place.

The supported Brocade Network Advisor 12.2 upgrade paths are from Brocade Network

Advisor 12.0 and 12.1.x.. Customers still using Brocade Network Advisor 11.x must first

upgrade to Brocade Network Advisor 12.0/12.1.x. .Brocade DCFM customers must first

migrate from Brocade DCFM to Brocade Network Advisor 11.1.x before performing the

Brocade Network Advisor 12.2 upgrade.

Q How do I migrate to Brocade Network Advisor 12.2 if I have Brocade IronView Manager (INM)?

A Upgrades from Brocade INM to Brocade Network Advisor for IP require a new software license key. Users should refer to the Brocade INM Migration Guide for a complete list of

supported data migrations and features. IP users may add SAN management to Brocade

Network Advisor 12.2 for SAN+IP network management with the procurement of

additional features.

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Q If I am interested in unified management for my data center and already own Brocade DCFM, how do I get Brocade Network Advisor for SAN+IP management?

A Brocade offers upgrade options for existing customers. Users should refer to the Brocade INM Migration Guide for a complete list of supported data migrations and

features.

Device Support Q Which Brocade IP devices are supported by Brocade Network Advisor? A Brocade Network Advisor supports a wide range of Brocade IP devices, such as:

Brocade Vyatta vRouter (new in version 12.2)

Brocade BigIron RX Series (4-, 8-, 16-slot chassis)

Brocade FastIron SX Series (800 and 1600)

Brocade FastIron GS Series (648)

Brocade ICX switches (6610, 6430, 6450, and 6650)

Brocade NetIron CES 2000 Series (2024 and 2048)

Brocade NetIron CER 2000 Series

Brocade 6910 Ethernet Access Switches

Brocade MLX Series (4-, 8-, 16-, 32-slot chassis and 48T card)

Brocade MLXe Core Routers

Brocade TurboIron 24X Switches

Brocade ServerIron ADX Series

Brocade Mobility wireless controllers (RFS6000, RFS7000, RFS4000, and RFS9510)

Brocade Mobility Access Points (7131, 7131N, and 5181 in stand-alone and Fat Access Point mode)

Brocade VDX switches (6710, 6720, 6730, 6740, and 8770)

A complete list of supported Brocade IP devices is made available upon general

availability of any new revision of the software.

Q Which Brocade SAN devices are supported by Brocade Network Advisor? A Brocade Network Advisor supports all Brocade SAN backbones, switches, and directors

(including Brocade Gen 5 Fibre Channel SAN platforms), as well as Brocade Fibre

Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) switches, Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP) switches, encryption

switches, HBAs, and Converged Network Adapters (CNAs).

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Brocade Network Advisor System Requirements Q What operating systems does Brocade Network Advisor support? A See tables below.

SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEMS

Operating System (Architecture)/Installer Supported Package

x86 32-bit

Windows Server 2008 Standard

Windows 7 Enterprise

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.1, 6.2, 6.3 Adv

Oracle Enterprise Linux 6.1, 6.2, 6.3

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11

For small and medium configurations

SAN-only

IP-only

SMI Agent-only

x86 64-bit

Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard, Data Center, and Enterprise Editions

Windows Server 2012 Standard, Data Center Editions

Windows 7 Enterprise

Windows 8 Enterprise

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.1, 6.2, 6.3 Adv

Oracle Enterprise Linux 6.1, 6.2, 6.3

For large configurations

SAN+IP

SAN-only

IP-only

SMI Agent-only

VMware ESXi 5.0, KVM, and Microsoft Hyper-V (Hyper-V

Server 2008 R2 SP1) with Guest VMs of: All of the above

BROCADE NETWORK ADVISOR SERVER REQUIREMENTS FOR 64-BIT WINDOWS AND

LINUX SYSTEMS

Small Network Medium Network Large Network

Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GHz or

equivalent, 8 GB RAM,

20 GB disk

Intel Core 2 Duo Dual-CPU, 2.4 GHz

or equivalent, 8 to 16* GB RAM,

60 GB disk

Intel Core 2 Duo Dual-CPU,

2.4 GHz or equivalent, 8 to

16* GB RAM, 80 GB disk * 64-bit Windows systems require 8 GB RAM. 16 GB RAM is required for SAN+IP, medium, or large network

deployments.

SIZING DEFINITIONS FOR IP SERVER REQUIREMENTS

Enterprise Size Number of Ports Number of Devices Number of VCS Fabrics*

Small Up to 1,000 1 to 20 5

Medium Up to 10,000 21 to 200 10

Large Up to 252,500 201 to 5,050 20

*Assuming each VCS fabric has 10 nodes.

SIZING DEFINITIONS FOR SAN SERVER REQUIREMENTS

Enterprise Size Number of Ports Number of Fabrics

Small Up to 1,000 1

Medium Up to 2,560 up to 36

Large Up to 9,000 up to 36

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Q Does Brocade Network Advisor support 32-bit Windows and Linux systems?

A Brocade Network Advisor Professional Edition provides support for 32-bit Windows and Linux systems. Clients are also supported on 32-bit.Brocade highly recommends a 64-bit

Windows or Linux system to take advantage of the full capabilities of Brocade Network

Advisor.

Learn More Q How do I find out more about Brocade Network Advisor?

A Contact your Brocade Sales Representative or Partner for more details.

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HyperEdge, ICX, MLX, MyBrocade, OpenScript, VCS, VDX, and Vyatta are registered

trademarks, and The Effortless Network and The On-Demand Data Center are

trademarks of Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., in the United States and/or in

other countries. Other brands, products, or service names mentioned may be

trademarks of others.