Windows Knowledge Base

[Brocade]How can I tell if a Brocade switch has Core PID set?

Below listed Brocade core PID definitions:

CorePID 0 (Native Mode)—Introduced in the 2000 series of Brocade fabric switches supporting up to 16 ports. Uses only 4 bits of the area_ID in the FC ID for the port number. Use this setting with MDS 9000 switches in legacy switch interop mode 2.
FC ID / PID 0x021F00—Core PID 0 means domain ID 02, 1 always set, port 15, 00 is assigned for N port or ALPA.

CorePID 1 (Core Mode)—Introduced in the 3900/12000 series of Brocade switches with more than 16 ports. Uses all 8 bits of the area_ID in the FC ID for the port number. Can support up to 256 ports per switch. Use this setting with MDS 9000 switches in legacy switch interop mode 3.
FC ID / PID 0x021F00—Core PID 1 means domain ID 02, port is 31, 00 is assigned address or ALPA. Even though the FC ID is the same, the entire second byte is used for the port number.

CorePID 2 (Extended Edge)—Introduced in Brocade version 2.6.2, version 3.1.2 and version 4.2.0. Uses the same format PID as native mode, however it can be used on switches with up to 128 ports. This mode is only used when a core PID 1 switch must connect to a core PID 0 switch that absolutely cannot be rebooted.
For example, a 16 port Brocade switch may be set for core PID = 1 if it was previously attached to a fabric with other core PID = 1 switches (such as Brocade models 3900 and 12000).

To find out if brocade switch(director) has Core PID set:
Here is an example:
DIR1>configshow
…, …
fabric.ops.mode.pidFormat: 0              (This means the Core PID is not set)
fabric.ops.mode.pidFormat: 1              (This means the Core PID is set)
All switches in the fabric must be set the same way or they will not merge.

Figure-1 Switch output