Brocade Communications Systems MLXe Series Manual

53-1003030-02
9 December, 2013
®
Brocade MLXe Series
Hardware Installation Guide
Supported Release: Multi-Service IronWare R05.6.00

Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide
53-1003030-02
Copyright © 2006-2013 Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
ADX, AnyIO, Brocade, Brocade Assurance, the B-wing symbol, DCX, Fabric OS, ICX, MLX, MyBrocade, OpenScript, VCS, VDX, and Vyatta are
registered trademarks, and HyperEdge, 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 their
respective owners.
Notice: This document is for informational purposes only and does not set forth any warranty, expressed or implied, concerning any equipment,
equipment feature, or service offered or to be offered by Brocade. Brocade reserves the right to make changes to this document at any time,
without notice, and assumes no responsibility for its use. This informational document describes features that may not be currently available.
Contact a Brocade sales office for information on feature and product availability. Export of technical data contained in this document may
require an export license from the United States government.
The authors and Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. shall have no liability or responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss,
cost, liability, or damages arising from the information contained in this book or the computer programs that accompany it.
The product described by this document may contain “open source” software covered by the GNU General Public License or other open source
license agreements. To find out which open source software is included in Brocade products, view the licensing terms applicable to the open
source software, and obtain a copy of the programming source code, please visit
http://www.brocade.com/support/oscd.
Brocade Communications Systems, Incorporated
Document History
Corporate and Latin American Headquarters
Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.
130 Holger Way,
San Jose, CA 95134
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: inf[email protected]
Asia-Pacific Headquarters
Brocade Communications Systems China HK, Ltd.
No. 1 Guanghua Road
Chao Yang District
Units 2718 and 2818
Beijing 100020, China
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
European Headquarters
Brocade Communications Switzerland Sàrl
Centre Swissair
Tour B - 4ème étage
29, Route de l'Aéroport
Case Postale 105
CH-1215 Genève 15
Switzerland
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Asia-Pacific Headquarters
Brocade Communications Systems Co., Ltd. (Shenzhen WFOE)
Citic Plaza
No. 233 Tian He Road North
Unit 1308 – 13th Floor
Guangzhou, China
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
Title Publication number Summary of changes Date
Brocade MLXe Series Hardware
Installation Guide
53-1003030-01 Release 05.5.00c document updated with
enhancements in Release 05.6.00
30 September, 2013
Brocade MLXe Series Hardware
Installation Guide
53-1003030-02 Release 05.6.00 document updated with
enhancements in Release 05.6.00a
9 December, 2013

Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide iii
53-1003030-01
Contents
About This Document
Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
How this document is organized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix
Supported hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
What’s new in this document. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Document conventions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Text formatting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Command syntax conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Command examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Notes, cautions, and danger notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xi
Notice to the reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Related publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
Getting technical help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
Chapter 1 Product Overview
Brocade router overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Router applications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Hardware features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Brocade MLXe routers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Router modules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Management modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Interface modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Forward Error Correction (FEC) mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Switch fabric modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
High-speed switch fabric modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Power supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Rack mounting brackets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Cooling system for Brocade MLXe routers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Cooling system for Brocade MLXe Series routers . . . . . . . . . . . 37
NIBI-16-FAN-EXH-A high-speed fan assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Rack mount kit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Supported software features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter 2 Installing a Brocade MLXe Router
Pre-Installation notice for the Brocade MLXe chassis bundles . . . .39

iv Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide
53-1003030-01
Installation precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
General precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Power precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Installing 2x100GbE interface modules in Brocade MLXe routers .43
Installation considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Installation procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Installing BR-MLX-10Gx24-DM interface modules
in Brocade MLXe routers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Installation considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Installation procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Installing a Brocade MLXe-4 router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Preparing the installation site. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Unpacking a Brocade MLXe-4 router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Installing a Brocade MLXe-4 router in a rack or cabinet. . . . . .49
Installing Brocade MLXe-4 modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Installing power supplies in a Brocade MLXe-4 router . . . . . . .54
Connecting AC power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
Connecting DC power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Final steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Installing a Brocade MLXe-8 router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Preparing the installation site. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Unpacking a Brocade MLXe-8 router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Installing a Brocade MLXe-8 router in a rack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Installing Brocade MLXe-8 modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
Installing power supplies in the Brocade MLXe-8 router. . . . . .63
Connecting AC power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Connecting DC power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Final steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Installing a Brocade MLXe-16 router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Preparing the installation site. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Unpacking a Brocade MLXe-16 router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Installing a Brocade MLXe-16 router in a rack. . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Installing modules in a Brocade MLXe 16-slot router . . . . . . . .70
Installing power supplies in a Brocade MLXe-16 router . . . . . .73
Connecting AC power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Connecting DC power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Final steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Mounting Brocade MLXe-4, -8, or -16 routers
in a 4-post rack or cabinet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Cabinet or 4-Post Rack Mount Kit contents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Installing Brocade MLXe-4 and Brocade MLXe-8 routers
in a cabinet or 4-post rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Installing a Brocade MLXe-16 router
in a cabinet or 4-post rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82

Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide v
53-1003030-01
Installing a Brocade MLXe-32 router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86
Preparing the installation site. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86
Brocade MLXe-32 router shipping carton contents. . . . . . . . . .86
Unpacking your Brocade MLXe-32 router. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86
Installing a Brocade MLXe-32 router in a rack. . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Installing modules in the Brocade MLXe-32 router . . . . . . . . .104
Brocade MLXe-32 cable management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
Accessing modules for service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Installing power supplies in a Brocade MLXe-32 router . . . . .119
Connecting AC power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
Connecting DC power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
Removing Brocade MLXe-32 router DC power supplies . . . . .123
Final steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
Attaching a management station. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
Attaching a PC or terminal to the console port
or Ethernet port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
Activating the power source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Verifying proper operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Observing the LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Displaying the module status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
Forced card deletion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
Chapter 3 Using Brocade Structured Cabling Components
Cable cinch overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133
mRJ21 procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133
Cable cinch with two mRJ21 cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134
Cable cinch with three mRJ21 cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134
Cable cinch with four mRJ21 cables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
Cable cinch with five mRJ21 cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
Cable cinch with six mRJ21 cables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136
Cable cinch with seven mRJ21 cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136
Cable cinch with eight mRJ21 cables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
RJ45 procedures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
Cable cinch with one group of RJ45 cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
Cable cinch with two groups of RJ45 cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138
Cable cinch with three groups of RJ45 cables. . . . . . . . . . . . .138
Cable cinch with four groups of RJ45 cables. . . . . . . . . . . . . .139
Cable cinch with five groups of RJ45 cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139
Cable cinch with six groups of RJ45 cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140
Cable cinch with seven groups of RJ45 cables . . . . . . . . . . . .140
Cable cinch with eight groups of RJ45 cables . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
Chapter 4 Connecting a Router to a Network Device
Assigning permanent passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143

vi Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide
53-1003030-01
Configuring IP addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144
Support of subnet masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145
Assigning an IP address to a management interface . . . . . . .145
Assigning IP addresses to an interface, virtual interface,
or loopback interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
Enabling and disabling the interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147
Understanding management port functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147
Connecting the router to a network device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147
Installing a fiber-optic transceiver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
Cabling a fiber-optic transceiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
Cleaning fiber-optic ports and connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
Troubleshooting network connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
Testing network connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150
Pinging an IP address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150
Tracing a route . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
Chapter 5 Managing Routers and Modules
Managing the device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
Disabling and re-enabling power to interface modules. . . . . .153
Monitoring I2C failures on management modules . . . . . . . . .154
Displaying device status and temperature readings . . . . . . . .156
Displaying the Syslog configuration and static and dynamic buffers
159
MP Presence from LP Detection (Headless Router Operation)161
Rolling Reboot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
Line Module Configuration Deletion in Interactive Boot Mode162
Managing switch fabric modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162
Forcing HSF modules to operate in normal mode . . . . . . . . . .163
Blocking discovery of G1 switch fabric modules . . . . . . . . . . .163
Managing the cooling system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
Configuring the cooling system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
Manually setting the fan speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170
Monitoring the cooling system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Temperature log reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .172
Managing interface modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
Configuring interface module boot parameters. . . . . . . . . . . .173
Changing priority of slots for interface modules . . . . . . . . . . .178
Disabling and re-enabling power to interface modules. . . . . .179
Monitoring Link Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180
Enabling monitoring link status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180
Disabling monitoring link status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180
Displaying fabric link status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180
Syslog messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181

Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide vii
53-1003030-01
Using alarms to collect and monitor device status. . . . . . . . . . . . .181
Configuring Alarm History Buffer Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182
Configuring alarm logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182
Displaying alarms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183
Clearing the alarm history log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186
Disabling SNMP trap generation and logging . . . . . . . . . . . . .186
Displaying MR2 management module memory usage . . . . . . . . .187
Enabling and disabling management module CPU usage calculations
187
Displaying CPU usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188
Displaying management module CPU usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189
Removing MAC address entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190
Chapter 6 Maintenance and Field Replacement
Hardware maintenance schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191
Replacing a management module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192
Installing the Compact Flash Card in an MR2 management module
192
Replacing an interface module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193
Removing and replacing an interface module. . . . . . . . . . . . .193
Replacing a switch fabric module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194
Replacing a fiber-optic transceiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195
Cabling a fiber-optic transceiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196
Replacing a power supply. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196
Determining which power supply failed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196
Setting the threshold for power supply monitoring . . . . . . . . .196
Clearing power supply failure timestamps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197
Displaying power supply monitoring timestamps . . . . . . . . . .197
Enabling a power supply shutdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199
Powering on the power supply through the CLI . . . . . . . . . . . .199
Replacing a power supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200
Replacing fan assemblies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202
Replacing fan assemblies in all 32-slot routers. . . . . . . . . . . .202
Replacing fan assemblies in 16-slot routers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205
Replacing the fan tray assembly in 4-slot and 8-slot routers .206
Replacing the air filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208
Installing upward deflectors on fan assemblies . . . . . . . . . . .212
Chapter 7 Hardware Specifications
Hardware specifications for Brocade MLXe routers . . . . . . . . . . . .217
Power specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217
Physical dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219
Operating environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220
Storage environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220
Safety agency approvals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220
Electromagnetic approvals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220

viii Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide
53-1003030-01
Port specifications for all router models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220
Console port pin assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220
Management port pin assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221
Power cords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222
Appendix A Brocade MLXe Chassis Bundles
Appendix B Regulatory Statements
U.S.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239
Industry Canada statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239
Europe and Australia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239
Germany. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240
Power cords (Japan Denan) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240
China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Taiwan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241
Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242
Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242
Appendix C Caution and Danger Notices
Cautions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243
Dangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .255

Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide ix
53-1003030-01
About This Document
Audience
This document is designed for system administrators with a working knowledge of Layer 2 and
Layer 3 switching and routing.
If you are using a Brocade device, you should be familiar with the following protocols if applicable to
your network – IP, RIP, OSPF, BGP, IS-IS, IGMP, PIM, MPLS, and VRRP.
How this document is organized
This document is organized to help you find the information that you want as quickly and easily as
possible.
The document contains the following components:
•Chapter 1, “Product Overview,” provides an overview of Brocade MLXe Series routers.
•Chapter 2, “Installing a Brocade MLXe Router,” provides installation instructions for Brocade
MLXe routers.
•Chapter 3, “Using Brocade Structured Cabling Components,” provides information on how to
use the cabling components with Brocade MLXe Series routers.
•Chapter 4, “Connecting a Router to a Network Device,” describes how to connect Brocade
MLXe Series routers to network devices.
•Chapter 5, “Managing Routers and Modules,” provides information on management tasks for
Brocade MLXe Series routers.
•Chapter 6, “Maintenance and Field Replacement,” describes maintenance procedures for
Brocade MLXe Series routers.
•Chapter 7, “Hardware Specifications,” provides hardware specifications for Brocade MLXe
Series routers.
•Appendix A, “Brocade MLXe Chassis Bundles,” provides a list of FRU bundle contents for the
Brocade MLXe routers.
•Appendix B, “Regulatory Statements,” contains regulatory information for Brocade MLXe
Series routers.
•Appendix C, “Caution and Danger Notices,” contains Caution and Danger notices in four
languages for Brocade MLXe Series routers.
Supported hardware
In instances in which procedures or parts of procedures documented here apply to some devices
but not to others, this guide identifies exactly which devices are supported and which are not.

xBrocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide
53-1003030-01
Document conventions
Although many different hardware configurations are tested and supported by Brocade
Communications Systems, Inc., documenting all possible configurations and scenarios is beyond
the scope of this document.
The following hardware platforms are described in this document:
•Brocade MLXe-4 router
•Brocade MLXe-8 router
•Brocade MLXe-16 router
•Brocade MLXe-32 router
What’s new in this document
This document has been updated for this release to include the following new information:
•new 24 port 10G module support for MLXe devices
Document conventions
This section describes text formatting conventions and important notice formats used in this
document.
Text formatting
The narrative-text formatting conventions that are used are as follows:
Command syntax conventions
Command syntax in this manual follows these conventions:
bold text Identifies command names
Identifies the names of user-manipulated GUI elements
Identifies keywords
Identifies text to enter at the GUI or CLI
italic text Provides emphasis
Identifies variables
Identifies document titles
code text Identifies CLI output
command and
parameters
Commands and parameters are printed in bold.
[ ] Optional parameter.

Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide xi
53-1003030-01
Document conventions
Command examples
This document describes how to perform simple upgrade and configuration tasks using the
command line interface (CLI), but does not describe the commands in detail. For complete
descriptions of commands for Brocade MLXe Series routers, see the Brocade MLX Series and
Brocade NetIron Family Configuration Guide.
Notes, cautions, and danger notices
The following notices and danger statements are used in this manual. They are listed below in
order of increasing severity of potential hazards.
NOTE
A note provides a tip, guidance, or advice, emphasizes important information, or provides a
reference to related information.
CAUTION
A Caution statement alerts you to situations that can be potentially hazardous to you or cause
damage to hardware, firmware, software, or data.
DANGER
A Danger statement indicates conditions or situations that can be potentially lethal or extremely
hazardous to you. Safety labels are also attached directly to products to warn of these conditions
or situations.
Notice to the reader
This document may contain references to the trademarks of the following corporations. These
trademarks are the properties of their respective companies and corporations.
These references are made for informational purposes only.
variable Variables are printed in italics.
... Repeat the previous element, for example “member [;member...]”
| Choose from one of the parameters.
Corporation Referenced Trademarks and Products
Phillips Screw Company, Inc. Phillips
Microsoft Corporation Internet Explorer
Mozilla Corporation Mozilla Firefox
Sun Microsystems Java Runtime Environment

xii Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide
53-1003030-01
Document conventions
Related publications
The following Brocade Communications documents supplement the information in this guide and
can be located at http://www.brocade.com/ethernetproducts:
•Multi-Service IronWare Software Upgrade Guide
•Brocade Multi-Service IronWare Configuration Guide
•Unified IP MIB Reference
•Brocade MLX Series and NetIron XMR Series Diagnostic Reference
•Multi-Service IronWare Software Upgrade Procedures for Brocade MLX Series and NetIron
Family devices
Getting technical help
To contact Technical Support, go to http://www.brocade.com/services-support/index.page for the
latest e-mail and telephone contact information.

Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide 1
53-1003030-01
Chapterf
1
Product Overview
Brocade router overview
Brocade routers provide high-performance routing to service providers, distributed enterprises, and
research networks, offering the following benefits:
•Scalable multi-service IP/MPLS carrier Ethernet routers.
•100 Gbps Ethernet, 10Gbps Ethernet and 1Gbps Ethernet wire speed ports in a single router.
•Wire-speed IPv4, IPv6, and MPLS forwarding performance.
•Comprehensive IPv4 and IPv6 routing support based on Brocade Multi-Service IronWare.
•High-availability design with redundant management modules, switch fabric modules, power
supplies and fans, supporting hitless failover, hitless software upgrades, and non-stop routing.
•Advanced, scalable Metro Ethernet Layer 2 services.
•Advanced Layer 2/Layer 3 VPN and multicast capabilities support residential triple-play and
business services.
•Comprehensive hardware-based security and policies.
•Advanced QoS for differentiated SLAs.
Router applications
Brocade routers are commonly deployed in the following situations:
•Layer 2 metro networks
•Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Layer 3 Virtual Private Network (VPN) service provider
networks supporting multi-VRFs and RFC 2547bis
•MPLS Layer 2 VPN service provider networks supporting both Virtual Private LAN Service
(VPLS) and Virtual Leased Line (VLL)
•MPLS backbone ‘P’ routers
•Data Centers
•Enterprise backbones
Hardware features
This section describes the major hardware components of Brocade routers. The figures in this
section show the router slots where you install modules and power supplies. For installation
instructions for these devices, refer to the appropriate installation chapter in this guide for your
model.
Brocade MLXe routers
Brocade MLXe routers are available in the following models:

2Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide
53-1003030-01
Hardware features
1
•Brocade MLXe-4: 4 interface slots (see Figure 1 on page 2)
•Brocade MLXe-8: 8 interface slots (see Figure 2 on page 3)
•Brocade MLXe-16: 16 interface slots (see Figure 3 on page 4)
•Brocade MLXe-32: 32 interface slots (see Figure 4 on page 6)
The following sections described the components you can install in the router slots. For a detailed
list of components that ships with each router, refer to Appendix A, “Brocade MLXe Chassis
Bundles”.
Brocade MLXe-4 router components
You can install the following components in the router slots:
•Up to two management modules (one active and one redundant).
•Up to three switch fabric modules.
•Up to four interface modules.
•Up to four power supplies (AC or DC).
For a detailed list of components that ships with each router, refer to Appendix A, “Brocade MLXe
Chassis Bundles”.
Figure 1 displays the Brocade MLXe-4 router.
FIGURE 1 Brocade MLXe-4 router
Brocade MLXe-8 router components
You can install the following components in the router slots:
•Up to two management modules (one active and one redundant).
1 Interface slot 2 4 ESD connector 7 Interface slot 3 10 Interface slot 4
2 Switch fabric slot 2 5 Interface slot 1 8 Management slot 1 11-14 Power supplies
3 Switch fabric slot 3 6 Switch fabric slot 1 9 Management slot 2
10
89
4
3
1
2
7
6
5
11 12 13 14

Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide 3
53-1003030-01
Hardware features 1
•Up to three switch fabric modules.
•Up to eight interface modules.
•Up to four power supplies (AC or DC).
For a detailed list of components that ships with each router, refer to Appendix A, “Brocade MLXe
Chassis Bundles”.
Figure 2 displays the Brocade MLXe-8 router.
FIGURE 2 Brocade MLXe-8 router
Brocade MLXe-16 router components
You can install the following components in the router slots:
•Up to two management modules (one active and one redundant).
•Up to four switch fabric modules.
•Up to 16 interface modules.
•Up to eight power supplies (AC or DC).
For a detailed list of components that ships with each router, refer to Appendix A, “Brocade MLXe
Chassis Bundles”.
14 15 16 17
1 2
8
10
12
6
3
9
7
5
4
11
18
13
1 Interface slot 1 6 Switch fabric slot 2 11 Interface slot 8 16 Power supply slot 3
2 interface slot 2 7 Switch fabric slot 3 12 Management slot 1 17 Power supply slot 4
3 Interface slot 3 8 Interface slot 5 13 Management slot 2 18 ESD connector
4 Interface slot 4 9 Interface slot 6 14 Power supply slot 1
5 Switch fabric slot 1 10 Interface slot 7 15 Power supply slot 2

4Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide
53-1003030-01
Hardware features
1
Figure 3 displays the Brocade MLXe-16 router.
FIGURE 3 Brocade MLXe-16 router
1-16 Interface slots 1-16 20 Switch fabric slot 4 24-31 Power supplies
17 Switch fabric slot 1 21 Management slot 1
18 Switch fabric slot 2 22 Management slot 2
19 Switch fabric slot 3 23 ESD connector
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
24
28
25
29
26
30
27
31

Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide 5
53-1003030-01
Hardware features 1
Brocade MLXe-32 router components
You can install the following components in the router slots:
•Up to two management modules.
•Up to eight switch fabric modules.
•Up to 32 interface modules.
•Up to eight power supplies (AC or DC).
For a detailed list of components that ships with each router, refer to Appendix A, “Brocade MLXe
Chassis Bundles”.

6Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide
53-1003030-01
Hardware features
1
Figure 4 displays the Brocade MLXe-32 router.
FIGURE 4 Brocade MLXe-32 router
1-32 Interface slots 1-32 38 Switch fabric slot 6 44 ESD connector 50 Power supply 6
33 Switch fabric slot 1 39 Switch fabric slot 7 45 Power supply 1 51 Power supply 7
34 Switch fabric slot 2 40 Switch fabric slot 8 46 Power supply 2 52 Power supply 8
35 Switch fabric slot 3 41 Management slot 1 47 Power supply 3
36 Switch fabric slot 4 42 Management slot 2 48 Power supply 4
37 Switch fabric slot 5 43 Captive screws 49 Power supply 5
44
45
43 43
Pwr Active Pwr Active
Pwr Active Pwr Active
357 91
2468 10
1133 35
34 36
41 12
13 15
14 16
Pwr Active Pwr Active
Pwr Active Pwr Active
17 19 21 23 37 39 25 27 29 31
18 20 22 24 38 42 40 26 28 30 32
46 47
49
50 51
ACOK
DCOK
ALM
ACOK
DCOK
ALM
ACOK
DCOK
ALM
ACOK
DCOK
ALM
ACOK
DCOK
ALM
ACOK
DCOK
ALM
ACOK
DCOK
ALM
ACOK
DCOK
ALM
52
48

Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide 7
53-1003030-01
Router modules 1
Router modules
This section describes management modules, interface modules, and switch fabric modules.
Management modules
Brocade MLXe routers support the following management modules types.
•MR management module
•MR2 management module
Table 1 lists the management modules available for Brocade MLXe routers.
The management module controls the hardware components, runs the networking protocols, and
provides the Real Time Operating System (RTOS).
TABLE 1 Management modules for all Brocade MLXe Series routers
Part number Description
NI-MLX-MR (MR)
Brocade MLXe and Brocade MLX management module, 1 GB SDRAM, dual auxiliary flash
slots, EIA or TIA-232 and 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports for out-of-band management.
NI-MLX-32-MR (MR)
Brocade MLXe-32 and Brocade MLX-32 management module, 1 GB SDRAM, dual auxiliary
flash slots, EIA or TIA-232 and 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports for out-of-band management.
NI-XMR-MR (MR)
Brocade NetIron XMR management module, 2 GB SDRAM, dual auxiliary flash slots, EIA or
TIA-232 and 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports for out-of-band management.
NI-XMR-32-MR (MR)
Brocade NetIron XMR 32000 management module, 2 GB SDRAM, dual auxiliary flash slots,
EIA or TIA-232 and 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports for out-of-band management.
BR-MLX-MR2-M (MR2)
MLXe/MLX Gen2 management (M) module for 4-, 8- and 16-slot systems. Includes 4 GB
RAM, 1 internal compact flash drive (2GB), 1 external compact flash slot with included 2GB
card, RS-232 serial console port and 10/100/1000 Ethernet port for management.
BR-MLX-MR2-X (MR2)
MLXe/XMR Gen2 management (X) module for 4-, 8- and 16-slot systems. Includes 4 GB
RAM, 1 internal compact flash drive (2GB), 1 external compact flash slot with included 2GB
card, RS-232 serial console port and 10/100/1000 Ethernet port for management.
BR-MLX-32-MR2-M (MR2)
MLXe/MLX Gen2 management (M) module for 32-slot systems. Includes 4 GB RAM, 1
internal compact flash drive (2GB), 1 external compact flash slot with included 2GB card,
RS-232 serial console port and 10/100/1000 Ethernet port for management.
BR-MLX-32-MR2-X (MR2)
MLXe/XMR Gen2 management (X) module for 32-slot systems. Includes 4 GB RAM, 1
internal compact flash drive (2GB), 1 external compact flash slot with included 2GB card,
RS-232 serial console port and 10/100/1000 Ethernet port for management.

8Brocade MLXe Series Hardware Installation Guide
53-1003030-01
Router modules
1
Each router requires one management module, and can accommodate a second module for
redundancy. A redundant management module works in conjunction with the active management
module. If the active module becomes unavailable, the redundant management module
automatically takes over the system operation, minimizing system downtime. For information about
the redundancy feature, refer to the “Using a Redundant Management Module” chapter in the
Brocade MLX Series and Brocade NetIron Family Configuration Guide.
Management modules are installed in dedicated slots marked M1 and M2. By default, the module
installed in slot M1 is the active management module.
Management modules are hot-swappable, which means you can remove and replace them without
powering down the system.
NOTE
MR and MR2 management modules cannot be mixed in the same chassis.
NOTE
Prior to installing or replacing the MR2 management module, you must read the Hardware
Installation Notes that shipped with the hardware.
NOTE
Although management modules are designed to be hot-swappable, you must upgrade the software
on all interface modules and management modules to the appropriate software release before
installing them. For more information on the appropriate software release, refer to the Hardware
Installation Notes that shipped with the management module.
Figure 5 shows a management module front panel.
FIGURE 5 MR management module front panel
Pwr
Active
10/100/1000
Port 1
Port 2
Console
RX-BI-MR