Brocade SAN Switch Log Collection (supportsave / supportshow) and Inspection Commands

Brocade SAN switches and their OEM variants (IBM 2498 / SAN24B, Dell, HPE B Series and Lenovo DB Series) run Fabric OS. Collect the full supportshow session output as text, or use supportsave to create the full support bundle normally requested by technical support.

Preparation: Log in to the switch

Verify connectivity between the management machine and the switch management IP, and prepare an administrator account (typically admin).
For switches without a configured management IP, the factory default address is generally 10.77.77.77(subnet mask 255.255.255.0), default account admin / password(if modified, use the actual values).
Connect to the switch using terminal software such as PuTTY, Xshell, or SecureCRT via SSH (or Telnet, serial port).

Method 1: supportshow (save session output)

After logging in with the admin account, first enable the Session Log feature in your terminal software to record the output to a file. You can also use the Windows Telnet client's -f parameter to record directly: telnet -f D:\supportshow.txt <SwitchIP>.
Execute:
```
supportshow
```
The output is very long and takes a few minutes. Wait for the prompt to reappear, then exit the login; the recorded file is the log.

Method 2: supportsave (upload support package to FTP/SCP server)

After preparing an FTP or SCP server on the management machine, log in to the switch and execute supportsave, then enter the following prompts sequentially:

switch:admin> supportsave
Continue (yes, y, no, n): [no] y
Host IP or Host Name: 192.168.1.10
User Name: ftpuser
Password: ********
Protocol (ftp | scp | sftp): ftp
Remote Directory: /brocade

The switch will upload multiple .gz log files to the specified directory. Once all uploads are complete, send them to technical support.

Common Inspection Commands

Command	Description
`chassisshow`	Chassis information and serial number
`version` / `firmwareshow`	Fabric OS version / Microcode version
`uptime`	Uptime
`ipaddrshow`	Management IP information
`licenseshow`	Installed Licenses
`switchshow`	Switch information and port status
`switchstatusshow`	Overall switch operational status
`fabricshow` / `domainsshow`	Fabric members / Domain information
`cfgshow` / `alishow`	Zone configuration / Aliases
`portshow`	Detailed port status
`sfpshow -all`	SFP module status for each port (transmit/receive optical power)
`porterrshow`	Port error counters
`fanshow` / `psshow` / `tempshow`	Fans / Power supplies / Temperature
`slotshow` / `hashow`	Board status / Director CP card HA status
`errdump`	Error logs
`userconfig --show -a`	Logged-in accounts

When viewing only transmit/receive optical power, you can filter the output: sfpshow -all | grep -e RX -e TX -e Port.

Backup switch configuration

Execute commands in the CLI configupload, select FTP or SCP as prompted, and enter the server address, username, filename, and password. Alternatively, in Web Tools, click "Switch Admin" on the left sidebar, switch to "Show Advanced Mode" in the top-right corner, and go to the Configure tab to upload the configuration to an FTP server.

McDATA switches

McDATA (acquired by Brocade) switches collect logs via EFCM / DCFM management software:

Export SAN topology map: In EFCM, select SAN → Export → Physical Map (generates a JPG file).
Perform Data Collection on each switch in the SAN: In EFCM / DCFM, select Product View → Maintenance → Data Collection. The generated ZIP file includes switch configuration, Zones, port status, and logs. In EFCM, you can also use Group Manager to perform this operation on multiple switches simultaneously.