How can I figure out if a fibrechannel card is linked to a switch port

Check the status of the FC SCSI I/O Controller Protocol Device:

The below example shows the status of the FC SCSI I/O Controller Protocol Device of the first fibre channel adapter if the system is not connected to the switch (cable is present, but switch port not configured) - attach: none, no SCSI ID:

 # lsattr -El fscsi0

 attach       none         How this adapter is CONNECTED         False

 dyntrk       no           Dynamic Tracking of FC Devices        True

 fc_err_recov delayed_fail FC Fabric Event Error RECOVERY Policy True

 scsi_id                   Adapter SCSI ID                       False

 sw_fc_class  3            FC Class for Fabric                   True

... and this is how it looks, if the card is connected to the switch:

 # lsattr -El fscsi1

 attach       switch       How this adapter is CONNECTED         False

 dyntrk       no           Dynamic Tracking of FC Devices        True

 fc_err_recov delayed_fail FC Fabric Event Error RECOVERY Policy True

 scsi_id      0x610100     Adapter SCSI ID                       False

 sw_fc_class  3            FC Class for Fabric                   True

... and this is how it looks if there is no cable to a switch at all:

 # lsattr -El fscsi1

 attach       al       How this adapter is CONNECTED         False

 dyntrk       no           Dynamic Tracking of FC Devices        True

 fc_err_recov delayed_fail FC Fabric Event Error RECOVERY Policy True

 scsi_id      0x610100     Adapter SCSI ID                       False

 sw_fc_class  3            FC Class for Fabric                   True

almeans Arbitrary Loop. You get this if there is no cable plugged into the fibre channel card. But you also get this if the system is directly attached to a storage box (e.g. FAStT). In the latter case there is nothing wrong if you see attach: al