Brocade Network OS User Manual v14.1.1
53-1003225-04
19 June 2014
Network OS
Administrator’s Guide
Supporting Network OS v4.1.1
©
2014, Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Brocade, the B-wing symbol, Brocade Assurance, ADX, AnyIO, DCX, Fabric OS, FastIron, HyperEdge, ICX, MLX, MyBrocade, NetIron,
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Notice: This document is for informational purposes only and does not set forth any warranty, expressed or implied, concerning any
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Contents
Preface...................................................................................................................................19
Document conventions....................................................................................19
Text formatting conventions................................................................ 19
Command syntax conventions............................................................ 19
Notes, cautions, and warnings............................................................ 20
Brocade resources.......................................................................................... 21
Contacting Brocade Technical Support...........................................................21
Document feedback........................................................................................ 22
About This Document.............................................................................................................. 23
Supported hardware and software.................................................................. 23
What’s new in this document.......................................................................... 24
Related documents ........................................................................................ 24
Section I: Network OS Administration...................................................................................... 25
Introduction to Network OS and Brocade VCS Fabric Technology..............................................27
Introduction to Brocade Network OS...............................................................27
Brocade VCS Fabric terminology........................................................28
Introduction to Brocade VCS Fabric technology............................................. 28
Automation.......................................................................................... 29
Distributed intelligence........................................................................ 30
Logical chassis....................................................................................31
Ethernet fabric formation.....................................................................32
Brocade VCS Fabric technology use cases....................................................33
Classic Ethernet access and aggregation use case........................... 33
Large-scale server virtualization use case.......................................... 35
Brocade VCS Fabric connectivity with Fibre Channel SAN................ 36
Topology and scaling...................................................................................... 37
Core-edge topology.............................................................................37
Ring topology...................................................................................... 38
Full mesh topology.............................................................................. 38
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Using the Network OS CLI........................................................................................................41
Network OS CLI overview............................................................................... 41
Understanding roles............................................................................ 41
Accessing the Network OS CLI through Telnet ..............................................42
Saving your configuration changes................................................................. 42
Network OS CLI command modes..................................................................42
Network OS CLI keyboard shortcuts...............................................................42
Using the do command as a shortcut..............................................................43
Completing Network OS CLI commands........................................................ 43
Displaying Network OS CLI commands and command syntax.......................44
Using Network OS CLI command output modifiers.........................................45
Considerations for show command output .....................................................46
3
Basic Switch Management....................................................................................................47
Switch management overview...................................................................... 47
Connecting to a switch......................................................................47
Telnet and SSH overview..................................................................48
SSH server key exchange and authentication.................................. 48
Feature support for Telnet.................................................................49
Feature support for SSH................................................................... 49
Firmware upgrade and downgrade considerations with Telnet
or SSH.........................................................................................49
Using DHCP Automatic Deployment (DAD)......................................49
Telnet and SSH considerations and limitations................................ 52
Ethernet management interfaces..................................................................52
Brocade VDX Ethernet interfaces..................................................... 53
Lights-out management.................................................................... 53
Stateless IPv6 autoconfiguration.................................................................. 53
Switch attributes............................................................................................54
Switch types..................................................................................................54
Operational modes........................................................................................55
Logical chassis cluster mode............................................................ 55
Fabric cluster mode...........................................................................57
Standalone mode..............................................................................58
Modular platform basics................................................................................58
Management modules.......................................................................59
Switch fabric modules....................................................................... 60
Line cards..........................................................................................60
Supported interface modes...........................................................................60
Slot numbering and configuration................................................................. 61
Slot numbering..................................................................................61
Slot configuration.............................................................................. 61
Connecting to a switch..................................................................................61
Establishing a physical connection for a Telnet or SSH session...... 62
Telnet services..................................................................................62
Connecting with SSH........................................................................ 64
Using the management VRF.........................................................................66
Configuring and managing switches............................................................. 66
Configuring Ethernet management interfaces.................................. 66
Configuring a switch in logical chassis cluster mode........................ 72
Configuring a switch in fabric cluster mode.......................................82
Configuring a switch in standalone mode......................................... 82
Displaying switch interfaces..............................................................82
Displaying slots and module status information................................83
Replacing a line card ........................................................................84
Configuring high availability.............................................................. 85
Disabling and enabling a chassis......................................................86
Rebooting a switch............................................................................86
Troubleshooting switches..................................................................87
Configuring policy-based resource management......................................... 89
Configuring hardware profiles........................................................... 90
Guidelines for changing hardware profiles........................................91
Using hardware profile show commands.......................................... 92
Brocade support for Openstack.................................................................... 94
Configuring Openstack to access Network OS.................................94
Using Network Time Protocol.................................................................................................97
Network Time Protocol overview...................................................................97
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Date and time settings........................................................................ 97
Time zone settings.............................................................................. 97
Configuring NTP..............................................................................................98
Configuration considerations for NTP................................................. 98
Setting the date and time.................................................................... 98
Setting the time zone.......................................................................... 98
Displaying the current local clock and time zone................................ 99
Removing the time zone setting..........................................................99
Synchronizing the local time with an external source......................... 99
Displaying the active NTP server...................................................... 100
Removing an NTP server IP address................................................100
Configuration Management.................................................................................................. 101
Configuration management overview............................................................101
Configuration file types......................................................................101
Displaying configurations.............................................................................. 103
Displaying the default configuration.................................................. 103
Displaying the startup configuration.................................................. 103
Displaying the running configuration................................................. 103
Saving configuration changes....................................................................... 103
Saving the running configuration.......................................................104
Saving the running configuration to a file.......................................... 104
Applying previously saved configuration changes............................ 104
Backing up configurations............................................................................. 104
Uploading the startup configuration to an external host....................105
Backing up the startup configuration to a USB device...................... 105
Configuration restoration...............................................................................105
Restoring a previous startup configuration from backup...................106
Restoring the default configuration................................................... 106
Managing configurations on a modular chassis............................................ 107
Managing configurations on line cards..............................................107
Managing configurations across redundant management modules..107
Managing configurations in Brocade VCS Fabric mode............................... 108
Automatic distribution of configuration parameters........................... 108
Downloading a configuration to multiple switches.............................108
Managing flash files...................................................................................... 109
Listing the contents of the flash memory...........................................109
Deleting a file from the flash memory................................................109
Renaming a flash memory file...........................................................109
Viewing the contents of a file in the flash memory............................ 109
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Installing and Maintaining Firmware......................................................................................111
Firmware management overview.................................................................. 111
Obtaining and decompressing firmware............................................112
Upgrading firmware on a compact switch......................................... 112
Upgrading firmware on a modular chassis........................................112
Upgrading and downgrading firmware.............................................. 113
Upgrading firmware on a local switch........................................................... 114
Preparing for a firmware download................................................... 114
Connecting to the switch................................................................... 114
Obtaining the firmware version......................................................... 115
Using the firmware download command........................................... 115
Downloading firmware in the default mode....................................... 115
Downloading firmware from a USB device........................................116
Downloading firmware by using the noactivate option...................... 117
Downloading firmware by using the manual option...........................118
5
Upgrading firmware by using the manual option.............................118
Downloading firmware by using the default-config option...............119
Monitoring and verifying a firmware download session.................. 119
Upgrading firmware in Brocade fabric cluster mode................................... 120
Upgrading firmware in Brocade logical chassis cluster mode.....................120
Verifying firmware download in logical chassis cluster mode......... 122
Upgrading and downgrading firmware within a VCS Fabric....................... 122
Tested topology...............................................................................123
Upgrading nodes by using an odd/even approach......................... 125
Preparing for the maintenance window...........................................125
Optimizing reconvergence in the VCS Fabric................................. 128
Maintaining the VCS Fabric............................................................ 129
Understanding traffic outages......................................................... 130
Restoring firmware in the VCS Fabric.............................................131
Downgrading firmware in the VCS Fabric.......................................132
Configuring SNMP.............................................................................................................. 133
Simple Network Management Protocol overview....................................... 133
SNMP Manager...............................................................................133
SNMP Agent................................................................................... 133
Management Information Base (MIB)............................................. 133
Basic SNMP operation....................................................................134
Understanding MIBs........................................................................134
SNMP configuration.................................................................................... 139
Configuring SNMP community strings............................................ 139
Configuring SNMP server hosts......................................................140
Configuring multiple SNMP server contexts....................................142
Configuring password encryption for SNMPv3 users..................... 142
Displaying SNMP configurations.....................................................142
Configuring Brocade VCS Fabrics ....................................................................................... 145
Fabric overview...........................................................................................145
Brocade VCS Fabric formation....................................................... 145
How RBridges work.........................................................................146
Neighbor discovery......................................................................... 146
Brocade trunks................................................................................147
Fabric formation.............................................................................. 147
Fabric routing protocol ................................................................... 148
Configuring a Brocade VCS Fabric.............................................................148
Adding a new switch into a fabric....................................................150
Configuring fabric interfaces........................................................... 150
Configuring broadcast, unknown unicast, and multicast
forwarding..................................................................................151
Configuring VCS virtual IP addresses.............................................153
Configuring fabric ECMP load balancing........................................ 154
Configuring Metro VCS........................................................................................................157
Metro VCS overview................................................................................... 157
Metro VCS using long-distance ISLs.............................................. 158
Metro VCS using standard-distance ISLs....................................... 161
Metro VCS and distributed Ethernet vLAGs................................... 162
Configuring a Metro VCS port.....................................................................164
Configuring Distributed Ethernet Fabrics using vLAG................................ 165
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Administering Zones............................................................................................................. 167
Zoning overview............................................................................................ 167
Example zoning topology.................................................................. 167
LSAN zones ..................................................................................... 169
Managing domain IDs....................................................................... 170
Approaches to zoning....................................................................... 171
Zone objects......................................................................................172
Zoning enforcement.......................................................................... 173
Considerations for zoning architecture..............................................173
Operational considerations for zoning...............................................174
Configuring and managing zones ................................................................ 175
Zone configuration management overview....................................... 175
Understanding and managing default zoning access modes............176
Managing zone aliases..................................................................... 177
Creating zones.................................................................................. 180
Managing zones................................................................................182
Zone configuration scenario example............................................... 189
Merging zones...................................................................................190
Configuring LSAN zones — device sharing example....................... 195
Configuring Fibre Channel Ports............................................................................................199
Fibre Channel ports overview....................................................................... 199
Connecting to a FC Fabric through an FC Router........................................ 199
Fibre Channel port configuration...................................................................200
Using Fibre Channel commands.......................................................200
Activating and deactivating Fibre Channel ports...............................201
Configuring and viewing Fibre Channel port attributes..................... 202
Configuring Fibre Channel ports for long-distance operation............204
Configuring a Fibre Channel port for trunking................................... 205
Monitoring Fibre Channel ports.........................................................206
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Using Access Gateway...........................................................................................................209
Access Gateway basic concepts...................................................................209
Access Gateway and native VCS modes..........................................212
Access Gateway in logical chassis cluster........................................213
Access Gateway ports...................................................................... 213
Access Gateway features, requirements and limitations.................. 216
Enabling Access Gateway mode.................................................................. 219
Disabling Access Gateway mode..................................................................220
Display Access Gateway configuration data................................................. 220
VF_Port to N_Port mapping.......................................................................... 222
Displaying port mapping....................................................................223
Default port mapping.........................................................................225
Configuring port mapping..................................................................225
Port Grouping policy......................................................................................226
Displaying port grouping information.................................................227
Creating and removing port groups...................................................228
Naming a port group......................................................................... 229
Adding and removing N_Ports in a port group.................................. 229
Port Grouping policy modes..............................................................230
N_Port monitoring for unreliable links........................................................... 232
Setting and displaying the reliability counter for N_Port monitoring..233
7
Using System Monitor and Threshold Monitor......................................................................235
System Monitor overview............................................................................235
Monitored components....................................................................235
Monitored FRUs..............................................................................235
Configuring System Monitor........................................................................237
Setting system thresholds...............................................................239
Setting state alerts and actions.......................................................239
Configuring e-mail alerts................................................................. 239
Viewing system SFP optical monitoring defaults............................ 240
Displaying the switch health status................................................. 240
Threshold Monitor overview........................................................................240
CPU and memory monitoring..........................................................241
SFP monitoring............................................................................... 242
Security monitoring......................................................................... 244
Interface monitoring........................................................................ 244
Configuring Threshold Monitor....................................................................245
Viewing threshold status................................................................. 246
CPU and memory threshold monitoring..........................................246
Configuring SFP monitoring thresholds and alerts......................... 247
Security monitoring......................................................................... 248
Configuring interface monitoring..................................................... 248
Pausing and continuing threshold monitoring................................. 248
Using VMware vCenter ........................................................................................................251
vCenter and Network OS integration overview........................................... 251
vCenter properties...........................................................................251
vCenter guidelines and restrictions.................................................251
vCenter discovery....................................................................................... 252
vCenter configuration..................................................................................252
Step 1: Enabling QoS......................................................................253
Step 2: Enabling CDP/LLDP .......................................................... 253
Step 3: Adding and Activating the vCenter..................................... 253
Discovery timer interval ..................................................................254
User-triggered vCenter discovery................................................... 254
Viewing the discovered virtual assets............................................. 255
Configuring Remote Monitoring...........................................................................................257
RMON overview..........................................................................................257
Configuring and Managing RMON..............................................................257
Configuring RMON events.............................................................. 257
Configuring RMON Ethernet group statistics collection.................. 258
Configuring RMON alarm settings.................................................. 258
Section II: Network OS Security Configuration......................................................................259
Managing User Accounts.................................................................................................... 261
Understanding and managing user accounts............................................. 261
Default accounts in the local switch user database........................ 261
User account attributes................................................................... 261
Configuring user accounts.............................................................. 262
Understanding and managing password policies....................................... 265
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Password policies overview.............................................................. 265
Configuring password policies.......................................................... 267
Understanding and managing role-based access control (RBAC)................269
Default roles...................................................................................... 269
User-defined roles.............................................................................269
Displaying a role................................................................................270
Creating or modifying a role.............................................................. 270
Deleting a role................................................................................... 270
Commonly used roles....................................................................... 270
Understanding and managing command access rules................................. 271
Specifying rule commands with multiple options...............................272
Verifying rules for configuration commands...................................... 272
Configuring rules for operational commands.................................... 273
Configuring rules for interface key-based commands.......................273
Configuring a placeholder rule.......................................................... 274
Configuring rule processing.............................................................. 274
Adding a rule..................................................................................... 275
Changing a rule.................................................................................275
Deleting a rule................................................................................... 275
Displaying a rule................................................................................276
Logging and analyzing security events......................................................... 276
Configuring External Server Authentication............................................................................277
Understanding and configuring remote server authentication.......................277
Remote server authentication overview............................................ 277
Configuring remote server authentication......................................... 278
Understanding and configuring RADIUS.......................................................280
Authentication and accounting.......................................................... 280
Authorization..................................................................................... 280
Account password changes.............................................................. 280
RADIUS authentication through management interfaces................. 280
Configuring server side RADIUS support..........................................281
Configuring client side RADIUS support........................................... 283
Understanding and configuring TACACS+ ...................................................285
TACACS+ authorization....................................................................286
TACACS+ authentication through management interfaces.............. 286
Supported TACACS+ packages and protocols.................................286
TACACS+ configuration components............................................... 286
Configuring the client for TACACS+ support.....................................286
Configuring TACACS+ accounting on the client side........................289
Configuring TACACS+ on the server side ........................................291
Configuring TACACS+ for a mixed vendor environment...................293
Understanding and configuring LDAP...........................................................293
User authentication........................................................................... 294
Server authentication........................................................................ 294
Server authorization.......................................................................... 295
FIPS compliance............................................................................... 295
Configuring LDAP............................................................................. 295
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Configuring Fabric Authentication......................................................................................... 303
Fabric authentication overview......................................................................303
DH-CHAP..........................................................................................303
Shared secret keys........................................................................... 303
Switch connection control (SCC) policy............................................ 304
Port security...................................................................................... 305
Understanding fabric authentication..............................................................307
9
Configuring SSH server key exchange........................................... 307
Configuring an authentication policy .............................................. 307
Configuring DH-CHAP shared secrets............................................308
Setting up secret keys ....................................................................309
Setting the authentication policy parameters.................................. 309
Activating the authentication policy.................................................309
Configuring a Brocade VDX 6730 to access a SAN fabric............. 310
Configuring defined and active SCC policy sets............................. 310
Configuring port security............................................................................. 314
Configuring port security on an access port....................................314
Configuring port security on a trunk port.........................................314
Configuring port-security MAC address limits.................................314
Configuring port-security shutdown time.........................................315
Configuring OUI-based port security...............................................315
Configuring port security with sticky MAC addresses..................... 315
Section III: Network OS Layer 2 Switch Features.................................................................. 317
Administering Edge-Loop Detection.................................................................................... 319
Edge-loop detection overview.....................................................................319
How ELD detects loops...................................................................321
Configuring edge-loop detection................................................................. 322
Setting global ELD parameters for a Brocade VCS Fabric
cluster .......................................................................................323
Setting interface parameters on a port............................................324
Troubleshooting edge-loop detection..............................................324
Configuring AMPP...............................................................................................................327
AMPP overview...........................................................................................327
AMPP over vLAG ...........................................................................327
AMPP and Switched Port Analyzer ................................................328
AMPP scalability............................................................................. 329
AMPP port-profiles .........................................................................329
Configuring AMPP profiles..........................................................................331
Configuring a new port-profile.........................................................331
Configuring VLAN profiles...............................................................332
Configuring FCoE profiles...............................................................333
Configuring QoS profiles.................................................................333
Configuring security profiles............................................................334
Deleting a port-profile-port ............................................................. 334
Deleting a port-profile......................................................................335
Deleting a sub-profile...................................................................... 335
Monitoring AMPP profiles................................................................335
Configuring FCoE interfaces................................................................................................337
FCoE overview............................................................................................337
FCoE terminology........................................................................... 337
End-to-end FCoE............................................................................ 338
FCoE and Layer 2 Ethernet............................................................ 340
FCoE Initialization Protocol ............................................................346
FCoE queuing................................................................................. 349
FCoE upgrade and downgrade considerations...............................349
FCoE interface configuration.......................................................................350
Assigning an FCoE map onto an interface..................................... 351
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Assigning an FCoE map onto a LAG member ................................. 351
Configuring FCoE over LAG............................................................. 352
Troubleshooting FCoE interfaces..................................................................354
Configuring 802.1Q VLANs....................................................................................................355
802.1Q VLAN overview.................................................................................355
Ingress VLAN filtering....................................................................... 355
VLAN configuration guidelines and restrictions.................................357
Configuring and managing 802.1Q VLANs................................................... 357
Understanding the default VLAN configuration................................. 357
Configuring interfaces to support VLANs.......................................... 358
Configuring protocol-based VLAN classifier rules.............................362
Displaying VLAN information............................................................ 363
Configuring the MAC address table.................................................. 364
Private VLANs...............................................................................................364
PVLAN configuration guidelines and restrictions.............................. 365
Associating the primary and secondary VLANs................................ 366
Configuring an interface as a PVLAN promiscuous port...................366
Configuring an interface as a PVLAN host port................................ 366
Configuring an interface as a PVLAN trunk port............................... 367
Displaying PVLAN information.......................................................... 367
Configuring a VXLAN Gateway............................................................................................... 369
Introduction to VXLAN Gateway................................................................... 369
VXLAN tunnel endpoints............................................................................... 370
High-level communication in a VXLAN environment.....................................370
Coordination of activities............................................................................... 371
VXLAN Gateway configuration steps............................................................ 371
Prerequisite steps............................................................................. 371
VXLAN gateway configuration example............................................372
Additional commands....................................................................................374
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Configuring Virtual Fabrics.................................................................................................... 375
Virtual Fabrics overview................................................................................ 375
Virtual Fabrics features..................................................................... 376
Virtual Fabrics considerations and limitations................................... 376
Virtual Fabrics upgrade and downgrade considerations................... 377
Virtual Fabrics operations................................................................. 378
Virtual Fabrics configuration overview.............................................. 379
Configuring and managing Virtual Fabrics.................................................... 397
Configuring a service VF instance.................................................... 398
Configuring a transport VF instance..................................................398
Configuring VF classification to a trunk interface.............................. 398
Configuring transport VF classification to a trunk interface...............399
Creating a default VLAN with a transport VF to a trunk interface..... 399
Configuring a native VLAN in regular VLAN trunk mode.................. 399
Configuring a native VLAN in no-default-native-VLAN trunk mode...400
Configuring additional Layer 2 service VF features.......................... 400
Upgrading and downgrading firmware with Virtual Fabrics...............404
Troubleshooting Virtual Fabrics........................................................ 405
Configuring STP-Type Protocols.............................................................................................407
STP overview................................................................................................ 407
STP configuration guidelines and restrictions................................... 408
11
RSTP...............................................................................................408
MSTP.............................................................................................. 409
PVST+ and Rapid PVST+ ..............................................................410
Spanning Tree Protocol and VCS mode.........................................411
Configuring and managing STP and STP variants..................................... 412
Understanding the default STP configuration................................. 412
Saving configuration changes.........................................................413
Configuring basic STP.................................................................... 414
Configuring RSTP .......................................................................... 415
Configuring MSTP ..........................................................................416
Configuring PVST+ or R-PVST+.....................................................419
Enabling STP, RSTP, MSTP, PVST+ or R-PVST+.........................419
Disabling STP, RSTP, MSTP, PVST+, or R-PVST+.......................419
Shutting down STP, RSTP, MSTP, PVST+, or R-PVST+ globally..420
Specifying bridge parameters......................................................... 420
Configuring STP timers...................................................................422
Specifying the port-channel path cost.............................................423
Specifying the transmit hold count (RSTP, MSTP, and R-PVST+).423
Clearing spanning tree counters..................................................... 424
Clearing spanning tree-detected protocols..................................... 424
Displaying STP, RSTP, MSTP, PVST+, or R-PVST+ information.. 424
Configuring STP, RSTP, or MSTP on DCB interface ports.............424
Configuring DiST.............................................................................431
Configuring UDLD............................................................................................................... 433
UDLD overview........................................................................................... 433
UDLD requirements........................................................................ 433
How UDLD works............................................................................433
Configuring UDLD.......................................................................................435
Other UDLD-related commands..................................................................435
Configuring Link Aggregation ..............................................................................................437
Link aggregation overview.......................................................................... 437
Link Aggregation Control Protocol.................................................. 437
Brocade-proprietary aggregation.................................................... 438
LAG distribution process and conditions.........................................438
Virtual LAGs ...................................................................................439
Link aggregation setup................................................................................439
vLAG configuration overview.......................................................... 440
Configuring load balancing on a remote RBridge........................... 443
Configuring and managing LACP................................................... 444
Configuring LLDP ............................................................................................................... 449
LLDP overview............................................................................................449
Layer 2 topology mapping...............................................................449
DCBX.............................................................................................. 451
LLDP configuration guidelines and restrictions...............................452
Configuring and managing LLDP................................................................453
Understanding the default LLDP.....................................................453
Enabling LLDP globally...................................................................453
Disabling LLDP globally.................................................................. 453
Resetting LLDP globally..................................................................454
Configuring LLDP global command options....................................454
Configuring LLDP interface-level command options.......................458
Displaying LLDP-related information...............................................458
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Clearing LLDP-related information....................................................459
Configuring ACLs ..................................................................................................................461
ACL overview................................................................................................ 461
ACL benefits......................................................................................461
IP ACLs............................................................................................. 462
IP ACL parameters............................................................................462
Default ACLs..................................................................................... 464
Configuring and managing ACLs.................................................................. 464
Understanding ACL configuration guidelines and restrictions...........464
Creating a standard MAC ACL and adding rules.............................. 465
Creating an extended MAC ACL and adding rules........................... 466
Applying a MAC ACL to a DCB interface.......................................... 466
Applying a MAC ACL to a VLAN interface........................................ 467
Modifying MAC ACL rules................................................................. 467
Removing a MAC ACL...................................................................... 468
Reordering the sequence numbers in a MAC ACL........................... 468
Creating a standard IP ACL.............................................................. 468
Creating an extended IP ACL........................................................... 469
Applying an IP ACL to a management interface............................... 469
Binding an ACL in standalone mode or fabric cluster mode............. 469
Displaying the IP ACL configuration..................................................470
Configuring QoS....................................................................................................................471
QoS overview................................................................................................471
QoS features..................................................................................... 471
User-priority mapping........................................................................472
Congestion control............................................................................ 472
Ethernet Pause................................................................................. 474
Multicast rate limiting.........................................................................476
BUM storm control............................................................................ 476
Scheduling........................................................................................ 477
Data Center Bridging QoS................................................................ 479
Brocade VCS Fabric QoS................................................................. 481
Port-based Policer.............................................................................482
Configuring QoS............................................................................................486
Configuring QoS fundamentals......................................................... 486
Configuring traffic class mapping...................................................... 494
Configuring congestion control..........................................................498
Configuring rate limiting.................................................................... 501
Configuring BUM storm control......................................................... 501
Configuring scheduling......................................................................502
Configuring DCB QoS....................................................................... 502
Configuring Brocade VCS Fabric QoS..............................................504
Configuring policer functions.............................................................504
Auto QoS...........................................................................................511
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Configuring 802.1x Port Authentication.................................................................................519
802.1x protocol overview.............................................................................. 519
Configuring 802.1x authentication.................................................................519
Understanding 802.1x configuration guidelines and restrictions.......519
Configuring authentication ............................................................... 520
Configuring interface-specific administrative features for 802.1x......520
13
Configuring sFlow .............................................................................................................. 525
sFlow protocol overview..............................................................................525
Interface flow samples.................................................................... 525
Packet counter samples..................................................................526
Hardware support matrix for sFlow................................................. 526
Flow-based sFlow........................................................................... 527
Configuring the sFlow protocol....................................................................527
Configuring the sFlow protocol globally.......................................... 527
Configuring sFlow for interfaces......................................................528
Enabling flow-based sFlow............................................................. 530
Disabling flow-based sFlow on specific interfaces..........................531
Configuring Switched Port Analyzer..................................................................................... 533
Switched Port Analyzer protocol overview..................................................533
SPAN in logical chassis cluster.......................................................533
RSPAN............................................................................................533
SPAN guidelines and limitations..................................................... 533
Configuring SPAN.......................................................................................536
Configuring ingress SPAN.............................................................. 536
Configuring egress SPAN............................................................... 536
Configuring bidirectional SPAN.......................................................537
Deleting a SPAN connection from a session.................................. 537
Deleting a SPAN session................................................................538
Configuring SPAN in a logical chassis cluster................................ 538
Configuring RSPAN.................................................................................... 538
Configuring SFP Breakout Mode..........................................................................................541
SFP breakout overview...............................................................................541
Breakout mode properties...............................................................541
Breakout mode support...................................................................541
Breakout mode interfaces............................................................... 542
Breakout mode limitations...............................................................543
Breakout mode high-availability considerations..............................543
Configuring breakout mode for a chassis system....................................... 543
Configuring breakout mode for a standalone switch...................................545
Configuring additional breakout mode scenarios........................................546
Setting a 40G QSFP port into breakout mode................................ 546
Reserving a 40G QSFP port while in breakout mode..................... 547
Releasing a 40G QSFP port while in breakout mode..................... 548
Section IV: Network OS Layer 3 Routing Features.................................................................549
Configuring In-Band Management.......................................................................................551
In-band management overview...................................................................551
In-band management prerequisites................................................ 551
In-band management supported interfaces.................................... 552
Configuring an in-band management interface in standalone mode.......... 553
Configuring an in-band management interface using OSPF...................... 554
Basic configuration for a standalone in-band management............555
Configuring a management connection in VCS fabric cluster
mode..........................................................................................556
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IP Route Policy......................................................................................................................561
IP route policy overview................................................................................ 561
IP prefix lists......................................................................................561
Route maps.......................................................................................561
Configuring IP route policy............................................................................ 562
Configuring IP Route Management........................................................................................563
IP route management overview.................................................................... 563
How IP route management determines best route............................563
Configuring static routes............................................................................... 564
Specifying the next-hop gateway...................................................... 564
Specifying the egress interface......................................................... 564
Configuring the default route.............................................................564
Using additional IP routing commands..........................................................565
Configuring PBR................................................................................................................... 567
Policy-Based Routing....................................................................................567
Policy-Based Routing behavior..................................................................... 568
Policy-Based Routing with differing next hops.............................................. 569
Policy-Based Routing uses of NULL0........................................................... 570
Policy-Based Routing and NULL0 with match statements................570
Policy-Based Routing and NULL0 as route map default action........ 571
Configuring PIM....................................................................................................................573
PIM overview.................................................................................................573
Important notes................................................................................. 573
PIM Sparse Mode......................................................................................... 573
PIM topologies.............................................................................................. 574
PIM Sparse device types.............................................................................. 577
PIM prerequisites.......................................................................................... 577
PIM standards conformity............................................................................. 578
PIM limitations...............................................................................................578
PIM supportability..........................................................................................578
Configuring PIM............................................................................................ 579
PIM configuration prerequisites.........................................................580
Configuring PIM Sparse.................................................................... 580
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Configuring OSPF..................................................................................................................583
OSPF overview............................................................................................. 583
Autonomous System......................................................................... 583
OSPF components and roles............................................................ 584
OSPF areas...................................................................................... 586
Virtual links........................................................................................588
OSPF over VRF................................................................................ 589
OSPF in a VCS environment............................................................ 589
OSPF considerations and limitations................................................ 590
Configuring OSPF......................................................................................... 591
Performing basic OSPF configuration...............................................591
Enabling OSPF over VRF................................................................. 594
Enabling OSPF in a VCS environment............................................. 594
Changing default settings..................................................................595
15
Disabling OSPF on the router......................................................... 595
Configuring VRRP............................................................................................................... 597
VRRP overview...........................................................................................597
Basic VRRP topology......................................................................597
VRRP multigroup clusters...............................................................598
VRRP/VRRP-E packet behavior..................................................... 599
Track ports and track priority with VRRP and VRRP-E...................600
Short-path forwarding (VRRP-E only).............................................600
VRRP considerations and limitations..............................................601
Configuring VRRP.......................................................................................602
Configuring basic VRRP................................................................. 602
Enabling VRRP preemption............................................................ 604
Configuring short-path forwarding...................................................604
Configuring multigroup VRRP routing.............................................605
Virtual Routing and Forwarding configuration...................................................................... 609
VRF overview..............................................................................................609
VRF topology.................................................................................. 609
OSPF VRF-Lite for customer-edge routers.....................................610
Configuring VRF .........................................................................................610
Enabling VRRP for VRF..................................................................611
Configuring OSPF VRF-Lite for customer-edge routers................. 612
Inter-VRF route leaking...............................................................................612
Configuring Inter-VRF route leaking................................................613
Inter-VRF route leaking and DHCP relay........................................615
Configuring BGP................................................................................................................. 617
BGP overview............................................................................................. 617
BGP support....................................................................................617
Deployment scenarios.....................................................................617
BGP peering....................................................................................620
BGP attributes.................................................................................623
Best-path algorithm.........................................................................623
BGP limitations and considerations................................................ 624
Understanding BGP configuration fundamentals........................................624
Configuring BGP............................................................................. 625
Device ID.........................................................................................625
Local AS number.............................................................................625
IPv4 unicast address family............................................................ 625
BGP global mode ...........................................................................626
Neighbor configuration....................................................................626
Peer groups.....................................................................................628
Four-byte AS numbers....................................................................628
Route redistribution.........................................................................628
Advertised networks........................................................................629
Static networks................................................................................629
Route reflection...............................................................................629
Route flap dampening.....................................................................630
Default route origination..................................................................631
Multipath load sharing.....................................................................631
Configuring the default route as a valid next-hop........................... 631
Next-hop recursion..........................................................................631
Route filtering..................................................................................632
Timers............................................................................................. 632
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Using route maps.............................................................................. 632
Configuring BGP........................................................................................... 636
Adjusting defaults to improve routing performance...........................636
Using route maps with match and set statements............................ 636
Clearing configurations..................................................................... 639
Configuring IGMP..................................................................................................................641
IGMP overview..............................................................................................641
IGMP snooping overview.............................................................................. 641
Multicast routing and IGMP snooping............................................... 641
vLAG and LAG primary port with IGMP snooping.............................642
IGMP snooping scalability.................................................................643
IGMP snooping in standalone mode................................................. 643
IGMP snooping in Brocade VCS Fabric cluster mode...................... 643
Configuring IGMP snooping.......................................................................... 645
Enabling IGMP snooping.................................................................. 645
Configuring IGMP snooping querier..................................................645
Monitoring IGMP snooping................................................................646
Using additional IGMP commands....................................................647
Configuring IP DHCP Relay....................................................................................................649
DHCP protocol.............................................................................................. 649
IP DHCP Relay function................................................................................649
Brocade IP DHCP Relay overview................................................................650
Supported platforms..........................................................................651
Configuring IP DHCP Relay.......................................................................... 651
Displaying IP DHCP Relay addresses for an interface................................. 654
Displaying IP DHCP Relay addresses on specific switches......................... 655
Displaying IP DHCP Relay statistics............................................................. 657
Clearing IP DHCP Relay statistics................................................................ 658
VRF support.................................................................................................. 658
High availability support................................................................................ 660
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Section V: Network OS Troubleshooting................................................................................. 661
Using the Chassis ID (CID) Recovery Tool............................................................................... 663
CID overview.................................................................................................663
Critical SEEPROM data................................................................................ 663
Noncritical SEEPROM data.......................................................................... 663
Automatic auditing and verification of CID card data.................................... 664
Enabling the CID recovery tool..................................................................... 664
Managing data corruption or mismatches..................................................... 664
Understanding CID card failure.....................................................................665
Troubleshooting procedures..................................................................................................667
Troubleshooting overview............................................................................. 667
Gathering troubleshooting information.............................................. 667
Using a troubleshooting methodology...............................................668
Understanding troubleshooting hotspots...........................................669
Troubleshooting standard issues.................................................................. 677
AMPP is not working......................................................................... 677
Panic reboots are continuous............................................................680
17
CID card is corrupted...................................................................... 680
CPU use is unexpectedly high........................................................ 682
ECMP not load balancing as expected........................................... 682
ENS not working correctly ..............................................................682
FCoE devices unable to log in........................................................ 683
Traffic is not being forwarded .........................................................684
ISL does not come up on some ports............................................. 685
License is not properly installed......................................................688
Packets are dropped in hardware................................................... 689
Recovering the root password by using the root account............... 694
Obtaining the Boot PROM recovery password............................... 694
Clearing the Boot PROM password................................................ 696
Need to recover password for Brocade VDX 8770 or VDX 67xx....697
Ping fails..........................................................................................705
QoS configuration causes tail drops............................................... 705
QoS is not marking or treating packets correctly............................ 705
RBridge ID is duplicated..................................................................706
SNMP MIBs report incorrect values................................................706
SNMP traps are missing................................................................. 706
Telnet operation into the switch fails...............................................706
Trunk member not used..................................................................707
Upgrade fails...................................................................................709
VCS Fabric cannot be formed.........................................................709
vLAG cannot be formed.................................................................. 710
Zoning conflict needs resolution..................................................... 711
Zone does not form correctly.......................................................... 712
Using troubleshooting and diagnostic tools................................................ 714
Using Layer 2 traceroute.................................................................714
Using show commands...................................................................718
Using debug commands................................................................. 720
Using SPAN port and traffic mirroring.............................................720
Using hardware diagnostics............................................................721
Viewing routing information ............................................................722
Using the packet capture utility....................................................... 723
18
TACACS+ Accounting Exceptions.........................................................................................725
TACACS+ command-accounting limitations............................................... 725
Unsupported Network OS command line interface commands.................. 725
Supported NTP Regions and Time Zones..............................................................................729
Africa...........................................................................................................729
America.......................................................................................................730
Antarctica.................................................................................................... 731
Arctic........................................................................................................... 731
Asia............................................................................................................. 731
Atlantic........................................................................................................ 732
Australia...................................................................................................... 733
Europe.........................................................................................................733
Indian.......................................................................................................... 734
Pacific..........................................................................................................734
Index..................................................................................................................................735
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Preface
● Document conventions....................................................................................................19
● Brocade resources.......................................................................................................... 21
● Contacting Brocade Technical Support...........................................................................21
● Document feedback........................................................................................................ 22
Document conventions
The document conventions describe text formatting conventions, command syntax conventions, and
important notice formats used in Brocade technical documentation.
Text formatting conventions
Text formatting conventions such as boldface, italic, or Courier font may be used in the flow of the text
to highlight specific words or phrases.
Format
bold text
italic text
Courier font
Description
Identifies command names
Identifies keywords and operands
Identifies the names of user-manipulated GUI elements
Identifies text to enter at the GUI
Identifies emphasis
Identifies variables and modifiers
Identifies paths and Internet addresses
Identifies document titles
Identifies CLI output
Identifies command syntax examples
Command syntax conventions
Bold and italic text identify command syntax components. Delimiters and operators define groupings of
parameters and their logical relationships.
Convention
bold text Identifies command names, keywords, and command options.
italic text Identifies a variable.
Description
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Notes, cautions, and warnings
Convention Description
value In Fibre Channel products, a fixed value provided as input to a command
[ ] Syntax components displayed within square brackets are optional.
option is printed in plain text, for example, --show WWN.
Default responses to system prompts are enclosed in square brackets.
{ x | y | z } A choice of required parameters is enclosed in curly brackets separated by
x | y A vertical bar separates mutually exclusive elements.
< > Nonprinting characters, for example, passwords, are enclosed in angle
...
\
vertical bars. You must select one of the options.
In Fibre Channel products, square brackets may be used instead for this
purpose.
brackets.
Repeat the previous element, for example, member[member...].
Indicates a “soft” line break in command examples. If a backslash separates
two lines of a command input, enter the entire command at the prompt without
the backslash.
Notes, cautions, and warnings
Notes, cautions, and warning statements may be used in this document. They are listed in the 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.
ATTENTION
An Attention statement indicates a stronger note, for example, to alert you when traffic might be
interrupted or the device might reboot.
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.
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Brocade resources
Visit the Brocade website to locate related documentation for your product and additional Brocade
resources.
You can download additional publications supporting your product at www.brocade.com.
• Adapter documentation is available on the Downloads and Documentation for Brocade Adapters
page. Select your platform and scroll down to the Documentation section.
• For all other products, select the Brocade Products tab to locate your product, then click the Brocade
product name or image to open the individual product page. The user manuals are available in the
resources module at the bottom of the page under the Documentation category.
To get up-to-the-minute information on Brocade products and resources, go to MyBrocade. You can
register at no cost to obtain a user ID and password.
Release notes are available on MyBrocade under Product Downloads.
White papers, online demonstrations, and data sheets are available through the Brocade website.
Brocade resources
Contacting Brocade Technical Support
As a Brocade customer, you can contact Brocade Technical Support 24x7 online, by telephone, or by email. Brocade OEM customers contact their OEM/Solutions provider.
Brocade customers
For product support information and the latest information on contacting the Technical Assistance
Center, go to http://www.brocade.com/services-support/index.html.
If you have purchased Brocade product support directly from Brocade, use one of the following methods
to contact the Brocade Technical Assistance Center 24x7.
Online Telephone E-mail
Preferred method of contact for nonurgent issues:
• My Cases through MyBrocade
• Software downloads and licensing
tools
• Knowledge Base
Required for Sev 1-Critical and Sev
2-High issues:
• Continental US: 1-800-752-8061
• Europe, Middle East, Africa, and
Asia Pacific: +800-AT FIBREE
(+800 28 34 27 33)
• For areas unable to access toll
free number: +1-408-333-6061
• Toll-free numbers are available in
many countries.
support@brocade.com
Please include:
• Problem summary
• Serial number
• Installation details
• Environment description
Brocade OEM customers
If you have purchased Brocade product support from a Brocade OEM/Solution Provider, contact your
OEM/Solution Provider for all of your product support needs.
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Document feedback
• OEM/Solution Providers are trained and certified by Brocade to support Brocade® products.
• Brocade provides backline support for issues that cannot be resolved by the OEM/Solution
Provider.
• Brocade Supplemental Support augments your existing OEM support contract, providing direct
access to Brocade expertise. For more information, contact Brocade or your OEM.
• For questions regarding service levels and response times, contact your OEM/Solution Provider.
Document feedback
To send feedback and report errors in the documentation you can use the feedback form posted with
the document or you can e-mail the documentation team.
Quality is our first concern at Brocade and we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and
completeness of this document. However, if you find an error or an omission, or you think that a topic
needs further development, we want to hear from you. You can provide feedback in two ways:
• Through the online feedback form in the HTML documents posted on www.brocade.com.
• By sending your feedback to documentation@brocade.com.
Provide the publication title, part number, and as much detail as possible, including the topic heading
and page number if applicable, as well as your suggestions for improvement.
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About This Document
● Supported hardware and software.................................................................................. 23
● What’s new in this document.......................................................................................... 24
● Related documents ........................................................................................................ 24
Supported hardware and software
In those instances in which procedures or parts of procedures documented here apply to some switches
but not to others, this guide identifies exactly which switches are supported and which are not.
Although many different software and hardware configurations are tested and supported by Brocade
Communications Systems, Inc. for Network OS 4.1.0, documenting all possible configurations and
scenarios is beyond the scope of this document.
NOTE
The 100-gigabit interface subtype is not supported for Network OS 4.1.0, even though this subtype is
referenced in some of the Network OS 4.1.0 user documentation.
The following hardware platforms are supported by this release of Network OS:
• Brocade VDX 6710-54
• Brocade VDX 6720
‐ Brocade VDX 6720-24
‐ Brocade VDX 6720-60
• Brocade VDX 6730
‐ Brocade VDX 6730-32
‐ Brocade VDX 6730-76
• Brocade VDX 6740
‐ Brocade VDX 6740-48
‐ Brocade VDX 6740-64
• Brocade VDX 6740T
‐ Brocade VDX 6740T-48
‐ Brocade VDX 6740T-64
‐ Brocade VDX 6740T-1G
• Brocade VDX 8770
‐ Brocade VDX 8770-4
‐ Brocade VDX 8770-8
To obtain information about an OS version other than Network OS v4.1.0, refer to the documentation
specific to that OS version.
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23
What’s new in this document
What’s new in this document
This document supports Network OS 4.1.1; and the new features in this release include:
• VXLAN
For complete information, refer to the Release Notes.
Related documents
The documents that support this release are listed below. For details on how to obtain supporting
documents, refer to "Brocade resources" in the Preface.
Documents supporting this releaseTABLE 1
Document Description
Network OS Administration Guide This document.
Support for configuring, managing, and troubleshooting
Network OS VCS Fabrics.
Network OS Command Reference Detailed Network OS command line interface (CLI) syntax and
Network OS YANG Reference Manual Support for the YANG data modeling language, used to model
Network OS NETCONF Operations Guide Support for the NETCONF network configuration protocol and
Network OS Message Reference Support for RASLog messages, which log system events
Network OS MIB Reference Support for Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), to
Network OS Software Licensing Guide Support for all Brocade software licensing issues. Replaces
Network OS FIPS Configuration Guide Support for configurations required by the Federal Information
Release Notes Detailed summary of issues specific to the current release.
examples.
configuration and state data for manipulation by the NETCONF
network configuration protocol.
the YANG data-modeling language.
related to configuration changes of system error conditions.
monitor and manage network devices.
content that was previously in the Network OS Administration
Guide
Processing Standards (FIPS) regarding cryptographic
modules. Replaces content that was previously in the Network
OS Administration Guide
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Section I: Network OS Administration
• Introduction to Network OS and Brocade VCS Fabric Technology on page 27
• Using the Network OS CLI on page 41
• Basic Switch Management on page 47
• Using Network Time Protocol on page 97
• Configuration Management on page 101
• Installing and Maintaining Firmware on page 111
• Configuring SNMP on page 133
• Configuring Brocade VCS Fabrics on page 145
• Configuring Metro VCS on page 157
• Administering Zones on page 167
• Configuring Fibre Channel Ports on page 199
• Using Access Gateway on page 209
• Using System Monitor and Threshold Monitor on page 235
• Using VMware vCenter on page 251
• Configuring Remote Monitoring on page 257
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Section I: Network OS Administration
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Introduction to Network OS and Brocade VCS Fabric Technology
● Introduction to Brocade Network OS...............................................................................27
● Introduction to Brocade VCS Fabric technology............................................................. 28
● Brocade VCS Fabric technology use cases....................................................................33
● Topology and scaling...................................................................................................... 37
Introduction to Brocade Network OS
Brocade Network OS (NOS) is a scalable network operating system available for the Brocade data
center switching portfolio products, including the VDX product line.
Purpose-built for mission-critical, next-generation data centers, Network OS supports the following
capabilities:
Simplified
network
management
High resiliency
Improved
network
utilization
Server
virtualization
Brocade VCS fabrics are self-forming and self-healing, providing an operationally scalable
foundation for very large or dynamic cloud deployments. Multi-node fabrics can be managed as a
single logical element, and fabrics can be deployed and easily re-deployed in a variety of
configurations optimized to the needs of particular workloads.
For more information on Brocade VCS Fabric technology, refer to Introduction to Brocade VCS
Fabric technology on page 28 for an overview and Configuring Brocade VCS Fabrics on page
145 for configuration details.
Brocade VCS fabrics use hardware-based Inter-Switch Link (ISL) Trunking to provide automatic
link failover without traffic interruption.
Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL)-based Layer 2 routing service provides
equal-cost multipaths in the network, resulting in improved network utilization. Brocade VCS Fabric
technology also delivers multiple active, fully load-balanced Layer 3 gateways to remove
constraints on Layer 2 domain growth, eliminate traffic tromboning, and enable inter-VLAN routing
within the fabric.
Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) eliminates a single point of failure in a static, defaultroute environment by dynamically assigning virtual IP routers to participating hosts. The interfaces
of all routers in a virtual router must belong to the same IP subnet. There is no restriction against
reusing a virtual router ID (VRID) with a different address mapping on different LANs.
Refer to Fabric overview on page 145 for additional information about TRILL.
Refer to VRRP overview on page 597 for additional information on VRRP/VRRP-E.
Automatic Migration of Port Profile (AMPP) functionality provides fabric-wide configuration of
network policies, achieves per-port profile forwarding, and enables network-level features to
support Virtual Machine (VM) mobility.
Refer to Configuring AMPP on page 327 for more information about AMPP.
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Brocade VCS Fabric terminology
Network
convergence
Data Center Bridging (DCB)-based lossless Ethernet service provides isolation between IP and
storage traffic over a unified network infrastructure. Multi-hop Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)
allows an FCoE initiator to communicate with an FCoE target that is a number of hops away.
Refer to End-to-end FCoE on page 338 for more information about multi-hop FCoE.
In Network OS, all features are configured through a single, industry-standard command line interface
(CLI). Refer to the Network OS Command Reference for an alphabetical listing and detailed
description of all the Network OS commands.
Brocade VCS Fabric terminology
The following terms are used in this document.
Edge ports In an Ethernet fabric, all switch ports used to connect external equipment, including end stations,
Ethernet
fabric
Fabric ports The ports on either end of an Inter-Switch Link (ISL) in an Ethernet fabric.
Inter-Switch
Link (ISL)
switches, and routers.
A topologically flat network of Ethernet switches with shared intelligence, such as the Brocade
VCS Fabric.
An interface connected between switches in a VCS fabric. The ports on either end of the interface
are called ISL ports or Fabric ports. The ISL can be a single link or a bundle of links forming a
Brocade trunk. This trunk can either be created as a proprietary Brocade trunk, or a standard IEEE
802.3ad based link aggregation.
RBridge A physical switch in a VCS fabric.
RBridge ID A unique identifier for an RBridge, each switch has a unique RBridge ID. In commands, the
VCS ID A unique identifier for a VCS fabric. The factory default VCS ID is 1. All switches in a VCS fabric
WWN World Wide Name. A globally unique ID that is burned into the switch at the factory.
RBridge ID is used in referencing all interfaces in the VCS fabric. Refer to Configuring a Brocade
VCS Fabric on page 148 for information about setting the RBridge ID.
must have the same VCS ID.
Introduction to Brocade VCS Fabric technology
Brocade VCS Fabric technology is an Ethernet technology that allows you to create flatter, virtualized,
and converged data center networks. Brocade VCS Fabric technology is elastic, permitting you to start
small, typically at the access layer, and expand your network at your own pace.
Brocade VCS Fabric technology is built upon three core design principles:
• Automation
• Resilience
• Evolutionary design
When two or more Brocade VCS Fabric switches are connected together, they form an Ethernet fabric
and exchange information among each other using distributed intelligence. To the rest of the network,
the Ethernet fabric appears as a single logical chassis.
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Automation
The following shows an example of a data center with a classic hierarchical Ethernet architecture and
the same data center with a Brocade VCS Fabric architecture. The Brocade VCS Fabric architecture
provides a simpler core-edge topology and is easily scalable as you add more server racks.
FIGURE 1 Comparison of classic Ethernet and Brocade VCS Fabric architectures
Automation
Resilience is a foundational attribute of Brocade Fibre Channel storage networks and resilience is also
a requirement in modern data centers with clustered applications and demanding compute ServiceLevel Agreements (SLAs). In developing its VCS Fabric technology, Brocade naturally carried over this
core characteristic to its Ethernet fabric design.
In traditional Ethernet networks running STP, only 50 percent of the links are active; the rest (shown as
dotted lines in the following figure) act as backups in case the primary connection fails.
When you connect two or more Brocade VCS Fabric mode-enabled switches they form an Ethernet
fabric (provided the two switches have a unique RBridge ID and same VCS ID), as shown below.
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Distributed intelligence
FIGURE 2 Ethernet fabric with multiple paths
The Ethernet fabric has the following characteristics:
• It is a switched network. The Ethernet fabric utilizes an emerging standard called Transparent
Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) as the underlying technology.
• All switches automatically know about each other and all connected physical and logical devices.
• All paths in the fabric are available. Traffic is always distributed across equal-cost paths. As
illustrated above, traffic from the source to the destination can travel across two paths.
• Traffic travels across the shortest path.
• If a single link fails, traffic is automatically rerouted to other available paths. In the topology above, if
one of the links in Active Path #1 goes down, traffic is seamlessly rerouted across Active Path #2.
• Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is not necessary because the Ethernet fabric appears as a single
logical switch to connected servers, devices, and the rest of the network.
• Traffic can be switched from one Ethernet fabric path to the other Ethernet fabric path.
Distributed intelligence
With Brocade VCS Fabric technology, all relevant information is automatically distributed to each
member switch to provide unified fabric functionality, as illustrated below.
A Brocade VCS fabric is designed to be managed as a single "logical chassis," so that each new
switch inherits the configuration of the fabric, and the new ports become available immediately. The
fabric then appears to the rest of the network as a single switch. This significantly reduces complexity
for the management layer, which in turn improves reliability and reduces troubleshooting.
In addition, VCS fabrics provides a Netconf Application Programming Interfaces (API), as well as
extensions to OpenStack Quantum to orchestrate both physical and logical networking resources as
part of Virtual Machine deployment to support multi-tiered application topologies.
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