Dell M8024 User Manual

A Principled Technologies white paper commissioned by Dell Inc.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of contents .................................................................................. 2

Executive summary ............................................................................... 3

Features of Simple Switch Mode .............................................. 3

Example scenarios ..................................................................... 4

Testing scenarios ................................................................................... 5

Scenario 1: Plugging and playing the Dell PowerConnect

M8024 switch ............................................................................ 6

Scenario 2: Configuring VLANs on the internal ports of the Dell

PowerConnect M8024 switch ................................................... 7

Scenario 3: Configuring multiple VLANs per internal port to

connect to a server NIC with Tag enabled ................................ 8

Scenario 4: Configuring multiple Port Aggregation Groups and

dedicating specific Uplinks ........................................................ 9

Scenario 5: Adding VLANs in a multi-AG configuration .......... 10

Scenario 6: Setting up a fully meshed topology ..................... 11

Scenario 7: Setting up a straight-through topology with LAG

failover .................................................................................... 13

Scenario 8: Establishing access with vPC enabled across the

Cisco Nexus 5010 switches ..................................................... 14

Appendix A – Detailed scenario methodology ................................... 15

Scenario 1: Plugging and playing the Dell PowerConnect

M8024 switch .......................................................................... 15

Scenario 2: Configuring VLANs on the internal ports of the Dell

PowerConnect M8024 switch ................................................. 16

Scenario 3: Configuring multiple VLANs per internal port to

connect to a server NIC with Tag enabled .............................. 18

Scenario 4: Configuring multiple Port Aggregation Groups and

dedicating specific Uplinks ...................................................... 21

Scenario 5: Adding VLANs in a multi-AG configuration .......... 24

Scenario 6: Setting up a fully meshed topology ..................... 29

Scenario 7: Setting up a straight-through topology with LAG

failover .................................................................................... 31

Scenario 8: Establishing access with vPC enabled across the

Cisco Nexus 5010 switches ..................................................... 33

Appendix B – Network switch configuration information .................. 40

About Principled Technologies ........................................................... 41

How to deploy the Dell M8024 family of switches in a Cisco Nexus network

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Adding a Dell™ PowerConnect™ M8024 switch or a Dell M8024S LAN

Module with a Dell PowerEdge™ M1000e modular blade enclosure to

an existing network using a Cisco® infrastructure is a straightforward

process. The addition of Simple Switch Mode on the Dell M8024

family of switches further simplifies the process, allowing integration

into a Cisco network with minimal effort.

This Principled Technologies (PT) Guide explains the deployment

process for the Dell PowerEdge M1000e modular blade enclosure

with a Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch (see Figure 1) in an existing

Cisco network. We tested two Dell PowerConnect M8024 switches in

a variety of different network deployment scenarios with two Cisco

Nexus® 5010 switches, and discovered that Simple Switch Mode is

capable of automatically configuring the Dell PowerConnect M8024

switches to integrate with each scenario with minimal interaction

from our technicians.

Figure 1: The Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch.

NOTE: We tested with the Dell PowerConnect M8024 switches, but all

of our steps should apply to the Dell M8024S LAN Module, as well.

How to deploy the Dell M8024 family of switches in a Cisco Nexus network

Features of Simple Switch Mode

Simple Switch Mode, or SSM, allows server administrators, or anyone

with very limited expertise in configuring Ethernet switches, the

ability to deploy a loop-free switching solution without having to

configure the spanning tree protocol (STP) or design its integration

into the existing environment.

The primary advantages of deploying SSM are as follows:

To enable Simple Switch Mode on a Dell PowerConnect M8024

Port Aggregation is easy to configure. Simply group internal ports and associate with external ports, assign VLANs (if required), and it’s ready to go.

SSM automatically configures multiple external ports into an LACP trunk group.

By using Aggregator Groups, the feature provides loop-free operation without using STP.

Port Aggregation is completely interoperable. Dynamic (via Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)) and static link aggregation is supported on the external ports.

Sample scenarios

switch, perform the following steps:

1. Log into the switch.

2. Select SystemÆOperational ModeÆOperational Mode

Configuration.

3. In the Operational Mode Configuration screen, select Enable in

the Simple Mode drop-down menu, and left-click Apply Changes.

NOTE: Dell M8024S LAN Modules are always in Simple Switch Mode,

so you do not need to do these steps.

In the sections that follow, we discuss some of the new features of

the hardware and software, give an overview of the deployment

process, and present the following eight sample scenarios:

1. Plug and play using the Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch for

blade deployment into an existing network after configuring Link

How to deploy the Dell M8024 family of switches in a Cisco Nexus network

Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) on Cisco Nexus 5010 switch ports.

2. Configuring VLANs on internal ports of the Dell PowerConnect

M8024 switch, while configuring the Cisco Nexus 5010 switch to extend those VLANs in an external Nexus network.

3. Configuring Multiple VLANs per internal port to connect to the

server NIC with Tag enabled. (An example of this would be supporting virtual machines (VMs) in the server scenario.)

4. Configuring multiple port aggregation groups (mapping aggregate

groups to group-specific attached blade servers) and dedicating specific uplinks to carry that traffic to the Cisco network.

5. Adding VLANs in a multi-aggregate group configuration.

6. Setting up a meshed topology for redundancy.

7. Setting up a topology with Link Aggregation Group (LAG) failover.

8. Establishing access with vPC enabled across two Cisco Nexus 5010

switches.

The appendices to the Guide give detailed, step-by-step information

TESTING SCENARIOS

on how to do the deployment and provide detailed configuration

information on the hardware we used.

Our testing included establishing connections and utilizing sample

features and functions of the Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch with

the goal of showing the ease of deployment of the Dell PowerConnect

M8024 switch and accompanying Dell hardware in a Cisco Nexus

environment. The Dell blade switch operated in Simple Switch Mode

as a port aggregator. We began each scenario with a fresh test bed,

which included a Dell PowerEdge M710 blade server in the Dell

PowerEdge M1000e modular blade enclosure connected with Dell

PowerConnect M8024 switches. We include a network diagram

showing the general configuration of our switches in our test bed for

each scenario.

How to deploy the Dell M8024 family of switches in a Cisco Nexus network

Scenario 1: Plug and play using the Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch for blade deployment into an existing network

In this section, we provide an overview of the plug-and-play process

with the Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch, after configuring Link

Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) on Cisco Nexus 5010 switch

ports. Dell’s plug-and-play features with Simple Switch Mode allow

for quick integration of Dell blade switch into a network. We provide

detailed instructions in Appendix A.

1. On the Cisco Nexus 5010 switch, set up a four-port port channel

with LACP using the ports that will be connected to Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch.

2. Connect cables from the Cisco Nexus 5010 switch to the Dell

PowerConnect M8024 switch. The Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch will automatically create a Link Aggregation Group (LAG) and establish network connectivity for the blade servers into the existing network.

NOTE: Because the Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch forms the LAG

as you cable up the ports, cabling will not create loops, removing the

need for STP.

Figure 2 illustrates the completed configuration for Scenario 1.

Figure 2: Graphic representation of Scenario 1.

How to deploy the Dell M8024 family of switches in a Cisco Nexus network

Scenario 2: Configuring VLANs on the internal ports of the Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch

In this section, we provide an overview of configuring the VLANs on

the internal ports of the Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch, while

configuring those on the Cisco Nexus 5010 switch to extend those

VLANs in the external Cisco Nexus network. VLANs allow for traffic

isolation and for granular quality of service (QoS) control over simple

subnetting, and Dell switches with Simple Switch Mode enabled offer

quick and easy VLAN configuration. We provide detailed instructions

in Appendix A

1. On the Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch, enter the Internal Port

VLAN configuration screen, select a port, and change the default Untagged VLAN (we changed port 1/xg1 to VLAN 101).

2. On the Cisco Nexus 5010 switch, create a four-port channel group

with LACP and Trunking (VLAN tagging) enabled.

3. Allow VLAN 101 through the new port channel.

4. Connect the cables from the ports of the port channel group to

the Dell PowerConnect M8024 Switch. The Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch will automatically make a four-port LAG with VLAN tagging enabled and tag all communications from the designated internal port as VLAN 101.

Figure 3 illustrates the completed configuration for Scenario 2.

How to deploy the Dell M8024 family of switches in a Cisco Nexus network

Figure 3: Graphic representation of Scenario 2.

Scenario 3: Configuring multiple VLANs per internal port to connect to a server NIC with tagging enabled

In this section, we provide an overview of configuring multiple VLANs

per internal port to connect to a server NIC with VLAN tagging

enabled, which is useful for management of VMs. We provide

detailed instructions in Appendix A.

1. On the Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch, enter the Internal Port

VLAN configuration screen, select a port, and add several tagged VLANs (we changed port 1/xg1 to include VLANs 101-104).

2. On the Cisco Nexus 5010 switches, create a four-port channel

group with LACP and Trunking (VLAN tagging) enabled.

3. Allow VLANs 101-104 through the new port channel.

4. Connect the cables from the ports of the port channel group to

the Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch. The Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch will automatically make a four-port LAG with VLAN tagging enabled. From now on, you can modify VM communications so that you can tag them to various VLANs.

How to deploy the Dell M8024 family of switches in a Cisco Nexus network

Figure 4 illustrates the completed configuration for Scenario 3.

Figure 4: Graphic representation of Scenario 3.

Scenario 4: Configuring multiple Port Aggregation Groups and dedicating specific Uplinks

In this section, we provide an overview of configuring multiple Port

Aggregation Groups (AGs to group specific attached blade servers)

and dedicating specific Uplinks to carry that traffic to the Cisco Nexus

network. Doing this allows us to physically separate traffic for easier

administration. We provide detailed instructions in Appendix A

1. On the Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch, enter the Port

Configuration screen, and change the group ID of the ports you desire to Group 2 (we changed ports 1/xg9-1/xg16 and ports 1/xg23-1/xg24 to Group 2).

2. On the Cisco Nexus 5010 switch, create two two-port channel

groups with LACP enabled.

3. Connect the cables. The Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch will

automatically make two two-port LAGs, separating the traffic

How to deploy the Dell M8024 family of switches in a Cisco Nexus network

from between the two groups created earlier. The traffic from the blade servers that are connected to internal ports belonging to Group 1 will use LAG, including those external ports that are part of that group. This applies to the blade servers in Group 2 as well.

Figure 5 illustrates the completed configuration for Scenario 4.

Figure 5: Graphic representation of Scenario 4.

Scenario 5: Adding VLANs in a multi-AG configuration

In this section, we provide an overview of adding VLANs in a multi-AG

configuration, which combine the advantages of virtual network

administration with physical network separation. We provide detailed

instructions in Appendix A.

1. On the Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch, enter the Port

Configuration screen, and change the group ID of ports to Group 2 (we changed ports 1/xg9-1/xg16 and ports 1/xg23-1/xg24 to Group 2).

2. Enter the Internal Port VLAN configuration screen, select a port,

and add several tagged VLANs (we changed port 1/xg1 to include VLANs 101-102 and port 1/xg9 to include VLANs 103-104).

3. On the Cisco Nexus 5010 switches, create two two-port channel

groups with LACP enabled. Make sure that the two port channels include the VLANs you configured earlier (we configured VLANs 101-102 for the first port channel and VLANs 103-104 for the second port channel).

4. Connect the cables. The Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch will

automatically make two two-port LAGs, separating the traffic from between the two groups created earlier, while allowing for further segregation through VLANs.

Figure 6 illustrates the completed configuration for Scenario 5.

How to deploy the Dell M8024 family of switches in a Cisco Nexus network

Figure 6: Graphic representation of Scenario 5.

Scenario 6: Setting up a fully meshed topology

In this section, we provide an overview of setting up a fully meshed

topology while spanning tree protocol (STP) is enabled on an existing

network. STP allows for redundant connections in switches without

creating loops, and the Dell PowerConnect M8024 switches can

automatically integrate themselves into an STP network. The Dell

PowerConnect M8024 in Simple Switch Mode uses LAGs to prevent

loops, but allows Cisco Nexus switches to handle STP states. We

provide detailed instructions in Appendix A

1. On the first Cisco Nexus 5010 switch, set the spanning tree

priority so that it is the root.

2. On the second Cisco Nexus 5010 switch, set the spanning tree

priority so the tree will default to it as the secondary root in the event of failure.

3. Connect the cables between all switches. The Dell PowerConnect

M8024 switches will automatically integrate into the Cisco spanning tree network.

How to deploy the Dell M8024 family of switches in a Cisco Nexus network

Figure 7 illustrates the completed configuration for Scenario 6 and

the network created via STP. The first Cisco Nexus 5010 switch will act

as the root switch in the tree and block the redundant ports.

Figure 7: Graphic representation of Scenario 6.

In the event of a cable failure, the root switch will enable the

appropriate ports to maintain connections with all other switches.

Figure 8 illustrates the new logical network created in the event of a

cable failure.

How to deploy the Dell M8024 family of switches in a Cisco Nexus network

Figure 8: Graphic representation of the modified logical network after a cable failure.

Scenario 7: Setting up a straight-through topology with LAG failover

In this section, we provide an overview of setting up a straight-

through topology with LAG failover. Simple Switch Mode LAG failover

allows Dell switches to automatically change from the primary to the

backup LAG in the event of a port failure, reducing potential

downtime. We provide detailed instructions in Appendix A

1. On the Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch, enter the Port

Configuration screen, and change the Lag Role of ports to Secondary (we changed ports 1/xg23-1/xg24 to Secondary).

2. On the Cisco Nexus 5010 switches, create two two-port channel

groups with LACP enabled.

3. Connect the cables. The Dell PowerConnect M8024 switch will

automatically make a two-port LAG with a secondary backup LAG that it will failover to in the event of a cable or port failure.

Figure 9 illustrates the completed configuration for Scenario 7.

Figure 9: Graphic representation of Scenario 7.

How to deploy the Dell M8024 family of switches in a Cisco Nexus network

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