Question Answer

Finally they removed the Cat65 VSS Picture to explain FEX

an N5k No kidding right!?!?!?
Well...depends Dude...what features are you
using, are you looking at a M series or F series
Can you swap the 5500 for the 7000 without issues? card set, etc...
For the most part yes, but there are features that
Can you swap the 5500 for the 7000 without issues? will exists only on N5K.
Is there a manager app that provides a single point of You have all of your typical managment tools
management for multiple 5Ks? including DCNM.
Whats the status of IPv6 routing on the L3 cards in the Hopefully soon Dude. We are working on this
Nexus 5k? now

It is a combination of the two. Each FEX adds

CPU load. Here are the current limits for Nexus
5000.
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switches/dat
acenter/nexus5000/sw/configuration_limits/limit
Is the number of FEX limited by hardware or software? s_521/nexus_5000_config_limits_521.html
SHould be OK. I really hate to gave a solid
F cards. 2 7010's with F2's running to 2232TM's via fiber. endorsement without knowing more about the
Servers connect via copper. network. With what you have said; yes
Is it a true statement that only the 7000 supports L3 No. The N5K supports L3 with an expansion
routing? module.

can you have a host in active/active teaming through two

2000 fex connected to two 7000 using vPC? I saw a
diagram that only showed the active/standby setup, but We dont support that today, but we are going to
showed both for the 5000 switch. support in a future NX-OS release

Also, remember, given that Nexus 7000 already

has full redundancy including dual-supervisors,
can you have a host in active/active teaming through two power supply redundancy, fabric redundcany and
2000 fex connected to two 7000 using vPC? I saw a HA, this feature is not as critical on Nexus 7000.
diagram that only showed the active/standby setup, but Lot of customers connect FEX ports to multiple
showed both for the 5000 switch. LC for redundancy

on N7k, can I have FEX ports allocated to multiple VDCs? 16 FEX in L3 mode

on N7k, can I have FEX ports allocated to multiple VDCs? No, all FEX ports must belong to same VDC
does the VM FEX requier the 1000V? No, VM-FEX does not require Nexus 1000V
With the momentum of 10GBase-T, why would one Fiber will always have a longer reach to the
choose to go fiber to the server? server and is EMI does not affect it.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switches/dat
with L3 module installed on 5K, how many FEX supported acenter/nexus5000/sw/configuration_limits/limit
on 5K? thanks s_521/nexus_5000_config_limits_521.html
with L3 module installed on 5K, how many FEX supported
on 5K? thanks We can support 16 FEX in L3 mode
Praneetha - was that answer to my question? Sorry, wrong question being answer.

Praneetha - was that answer to my question? All FEX host ports must belong to same VDC

is there still a limit on the # of FEXs able to be attached if

the enterprise routing license is installed on the 5ks?
Will VM-FEX/Adapter-FEX only be available with the Cisco For Adapter FEX we are working with 3rd party
CNAs? companies as well.
So only the N2K-C2232PP-10GE supports FCoE at the At this time only FCoE is supported on fiber or
moment right? SFP+ cables.

can you have a host in active/active teaming through two

2000 fex connected to two 5000 using vPC? Yes.
You can also have eVPC where the FEX is
can you have a host in active/active teaming through two connected to two different N5K and the host is
2000 fex connected to two 5000 using vPC? active-active vpc

Yes. B22 line of FEX also support FCoE. I was

Well I forgot the B22HP. That one should support FCoE. ;) orginally thinking of rack mount Nexus 2000
n5k suport ipv6? Yes, with the GoldCoast release onward
n5k suport ipv6? That would be 5.2 release

Will we be covering some of the different 2k to 5K uplink

options for providing HA and not single point of failure? Yes. We will have connection diagrams
will the nexus 2000s ever support local switching between
ports on the same fex? No plans at this time.
will the nexus 2000s ever support local switching between We want to keep N2K simple to provide a single
ports on the same fex? pane management.
will the nexus 2000s ever support local switching between But we are constantly looking at customer
ports on the same fex? requirements for the future products
We have a vendor recommending that since we are
planning on using several vDC's on our 7k's, then they
recommend to use seperate 5K's and 2k's per vDC instead Best to bring network design questions to the
of carving up a set of common 5K's and 2K's with vlans. Is Cisco Account teams so that the correct
this a best practice/normal tip? resources can be engaged.
The FETs are used only between Nexus 2000 and
Will FETs ever be orderable separately w/o being part of a parent switch. So they are currently only sold
N2K purchase? with Nexus 2000
Will FETs ever be orderable separately w/o being part of a yes, it is orderable, however its an hidden SKU -
N2K purchase? FET-10G=
T- copper, P-is fiber uplink to parent switch. E
What does TP-E stand for? with extended buffer.
We cannot comment on product that is not
No 40G modules for the 5k on the horizon? shipping
 CAT-6, 6A, 7. Best to reference the datasheet for
10GT over copper... what media is support again? the latest update.

Is there oversubscription in the 2232TM-E? Depends on how you design your connections.

M" for module but it is not Field Upgradeable...if

you look closely there are screws on that part of
What does M of TM-E stand for? the Network interface ports"

That is a 1G FEX. You have to have 10G speeds

is FCoE supported on 2248T-E? to support FCoE. FC native is 1,2,4, 8G.
"M" for module but it is not Field Upgradeable......

Currently the 10G PHY uses more power than the

power budget on a SFP+ form factor. So no such
device exisits. As the power usage comes down,
will there be SFP+ 10GBase-T transceivers for a 2232PP? it may be possible in the future.

The location LED ir controlled by the chassis

managment board. There is no way to send
Talking about the B22, what is the technical reason why commands between the Nexus and the chassis
I´m not able to enable turn on the location-led? managmenet board of the chassis
Module can be replaced? Nope.
does this blade fex basically replace the Nexus 4k?

Depends on how the uplinks are connected.

What is the backplane throughput of the 2232TM-E? Do Static pinning or port channel. typically
the ports share capacity to the backplane in 8-port customers use port channel and thus any host
groups? facing port can go up the network facing ports.
What is the backplane throughput of the 2232TM-E? Do If all network facing ports are connected, then
the ports share capacity to the backplane in 8-port you can think of it as a 80G port channel link for
groups? the FEX.

Does the 5K support ISSU? How would the OS upgrade

affect the 2K traffic flows? It is really hitless? N5K supports ISSU. It is really hitless.

At this time, there is not a B22 for the IBM

does the B22 work in an IBM chassis? chassis. Please work with your account team.
You are not answering my question. Are the 2232TM-E
rated for full line speed on all ports, or are they
oversubscribed? it's 4:! oversubscribed
You are not answering my question. Are the 2232TM-E
rated for full line speed on all ports, or are they
oversubscribed? 4:1... 32 porst down 1/10GBASE-T + 8 SFP+ up
You are not answering my question. Are the 2232TM-E
rated for full line speed on all ports, or are they
oversubscribed? in 1Gig mode, it's linerate
only if STP is not active
you lose ISSU on the N5K if there are ports running regular yes, there are specific guidelines to get hitless
spanning tree (i.e. none edge sTP ports) ISSU with regard to STP root
can you dual connect a FEX to multiple 5000's for
redundancy? Also, is there a 40Gb/s option available for
that interconnect?
can you dual connect a FEX to multiple 5000's for
redundancy? Also, is there a 40Gb/s option available for Yes you can connect multiple FEX to N5K. There
that interconnect? are plans for QSFP+ option for interconnect.
thats an advantage of use N7k for parent switch if you
have an STP environment
No, I'm asking the opposite..can you connect a single FEX
to multiple 5000's? Yes

No, I'm asking the opposite..can you connect a single FEX yes, a single FEX can be connected to two N5K.
to multiple 5000's? There will be some topologies shown later on
great thanks.
What encapsulation does the FEX use? its a VNTAG - Jeffrey will talk about it
i may have missed it, but what is the difference between with pinning you pin specific host ports to
pinning and port channel..thx netwrok interfaces
i may have missed it, but what is the difference between with port channel, hashing to NIF is based on
pinning and port channel..thx flows
lol it was just explained..thx!

it's consistency, you know the behavior and how

Are there any advantages to using Pinning rather than much bandwidth each host will have access to -
Portchannel? most customers use PortChannel, simpler
vlan assignment in port profiles as well? Yes

we will have Nexus 5548UP, and Nexus 2224TP, and we

also have HP C7000 with HP Flex10 balde, where should I
plug HP Flex-10 into ? in Nexus 5548 ? yes - best is to connect switches to N5K
will changes to port-profiles be replecated to already
assinged interfaces?
can he VNTags be view Yes
Is there a VNTag table There are 802.1BR tables that is viewable
Another thing, our core will be 6509E with 2T engine, and
downstream Nexus 5548, where HP Flex10 better be 5548 is best since it's your acces/aggreg, but
plugged in both work
is VM FEX and extra license? there is a license but zero cost

Does VMFex count against your total Fex count limit? no there is another vmFEX limit, independant

so FULL active / active from the server is supported (not yes, with vPC, it's already active/active. With
just ODD / EVEN vlans across differnt links) fabric path, it's up to 16 path active/active
 with vPC+, the virtual switch (parent switch +
N2K) can be seen as one switch in the fabric path
Can 2 k support fabric path? cloud
Fabric Path is on the parent switch...it is not run
Can 2 k support fabric path? at the N2K

dummy question here, we have brocade 5100 Switch for Yes. With our 5548UP it can support FC as well
our san storage, can nexus 5548 replace it ? as FCOE/CE.

What if I have multiple servers which needs to be part of

two or more VDCs and I have only one FEX device on the
Rack. What is the best way to integrate with Nexus 7 K. Please reach out to me [email protected]", I
This is reference to my earlier question - can work with you"
spaning fex HIF across multiple VDC
for the N5K - between N2K & N5K, you can use
16 paths for the whole 5K or between the 5k & 2k vPC.
any particular SFP+ need to be used for connect to HP SAN
6500 with 8GB plug
dummy question: If we have Nexus 2000 VM-FEX, do we
still need Nexus 1000v on Hypervisor layer? no you don't
could we share the comparison between Nexus 1000v and
Nexus 2000 VMFEX? it's actually n1000v & VMFEX
can copy the QA session for future reference.. I am not
able to copy..
will 2k support fc?