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B Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender Software Configuration Guide Release 4 2

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Tecnica Garantia
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Cisco Nexus 2000 Series NX-OS Fabric Extender Software

Configuration Guide for Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches, Release


4.2
First Published: January 16, 2009
Last Modified: March 31, 2010

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Cisco Systems, Inc.
170 West Tasman Drive
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USA
http://www.cisco.com
Tel: 408 526-4000
800 553-NETS (6387)
Fax: 408 527-0883

Text Part Number: OL-19003-01


THE SPECIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION REGARDING THE PRODUCTS IN THIS MANUAL ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. ALL STATEMENTS,
INFORMATION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS MANUAL ARE BELIEVED TO BE ACCURATE BUT ARE PRESENTED WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. USERS MUST TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR APPLICATION OF ANY PRODUCTS.

THE SOFTWARE LICENSE AND LIMITED WARRANTY FOR THE ACCOMPANYING PRODUCT ARE SET FORTH IN THE INFORMATION PACKET THAT SHIPPED WITH
THE PRODUCT AND ARE INCORPORATED HEREIN BY THIS REFERENCE. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO LOCATE THE SOFTWARE LICENSE OR LIMITED WARRANTY,
CONTACT YOUR CISCO REPRESENTATIVE FOR A COPY.

The Cisco implementation of TCP header compression is an adaptation of a program developed by the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) as part of UCB's public domain version
of the UNIX operating system. All rights reserved. Copyright © 1981, Regents of the University of California.

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LIMITATION, LOST PROFITS OR LOSS OR DAMAGE TO DATA ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS MANUAL, EVEN IF CISCO OR ITS SUPPLIERS
HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Cisco and the Cisco Logo are trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at http://cisco.com/
go/trademarks. Third party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco
and any other company. (1005R)

Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses. Any examples, command display output, and figures included in the document are shown
for illustrative purposes only. Any use of actual IP addresses in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2014 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.


CONTENTS

Preface Preface v
Audience v
Document Organization v
Document Conventions vi
Related Documentation vii
Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request vii

CHAPTER 1 New and Changed Information for the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series 1
New and Changed Features for the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series 1

CHAPTER 2 Overview 3
Information About the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender 3
Fabric Extender Terminology 4
Fabric Extender Features 5
Host Interfaces 5
Host EtherChannel 5
VLANs and Private VLANs 6
Virtual Port Channels 6
Fibre Channel over Ethernet Support 7
Protocol Offload 7
Quality of Service 7
Access Control Lists 8
IGMP Snooping 8
Switched Port Analyzer 8
Fabric Interface Features 9
Oversubscription 9
Management Model 10

Cisco Nexus 2000 Series NX-OS Fabric Extender Software Configuration Guide for Cisco Nexus 5000 Series
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Contents

Forwarding Model 11
Connection Model 11
Static Pinning Fabric Interface Connection 12
EtherChannel Fabric Interface Connection 13
Port Numbering Convention 13
Fabric Extender Image Management 14
Fabric Extender Hardware 14
Chassis 14
Ethernet Interfaces 14

CHAPTER 3 Configuring the Fabric Extender 17


Information About Associating a Fabric Extender to a Fabric Interface 17
Associating a Fabric Extender to an Ethernet Interface 18
Associating a Fabric Extender to an EtherChannel 19
Disassociating a Fabric Extender From an Interface 20
Configuring Fabric Extender Global Features 20
Enabling the Fabric Extender Locator LED 22
Redistributing the Links 22
Changing the Number of Links 23
Maintaining the Pinning Order 23
Redistributing Host Interfaces 23
Verifying Fabric Extender Configuration 24
Verifying Chassis Management Information 26

Cisco Nexus 2000 Series NX-OS Fabric Extender Software Configuration Guide for Cisco Nexus 5000 Series
Switches, Release 4.2
iv OL-19003-01
Preface
This preface describes the audience, organization, and conventions of the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric
Extender Software Configuration Guide. It also provides information on how to obtain related documentation.

• Audience, page v
• Document Organization, page v
• Document Conventions, page vi
• Related Documentation, page vii
• Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request, page vii

Audience
This guide is for experienced network administrators who are responsible for configuring and maintaining
the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender.

Document Organization
This document is organized into the following chapters:

Chapter Description
New and Changed Information for the Cisco Nexus Lists the new and changed information in this
2000 Series, on page 1 document.

Overview Provides an overview of the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series


Fabric Extender including details of the supported
features.

Configuring the Fabric Extender Provides the instructions of how to configure the
Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender.

Cisco Nexus 2000 Series NX-OS Fabric Extender Software Configuration Guide for Cisco Nexus 5000 Series
Switches, Release 4.2
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Preface
Document Conventions

Document Conventions
Command descriptions use the following conventions:

Convention Description
bold Bold text indicates the commands and keywords that you enter literally
as shown.

Italic Italic text indicates arguments for which the user supplies the values.

[x] Square brackets enclose an optional element(keyword or argument).

[x | y] Square brackets enclosing keywords or arguments separated by a vertical


bar indicate an optional choice.

{x | y} Braces enclosing keywords or arguments separated by a vertical bar


indicate a required choice.

[x {y | z}] Nested set of square brackets or braces indicate optional or required


choices within optional or required elements. Braces and a vertical bar
within square brackets indicate a required choice within an optional
element.

variable Indicates a variable for which you supply values, in context where italics
cannot be used.

string A nonquoted set of characters. Do not use quotation marks around the
string or the string will include the quotation marks.

Screen examples use the following conventions:

Convention Description
screen font Terminal sessions and information the switch displays are in screen font.

boldface screen font Information you must enter is in boldface screen font.

italic screen font Arguments for which you supply values are in italic screen font.

<> Nonprinting characters, such as passwords, are in angle brackets.

[] Default responses to system prompts are in square brackets.

!, # An exclamation point (!) or a pound sign (#) at the beginning of a line


of code indicates a comment line.

This document uses the following conventions:

Cisco Nexus 2000 Series NX-OS Fabric Extender Software Configuration Guide for Cisco Nexus 5000 Series
Switches, Release 4.2
vi OL-19003-01
Preface
Related Documentation

Note Means reader take note. Notes contain helpful suggestions or references to material not covered in the
manual.

Caution Means reader be careful. In this situation, you might do something that could result in equipment damage
or loss of data.

Related Documentation
Documentation for the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender is available at the following URL:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10110/tsd_products_support_series_home.html
The following are related documents for the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender:
• Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender NX-OS Software Configuration Guide
• Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender Hardware Installation Guide
• Cisco NX-OS Licensing Configuration Guide

Documentation for Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switches is available at the following URL:
http://www.cisco.com/en/us/products/ps9670/tsd_products_support_series_home.html
The following are related documents for the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series:
• Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Command Reference
• Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Hardware Installation Guide
• Cisco Nexus 5000 Series System Messages Reference
• Cisco MDS 9000 and Nexus 5000 Series Fabric Manager Software Configuration Guide

Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request


For information on obtaining documentation, submitting a service request, and gathering additional information,
see the monthly What’s New in Cisco Product Documentation, which also lists all new and revised
Cisco technical documentation, at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/general/whatsnew/whatsnew.html.
Subscribe to the What’s New in Cisco Product Documentation as a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed
and set content to be delivered directly to your desktop using a reader application. The RSS feeds are a free
service and Cisco currently supports RSS Version 2.0.

Cisco Nexus 2000 Series NX-OS Fabric Extender Software Configuration Guide for Cisco Nexus 5000 Series
Switches, Release 4.2
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Preface
Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

Cisco Nexus 2000 Series NX-OS Fabric Extender Software Configuration Guide for Cisco Nexus 5000 Series
Switches, Release 4.2
viii OL-19003-01
CHAPTER 1
New and Changed Information for the Cisco
Nexus 2000 Series
This chapter provides release specific information for each new and changed feature in the Cisco Nexus 2000
Series Fabric Extender Software Configuration Guide.
For additional information about , see the available at the following Cisco website, http://www.cisco.com/
en/US/products/ps9670/prod_release_notes_list.html.

• New and Changed Features for the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series, page 1

New and Changed Features for the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series
This table summarizes the new and changed features for the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender Software
Configuration Guide and tells you where they are documented.
Feature Description Changed in Release Where Documented
Fabric Extender feature The feature fex command 4.1(3)N2 (1) Information About
is disabled by default. Associating a Fabric
Extender to a Fabric
Interface, on page 17

Fabric Extender models The new Cisco Nexus 4.2(1)N1(1) Fabric Extender
2248TP and Cisco Nexus Hardware, on page 14
2232PP models are
described.

Host interface Up to 8 interfaces can be 4.2(1)N1(1) Host EtherChannel, on


EtherChannel combined in an page 5
EtherChannel.

Protocol offload A number of protocols are 4.2(1)N1(1) Protocol Offload, on


offloaded from the parent page 7
switch, including
LLDP/DCBX, CDP, and
LACP.

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New and Changed Information for the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series
New and Changed Features for the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series

Feature Description Changed in Release Where Documented


FCoE support The Cisco Nexus 2232PP 4.2(1)N1(1) Fibre Channel over
supports FCoE on its Ethernet Support, on
10-Gigabit Ethernet host page 7
interfaces.

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CHAPTER 2
Overview
This chapter provides an architectural overview of the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender and includes
the following sections:

• Information About the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender, page 3
• Fabric Extender Terminology, page 4
• Fabric Extender Features, page 5
• Oversubscription, page 9
• Management Model, page 10
• Forwarding Model, page 11
• Connection Model, page 11
• Port Numbering Convention, page 13
• Fabric Extender Image Management, page 14
• Fabric Extender Hardware, page 14

Information About the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender


The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender is a highly scalable and flexible server networking solution
that works with Cisco Nexus 5000 Series devices to provide high-density, low-cost connectivity for server
aggregation. Scaling across 1-Gigabit Ethernet, 10-Gigabit Ethernet, unified fabric, rack, and blade server
environments, the Fabric Extender is designed to simplify data center architecture and operations.
The Fabric Extender integrates with its parent switch, the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series device, to allow automatic
provisioning and configuration taken from the settings on the parent switch. This integration allows large
numbers of servers and hosts to be supported using the same feature set as the parent switch, including security
and quality of service (QoS) configuration parameters, with a single management domain as shown in the

Cisco Nexus 2000 Series NX-OS Fabric Extender Software Configuration Guide for Cisco Nexus 5000 Series
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Overview
Fabric Extender Terminology

following figure. The Fabric Extender and its parent switch enable a large multi-path, loop-free, active-active
data center topology without the use of Spanning Tree Protocol (STP).

Figure 1: Single Management Domain

The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender forwards all traffic to its parent Cisco Nexus 5000 Series device
over 10-Gigabit Ethernet fabric uplinks, allowing all traffic to be inspected by policies established on the
Cisco Nexus 5000 Series device.
No software is included with the Fabric Extender. Software is automatically downloaded and upgraded from
its parent switch.

Fabric Extender Terminology


Some terms used in this document are as follows:
• Fabric interface—A 10-Gigabit Ethernet uplink port designated for connection from the Fabric Extender
to its parent switch. A fabric interface cannot be used for any other purpose. It must be directly connected
to the parent switch.

Note A fabric interface includes the corresponding interface on the parent switch. This interface
is enabled when you enter the switchport mode fex-fabric command.

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Fabric Extender Features

• EtherChannel fabric interface—An EtherChannel uplink connection from the Fabric Extender to its
parent switch. This connection consists of fabric interfaces bundled into a single logical channel.
• Host interface—An Ethernet host interface for connection to a server or host system.

Note Do not connect a bridge or switch to a host interface. These interfaces are designed to
provide end host or server connectivity.

• EtherChannel host interface—An EtherChannel host interface for connection to a server or host system.

Fabric Extender Features


The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender allows a single switch—and a single consistent set of switch
features—to be supported across a large number of hosts and servers. By supporting a large server-domain
under a single management entity, policies can be enforced more efficiently.
Some of the features of the parent switch cannot be extended onto the Fabric Extender.

Host Interfaces
Host interfaces are for host or server connectivity only; host interfaces cannot connect to another network.
These interfaces are always enabled as edge ports; as they come up, these ports immediately transition to the
forwarding state. Host interfaces are always enabled with BPDU Guard. If a BPDU is received, the port is
immediately placed in an error-disabled state which keeps the link down.
You can enable host interfaces to accept Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) packets. This protocol only works
when it is enabled for both ends of a link.

Note CDP is not supported on fabric interfaces when the Fabric Extender is configured in a virtual port channel
(vPC) topology.

Ingress and egress packet counters are provided on each host interface.
For more information about BPDU Guard and CDP, see the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series NX-OS Layer 2 Switching
Configuration Guide, Release 4.2(1)N1(1).

Host EtherChannel
The Cisco Nexus 2248TP and Cisco Nexus 2232PP support EtherChannel host interface configurations. Up
to 8 interfaces can be combined in an EtherChannel. The EtherChannel can be configured with or without
LACP.

Note Support for host interface EtherChannel was added to the Fabric Extender from Cisco NX-OS Release
4.2(1)N1(1).

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Overview
VLANs and Private VLANs

For more information about EtherChannels, see the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series NX-OS Layer 2 Switching
Configuration Guide, Release 4.2(1)N1(1).

VLANs and Private VLANs


The Fabric Extender supports Layer 2 VLAN trunks and IEEE 802.1Q VLAN encapsulation. Host interfaces
can be members of private VLANs with the following restrictions:
• You can configure a host interface as an isolated or community access port only.
• You cannot configure a host interface as a promiscuous port.
• You cannot configure a host interface as a private VLAN trunk port.

For more information about promiscuous, community, and isolated ports in private VLANs, see the Cisco
Nexus 5000 Series NX-OS Layer 2 Switching Configuration Guide, Release 4.2(1)N1(1).

Virtual Port Channels


Using a virtual port channel (vPC) you can configure topologies where a Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric
Extender is connected to a pair of parent switches or a pair of Fabric Extenders are connected to a single parent
switch. The vPC can provide multipath connections, which allow you to create redundancy between the nodes
on your network.
The following vPC topologies are possible with the Fabric Extender:
• The parent switches are connected single homed to Fabric Extenders which are subsequently connected
to servers with dual interfaces (see the following figure).

Figure 2: Single Homed Fabric Extender vPC Topology

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Overview
Fibre Channel over Ethernet Support

• The Fabric Extender is connected dual homed to two upstream parent switches and connected downstream
to single homed servers (see the following figure).

Figure 3: Dual Homed Fabric Extender vPC Topology

This configuration is also called Active-Active topology.

See the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series NX-OS Layer 2 Switching Configuration Guide, Release 4.2(1)N1(1) for
vPC configuration details.

Fibre Channel over Ethernet Support


The Cisco Nexus 2232PP supports Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) with the following restrictions:
• Only FCoE Initialization Protocol (FIP) enabled converged network adapters (CNAs) are supported on
the Fabric Extender.
• Binding to an EtherChannel is limited to only one member EtherChannel.

See the for configuration details.

Protocol Offload
To reduce the load on the control plane of the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series device, Cisco NX-OS provides the
ability to offload link-level protocol processing to the Fabric Extender CPU. The following protocols are
supported:
• Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) and Data Center Bridging Exchange (DCBX)
• Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP)
• Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)

Quality of Service
The Fabric Extender provides two user queues for its quality of service (QoS) support, one for all no-drop
classes and one for all drop classes. The classes configured on its parent switch are mapped to one of these
two queues; traffic for no-drop classes is mapped to one queue and traffic for all drop classes is mapped to
the other. Egress policies are also restricted to these two classes.

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Overview
Access Control Lists

The parent switch provides two predefined type qos class maps for matching broadcast or multicast traffic;
class-all-flood and class-ip-multicast. These classes are ignored on the Fabric Extender.
The Fabric Extender uses IEEE 802.1p class of service (CoS) values to associate traffic with the appropriate
class. Per-port QoS configuration and CoS-based egress queuing is also supported.
Host interfaces support pause frames, which is implemented using IEEE 802.3x link-level flow control (LLC).
By default, flow control send is on and flow control receive is off on all host interfaces. Autonegotiation is
enabled on the host interfaces. Per-class flow control is set according to the QoS classes.
Host interfaces support jumbo frames (up to 9216 bytes); however a per-host interface maximum transmission
unit (MTU) is not supported. Instead, MTU is set according to the QoS classes. You modify MTU by setting
policy and class maps on the parent switch. Because the Fabric Extender has only two user queues, the MTU
for the drop-queue is set to the maximum MTU of all drop classes and the MTU on the no-drop queue is set
to the maximum MTU of all no-drop classes.
For more information about LLC and quality of service, see the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series NX-OS Quality of
Service Configuration Guide, Release 4.2(1)N1(1).

Access Control Lists


The Fabric Extender supports the full range of ingress access control lists (ACLs) that are available on its
parent switch.
For more information about ACLs, see the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series NX-OS Security Configuration Guide,
Release 4.2(1)N1(1).

IGMP Snooping
IGMP snooping is supported on all host interfaces of the Fabric Extender.
The Fabric Extender and its parent switch support IGMPv3 snooping based only on the destination multicast
MAC address. It does not support snooping based on the source MAC address or on proxy reports.

Note For more information about IGMP snooping, see http://tools.ietf.org/wg/magma/draft-ietf-magma-snoop/


rfc4541.txt. Also see the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series NX-OS Layer 2 Switching Configuration Guide, Release
4.2(1)N1(1).

Switched Port Analyzer


You can configure the host interfaces on the Fabric Extender as Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN) source ports.
Fabric Extender ports cannot be configured as a SPAN destination. Only one SPAN session is supported for
all the host interfaces on the same Fabric Extender. Ingress source (Rx), egress source (Tx), or both ingress
and egress monitoring is supported.

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Fabric Interface Features

Note All IP multicast traffic on the set of VLANs that a Fabric Extender host interface belongs to is captured
in the SPAN session. It is not possible to separate the traffic by IP multicast group membership.
If ingress and egress monitoring is configured for host interfaces on the same Fabric Extender, you may
see a packet twice: once as the packet ingresses on an interface with Rx configured, and again as the packet
egresses on an interface with Tx configured.

For more information about SPAN, see the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series NX-OS System Management Configuration
Guide, Release 4.2(1)N1(1).

Fabric Interface Features


The Fabric Extender fabric interfaces support static EtherChannel and priority flow control (PFC). PFC allows
you to apply pause functionality to specific classes of traffic on an interface (instead of all the traffic on the
interface). During the initial discovery and association process, SFP+ validation and digital optical monitoring
(DOM) are performed as follows:
• The Fabric Extender performs a local check on the uplink SFP+ transceiver. If it fails the security check,
the LED flashes but the link is still allowed to come up.
• The Fabric Extender local check is bypassed if it is running its backup image.
• The parent switch performs SFP validation again when the fabric interface is brought up. It keeps the
fabric interface down if SFP validation fails.

Once an interface on the parent switch is configured in fex-fabric mode, all other features that were configured
on that port and are not relevant to this mode are deactivated. If the interface is reconfigured to remove
fex-fabric mode, the previous configurations are reactivated.

Note Per class flow control mode is enabled by default on the fabric interfaces. When a fabric interface is
configured on the parent switch, PFC mode is enabled by default and cannot be changed.

For more information about PFC, see the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series NX-OS Quality of Service Configuration
Guide, Release 4.2(1)N1(1).

Oversubscription
In a switching environment, oversubscription is the practice of connecting multiple devices to the same
interface to optimize port usage. An interface can support a connection that runs at its maximum speed but
because most interfaces do not run at their maximum speeds, you can take advantage of unused bandwidth
by sharing ports. In the case of the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender, oversubscription, which is a
function of the available fabric interfaces to active host interfaces, provides cost-effective scalability and
flexiblity for Ethernet environments.
The Cisco Nexus 2148T Fabric Extender has four 10-Gigabit Ethernet fabric interfaces and 48 1000BASE-T
(1-Gigabit) Ethernet host interfaces. With this system, you can have any number of configurations. For
example, you can configure the following:

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Overview
Management Model

• No oversubscription (40 host interfaces for four fabric interfaces)


• 1.2 to 1 oversubscription (48 host interfaces for four fabric interfaces)
• 4.8 to 1 oversubscription (48 host interfaces for one fabric interface)

The Cisco Nexus 2248TP Fabric Extender has four 10-Gigabit Ethernet fabric interfaces and 48
100/1000BASE-T (100-Megabit/1-Gigabit) Ethernet host interfaces. It offers similar configurations to the
Cisco Nexus 2148T when its host interfaces are running in Gigabit Ethernet mode. It can easily be run with
no oversubscription when its host interfaces are running in 100-Megabit mode.
The Cisco Nexus 2232PP Fabric Extender has eight 10-Gigabit Ethernet fabric interfaces and 32 10-Gigabit
Ethernet host interfaces. With this system, you can have a 4 to 1 oversubscription (4 host interfaces for one
fabric interface) or higher.

Management Model
The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender is managed by its parent switch over the fabric interfaces
through a zero-touch configuration model. The Fabric Extender is discovered by the switch by detecting the
fabric interfaces of the Fabric Extender.
After discovery, if the Fabric Extender has been correctly associated with the parent switch, the following
operations are performed:
1 The switch checks the software image compatibility and upgrades the Fabric Extender if necessary.
2 The switch and Fabric Extender establish in-band IP connectivity with each other. The switch assigns an
IP address in the range of loopback addresses (127.15.1.0/24) to the Fabric Extender to avoid conflicts
with IP addresses that may be in use on the network.
3 The switch pushes the configuration data to the Fabric Extender. The Fabric Extender does not store any
configuration locally.
4 The Fabric Extender updates the switch with its operational status. All Fabric Extender information is
displayed using the switch commands for monitoring and troubleshooting.

Note Prior to Cisco NX-OS Release 4.1(3)N1(1), a Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender could be managed
by one parent switch only.

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Overview
Forwarding Model

Forwarding Model
The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender does not perform any local switching. All traffic is sent to the
parent switch that provides central forwarding and policy enforcement, including host-to-host communications
between two systems connected to the same Fabric Extender as shown in the following figure.

Figure 4: Forwarding Model

The forwarding model facilitates feature consistency between the Fabric Extender and its parent switch.

Note The Fabric Extender provides end-host connectivity into the network fabric. As a result, Bridge Protocol
Data Unit (BPDU) Guard is enabled on all its host interfaces. If you connect a bridge or switch to a host
interface, that interface is placed in an error-disabled state when a BPDU is received.
You cannot disable BPDU Guard on the host interfaces of the Fabric Extender.

The Fabric Extender supports egress multicast replication from the network to the host. Packets sent from the
parent switch for multicast addresses attached to the Fabric Extender are replicated by the Fabric Extender
ASICs and then sent to corresponding hosts.

Connection Model
Two methods (the static pinning fabric interface connection and the EtherChannel fabric interface connection)
allow the traffic from an end host to the parent switch to be distributed when going through the Cisco Nexus
2000 Series Fabric Extender.

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Overview
Static Pinning Fabric Interface Connection

Static Pinning Fabric Interface Connection


To provide a deterministic relationship between the host interfaces and the parent switch, you can configure
the Fabric Extender to use individual fabric interface connections. This configuration connects the 10-Gigabit
Ethernet fabric interfaces as shown in the following figure. You can use any number of fabric interfaces up
to the maximum available on the model of the Fabric Extender.

Figure 5: Static Pinning Fabric Interface Connections

When the Fabric Extender is brought up, its host interfaces are distributed equally among the available fabric
interfaces. As a result, the bandwidth that is dedicated to each end host toward the parent switch is never
changed by the switch but instead is always specified by you.

Note If a fabric interface fails, all its associated host interfaces are brought down and remain down until the
fabric interface is restored.

You must use the pinning max-links command to create a number of pinned fabric interface connections so
that the parent switch can determine a distribution of host interfaces. The host interfaces are divided by the
number of the max-links and distributed accordingly. The default value is max-links 1.

Caution Changing the value of the max-links is disruptive; all the host interfaces on the Fabric Extender are brought
down and back up as the parent switch reassigns its static pinning.

The pinning order of the host interfaces is initially determined by the order in which the fabric interfaces were
configured. When the parent switch is restarted, the configured fabric interfaces are pinned to the host interfaces
in an ascending order by the port number of the fabric interface.
To guarantee a deterministic and sticky association across a reboot, you can manually redistribute the pinning.

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Overview
EtherChannel Fabric Interface Connection

Note The redistribution of the host interfaces will always be in an ascending order by the port number of the
fabric interface.

EtherChannel Fabric Interface Connection


To provide load balancing between the host interfaces and the parent switch, you can configure the Fabric
Extender to use an EtherChannel fabric interface connection. This connection bundles 10-Gigabit Ethernet
fabric interfaces into a single logical channel as shown in the following figure.

Figure 6: EtherChannel Fabric Interface Connection

When you configure the Fabric Extender to use an EtherChannel fabric interface connection to its parent
switch, the switch load balances the traffic from the hosts that are connected to the host interface ports by
using the following load-balancing criteria to select the link:
• For a Layer 2 frame, the switch uses the source and destination MAC addresses.
• For a Layer 3 frame, the switch uses the source and destination MAC addresses and the source and
destination IP addresses.

Note A fabric interface that fails in the EtherChannel will not trigger a change to the host interfaces. Traffic is
automatically redistributed across the remaining links in the EtherChannel fabric interface.

Port Numbering Convention


The following port numbering convention is used for the Fabric Extender:
interface ethernet chassis/slot/port

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Overview
Fabric Extender Image Management

where
• chassis is configured by the administrator. A Fabric Extender must be directly connected to its parent
switch via individual fabric interfaces or an EtherChannel fabric interface. You configure a chassis ID
on a physical Ethernet interface or EtherChannel on the switch to identify the Fabric Extender discovered
through those interfaces.
The chassis ID ranges from 100 to 199.

Note The chassis ID is required only to access a host interface on the Fabric Extender. A
value of less than 100 indicates a slot on the parent switch. The following port numbering
convention is used for the interfaces on the switch:
interface ethernet slot/port

• slot identifies the slot number on the Fabric Extender.


• port identifies the port number on a specific slot and chassis ID.

Fabric Extender Image Management


No software ships with the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender. The Fabric Extender image is bundled
into the system image of the parent device. The image is automatically verified and updated (if required)
during the association process between the parent device and the Fabric Extender.
When you enter the install all command, it upgrade the software on the parent Cisco Nexus 5000 Series device
and also upgrades the software on any attached Fabric Extender. To minimize downtime as much as possible,
the Fabric Extender remains online while the installation process loads its new software image. Once the
software image has successfully loaded, the parent device and the Fabric Extender both automatically reboot.
This process is required to maintain version compatibility between the parent device and the Fabric Extender.

Fabric Extender Hardware


The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender architecture allows hardware configurations with various host
interface counts and speeds.

Chassis
The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender is a 1 RU chassis that is designed for rack mounting. The
chassis supports redundant hot-swappable fans and power supplies.

Ethernet Interfaces
There are three models of the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender:

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Ethernet Interfaces

• The Cisco Nexus 2148T has 48 1000BASE-T Ethernet host interfaces for its downlink connection to
servers or hosts and 4 10-Gigabit Ethernet fabric interfaces with SFP+ interface adapters for its uplink
connection to the parent switch.
• The Cisco Nexus 2248TP has 48 100BASE-T/1000Base-T Ethernet host interfaces for its downlink
connection to servers or hosts and 4 10-Gigabit Ethernet fabric interfaces with SFP+ interface adapters
for its uplink connection to the parent switch.
• The Cisco Nexus 2232PP has 32 10-Gigabit Ethernet host interfaces with SFP+ interface adapters and
8 10-Gigabit Ethernet fabric interfaces with SFP+ interface adapters for its uplink connection to the
parent switch.

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Overview
Ethernet Interfaces

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CHAPTER 3
Configuring the Fabric Extender
This chapter describes how to configure a Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender using the Cisco Nexus
5000 Series device and includes the following sections:

• Information About Associating a Fabric Extender to a Fabric Interface, page 17


• Configuring Fabric Extender Global Features, page 20
• Enabling the Fabric Extender Locator LED, page 22
• Redistributing the Links, page 22
• Verifying Fabric Extender Configuration, page 24
• Verifying Chassis Management Information, page 26

Information About Associating a Fabric Extender to a Fabric


Interface
A Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender is connected to its parent device through physical Ethernet
interfaces or an EtherChannel. By default, the parent device does not allow the attached Fabric Extender to
connect until it has been assigned a FEX-number and is associated with the connected interface.

Note The Fabric Extender may connect to the switch through a number of separate physical Ethernet interfaces
or one EtherChannel interface.

Caution Prior to Cisco NX-OS Release 4.1(3)N1(1), you could not connect the Ethernet interfaces of the Expansion
Modules in the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switch to a Fabric Extender.

Note You must enable the Fabric Extender functionality before you can configure and use a Fabric Extender
connected to the parent switch.

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Configuring the Fabric Extender
Associating a Fabric Extender to an Ethernet Interface

Associating a Fabric Extender to an Ethernet Interface


You can associate the Fabric Extender to an Ethernet interface.

Before You Begin


Ensure that you have enabled the Fabric Extender feature.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose


Step 1 switch# configure terminal Enters configuration mode.

Step 2 switch(config)# interface ethernet Specifies an Ethernet interface to configure.


slot/port
Step 3 switch(config-if)# switchport mode Sets the interface to support an external Fabric
fex-fabric Extender.

Step 4 switch(config-if)# fex associate Associates the FEX-number to the Fabric Extender
FEX-number unit attached to the interface. The range of the
FEX-number is from 100 to 199.

Step 5 switch# show interface ethernet port/slot (Optional)


fex-intf Displays the association of a Fabric Extender to an
Ethernet interface.

This example shows how to associate the Fabric Extender to an Ethernet interface on the parent device:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# interface ethernet 1/40
switch(config-if)# switchport mode fex-fabric
switch(config-if)# fex associate 100

This example shows how to display the association of the Fabric Extender and the parent device:
switch# show interface ethernet 1/40 fex-intf
Fabric FEX
Interface Interfaces
---------------------------------------------------
Eth1/40 Eth100/1/48 Eth100/1/47 Eth100/1/46 Eth100/1/45
Eth100/1/44 Eth100/1/43 Eth100/1/42 Eth100/1/41
Eth100/1/40 Eth100/1/39 Eth100/1/38 Eth100/1/37
Eth100/1/36 Eth100/1/35 Eth100/1/34 Eth100/1/33
Eth100/1/32 Eth100/1/31 Eth100/1/30 Eth100/1/29
Eth100/1/28 Eth100/1/27 Eth100/1/26 Eth100/1/25
Eth100/1/24 Eth100/1/23 Eth100/1/22 Eth100/1/21
Eth100/1/20 Eth100/1/19 Eth100/1/18 Eth100/1/17
Eth100/1/16 Eth100/1/15 Eth100/1/14 Eth100/1/13
Eth100/1/12 Eth100/1/11 Eth100/1/10 Eth100/1/9
Eth100/1/8 Eth100/1/7 Eth100/1/6 Eth100/1/5
Eth100/1/4 Eth100/1/3 Eth100/1/2 Eth100/1/1

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Associating a Fabric Extender to an EtherChannel

Associating a Fabric Extender to an EtherChannel


You can associate the Fabric Extender to an EtherChannel.

Before You Begin


Ensure that you have enabled the Fabric Extender feature.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose


Step 1 switch# configure terminal Enters configuration mode.

Step 2 switch(config)# interface port-channnel Specifies an EtherChannel to configure.


channel
Step 3 switch(config-if)# switchport mode Sets the EtherChannel to support an external Fabric
fex-fabric Extender.

Step 4 switch(config-if)# fex associate Associates the FEX-number to the Fabric Extender
FEX-number unit attached to the interface. The range of the
FEX-number is from 100 to 199.

Step 5 switch# show interface port-channel (Optional)


channel fex-intf Displays the association of a Fabric Extender to an
EtherChannel interface.

This example shows how to associate the Fabric Extender to an EtherChannel interface on the parent device:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# interface port-channel 4
switch(config-if)# switchport mode fex-fabric
switch(config-if)# fex associate 100
switch(config-if)# exit
switch(config)# interface ethernet 1/37
switch(config-if)# switchport mode fex-fabric
switch(config-if)# fex associate 100
switch(config-if)# channel-group 4
switch(config-if)# exit
switch(config)# interface ethernet 1/38
switch(config-if)# switchport mode fex-fabric
switch(config-if)# fex associate 100
switch(config-if)# channel-group 4
switch(config-if)# exit
switch(config)# interface ethernet 1/39
switch(config-if)# switchport mode fex-fabric
switch(config-if)# fex associate 100
switch(config-if)# channel-group 4
switch(config-if)# exit
switch(config)# interface ethernet 1/40
switch(config-if)# switchport mode fex-fabric
switch(config-if)# fex associate 100
switch(config-if)# channel-group 4

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Configuring the Fabric Extender
Disassociating a Fabric Extender From an Interface

Note You have to associate each Ethernet interface that is a member of the EtherChannel as a fabric interface
as shown in the above example.

This example shows how to display the association of the Fabric Extender and the parent device:
switch# show interface port-channel 4 fex-intf
Fabric FEX
Interface Interfaces
---------------------------------------------------
Po4 Eth100/1/48 Eth100/1/47 Eth100/1/46 Eth100/1/45
Eth100/1/44 Eth100/1/43 Eth100/1/42 Eth100/1/41
Eth100/1/40 Eth100/1/39 Eth100/1/38 Eth100/1/37
Eth100/1/36 Eth100/1/35 Eth100/1/34 Eth100/1/33
Eth100/1/32 Eth100/1/31 Eth100/1/30 Eth100/1/29
Eth100/1/28 Eth100/1/27 Eth100/1/26 Eth100/1/25
Eth100/1/24 Eth100/1/23 Eth100/1/22 Eth100/1/21
Eth100/1/20 Eth100/1/19 Eth100/1/18 Eth100/1/17
Eth100/1/16 Eth100/1/15 Eth100/1/14 Eth100/1/13
Eth100/1/12 Eth100/1/11 Eth100/1/10 Eth100/1/9
Eth100/1/8 Eth100/1/7 Eth100/1/6 Eth100/1/5
Eth100/1/4 Eth100/1/3 Eth100/1/2 Eth100/1/1

Disassociating a Fabric Extender From an Interface


You can disassociate the Fabric Extender from an interface.

Before You Begin


Ensure that you have enabled the Fabric Extender feature.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose


Step 1 switch# configure terminal Enters configuration mode.

Step 2 switch(config)# interface {ethernet Specifies the interface to configure. The interface
slot/port | port-channel channel} can be an Ethernet interface or a EtherChannel.

Step 3 switch(config-if)# no fex associate Disassociates the Fabric Extender unit attached
to the interface.

Configuring Fabric Extender Global Features


You can configure global features for a Fabric Extender.

Before You Begin


Ensure that you have enabled the Fabric Extender feature.

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Configuring Fabric Extender Global Features

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose


Step 1 switch# configure Enters configuration mode.
terminal
Step 2 switch(config)# fex Enters configuration mode for the specified Fabric Extender. The
FEX-number range of the FEX-number is from 100 to 199.

Step 3 switch(config-fex)# (Optional)


description desc Specifies the description. The default is the string FEXxxxx where
xxxx is the FEX-number. If the FEX-number is 123, the description
is FEX0123.

Step 4 switch(config-fex)# no (Optional)


description Deletes the description.

Step 5 switch(config-fex)# type (Optional)


FEX-type Specifies the type of Fabric Extender. The FEX-type is one of
N2148T for the 48 1000BASE-T Ethernet host interfaces and 4
10-Gigabit Ethernet fabric interfaces module, N2232P for the 32
10-Gigabit Ethernet host interfaces and 4 10-Gigabit Ethernet fabric
interfaces module, or N2248T for the 48 100Base-T/1000BASE-T
Ethernet host interfaces and 4 10-Gigabit Ethernet fabric interfaces
module
The parent device remembers the type of the Fabric Extender in its
binary configuration. When this feature is configured, the Fabric
Extender is only allowed to come online if its type matches the
configured FEX-type.

Step 6 switch(config-fex)# no (Optional)


type Deletes the FEX-type. In this case, when a Fabric Extender is
connected to the fabric interfaces and does not match the configured
type previously saved in the binary configuration on the parent device,
all configurations for all interfaces on the Fabric Extender are deleted.

Step 7 switch(config-fex)# (Optional)


pinning max-links uplinks Defines the number of uplinks. The default is 1. The range is from 1
to 4.
This command is only applicable if the Fabric Extender is connected
to its parent switch using one or more statically pinned fabric
interfaces. There can only be one EtherChannel connection.
Caution Changing the number of uplinks with the pinning
max-links command disrupts all the host interface ports
of the Fabric Extender.
Step 8 switch(config-fex)# no (Optional)
pinning max-links Resets the number of uplinks to the default.
Caution Changing the number of uplinks with the no pinning
max-links command disrupts all the host interface ports
of the Fabric Extender.

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Configuring the Fabric Extender
Enabling the Fabric Extender Locator LED

Command or Action Purpose


Step 9 switch(config-fex)# serial (Optional)
serial Defines a serial number string. If this command is configured, then
a switch will only allow the corresponding chassis ID to associate
(using the fex associate command) if the Fabric Extender reports a
matching serial number string.
Caution Configuring a serial number other than that of the given
Fabric Extender will force the Fabric Extender offline.
Step 10 switch(config-fex)# no (Optional)
serial Deletes the serial number string.

Enabling the Fabric Extender Locator LED


You can toggle on the locator beacon LED. It allows you to locate a specific Fabric Extender in a rack.

Note Prior to Cisco NX-OS Release 4.1(3)N1(1), the locator beacon LED was toggled with the beacon FEX
submode command.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose


Step 1 switch# locator-led fex FEX-number Turns on the locator beacon LED for a specific
Fabric Extender.

Step 2 switch# no locator-led fex FEX-number (Optional)


Turns off the locator beacon LED for a specific
Fabric Extender.

Redistributing the Links


When you provision the Fabric Extender with statically pinned interfaces, the downlink host interfaces on the
Fabric Extender are pinned to the fabric interfaces in the order they were initially configured. If you want to
maintain a specific relationship of host interfaces to fabric interface across reboots, you should repin the links.
You may want to perform this function in these two situations:
• A change in the max-links configuration.
• If you need to maintain the pinning order of host interfaces to fabric interfaces.

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Changing the Number of Links

Changing the Number of Links


If you initially configured a specific port on the parent switch, for example port 33, as your only fabric interface,
all 48 host interfaces are pinned to this port. If you provision another port, for example 35, then you must
enter the pinning max-links 2 command to redistribute the host interfaces. All host interfaces are brought
down and host interfaces 1 to 24 are pinned to fabric interface 33 and host interfaces 25 to 48 are pinned to
fabric interface 35.

Maintaining the Pinning Order


The pinning order of the host interfaces is initially determined by the order in which the fabric interfaces were
configured. In this example, four fabric interfaces were configured in the following order:
switch# show interface ethernet 1/35 fex-intf
Fabric FEX
Interface Interfaces
---------------------------------------------------
Eth1/35 Eth100/1/12 Eth100/1/11 Eth100/1/10 Eth100/1/9
Eth100/1/8 Eth100/1/7 Eth100/1/6 Eth100/1/5
Eth100/1/4 Eth100/1/3 Eth100/1/2 Eth100/1/1

switch# show interface ethernet 1/33 fex-intf


Fabric FEX
Interface Interfaces
---------------------------------------------------
Eth1/33 Eth100/1/24 Eth100/1/23 Eth100/1/22 Eth100/1/21
Eth100/1/20 Eth100/1/19 Eth100/1/18 Eth100/1/17
Eth100/1/16 Eth100/1/15 Eth100/1/14 Eth100/1/13

switch# show interface ethernet 1/38 fex-intf


Fabric FEX
Interface Interfaces
---------------------------------------------------
Eth1/38 Eth100/1/36 Eth100/1/35 Eth100/1/34 Eth100/1/33
Eth100/1/32 Eth100/1/31 Eth100/1/30 Eth100/1/29
Eth100/1/28 Eth100/1/27 Eth100/1/26 Eth100/1/25

switch# show interface ethernet 1/40 fex-intf


Fabric FEX
Interface Interfaces
---------------------------------------------------
Eth1/40 Eth100/1/48 Eth100/1/47 Eth100/1/46 Eth100/1/45
Eth100/1/44 Eth100/1/43 Eth100/1/42 Eth100/1/41
Eth100/1/40 Eth100/1/39 Eth100/1/38 Eth100/1/37

The next time that you reboot the Fabric Extender, the configured fabric interfaces are pinned to the host
interfaces in an ascending order by port number of the fabric interface. If you want to configure the same
fixed distribution of host interfaces without restarting the Fabric Extender, enter the fex pinning redistribute
command.

Redistributing Host Interfaces


You can redistribute the host interfaces on the Fabric Extender. Enter the fex pinning redistribute FEX-number
command to redistribute the host connections. The range of the FEX-number is from 100 to 199.
This example shows how to redistribute the host interfaces on a Fabric Extender:
switch# fex pinning redistribute 100

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Configuring the Fabric Extender
Verifying Fabric Extender Configuration

Caution The fex pinning redistribute command disrupts all the host interface ports of the Fabric Extender.

Verifying Fabric Extender Configuration


Use the following commands to display configuration information about the defined interfaces on a Fabric
Extender:

Command or Action Purpose


switch# show fex [FEX-number [detail]] Displays information about a specific Fabric Extender
or all attached units.

switch# show interface type number fex-intf Displays the Fabric Extender ports that are pinned to
a specific switch interface.

switch# show interface fex-fabric Displays the switch interfaces that have detected a
Fabric Extender uplink.

switch# show interface ethernet number transceiver Displays the SFP+ transceiver and diagnostic optical
[fex-fabric] monitoring (DOM) information for the Fabric
Extender uplinks.

This example shows how to display all the attached Fabric Extender units:
switch# show fex
FEX FEX FEX FEX
Number Description State Model Serial
------------------------------------------------------------------------
100 FEX0100 Online N2K-C2248TP-1GE JAF1339BDSK
101 FEX0101 Online N2K-C2232P-10GE JAF1333ADDD
102 FEX0102 Online N2K-C2232P-10GE JAS12334ABC

This example shows how to display the detailed status of a specific Fabric Extender:
switch# show fex 100 detail
FEX: 100 Description: FEX0100 state: Online
FEX version: 4.2(1)N1(1) [Switch version: 4.2(1)N1(1)]
FEX Interim version: 4.2(1)N1(0.243)
Switch Interim version: 4.2(1)N1(0.243)
Extender Model: N2K-C2248TP-1GE, Extender Serial: JAF1339BDSK
Part No: 73-12748-01
Card Id: 83, Mac Addr: 00:0d:ec:e3:28:02, Num Macs: 64
Module Sw Gen: 21 [Switch Sw Gen: 21]
post level: bypass
pinning-mode: static Max-links: 1
Fabric port for control traffic: Eth1/29
Fabric interface state:
Po100 - Interface Up. State: Active
Eth1/29 - Interface Up. State: Active
Eth1/30 - Interface Up. State: Active
Fex Port State Fabric Port Primary Fabric
Eth100/1/1 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/2 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/3 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/4 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/5 Up Po100 Po100

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Verifying Fabric Extender Configuration

Eth100/1/6 Up Po100 Po100


Eth100/1/7 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/8 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/9 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/10 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/11 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/12 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/13 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/14 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/15 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/16 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/17 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/18 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/19 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/20 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/21 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/22 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/23 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/24 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/25 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/26 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/27 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/28 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/29 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/30 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/31 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/32 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/33 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/34 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/35 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/36 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/37 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/38 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/39 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/40 Down Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/41 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/42 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/43 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/44 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/45 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/46 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/47 Up Po100 Po100
Eth100/1/48 Up Po100 Po100
Logs:
02/05/2010 20:12:17.764153: Module register received
02/05/2010 20:12:17.765408: Registration response sent
02/05/2010 20:12:17.845853: Module Online Sequence
02/05/2010 20:12:23.447218: Module Online

This example shows how to display the Fabric Extender interfaces pinned to a specific switch interface:
switch# show interface port-channel 100 fex-intf
Fabric FEX
Interface Interfaces
---------------------------------------------------
Po100 Eth100/1/48 Eth100/1/47 Eth100/1/46 Eth100/1/45
Eth100/1/44 Eth100/1/43 Eth100/1/42 Eth100/1/41
Eth100/1/40 Eth100/1/39 Eth100/1/38 Eth100/1/37
Eth100/1/36 Eth100/1/35 Eth100/1/34 Eth100/1/33
Eth100/1/32 Eth100/1/31 Eth100/1/30 Eth100/1/29
Eth100/1/28 Eth100/1/27 Eth100/1/26 Eth100/1/25
Eth100/1/24 Eth100/1/22 Eth100/1/20 Eth100/1/19
Eth100/1/18 Eth100/1/17 Eth100/1/16 Eth100/1/15
Eth100/1/14 Eth100/1/13 Eth100/1/12 Eth100/1/11
Eth100/1/10 Eth100/1/9 Eth100/1/8 Eth100/1/7
Eth100/1/6 Eth100/1/5 Eth100/1/4 Eth100/1/3
Eth100/1/2 Eth100/1/1

This example shows how to display the switch interfaces that are connected to a Fabric Extender uplink:
switch# show interface fex-fabric
Fabric Fabric Fex FEX
Fex Port Port State Uplink Model Serial

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Verifying Chassis Management Information

---------------------------------------------------------------
100 Eth1/29 Active 3 N2K-C2248TP-1GE JAF1339BDSK
100 Eth1/30 Active 4 N2K-C2248TP-1GE JAF1339BDSK
102 Eth1/33 Active 1 N2K-C2232P-10GE JAS12334ABC
102 Eth1/34 Active 2 N2K-C2232P-10GE JAS12334ABC
102 Eth1/35 Active 3 N2K-C2232P-10GE JAS12334ABC
102 Eth1/36 Active 4 N2K-C2232P-10GE JAS12334ABC
101 Eth1/37 Active 5 N2K-C2232P-10GE JAF1333ADDD
101 Eth1/38 Active 6 N2K-C2232P-10GE JAF1333ADDD
101 Eth1/39 Active 7 N2K-C2232P-10GE JAF1333ADDD
101 Eth1/40 Active 8 N2K-C2232P-10GE JAF1333ADDD

Note The above example shows a Fabric Extender with four uplink connections, only one of which is currently
active.

This example shows how to display the SFP+ transceiver and diagnostic optical monitoring (DOM) information
for Fabric Extender uplinks for an SFP+ transceiver that is plugged into the parent switch interface:
switch# show interface ethernet 1/40 transceiver
Ethernet1/40
sfp is present
name is CISCO-MOLEX INC
part number is 74752-9026
revision is A0
serial number is MOC13321057
nominal bitrate is 12000 MBits/sec
Link length supported for copper is 3 m(s)
cisco id is --
cisco extended id number is 4

This example shows how to display the SFP+ transceiver and DOM information for Fabric Extender uplinks
for an SFP+ transceiver that is plugged into the uplink port on the Fabric Extender:
switch# show interface ethernet 1/40 transceiver fex-fabric
Ethernet1/40
sfp is present
name is CISCO-MOLEX INC
part number is 74752-9026
revision is A0
serial number is MOC13321057
nominal bitrate is 12000 MBits/sec
Link length supported for 50/125mm fiber is 0 m(s)
Link length supported for 62.5/125mm fiber is 0 m(s)
cisco id is --
cisco extended id number is 4

Verifying Chassis Management Information


Use the following commands to display configuration information used on the switch supervisor to manage
the Fabric Extender:

Command or Action Purpose


switch# show diagnostic result fex FEX-number Displays results from the diagnostic test for a Fabric
Extender.

switch# show environment fex {all | FEX-number} Displays the environmental sensor status.
[temperature | power | fan]
switch# show inventory fex FEX-number Displays inventory information for a Fabric Extender.

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Command or Action Purpose


switch# show module fex [ FEX-number ] Displays module information about a Fabric Extender.

switch# show sprom fex FEX-number {all | Displays the contents of the serial PROM (SPROM)
backplane | powersupply ps-num} | all on the Fabric Extender.

This example shows how to display the module information about all connected Fabric Extender units:
switch# show module fex
FEX Mod Ports Card Type Model Status.
--- --- ----- ---------------------------------- ------------------ -----------
100 1 48 Fabric Extender 48x1GE + 4x10G Mod N2K-C2248TP-1GE present
101 1 32 Fabric Extender 32x10GE + 8x10G Mo N2K-C2232P-10GE present
102 1 32 Fabric Extender 32x10GE + 8x10G Mo N2K-C2232P-10GE present

FEX Mod Sw Hw World-Wide-Name(s) (WWN)


--- --- -------------- ------ -----------------------------------------------
100 1 4.2(1)N1(1) 0.103 --
101 1 4.2(1)N1(1) 1.0 --
102 1 4.2(1)N1(1) 1.0 --

FEX Mod MAC-Address(es) Serial-Num


--- --- -------------------------------------- ----------
100 1 000d.ece3.2800 to 000d.ece3.282f JAF1339BDSK
101 1 000d.ecca.73c0 to 000d.ecca.73df JAF1333ADDD
102 1 000d.ecd6.bec0 to 000d.ecd6.bedf JAS12334ABC

This example shows how to display the module information about a specific Fabric Extender:
switch# show module fex 100
FEX Mod Ports Card Type Model Status.
--- --- ----- ---------------------------------- ------------------ -----------
110 1 48 Fabric Extender 48x1GE + 4x10G Mod N2K-C2248TP-1GE present

FEX Mod Sw Hw World-Wide-Name(s) (WWN)


--- --- -------------- ------ -----------------------------------------------
110 1 4.2(1)N1(1) 0.103 --

FEX Mod MAC-Address(es) Serial-Num


--- --- -------------------------------------- ----------
110 1 000d.ece3.2800 to 000d.ece3.282f JAF1339BDSK

This example shows how to display the inventory information about a specific Fabric Extender:
switch# show inventory fex 100
NAME: "FEX 100 CHASSIS", DESCR: "N2K-C2248TP-1GE CHASSIS"
PID: N2K-C2248TP-1GE , VID: V00 , SN: SSI13380FSM

NAME: "FEX 100 Module 1", DESCR: "Fabric Extender Module: 48x1GE, 4x10GE Supervisor"
PID: N2K-C2248TP-1GE , VID: V00 , SN: JAF1339BDSK

NAME: "FEX 100 Fan 1", DESCR: "Fabric Extender Fan module"
PID: N2K-C2248-FAN , VID: N/A , SN: N/A

NAME: "FEX 100 Power Supply 2", DESCR: "Fabric Extender AC power supply"
PID: NXK-PAC-400W , VID: 000, SN: LIT13370QD6

This example shows how to display diagnostic test results for a specific Fabric Extender:
switch# show diagnostic result fex 100
FEX-100: 48x1GE/Supervisor SerialNo : JAF1339BDSK
Overall Diagnostic Result for FEX-100 : OK

Test results: (. = Pass, F = Fail, U = Untested)


TestPlatform:
0) SPROM: ---------------> .

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1) Inband interface: ---------------> .


2) Fan: ---------------> .
3) Power Supply: ---------------> .
4) Temperature Sensor: ---------------> .

TestForwardingPorts:
Eth 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Port ------------------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Eth 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
Port ------------------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

TestFabricPorts:
Fabric 1 2 3 4
Port ------------
. . . .

This example shows how to display the environment status for a specific Fabric Extender:
switch# show environment fex 100

Temperature Fex 100:


-----------------------------------------------------------------
Module Sensor MajorThresh MinorThres CurTemp Status
(Celsius) (Celsius) (Celsius)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1 Outlet-1 60 50 33 ok
1 Outlet-2 60 50 38 ok
1 Inlet-1 50 40 35 ok
1 Die-1 100 90 44 ok

Fan Fex: 100:


------------------------------------------------------
Fan Model Hw Status
------------------------------------------------------
Chassis N2K-C2148-FAN -- failure
PS-1 -- -- absent
PS-2 NXK-PAC-400W -- ok

Power Supply Fex 100:


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Voltage: 12 Volts
-----------------------------------------------------
PS Model Power Power Status
(Watts) (Amp)
-----------------------------------------------------
1 -- -- -- --
2 NXK-PAC-400W 4.32 0.36 ok

Mod Model Power Power Power Power Status


Requested Requested Allocated Allocated
(Watts) (Amp) (Watts) (Amp)
--- ------------------- ------- ---------- --------- ---------- ----------
1 N2K-C2248TP-1GE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 powered-up

Power Usage Summary:


--------------------
Power Supply redundancy mode: redundant

Total Power Capacity 4.32 W

Power reserved for Supervisor(s) 0.00 W


Power currently used by Modules 0.00 W

-------------

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Total Power Available 4.32 W


-------------

This example shows how to display the SPROM for a specific Fabric Extender:
switch# show sprom fex 100 all
DISPLAY FEX 100 SUP sprom contents
Common block:
Block Signature : 0xabab
Block Version : 3
Block Length : 160
Block Checksum : 0x1a1e
EEPROM Size : 65535
Block Count : 3
FRU Major Type : 0x6002
FRU Minor Type : 0x0
OEM String : Cisco Systems, Inc.
Product Number : N2K-C2248TP-1GE
Serial Number : JAF1339BDSK
Part Number : 73-12748-01
Part Revision : 11
Mfg Deviation : 0
H/W Version : 0.103
Mfg Bits : 0
Engineer Use : 0
snmpOID : 9.12.3.1.9.78.3.0
Power Consump : 1666
RMA Code : 0-0-0-0
CLEI Code : XXXXXXXXXTBDV00
VID : V00
Supervisor Module specific block:
Block Signature : 0x6002
Block Version : 2
Block Length : 103
Block Checksum : 0x2686
Feature Bits : 0x0
HW Changes Bits : 0x0
Card Index : 11016
MAC Addresses : 00-00-00-00-00-00
Number of MACs : 0
Number of EPLD : 0
Port Type-Num : 1-48;2-4
Sensor #1 : 60,50
Sensor #2 : 60,50
Sensor #3 : -128,-128
Sensor #4 : -128,-128
Sensor #5 : 50,40
Sensor #6 : -128,-128
Sensor #7 : -128,-128
Sensor #8 : -128,-128
Max Connector Power: 4000
Cooling Requirement: 65
Ambient Temperature: 40

DISPLAY FEX 100 backplane sprom contents:


Common block:
Block Signature : 0xabab
Block Version : 3
Block Length : 160
Block Checksum : 0x1947
EEPROM Size : 65535
Block Count : 5
FRU Major Type : 0x6001
FRU Minor Type : 0x0
OEM String : Cisco Systems, Inc.
Product Number : N2K-C2248TP-1GE
Serial Number : SSI13380FSM
Part Number : 68-3601-01
Part Revision : 03
Mfg Deviation : 0
H/W Version : 1.0
Mfg Bits : 0
Engineer Use : 0

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snmpOID : 9.12.3.1.3.914.0.0
Power Consump : 0
RMA Code : 0-0-0-0
CLEI Code : XXXXXXXXXTDBV00
VID : V00
Chassis specific block:
Block Signature : 0x6001
Block Version : 3
Block Length : 39
Block Checksum : 0x2cf
Feature Bits : 0x0
HW Changes Bits : 0x0
Stackmib OID : 0
MAC Addresses : 00-0d-ec-e3-28-00
Number of MACs : 64
OEM Enterprise : 0
OEM MIB Offset : 0
MAX Connector Power: 0
WWN software-module specific block:
Block Signature : 0x6005
Block Version : 1
Block Length : 0
Block Checksum : 0x66
wwn usage bits:
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00
License software-module specific block:
Block Signature : 0x6006
Block Version : 1
Block Length : 16
Block Checksum : 0x86f
lic usage bits:
ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff

DISPLAY FEX 141 power-supply 2 sprom contents:


Common block:
Block Signature : 0xabab
Block Version : 3
Block Length : 160
Block Checksum : 0x1673
EEPROM Size : 65535
Block Count : 2
FRU Major Type : 0xab01

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FRU Minor Type : 0x0


OEM String : Cisco Systems Inc NXK-PAC-400W
Product Number : NXK-PAC-400W
Serial Number : LIT13370QD6
Part Number : 341
Part Revision : -037
CLEI Code : 5-01 01 000
VID : 000
snmpOID : 12336.12336.12336.12336.12336.12336.12374.12336
H/W Version : 43777.2
Current : 36
RMA Code : 200-32-32-32
Power supply specific block:
Block Signature : 0x0
Block Version : 0
Block Length : 0
Block Checksum : 0x0
Feature Bits : 0x0
Current 110v : 36
Current 220v : 36
Stackmib OID : 0

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INDEX

10-Gigabit Ethernet interface 14 dual homed fabric extender vPC topology 6


1000BASE-T Ethernet interface 14
100BASE-T Ethernet interface 14
E

A edge port (PortFast) 5


EtherChannel 5
active-active vPC topology 6 EtherChannel fabric interface 4, 9
associating fabric extender 17 EtherChannel host interface 4
Ethernet fabric interface 4
Ethernet interface 14
B
BPDU Guard 5, 11 F
fabric extender 3
fabric interface 4
C fabric interface EtherChannel 13
CDP 5 fail-over load balancing 13
changing max-links 23 FEX-number 13
chassis 14
chassis configuration mode 20
chassis ID 13 H
Cisco Discovery Protocol 5
Cisco Nexus 2148T 14 host interface 4
Cisco Nexus 2232PP 14 host interface autonegotiation 7
Cisco Nexus 2248TP 14 host interface flow control defaults 7
class of service 7 host interface link-level flow control 7
configuration data 10
CoS 7
I

D IEEE 802.1p 7
IEEE 802.3x 7
description 20 IGMP snooping 8
digital optical monitoring 9 image management 14
documentation vii ingress ACL 8
additional publications vii
obtaining vii
DOM 9
drop queue 7

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Index

J Q
jumbo frame 7 QoS 7
QoS broadcast class 7
QoS egress policies 7
QoS multicast class 7
L Quality of Service 7
LED beacon 22
local switching 11
locator-led 22 R
loopback address assignment 10
loopback address range 10 redistributing links 23
related documents vii

M
S
manual redistribution 12
max-links disruption 12 serial number 20
maximum transmission unit 7 service requests vii
MTU 7 SFP+ 14
multicast replication 11 SFP+ interface adapter 14
SFP+ validation 9
show diagnostics 26
show environment 26
N show Fabric Extender units 24
no-drop queue 7 show fabric interface 23
show inventory 26
show modules 26
show SPROM 26
O show transceiver status 24
oversubscription 9 single homed fabric extender vPC topology 6
oversubscription ratio 9 single management domain 3
small form-factor pluggable transceiver 14
software installation 3
software upgrade 3
P SPAN restrictions 8
SPAN source ports 8
packet counter 5 static pinning 12
per class flow control 7 switchport fex-fabric mode 9
PFC 9 switchport saved configuration 9
pinning max-links 20
port channel 13
port numbering 13
priority flow control 9 V
private VLAN 6
version compatibility 14
vPC topology 6

Cisco Nexus 2000 Series NX-OS Fabric Extender Software Configuration Guide for Cisco Nexus 5000 Series
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