[c-nsp] Nexus 2232PP FEX Switch Question

[Joseph Hardeman]

Hi Everyone,

I knew I should have come here first but I went with the word of a CCXX
something or another (Director of IT) from a vendor and a couple links he
sent me.  After I explained the setup I was putting together and how
everything needed to work together, he told me that the Nexus 2232PP Switch
could do what I wanted and needed.

I have a pair of 2232PP FEX switches that we just got to extend our 5000
series switches from one cage to another (I have never worked with the FEX
Switches before, so I should have done better homework).  We were going to
use the pair of FEX switches to provide redundant links to additional
switches from which I was going to connect to customer switches or
firewalls.  Which going through the initial config today on setting up the
VPC port on say Eth100/1/1 for my first test switch, I got an error saying
that the VPC could not be added that there was one already applied.

I reached out to the TAC Contact I have that has helped me out this week,
and he told me that the FEX Switches were never meant to connect to other
switches and the BPDUGuard would shut down the ports to the switch shortly
after the ports come up.  And it was not just this model but any FEX Switch.

So my question to you guys is, (drum roll please):

Does anyone have a Nexus 2000 FEX Switch Pair doing VPC Port Channel to
another switch instead of a host/server?  And if you do how did you make it
work.  I am considering returning these switches as I can't use them right
now and I really need a usable pair of switches for the 10G+ cage to cage
connectivity and then 1 or 10G to either my switches or customer switches.
 Which my switches then step it down to either 100M or 10M if needed.

Is there a FEX switch that will do this? (imagine the full mesh setup)

routers -> 5000Switch -> FEX Switch -> 2960G or 3560G (for example) switch
-> Possible other switching/firewall gear -> end system

Can you recommend any other switch that can do what I want, or should I
just get another pair of 5000 series switches?

Thanks,

Any thoughts or suggestions would be helpful.

Joe