[c-nsp] Nexus 2232PP FEX Switch Question

[Phil Bedard]

So the first issue, and probably the root of it, is you are calling the
FEX a "switch", and it's not a switch.  It doesn't do any local switching
itself and the FEX ports do not support running STP, so it really is meant
to connect to L3 devices. There is no way to disable BPDUGuard.

If the switches are just homed to the FEX you could run a VPC and just
turn off STP on the downstream switch. But if you had say multiple
switches connected to eachother which then connected to the FEX that's not
going to work.  The only alternative is use some other method to block
links like Flex links.

Phil 

On 12/10/13, 7:56 PM, "Joseph Hardeman" <jwhardeman at gmail.com> wrote:

>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
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