[c-nsp] Data Center switch replacement

[chris at lavin-llc.com]

> What's the current architecture?
>
> tv

Tony,

Good question. For this portion of the data center it is more traditional.
By that I mean these 6509 switches provide the Layer 2 connections to the
servers. The 6509s have dual uplinks to an Agg layer. The Agg layer hosts
the default gateways using HSRP. All connections are copper. They're a
home run connection from the servers to a patch panel near the switches.
Then a small jumper from the patch panel to the switch.

-chris





> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <chris at lavin-llc.com>
> To: <cisco-nsp at puck.nether.net>
> Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 4:25 PM
> Subject: [c-nsp] Data Center switch replacement
>
>
>> Sometimes the simplest things can grow into the biggest projects.
>>
>> For those of you that provide or support large data centers, I have a
>> situation that I'd like to pick your brains about.
>>
>> We have some older switch gear that needs replaced because line cards
>> are
>> beyond MTBF and several have failed recently. Because of these outages
>> the
>> need to upgrade isn't a hard sell. We already have the new gear on hand.
>>
>> The challenge is in the migration to these new switches. The four
>> switches
>> are deployed as pairs. One switch of a pair is the primary link for
>> servers and the other switch is the secondary link for servers.
>>
>> I have two options I'm kicking around. The first and most disruptive is
>> to
>> power down a switch, unplug the cables, remove the switch from the rack,
>> install the new switch and plug the server connections in. My clients
>> are
>> pushing hard against this option because of the downtime involved. The
>> second option is to stand up the new switches in other places within the
>> data center and run patch panel to patch panel connections. This would
>> provide for much less down time (est. 30 seconds per server) but would
>> incur a pretty hefty cabling cost. Of course, money is an issue.
>>
>> In the end I realize someone will have to evaluate the trade off and
>> tell
>> me to either execute and take the customers down or pay the piper, buy
>> the
>> additional cabling and minimize the impact to the customers.
>>
>> I'm curious to know how other folks have approached this situation
>> before?
>> How do you move 600+ server connections from an old switching
>> environment
>> to a new switching environment? Since we're experiencing outages, time
>> is
>> a piece of the equation.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> -chris
>>
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