[c-nsp] Nexus 2232PP FEX Switch Question

[Andrew Miehs]

FEXs arent switches. Think of them as cheap line cards for host connections. If you are staying in the cisco world buy multiple layer 2 n5500s or a 4510 with the appropriate line cards. You could get this to work by disabling spanning tree on the downstream switches, or just ensuring they dont send bpdus ( bpdu filter do this ?)  - would i do it - no!

Sent from a mobile device

> On 11 Dec 2013, at 11:56, 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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