[c-nsp] Nexus 2232PP FEX Switch Question

[Steve McNamara]

http://www.fragmentationneeded.net/2010/10/you-can-connect-switch-to-nexus-fabric.html

Have a quick read of this - I haven't used it, but it suggests that running
Flexlink on the 2960/3560 uplinks would work

JBYCDMYS :-)


On Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 11:51 PM, Douglas C. Stephens
<stephens at ameslab.gov>wrote:

> Joeseph,
>
> The other responders are correct that the Nexus 2000 series fabric
> extenders are
> not switches.  Nevertheless, I was forced to deal with a situation
> recently where
> a customer had installed a managed switch downstream of one of my 2248
> fabric
> extenders, so even though it doesn't involve VPC, maybe it helps you or
> somebody.
>
> I had the ports on this 2248 fabric extender all configured with
> "spanning-tree port
> type edge", since that is what I expected all the downstream equipment to
> be.
> One day several links began flapping all the time because STP BPDUs would
> be
> generated by the customer's switch, cause the port on the 2248 to
> err-disable,
> the 5 minutes later err-recover would kick in and re-enble the port --
> rinse and
> repeat.  This generated a lot of log noise that looked like this (note the
> lines
> in the middle referencing BPDUGuard):
>
> %ETHPORT-5-SPEED: Interface Ethernet103/1/13, operational speed changed to
> 1 Gbps
> %ETHPORT-5-IF_DUPLEX: Interface Ethernet103/1/13, operational duplex mode
> changed to Full
> %ETHPORT-5-IF_RX_FLOW_CONTROL: Interface Ethernet103/1/13, operational
> Receive Flow Control state changed to off
> %ETHPORT-5-IF_TX_FLOW_CONTROL: Interface Ethernet103/1/13, operational
> Transmit Flow Control state changed to on
> %ETHPORT-5-IF_UP: Interface Ethernet103/1/13 is up in mode access
> %ETHPORT-5-IF_DOWN_NONE: Interface Ethernet103/1/13 is down (None)
> %ETHPORT-5-IF_DOWN_ERROR_DISABLED: Interface Ethernet103/1/13 is down
> (Error disabled. Reason:BPDUGuard)
> %ETHPORT-5-IF_ERRDIS_RECOVERY: Interface Ethernet103/1/13 is being
> recovered from error disabled state (Last Reason:BPDUGuard)
> %ETHPORT-5-SPEED: Interface Ethernet103/1/13, operational speed changed to
> 1 Gbps
> %ETHPORT-5-IF_DUPLEX: Interface Ethernet103/1/13, operational duplex mode
> changed to Full
> %ETHPORT-5-IF_RX_FLOW_CONTROL: Interface Ethernet103/1/13, operational
> Receive Flow Control state changed to off
> %ETHPORT-5-IF_TX_FLOW_CONTROL: Interface Ethernet103/1/13, operational
> Transmit Flow Control state changed to on
> %ETHPORT-5-IF_UP: Interface Ethernet103/1/13 is up in mode access
>
> A solution that worked for me for this situation I found referenced at
> Cisco here
> described as enabling BPDUfilter:
>
>
> http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switches/datacenter/nexus5000/sw/troubleshooting/guide/n5K_ts_l2.html#wp1026440
>
> I implemented this on the affected 2248 ports like this:
>
> config t
>   interface Ethernet103/1/13
>   no spanning-tree port type edge
>   spanning-tree bpdufilter enable
> exit
>
> Once changed, as soon as err-recovery re-enabled the ports, they stayed
> enabled.
> Once I became aware that the customer had used a managed switch with STP
> running,
> and then had to implement this solution, I "educated" the customer to make
> sure
> nothing was connected to that switch except physical servers.
>
>
> At 06:56 PM 12/10/2013, Joseph Hardeman 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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>
> --
> Douglas C. Stephens             | Network/DNS/Unix/Windows Admin
> System Support Specialist       | Email Postmaster
> Information Technology          | Phone: (515) 294-6102
> Ames Laboratory, US DOE         | Email: stephens at ameslab.gov
>
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