Chapter 1. New and Changed Information for this Release

New and Changed Information for this Release

Chapter 2. Overview

Overview

FCoE Initiation Protocol

FIP Virtual Link Instantiation

FCoE Frame Format

VLAN Tagging for FCoE Frames

FIP Ethernet Frame Format

Pre-FIP Virtual Link Instantiation

Data Center Bridging Exchange Protocol

DCBX Feature Negotiation

Lossless Ethernet

Logical Link Up/Down

Converged Network Adapters

Chapter 3. Configuring FCoE

Licensing Requirements for FCoE

Directly Connected CNA Topology

Remotely Connected CNA Topology

Directly Connected CNA Best Practice

Remotely Connected CNA Best Practice

Guidelines and Limitations

Configuring QoS

Enabling FCoE

Disabling FCoE

Disabling LAN Traffic on an FCoE Link

Configuring the FC-Map

Configuring the Fabric Priority

Configuring Jumbo MTU

Setting the Advertisment Interval

Verifying the FCoE Configuration

Chapter 4. Configuring FCoE VLANs and Virtual Interfaces

Information About Virtual Interfaces

Guidelines and Limitations for FCoE VLANs and Virtual Interfaces

Mapping a VSAN to a VLAN

Creating a Virtual Fibre Channel Interface

Configuring vFC Interface

Associating a Virtual Fibre Channel Interface to a VSAN

Creating an Implicit Virtual Fibre Channel Port Channel Interface

Configuring virtual Fibre Channel â€“ Port Channel Interface

Verifying the Virtual Interface

Mapping VSANs to VLANs Example Configuration

FCoE over Enhanced vPC

Configuring FCoE over Enhanced vPC

SAN Boot with vPC

SAN Boot with vPC Configuration Example

Chapter 5. Configuring Cisco Adapter FEX with FCoE

Overview

Guidelines and Limitations

Configuring Cisco Adapter FEX with FCoE

Preface

Audience

Document Conventions

Documentation Feedback

Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

Copyright Page

Chapter 1. New and Changed Information for this Release

There are no new or changed features in this release.

- New and Changed Information for this Release

New and Changed Information for this Release

The following table provides an overview of the significant changes made to this configuration guide. The table does not provide an exhaustive list of all changes made to this guide or all new features in a particular release.

New and Changed Information

Feature

Description

Release

Where Documented

EXEC banner

Added the support for the EXEC banner feature.

7.3(0)N1(1)

Basic Device Management

63 character hostname and switchname

Added support for 63 characters for hostname and switchname.

7.3(0)N1(1)

Basic Device Management

Chapter 2. Overview

This chapter contains the following sections:

- Overview

- FCoE Initiation Protocol

- Data Center Bridging Exchange Protocol

- Lossless Ethernet

Overview

Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) allows Fibre Channel traffic to be encapsulated over a physical Ethernet link. FCoE frames use a unique EtherType so that FCoE traffic and standard Ethernet traffic can be carried on the same link.

Classic Ethernet is a best-effort protocol; in the event of congestion, Ethernet will discard packets, relying on higher level protocols to provide retransmission and other reliability mechanisms. Fibre Channel traffic requires a lossless transport layer; as a data storage protocol, it is unacceptable to lose a single data packet. Native Fibre Channel implements a lossless service at the transport layer using a buffer-to-buffer credit system.

For FCoE traffic, the Ethernet link must provide a lossless service. Ethernet links on Cisco Nexus devices provide two mechanisms to ensure lossless transport for FCoE traffic: link-level flow control (LL-FC) and priority flow control (PFC).

IEEE 802.3x link-level flow control allows a congested receiver to signal the far end to pause the data transmission for a short period of time. The pause functionality is applied to all the traffic on the link.

The priority flow control feature applies pause functionality to specific classes of traffic on the Ethernet link. For example, PFC can provide lossless service for the FCoE traffic and best-effort service for the standard Ethernet traffic. PFC can provide different levels of service to specific classes of Ethernet traffic (using IEEE 802.1p traffic classes).

Cisco Nexus switches support T11-compliant FCoE on all 10-Gigabit Ethernet interfaces.

FCoE Initiation Protocol

The FCoE Initialization Protocol (FIP) allows the switch to discover and initialize FCoE-capable entities that are connected to an Ethernet LAN. Two versions of FIP are supported by the Cisco Nexus device:

- FIP—The Converged Enhanced Ethernet Data Center Bridging Exchange (CEE-DCBX) protocol supports T11-compliant Gen-2 CNAs.

- Pre-FIP—The Cisco, Intel, Nuova Data Center Bridging Exchange (CIN-DCBX) protocol supports Gen-1 converged network adapters (CNAs).

The Cisco Nexus device detects the capabilities of the attached CNA and switches to the correct FIP mode.

- FIP Virtual Link Instantiation

- FCoE Frame Format

- VLAN Tagging for FCoE Frames

- FIP Ethernet Frame Format

- Pre-FIP Virtual Link Instantiation

FIP Virtual Link Instantiation

Cisco NX-OS support the T11-compliant FIP on Cisco Nexus devices.

FIP is used to perform device discovery, initialization, and link maintenance. FIP performs the following protocols:

- FIP Discovery—When a FCoE device is connected to the fabric, it sends out a Discovery Solicitation message. A Fibre Channel Forwarder (FCF) or a switch responds to the message with a Solicited Advertisement that provides an FCF MAC address to use for subsequent logins.

- FCoE Virtual Link instantiation—FIP defines the encapsulation of fabric login (FLOGI) , fabric discovery (FDISC), logout (LOGO), and exchange link parameters (ELP) frames with the corresponding reply frames. The FCoE devices use these messages to perform a fabric login.

- FCoE Virtual Link maintenance—FIP periodically sends maintenance messages between the switch and the CNA to ensure the connection is still valid.

FCoE Frame Format

FCoE is implemented by encapsulating a Fibre Channel frame in an Ethernet packet with a dedicated EtherType, 0x8906. That packet has a 4-bit version field. The other header fields in the frame (the source and destination MAC addresses, VLAN tags, and frame markers) are all standard Ethernet fields. Reserved bits pad the FCoE frame to the IEEE 802.3 minimum packet length of 64 bytes.

A Fibre Channel frame consists of 36 bytes of headers and up to 2112 bytes of data for a total maximum size of 2148 bytes. The encapsulated Fibre Channel frame has all the standard headers, which allow it to be passed to the storage network without further modification. To accommodate the maximum Fibre Channel frame in an FCoE frame, the class-fcoe is defined with a default maximum transmission unit (MTU) of 2240 bytes.

VLAN Tagging for FCoE Frames

The Ethernet frames that are sent by the switch to the adapter might include the IEEE 802.1Q tag. This tag includes a field for the class of service (CoS) value used by the priority flow control (PFC). The IEEE 802.1Q tag also includes a VLAN field.

The Cisco Nexus device expects frames from a FIP T11-compliant CNA to be tagged with the VLAN tag for the FCoE VLAN. Frames that are not correctly tagged are discarded.

The switch expects frames from a pre-FIP CNA to be priority tagged with the FCoE CoS value. The switch will still accept untagged frames from the CNA.

FIP Ethernet Frame Format

FIP is encapsulated in an Ethernet packet with a dedicated EtherType, 0x8914. The packet has a 4-bit version field. Along with the source and destination MAC addresses, the FIP packet also contains a FIP operation code and a FIP operation subcode. The following table describes the FIP operation codes.

FIP Operation Codes

FIP Operation Code

FIP Subcode

FIP Operation

0x0001

0x01

Discovery Solicitation

0x02

Discovery Advertisement

0x0002

0x01

Virtual Link Instantiation Request

0x02

Virtual Link Instantiation Reply

0x0003

0x01

FIP Keep Alive

0x02

FIP Clear Virtual Links

0x0004

0x01

FIP VLAN Request

0x02

FIP VLAN Notification

Pre-FIP Virtual Link Instantiation

Pre-FIP virtual link instantiation consists of two phases; link discovery using the Data Center Bridging Exchange protocol (DCBX), which is followed by Fabric Login.

The Cisco Nexus device is backward compatible with Gen-1 CNAs that operate in pre-FIP mode.

Note

Pre-FIP is also known as the Cisco, Intel, Nuova Data Center Bridging Exchange (CIN-DCBX) protocol.

Data Center Bridging Exchange Protocol

The Data Center Bridging Exchange (DCBX) protocol is an extension of the Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP). DCBX end points exchange request and acknowledgment messages. For flexibility, parameters are coded in a type-length-value (TLV) format.

The Cisco Nexus device supports two versions of DCBX:

- CEE-DCBX—The Converged Enhanced Ethernet DCBX is supported on all T11-compliant Gen-2 CNAs.

- CIN-DCBX—The Cisco, Intel, Nuova DCBX is supported on Gen-1 converged network adapters (CNAs). CIN-DCBX is used to perform link detection in addition to other functions.

DCBX runs on the physical Ethernet link between the Cisco Nexus device and the CNA. By default, DCBX is enabled on Ethernet interfaces. When an Ethernet interface is brought up, the switch automatically starts to communicate with the CNA.

During the normal operation of FCoE between the switch and the CNA, DCBX provides link-error detection.

DCBX is also used to negotiate capabilities between the switch and the CNA and to send configuration values to the CNA.

The CNAs that are connected to a Cisco Nexus device are programmed to accept the configuration values sent by the switch, allowing the switch to distribute configuration values to all attached CNAs, which reduces the possibility of configuration errors and simplifies CNA administration.

- DCBX Feature Negotiation

DCBX Feature Negotiation

The switch and CNA exchange capability information and configuration values. The Cisco Nexus devices support the following capabilities:

- FCoE—If the CNA supports FCoE capability, the switch sends the IEEE 802.1p CoS value to be used with FCoE packets.

- Priority Flow Control (PFC)—If the adapter supports PFC, the switch sends the IEEE 802.1p CoS values to be enabled with PFC.

- Priority group type-length-value (TLV).

- Ethernet logical link up and down signal.

- FCoE logical link up and down signal for pre-FIP CNAs.

The following rules determine whether the negotiation results in a capability being enabled:

- If a capability and its configuration values match between the switch and the CNA, the feature is enabled.

- If a capability matches, but the configuration values do not match, the following occurs:

- If the CNA is configured to accept the switch configuration value, the capability is enabled using the switch value.

- If the CNA is not configured to accept the switch configuration value, the capability remains disabled.

- If the CNA does not support a DCBX capability, that capability remains disabled.

- If the CNA does not implement DCBX, all capabilities remain disabled.

Note

The Cisco Nexus device provides CLI commands to manually override the results of the PFC negotiation with the adapter. On a per-interface basis, you can force capabilities to be enabled or disabled.

Note

The priority flow control (PFC) mode does not send PFC TLV and PFC will not negotiate between CNA and Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switches.

Lossless Ethernet

Standard Ethernet is a best-effort medium which means that it lacks any form of flow control. In the event of congestion or collisions, Ethernet drops packets. The higher level protocols detect the missing data and retransmit the dropped packets.

To properly support Fibre Channel, Ethernet has been enhanced with a priority flow control (PFC) mechanism.

- Logical Link Up/Down

- Converged Network Adapters

Logical Link Up/Down

The following expansion modules provide native Fibre Channel ports to connect the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switch to other Fibre Channel devices.

- N5K-M1404 Cisco Nexus 5000 1000 Series Module 4x10GE 4xFC 4/2/1

- N5K-M1008 Cisco Nexus 5000 1000 Series Module 8xFC 4/2/1

- N5K-M1060 Cisco Nexus 5000 1000 Series Module 6xFC 8/4/2/1

On a native Fibre Channel link, some configuration actions (such as changing the VSAN) require that you reset the interface status. When you reset the interface status, the switch disables the interface and then immediately reenables the interface.

If an Ethernet link provides FCoE service, do not reset the physical link because this action is disruptive to all traffic on the link.

The logical link up/down feature allows the switch to reset an individual virtual link. The logical link down is signaled with a FIP Clear Virtual Link message.

For pre-FIP CNAs, the switch sends a DCBX message to request the CNA to reset only the virtual Fibre Channel interface.

Note

If the CNA does not support the logical link level up/down feature, the CNA resets the physical link. In this case, all traffic on the Ethernet interface is disrupted.

DCBX-based FC Logical Link Status signaling applies only to FCoE sessions to pre-FIP CNAs.

Converged Network Adapters

The following types of CNAs are available:

- Hardware adapter

- Works with the existing Fibre Channel host bus adapter (HBA) driver and Ethernet Network Interface Card (NIC) driver in the server.

- Server operating system view of the network is unchanged; the CNA presents a SAN interface and a LAN interface to the operating system.

- FCoE software stack

- Runs on existing 10-Gigabit Ethernet adapters.

Two generations of CNAs are supported by the Cisco Nexus device:

- A FIP adapter uses the FIP to exchange information about its available capabilities and to negotiate the configurable values with the switch.

- A pre-FIP adapter uses DCBX to exchange information about its available capabilities and to negotiate the configurable values with the switch.

To reduce configuration errors and simplify administration, the switch distributes the configuration data to all the connected adapters.

Chapter 3. Configuring FCoE

This chapter contains the following sections:

- Licensing Requirements for FCoE

- Guidelines and Limitations

- Verifying the FCoE Configuration

Licensing Requirements for FCoE

On Cisco Nexus devices, FCoE capability is included in the Storage Protocol Services License.

Before using FCoE capabilities, you must ensure the following:

- The correct license is installed.

- FCoE has been activated on the switch by entering the feature fcoe command in configuration mode.

Directly Connected CNA Topology

The Cisco Nexus device can be deployed as a Fibre Channel Forwarder (FCF) as shown in the following figure.

Directly Connected Fibre Channel Forwarder

The following rules are used to process FIP frames to avoid the FCF being used as a transit between an FCoE node (ENode) and another FCF. These rules also prevent login sessions between ENodes and FCFs in different fabrics.

- FIP solicitation and login frames received from the CNAs are processed by the FCF and are not forwarded.

- If an FCF receives solicitations and advertisements from other FCFs over an interface, the following occurs:

- The frames are ignored and discarded if the FC-MAP value in the frame matches the value of the FCF (the FCF is in the same fabric).

- The interface is placed in the "FCoE Isolated" state if the FC-MAP value in the FIP frame does not match that of the FCF (the FCF is in a different fabric).

CNAs cannot discover or log in to FCFs that are reachable only through a transit Cisco Nexus FCF. The Cisco Nexus device cannot perform the FCoE transit function between a CNA and another FCF due to hardware limitations.

Because the Cisco Nexus FCF cannot perform the transit FCoE function, you must design your network topology so that the active Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) path of FCoE VLANs is always over the directly connected links between the CNA and the FCF. Make sure that you configure the FCoE VLAN on the directly connected links only.

Remotely Connected CNA Topology

The Cisco Nexus device can be deployed as a Fibre Channel Forwarder (FCF) for remotely connected CNAs, but not as a FIP snooping bridge, as shown in the following figure.

Remotely Connected Fibre Channel Forwarder

The following rules are used to process FIP frames to avoid the FCF being used as a transit between an ENode and another FCF. These rules also prevent login sessions between ENodes and FCFs in different fabrics.

- FIP solicitation and login frames received from the CNAs are processed by the FCF and are not forwarded.

- If an FCF receives solicitations and advertisements from other FCFs over an interface, the following occurs:

- The frames are ignored and discarded if the FC-MAP value in the frame matches the value of the FCF (the FCF is in the same fabric).

- The interface is placed in the "FCoE Isolated" state if the FC-MAP value in the FIP frame does not match that of the FCF (the FCF is in a different fabric).

Because the Cisco Nexus FCF cannot perform the transit FCoE function, you must design your network topology so that the active STP path of FCoE VLANs is always over the directly connected links between the CNA and the FCF. Make sure that you configure the FCoE VLAN on the directly connected links only.

Directly Connected CNA Best Practice

The following figure shows a best practices topology for an access network that is using directly connected CNAs with Cisco Nexus devices.

Directly Connected CNA

Follow these configuration best practices for the deployment topology in the preceding figure:

1. You must configure a unique dedicated VLAN at every converged access switch to carry traffic for each Virtual Fabric (VSAN) in the SAN (for example, VLAN 1002 for VSAN 1, VLAN 1003 for VSAN 2, and so on). If you enable Multiple Spanning Tree (MST), you must use a separate MST instance for FCoE VLANs.

2. You must configure the unified fabric (UF) links as trunk ports. Do not configure the FCoE VLAN as a native VLAN. You must configure all FCoE VLANs as members of the UF links to allow extensions for VF_Port trunking and VSAN management for the virtual Fibre Channel interfaces.

Note

A unified wire carries both Ethernet and FCoE traffic.

3. You must configure the UF links as spanning-tree edge ports.

4. You must not configure the FCoE VLANs as members of Ethernet links that are not designated to carry FCoE traffic because you want to ensure that the scope of the STP for the FCoE VLANs is limited to UF links only.

5. If the converged access switches (in the same SAN fabric or in another) need to be connected to each other over Ethernet links for a LAN alternate path, you must explicitly configure such links to exclude all FCoE VLANs from membership. This action ensures that the scope of the STP for the FCoE VLANs is limited to UF links only.

6. You must use separate FCoE VLANs for FCoE in SAN-A and SAN-B.

Note

All Gen-1 (pre-FIP) and Gen-2 (FIP) CNAs are supported in a directly connected topology.

Remotely Connected CNA Best Practice

The following figure shows a best practices topology for an access network using remotely connected CNAs with Cisco Nexus devices.

Remotely Connected CNAs

Follow these configuration best practices for the deployment topology in the preceding figure:

1. You must configure a unique dedicated VLAN at every converged access switch to carry traffic for each Virtual Fabric (VSAN) in the SAN (for example, VLAN 1002 for VSAN 1, VLAN 1003 for VSAN 2, and so on). If you enable MST, you must use a separate MST instance for FCoE VLANs.

2. You must configure the unified fabric (UF) links as trunk ports. Do not configure the FCoE VLAN as a native VLAN. You must configure all FCoE VLANs as members of the UF links to allow extensions for VF_Port trunking and VSAN management for the virtual Fibre Channel interfaces.

Note

A unified fabric link carries both Ethernet and FCoE traffic.

3. You must configure the CNAs and the blade switches as spanning-tree edge ports.

4. A blade switch must connect to exactly one Cisco Nexus device converged access switch, preferably over an EtherChannel, to avoid disruption due to STP reconvergence on events such as provisioning new links or blade switches.

5. You must configure the Cisco Nexus device converged access switch with a better STP priority than the blade switches that are connected to it. This requirement allows you to create an island of FCoE VLANs where the converged access switch is the spanning-tree root and all the blade switches connected to it become downstream nodes.

6. Do not configure the FCoE VLANs as members of Ethernet links that are not designated to carry FCoE traffic because you want to ensure that the scope of the STP for the FCoE VLANs is limited to UF links only.

7. If the converged access switches and/or the blade switches need to be connected to each over Ethernet links for the purposes of LAN alternate pathing, you must explicitly configure such links to exclude all FCoE VLANs from membership. This action ensures the scope of the STP for FCoE VLANs is limited to UF links only.

8. You must use separate FCoE VLANs for FCoE in SAN-A and SAN-B.

Note

A remotely connected topology is supported only with Gen-2 (FIP) CNAs.

Guidelines and Limitations

FCoE has the following guidelines and limitations:

- FCoE on Cisco Nexus devices support the Gen-1 (pre-FIP) and Gen-2 (FIP) CNAs. FCoE on the Cisco Nexus 2232PP fabric extender (FEX) supports Gen-2 CNAs only.

- Enabling FCoE on VLAN 1 is not supported.

- A combination of straight-through and active-active topologies is not supported on the same FEX.

- Direct connect FCoE (that is, a direct connect to CNAs through a bind interface) is not supported on a port channel of a Cisco Nexus device or FEX interface if it is configured to have more than one interface. Direct connect FCoE is supported on port channels with a single link to allow for FCoE from a CNA connected through a vPC with one 10 GB link to each upstream switch/FEX.

Note

For a description of the default quality of service (QoS) policies for FCoE, see the Quality of Service guide for your device. for the Nexus software release that you are using. The available versions of this document can be found at the following URL: Click Here ..

Configuring QoS

You need to attach the system service policy to configure QoS. The service-policy command specifies the system class policy map as the service policy for the system.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    switch# configure terminal

2.    switch(config)# system qos

3.    switch(config-sys-qos)# service-policy type {network-qos | qos | queuing} [input | output] fcoe default policy-name

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# system qos

Enters system qos configuration mode.

Step 3

switch(config-sys-qos)# service-policy type {network-qos | qos | queuing} [input | output] fcoe default policy-name

Specifies the default FCoE policy map to use as the service policy for the system. There are four pre-defined policy-maps for FCoE:

- service-policy type queuing input fcoe-default-in-policy

- service-policy type queuing output fcoe-default-out-policy

- service-policy type qos input fcoe-default-in-policy

- service-policy type network-qos fcoe-default-nq-policy

Note:
Before enabling FCoE on a Cisco Nexus device, you must attach the pre-defined FCoE policy maps to the type qos, type network-qos, and type queuing policy maps.

Enabling FCoE

You can enable FCoE on the switch; however, enabling FCoE on VLAN 1 is not supported.

Note

All the Fibre Channel features of the Cisco Nexus device are packaged in the FC Plugin. When you enable FCoE, the switch software checks for the FC_FEATURES_PKG license. If it finds the license, the software loads the plugin. If the license is not found, the software loads the plugin with a grace period of 180 days.

After the FC Plugin is loaded, the following occurs:

- All Fibre Channel and FCoE-related CLI are available

- The Fibre Channel interfaces of any installed expansion modules are available

If after 180 days, a valid license is not found, the FC Plugin is disabled. At the next switch reboot, all FCoE commands are removed from the CLI and the FCoE configuration is deleted.

Before You Begin

You must have the FC_FEATURES_PKG (N5010SS or N5020SS) license installed.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    switch# configure terminal

2.    switch(config)# feature fcoe

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# feature fcoe

Enables the FCoE capability.

This example shows how to enable FCoE on the switch:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# feature fcoe

Disabling FCoE

After you disable FCoE, all FCoE commands are removed from the CLI and the FCoE configuration is deleted.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    switch# configure terminal

2.    switch(config)# no feature fcoe

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# no feature fcoe

Disables the FCoE capability.

This example shows how to disable FCoE on the switch:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# no feature fcoe

Disabling LAN Traffic on an FCoE Link

You can disable LAN traffic on an FCoE link.

DCBX allows the switch to send a LAN Logical Link Status (LLS) message to a directly connected CNA. Enter the shutdown lan command to send an LLS-Down message to the CNA. This command causes all VLANs on the interface that are not enabled for FCoE to be brought down. If a VLAN on the interface is enabled for FCoE, it continues to carry SAN traffic without any interruption.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    switch# configure terminal

2.    switch(config)# interface ethernet slot/port

3.    switch(config-if)# shutdown lan

4.    (Optional) switch(config-if)# no shutdown lan

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# interface ethernet slot/port

Specifies an interface to configure, and enters interface configuration mode.

Step 3

switch(config-if)# shutdown lan

Shuts down Ethernet traffic on the interface. If the interface is part of an FCoE VLAN, the shutdown has no impact on the FCoE traffic.

Step 4

switch(config-if)# no shutdown lan

(Optional)
Reenables Ethernet traffic on the interface.

Configuring the FC-Map

Note

We recommend using the "Mapping a VSAN to a VLAN" method for preserving fabric isolation and leaving the FC-MAP default.

You can prevent data corruption due to cross-fabric talk by configuring an FC-Map that identifies the Fibre Channel fabric for this Cisco Nexus device. When the FC-Map is configured, the switch discards the MAC addresses that are not part of the current fabric.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    switch# configure terminal

2.    switch(config)# fcoe fcmap fabric-map

3.    (Optional) switch(config)# no fcoe fcmap fabric-map

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# fcoe fcmap fabric-map

Configures the global FC-Map. The default value is 0E.FC.00. The range is from 0E.FC.00 to 0E.FC.FF.

Step 3

switch(config)# no fcoe fcmap fabric-map

(Optional)
Resets the global FC-Map to the default value of 0E.FC.00.

This example shows how to configure the global FC-Map:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# fcoe fcmap 0x0efc2a

Configuring the Fabric Priority

The Cisco Nexus device advertises its priority. The priority is used by the CNAs in the fabric to determine the best switch to connect to.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    switch# configure terminal

2.    switch(config)# fcoe fcf-priority fabric-priority

3.    (Optional) switch(config)# no fcoe fcf-priority fabric-priority

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# fcoe fcf-priority fabric-priority

Configures the global fabric priority. The default value is 128. The range is from 0 (higher) to 255 (lower).

Step 3

switch(config)# no fcoe fcf-priority fabric-priority

(Optional)
Resets the global fabric priority to the default value of 128.

This example shows how to configure the global fabric priority:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# fcoe fcf-priority 42

Configuring Jumbo MTU

This example shows how to configure the default Ethernet system class to support the jumbo MTU:

switch(config)# policy-map type network-qos jumbo
switch(config-pmap-nq)# class type network-qos class-fcoe
switch(config-pmap-c-nq)# pause no-drop
switch(config-pmap-c-nq)# mtu 2158
switch(config-pmap-nq)# class type network-qos class-default
switch(config-pmap-c-nq)# mtu 9216
switch(config-pmap-c-nq)# exit
switch(config-pmap-nq)# exit
switch(config)# system qos
switch(config-sys-qos)# service-policy type qos input fcoe-default-in-policy
switch(config-sys-qos)# service-policy type queuing input fcoe-default-in-policy
switch(config-sys-qos)# service-policy type queuing output fcoe-default-out-policy
switch(config-sys-qos)# service-policy type network-qos jumbo

Setting the Advertisment Interval

You can configure the interval for Fibre Channel fabric advertisement on the switch.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    switch# configure terminal

2.    switch(config)# fcoe fka-adv-period inverval

3.    (Optional) switch(config)# no fcoe fka-adv-period interval

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# fcoe fka-adv-period inverval

Configures the advertisement interval for the fabric. The default value is 8 seconds. The range is from 4 to 60 seconds.

Step 3

switch(config)# no fcoe fka-adv-period interval

(Optional)
Resets the advertisement interval for the fabric to its default value of 8 seconds.

This example shows how to configure the advertisement interval for the fabric:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# fcoe fka-adv-period 42

Verifying the FCoE Configuration

To verify FCoE configuration information, perform one of these tasks:

Command

Purpose

switch# show fcoe

Displays whether FCoE is enabled on the switch.

switch# show fcoe database

Displays the contents of the FCoE database.

switch# show interface [interface number] fcoe

Displays the FCoE settings for an interface or all interfaces.

switch# show queuing interface[interface slot/port]

Displays the queue configuration and statistics.

switch# show policy-map interface[interface number]

Displays the policy map settings for an interface or all interfaces.

This example shows how to verify that the FCoE capability is enabled:

switch# show fcoe

Global FCF details

FCF-MAC is 00:0d:ec:6d:95:00

FC-MAP is 0e:fc:00

FCF Priority is 128

FKA Advertisement period for FCF is 8 seconds

This example shows how to display the FCoE database:

switch# show fcoe database

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INTERFACE       FCID            PORT NAME               MAC ADDRESS

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

vfc3            0x490100        21:00:00:1b:32:0a:e7:b8 00:c0:dd:0e:5f:76

This example shows how to display the FCoE settings for an interface.

switch# show interface ethernet 1/37 fcoe

Ethernet1/37 is FCoE UP

vfc3 is Up

FCID is 0x490100

PWWN is 21:00:00:1b:32:0a:e7:b8

MAC addr is 00:c0:dd:0e:5f:76

Chapter 4. Configuring FCoE VLANs and Virtual Interfaces

This chapter contains the following sections:

- Information About Virtual Interfaces

- Guidelines and Limitations for FCoE VLANs and Virtual Interfaces

- Verifying the Virtual Interface

- Mapping VSANs to VLANs Example Configuration

- FCoE over Enhanced vPC

- SAN Boot with vPC

Information About Virtual Interfaces

Cisco Nexus devices support Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), which allows Fibre Channel and Ethernet traffic to be carried on the same physical Ethernet connection between the switch and the servers.

The Fibre Channel portion of FCoE is configured as a virtual Fibre Channel interface. Logical Fibre Channel features (such as interface mode) can be configured on virtual Fibre Channel interfaces.

A virtual Fibre Channel interface must be bound to an interface before it can be used. The binding is to a physical Ethernet interface (when the converged network adapter (CNA) is directly connected to the Cisco Nexus device), a MAC address (when the CNA is remotely connected over a Layer 2 bridge), or an EtherChannel when the CNA connects to the Fibre Channel Forwarder (FCF) over a virtual port channel (vPC).

VE Port

A virtual expansion (VE) port acts as an expansion port in an FCoE network. VE ports can connect multiple FCoE switches together in the network. You can bind a VE port to a physical ethernet port or a port channel.

On the Cisco Nexus 5000 and 6000 Series switches, traffic across members of a port channel that a VE_Port is bound to is load balanced based on SID, DID, and OXID.

In order to enable all links to be used in the port-channel for FCoE traffic, enter the port-channel load-balance ethernet source-dest-port command to configure 'port-channel load balancing' to 'source-dest-port'. The configuration 'source-destination-oxid' load balancing is used for FCoE traffic.

Guidelines and Limitations for FCoE VLANs and Virtual Interfaces

FCoE VLANs and Virtual Fiber Channel (vFC) interfaces have these guidelines and limitations:

- Each vFC interface must be bound to an FCoE-enabled Ethernet or EtherChannel interface or to the MAC address of a remotely connected adapter. FCoE is supported on 10-Gigabit Ethernet interfaces.

The Ethernet or EtherChannel interface that you bind to the vFC interface must be configured as follows:

- The Ethernet or EtherChannel interface must be a trunk port (use the switchport mode trunk command).

- The FCoE VLAN that corresponds to a vFC’s VSAN must be in the allowed VLAN list.

- You must not configure an FCoE VLAN as the native VLAN of the trunk port.

Note

The native VLAN is the default VLAN on a trunk. Any untagged frames transit the trunk as native VLAN traffic.

- You should use an FCoE VLAN only for FCoE.

- Do not use the default VLAN, VLAN1, as an FCoE VLAN.

- You must configure the Ethernet interface as PortFast (use the spanning-tree port type edge trunk command).

Note

You are not required to configure trunking on the server interface even if the switch interface is configured with trunking enabled. All non-FCoE traffic from the server is passed on the native VLAN.

- The vFC interface can be bound to Ethernet port channels with multiple member ports connected to FCoE Initialization Protocol (FIP) snooping bridges.

- Each vFC interface is associated with only one VSAN.

- You must map any VSAN with associated vFC interfaces to a dedicated FCoE-enabled VLAN.

- FCoE is not supported on private VLANs.

- If the converged access switches (in the same SAN fabric or in another) need to be connected to each other over Ethernet links for a LAN alternate path, then you must explicitly configure such links to exclude all FCoE VLANs from membership.

- You must use separate FCoE VLANs for FCoE in SAN-A and SAN-B fabrics.

- FCoE connectivity to pre-FIP CNAs over virtual port channels (vPCs) is not supported.

- The maximum number of vFCs that can be bound to a port-channel is 48.

Note

Virtual interfaces are created with the administrative state set to down. You must explicitly configure the administrative state to bring the virtual interface into operation.

Mapping a VSAN to a VLAN

A unique, dedicated VLAN must be configured at every converged access switch to carry traffic for each VSAN in the SAN (for example, VLAN 1002 for VSAN 1, VLAN 1003 for VSAN 2, and so on). If Multiple Spanning Tree (MST) is enabled, a separate MST instance must be used for FCoE VLANs.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    switch# configure terminal

2.    switch(config)# vlan vlan-id

3.    switch(config-vlan)# fcoe [vsan vsan-id]

4.    switch(config-vlan)# exit

5.    (Optional) switch(config-vlan)# show vlan fcoe

6.    (Optional) switch(config-if)# copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# vlan vlan-id

Enters VLAN configuration mode. The VLAN number range is from 1 to 4096.

Step 3

switch(config-vlan)# fcoe [vsan vsan-id]

Enables FCoE for the specified VLAN. If you do not specify a VSAN number, a mapping is created from this VLAN to the VSAN with the same number.

Configures the mapping from this VLAN to the specified VSAN.

Step 4

switch(config-vlan)# exit

Exits VLAN configuration mode. You must exit this mode to execute the configured commands on your Cisco Nexus device.

Step 5

switch(config-vlan)# show vlan fcoe

(Optional)
Displays information about the FCoE configuration for a VLAN.

Step 6

switch(config-if)# copy running-config startup-config

(Optional)
Saves the change persistently through reboots and restarts by copying the running configuration to the startup configuration.

This example shows how to map VLAN 200 to VSAN 2:

switch(config)# vlan 200

switch(config-vlan)# fcoe vsan 2

Creating a Virtual Fibre Channel Interface

You can create a virtual Fibre Channel interface. You must bind the virtual Fibre Channel interface to a physical interface before it can be used.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    switch# configure terminal

2.    switch(config)# interface vfc vfc-id

3.    switch(config-if)# bind {interface {ethernet slot/port | port-channel channel-number} | mac-address MAC-address}

4.    (Optional) switch(config-if)# no bind {interface {ethernet slot/port | port-channel channel-number} | mac-address MAC-address}

5.    (Optional) switch(config)# no interface vfc vfc-id

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# interface vfc vfc-id

Creates a virtual Fibre Channel interface (if it does not already exist) and enters interface configuration mode.

The virtual Fibre Channel interface ID range is from 1 to 8192.

Step 3

switch(config-if)# bind {interface {ethernet slot/port | port-channel channel-number} | mac-address MAC-address}

Binds the virtual Fibre Channel interface to the specified interface.

Step 4

switch(config-if)# no bind {interface {ethernet slot/port | port-channel channel-number} | mac-address MAC-address}

(Optional)
Unbinds the virtual Fibre Channel interface from the specified interface.

Step 5

switch(config)# no interface vfc vfc-id

(Optional)
Deletes a virtual Fibre Channel interface.

This example shows how to bind a virtual Fibre Channel interface to an Ethernet interface:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# interface vfc 4
switch(config-if)# bind interface ethernet 1/4

This example shows how to bind a virtual Fibre Channel interface to a Cisco Nexus 2232PP Fabric Extender (FEX) Ethernet interface:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# interface vfc 1001
switch(config-if)# bind interface ethernet 100/1/1

This example shows how to bind a virtual Fibre Channel interface to create a vPC:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# interface vfc 3
switch(config-if)# bind interface port-channel 1

This example shows how to bind a virtual Fibre Channel interface on a Cisco Nexus 2232PP FEX to create a vPC:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# interface vfc 1001
switch(config-if)# bind interface ethernet 100/1/1

Note

An error message is displayed if you attempt to bind the interface to a Cisco Nexus FEX that does not support FCoE.

This example shows how to bind a virtual Fibre Channel interface to a MAC address:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# interface vfc 2
switch(config-if)# bind mac-address 00:0a:00:00:00:36

This example shows how to bind a virtual Fibre Channel interface to a Cisco Nexus 2232PP FEX MAC address:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# interface vfc 1001
switch(config-if)# bind mac-address 00:01:0b:00:00:02

This example shows how to delete a virtual Fibre Channel interface:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# no interface vfc 4

Configuring vFC Interface

The following steps show how to configure vPC interface to a member port of a multi-member port-channel.

Note

You can un-configure a 4-port vPC only after removing member ports from port-channel. You can un-configure only on a single member port-channel.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    Create a multi-member port-channel.

2.    Add individual member port to a multi-member port-channel.

3.    Associate vPC to a member port of a multi-member port-channel.

DETAILED STEPS

Step 1

Create a multi-member port-channel.

switch(config-vlan)#  interface port-channel 500

switch(config-vlan)# [no]fcoe multi-vfc

Step 2

Add individual member port to a multi-member port-channel.

switch(config-vlan)# interface ethernet 100/1/1

switch(config-vlan)# channel-group 500

switch (config)# interface ethernet 100/1/2

switch(config-if)# channel-group 500

Step 3

Associate vPC to a member port of a multi-member port-channel.

switch(config)#  interface vfc 10011

switch(config-vlan)# bind interface ethernet 100/1/1

switch(config-vlan)#  interface vfc 10012

switch (config)#  bind interface ethernet 100/1/2

Associating a Virtual Fibre Channel Interface to a VSAN

A unique, dedicated VLAN must be configured at every converged access switch to carry traffic for each Virtual Fabric (VSAN) in the SAN (for example, VLAN 1002 for VSAN 1, VLAN 1003 for VSAN 2, and so on). If MST is enabled, a separate MST instance must be used for FCoE VLANs.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    switch# configure terminal

2.    switch(config)# vsan database

3.    switch(config-vsan)# vsan vsan-id interface vfc vfc-id

4.    (Optional) switch(config-vsan)# no vsan vsan-id interface vfc vfc-id

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# vsan database

Enters VSAN configuration mode.

Step 3

switch(config-vsan)# vsan vsan-id interface vfc vfc-id

Configures the association between the VSAN and virtual Fibre Channel interface.

The VSAN number must map to a VLAN on the physical Ethernet interface that is bound to the virtual Fibre Channel interface.

Step 4

switch(config-vsan)# no vsan vsan-id interface vfc vfc-id

(Optional)
Disassociates the connection between the VSAN and virtual Fibre Channel interface.

This example shows how to associate a virtual Fibre Channel interface to a VSAN:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# vsan database

switch(config-vsan)# vsan 2 interface vfc 4

Creating an Implicit Virtual Fibre Channel Port Channel Interface

You can create a virtual Fibre Channel (vFC), and implicitly bind it to an Ethernet interface or a port-channel using a single command. For this, the vFC identifier must match the Ethernet interface or port-channel identifier. The Ethernet interface can be a module (slot or port) or a Fabric Extender (FEX) interface (chassis, slot or port).

Note

You cannot create an implicit vFC in a breakout port.

Configuring virtual Fibre Channel Interface

Before You Begin

- Ensure you have installed the correct license for FCoE.

- Ensure you have enabled FCoE.

Step 1

Enter global configuration mode:
switch# configure terminal

Step 2

Create a VFC (if it does not already exist):
Additionally, vfc slot/port binds the vFC to an Ethernet slot/port interface. vfc chassis/slot/port binds the vFC to a FEX interface.

switch(config) # interface vfc {id | slot/port | chassis/slot/port

Step 3

Bring up the vFC interface:
switch(config-if) # no shutdown

Step 4

Exit the interface configuration mode:
switch(config-if) # exit

Configuring virtual Fibre Channel Interface

This example shows how to implicitly bind a virtual Fibre Channel interface to an Ethernet interface:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# interface vfc 101/1/1
switch(config-if)# no shutdown
.
.
.
.
Switch# show interface vfc 101/1/1
vfc101/1/1 is trunking
Bound interface is Ethernet101/1/1
Hardware is Ethernet
Port WWN is 20:00:00:2a:6a:15:d2:7b
Admin port mode is F, trunk mode is on
snmp link state traps are enabled
Port mode is TF
Port vsan is 600
Trunk vsans (admin allowed and active) (1,500,600)
Trunk vsans (up)                       (600)
Trunk vsans (isolated)                 ()
Trunk vsans (initializing)             (1,500)
1 minute input rate 0 bits/sec, 0 bytes/sec, 0 frames/sec
1 minute output rate 0 bits/sec, 0 bytes/sec, 0 frames/sec
49 frames input, 5516 bytes
0 discards, 0 errors
49 frames output, 5772 bytes
0 discards, 0 errors
last clearing of "show interface" counters Fri Oct 30 06:19:33 2015
Interface last changed at Fri Oct 30 06:19:33 2015

Configuring virtual Fibre Channel – Port Channel Interface

Step 1

Enter global configuration mode:
switch# configure terminal

Step 2

Create a vFC that implicitly binds to the Ethernet port-channel based on its number:
The port number range is from 257 to 4096.

switch(config) # interface vfc-port-channel port number

Step 3

Bring up the vFC port:
switch(config-if) # no shutdown

Step 4

Exit from the current interface configuration mode:
switch(config-if) # exit

Configuring virtual Fibre Channel - Port Channel Interface

The example shows how you can create a vFC-port-channel that implicitly binds to Ethernet port-channel:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# interface vfc-port-channel 300
switch(config-if)# no shutdown
.
.
.
.
switch# show interface vfc-port-channel 258

vfc-po258 is trunking
Bound interface is port-channel258
Hardware is Ethernet
Port WWN is 21:01:8c:60:4f:59:31:3f
Admin port mode is E, trunk mode is on
snmp link state traps are enabled
Port mode is TE
Port vsan is 600
Trunk vsans (admin allowed and active) (1,100,500,600)
Trunk vsans (up)                       (600)
Trunk vsans (isolated)                 ()
Trunk vsans (initializing)             (1,100,500)
1 minute input rate 3448 bits/sec, 431 bytes/sec, 4 frames/sec
1 minute output rate 9064 bits/sec, 1133 bytes/sec, 4 frames/sec
977735 frames input, 77172556 bytes
0 discards, 0 errors
977733 frames output, 205924892 bytes
0 discards, 0 errors
last clearing of "show interface" counters Thu Oct 29 06:35:41 2015
Interface last changed at Thu Oct 29 06:35:41 2015

Verifying the Virtual Interface

To display configuration information about virtual interfaces, perform one of the following tasks:

Command

Purpose

switch# show interface vfc vfc-id

Displays the detailed configuration of the specified Fibre Channel interface.

switch# show interface brief

Displays the status of all interfaces.

switch# show vlan fcoe

Displays the mapping of FCoE VLANs to VSANs.

This example shows how to display a virtual Fibre Channel interface bound to an Ethernet interface:

switch# show interface vfc 3

vfc3 is up

Bound interface is Ethernet1/37

Hardware is Virtual Fibre Channel

Port WWN is 20:02:00:0d:ec:6d:95:3f

Admin port mode is F, trunk mode is on

snmp link state traps are enabled

Port mode is F, FCID is 0x490100

Port vsan is 931

1 minute input rate 0 bits/sec, 0 bytes/sec, 0 frames/sec

1 minute output rate 0 bits/sec, 0 bytes/sec, 0 frames/sec

0 frames input, 0 bytes

0 discards, 0 errors

0 frames output, 0 bytes

0 discards, 0 errors

Interface last changed at Thu May 21 04:44:42 2009

This example shows how to display a virtual Fibre Channel interface bound to a MAC address:

switch# show interface vfc 1001

vfc1001 is down

Bound MAC is 00:0a:00:00:00:01

Hardware is Virtual Fibre Channel

Port WWN is 23:e8:00:0d:ec:6d:95:3f

Admin port mode is F, trunk mode is on

snmp link state traps are enabled

Port vsan is 901

1 minute input rate 0 bits/sec, 0 bytes/sec, 0 frames/sec

1 minute output rate 0 bits/sec, 0 bytes/sec, 0 frames/sec

0 frames input, 0 bytes

0 discards, 0 errors

0 frames output, 0 bytes

0 discards, 0 errors

This example shows how to display the status of all the interfaces on the switch (some output has been removed for brevity):

switch# show interface brief

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interface  Vsan   Admin  Admin   Status          SFP    Oper  Oper   Port

Mode   Trunk                          Mode  Speed  Channel

Mode                                 (Gbps)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

fc3/1      1      auto   on      trunking         swl    TE      2    --

fc3/2      1      auto   on      sfpAbsent        --     --           --

...

fc3/8      1      auto   on      sfpAbsent        --     --           --

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interface                Status     IP Address        Speed    MTU   Port

Channel

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ethernet1/1              hwFailure  --                --       1500  --

Ethernet1/2              hwFailure  --                --       1500  --

Ethernet1/3              up         --                10000    1500  --

...

Ethernet1/39             sfpIsAbsen --                --       1500  --

Ethernet1/40             sfpIsAbsen --                --       1500  --

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interface                Status     IP Address        Speed    MTU

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

mgmt0                    up         172.16.24.41      100      1500

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interface  Vsan   Admin  Admin   Status          SFP    Oper  Oper   Port

Mode   Trunk                          Mode  Speed  Channel

Mode                                 (Gbps)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

vfc 1        1      F      --      down             --     --           --

...

This example shows how to display the mapping between the VLANs and VSANs on the switch:

switch# show vlan fcoe

VLAN      VSAN      Status

--------  --------  --------

15        15        Operational

20        20        Operational

25        25        Operational

30        30        Non-operational

Mapping VSANs to VLANs Example Configuration

The following example shows how to configure the FCoE VLAN and a virtual Fibre Channel interface:

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    Enable the associated VLAN and map the VLAN to a VSAN.

2.    Configure the VLAN on a physical Ethernet interface.

3.    Create a virtual Fibre Channel interface and bind it to a physical Ethernet interface.

4.    Associate the virtual Fibre Channel interface to the VSAN.

5.    (Optional) Display membership information for the VSAN.

6.    (Optional) Display the interface information for the virtual Fibre Channel interface.

DETAILED STEPS

Step 1

Enable the associated VLAN and map the VLAN to a VSAN.

switch(config)# vlan 200

switch(config-vlan)# fcoe vsan 2

switch(config-vlan)# exit

Step 2

Configure the VLAN on a physical Ethernet interface.

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# interface ethernet 1/4

switch(config-if)# spanning-tree port type edge trunk

switch(config-if)# switchport mode trunk

switch(config-if)# switchport trunk allowed vlan 1,200

switch(config-if)# exit

Step 3

Create a virtual Fibre Channel interface and bind it to a physical Ethernet interface.

switch(config)# interface vfc 4

switch(config-if)# bind interface ethernet 1/4

switch(config-if)# exit

Note:
By default, all virtual Fibre Channel interfaces reside on VSAN 1. If the VLAN to VSAN mapping is to a VSAN other than VSAN 1, then proceed to Step 4.

Step 4

Associate the virtual Fibre Channel interface to the VSAN.

switch(config)# vsan database

switch(config-vsan)# vsan 2 interface vfc 4

switch(config-vsan)# exit

Step 5

(Optional) Display membership information for the VSAN.

switch# show vsan 2 membership
vsan 2 interfaces
vfc 4

Step 6

(Optional) Display the interface information for the virtual Fibre Channel interface.

switch# show interface vfc 4

vfc4 is up
Bound interface is Ethernet1/4
Hardware is Virtual Fibre Channel
Port WWN is 20:02:00:0d:ec:6d:95:3f
Port WWN is 20:02:00:0d:ec:6d:95:3f
snmp link state traps are enabled
Port WWN is 20:02:00:0d:ec:6d:95:3f
APort WWN is 20:02:00:0d:ec:6d:95:3f
snmp link state traps are enabled
Port mode is F, FCID is 0x490100
Port vsan is 931
1 minute input rate 0 bits/sec, 0 bytes/sec, 0 frames/sec
1 minute output rate 0 bits/sec, 0 bytes/sec, 0 frames/sec
0 frames input, 0 bytes 0 discards, 0 errors
0 frames output, 0 bytes 0 discards, 0 errors
Interface last changed at Thu Mar 11 04:44:42 2010

FCoE over Enhanced vPC

Although Ethernet traffic is dual homed between a FEX and a switch pair in an enhanced vPC topology, FCoE traffic must be single-homed to maintain SAN isolation. Therefore, while enhanced vPC supports FCoE, a single homed FEX topology can be a better choice when SAN isolation and high FCoE bandwidth are required.

Consider the following disadvantages of enhanced vPC for a single-homed topology:

- A typical SAN network maintains two fabrics, SAN A and SAN B, with traffic isolated between the two. In an enhanced vPC topology, each switch must be paired (single homed) with a FEX to ensure that FCoE traffic from one FEX is sent to only one switch, while Ethernet traffic is dual homed between each FEX and both switches. Because FCoE traffic from the FEX flows to only one switch while Ethernet traffic flows to both, the traffic load for the FEX uplinks is not evenly balanced.

- In a FEX with eight uplink ports, Ethernet traffic can use all eight ports, while the single-homed FCoE traffic is limited by this topology to using only four of those ports, restricting the maximum bandwidth available for FCoE. As a further restriction, the default QoS template for the shared link allocates only half the link bandwidth to FCoE traffic, with the other half allocated to Ethernet traffic.

- In an enhanced vPC topology with FCoE, the host vPC is limited to two ports, one to each FEX.

The following figure shows the FCoE traffic flow in a system with two Cisco Nexus 2000 FEXs, each associated with a different Cisco Nexus device.

FCoE over Enhanced vPC

- Configuring FCoE over Enhanced vPC

Configuring FCoE over Enhanced vPC

FCoE traffic must be single homed to maintain SAN isolation. You must first associate a FEX with only one switch. When the FEX and switch are associated, you can then create a virtual Fibre Channel (vFC) interface and bind it to a port.

After pairing the FEX and switch on the first peer, you repeat the configuration on the second peer using a different port number to ensure SAN traffic isolation. The different configuration will not cause a consistency error because the FCoE portion of the enhanced vPC configuration is not subject to the vPC consistency check.

Before You Begin

Review the limitations in FCoE over Enhanced vPC.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    switch# configure terminal

2.    switch(config) # fex fex-chassis_ID

3.    switch(config-fex) # fcoe

4.    switch(config-fex) # interface vfc vfc-id

5.    switch(config-if) # bind interface ethernet [fex-chassis-ID/]slot/port

6.    switch(config-if) # no shutdown

7.    (Optional) switch(config-if) # end

8.    (Optional) switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config) # fex fex-chassis_ID

Enters configuration mode for the specified FEX.

The range for fex-chassis_ID is from 100 to 199.

Step 3

switch(config-fex) # fcoe

Configures the FEX to send FCoE traffic only to this switch.

Step 4

switch(config-fex) # interface vfc vfc-id

Enters configuration mode for the virtual Fibre Channel interface. If the interface does not already exist, this command also creates that interface.

The range of vfc-id is from 1 to 8192.

Step 5

switch(config-if) # bind interface ethernet [fex-chassis-ID/]slot/port

Binds the vFC interface to the specified physical Ethernet interface.

The range for fex-chassis_ID is from 100 to 199. The slot must be 1.For FCoE, the range for port is from 1 to 32.

Step 6

switch(config-if) # no shutdown

Returns the interface to its default operational state.

Step 7

switch(config-if) # end

(Optional)
Return to privileged EXEC mode.

Step 8

switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config

(Optional)
Saves the change persistently through reboots and restarts by copying the running configuration to the startup configuration.

This example shows how to pair each FEX to a switch for FCoE traffic:

nexus5000-sanA# configure terminal
nexus5000-sanA(config) # fex 101
nexus5000-sanA(config-fex) # fcoe
nexus5000-sanA(config-fex) # interface vfc 1
nexus5000-sanA(config-if) # bind interface ethernet 101/1/1
nexus5000-sanA(config-if) # no shutdown
nexus5000-sanA(config-if) # end
nexus5000-sanA# copy running-config startup-config
nexus5000-sanA#

nexus5000-sanB# configure terminal
nexus5000-sanB(config) # fex 102
nexus5000-sanB(config-fex) # fcoe
nexus5000-sanB(config-fex) # interface vfc 1
nexus5000-sanB(config-if) # bind interface ethernet 102/1/1
nexus5000-sanB(config-if) # no shutdown
nexus5000-sanB(config-if) # end
nexus5000-sanB# copy running-config startup-config
nexus5000-sanB#

SAN Boot with vPC

A Cisco Nexus Series switch can use SAN boot if the following conditions are met:

- The FEX that contains the port assigned to the vPC must be associated with the Cisco Nexus switch.

- Only one VFC interface is bound to a vPC member. You cannot bind multiple interfaces to multiple members.

Note

If you want to ensure backward compatibility for all previous configurations and supported topologies, you must configure the FEX in a straight-through FEX topology that does not use Enhanced vPC.

- SAN Boot with vPC Configuration Example

SAN Boot with vPC Configuration Example

In this example, virtual Fibre Channel interface 1 is bound to physical Ethernet interface 101/1/1 on Fabric A and on interface 102/1/1 on Fabric B. The interface is also associated with virtual port channel 1 on both fabrics.

nexus5000-sanA(config) # interface vfc 1
nexus5000-sanA(config-if) # bind interface eth 101/1/1
nexus5000-sanA(config) # interface eth 101/1/1
nexus5000-sanA(config-if) # channel-group 1 mode active
nexus5000-sanA(config-if) # interface port-channel 1
nexus5000-sanA(config-if) # vpc 1
nexus5000-sanA(config-if) #

nexus5000-sanB(config) # interface vfc 1
nexus5000-sanB(config-if) # bind interface eth 102/1/1
nexus5000-sanB(config) # interface eth 102/1/1
nexus5000-sanB(config-if) # channel-group 1 mode active
nexus5000-sanB(config-if) # interface port-channel 1
nexus5000-sanB(config-if) # vpc 1
nexus5000-sanB(config-if) #

Chapter 5. Configuring Cisco Adapter FEX with FCoE

This chapter contains the following sections:

- Overview

Overview

The Cisco Adapter Fabric Extender (FEX) feature allows you to create an FCoE connection to a FEX so that you can establish an FCoE connection to a server with a virtual interface card (VIC) adapter.

For example, you could use this feature to connect your Nexus switch to a Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Server that contains a Cisco UCS P81E Virtual Interface Card, or you could connect it to a third-party server that has a Broadcom BCM57712 Convergence Network Interface Card (C-NIC) installed.

The switch connects to the FEX through a virtual port channel (vPC) while the FEX connects to the server using a standard FCoE link between the FEX and the VIC adapter.

- Guidelines and Limitations

- Configuring Cisco Adapter FEX with FCoE

Guidelines and Limitations

If you are using Enhanced vPC, the FEX can be associated with one and only one Cisco Nexus fabric for FCoE forwarding.

If you are using FabricPath, you must use a dedicated link for FCoE traffic.

If you are using a Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Server with a Cisco UCS P81E Virtual Interface Card (VIC), you must do the following:

- Configure the VIC in Network Interface Virtualization (NIV) mode, which makes the two unified ports appear to the system as virtual Host Bus Adapters (vHBAs).

- You cannot connect to the FEX through a VNP port. If this type of connection is used, NIV mode cannot be enabled on the VIC.

- You must set the NIC mode on the Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Server to active-standby.

Note

The HP chassis has internal HP-branded VirtualConnect cards (the specific model is HP VC FlexFabric 10Gb/24-Port Module), which runs its own internal host-hiding NPV processes for both FC and Ethernet sides of things. Then the external links of that card go upstream to regular Cisco 2232PP FEX's, which are then attached to our Nexus core.

Configuring Cisco Adapter FEX with FCoE

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    configure terminal

2.    install feature-set virtualization

3.    feature-set virtualization

4.    fex fex-chassis-ID

5.    fcoe

6.    interface ethernet [fex-chassis-ID/slot/port]

7.    switchport mode vntag

8.    interface vethernet veth-id

9.    bind interface ethernet [fex-chassis-ID/]slot/port channel channel-no

10.    switchport mode {trunk|access}

11.    (Optional) switchport trunk allowed vlan vlan-ID

12.    (Optional) switchport access vlan vlan-ID

13.    interface vfc vfc-id

14.    bind interface vethernet veth-num

15.    no shutdown

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action

Purpose

Step 1

configure terminal

Example:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

install feature-set virtualization

Example:

switch(config) # install feature-set virtualization
switch(config) #

Installs the virtualization feature set.

Step 3

feature-set virtualization

Example:

switch(config) # feature-set virtualization
switch(config)#

Enables the virtualization feature.

Step 4

fex fex-chassis-ID

Example:

switch(config) # fex 101
switch(config-fex) #

Enters configuration mode for the specified FEX.

The range for fex-chassis_ID is from 100 to 199.

Step 5

fcoe

Example:

switch(config-fex) # fcoe
switch(config-fex) #

Enables Fibre Channel over Ethernet traffic on the FEX.

Step 6

interface ethernet [fex-chassis-ID/slot/port]

Example:

switch(config-fex)# interface ethernet 101/1/1
switch(config-if)#

Enters configuration mode for the specified Ethernet interface.

The range for fex-chassis-ID is from 100 to 199. The slot For FCoE, the range for port is from 1 to 32.

Step 7

switchport mode vntag

Example:

switch(config-if) # switchport mode vntag
switch(config-if) #

Configures the interface in port mode.

Step 8

interface vethernet veth-id

Example:

switch(config-if) # interface vethernet 2
switch(config-if) #

Creates a virtual Ethernet interface and enters configuration mode for that interface.

The range of veth-id is from 1 to 1,048,575.

Note:
If you have two Cisco Nexus Series switches configured for redundancy, the virtual Ethernet interface ID must be unique on each switch.

Step 9

bind interface ethernet [fex-chassis-ID/]slot/port channel channel-no

Example:

switch(config-if) # bind interface ethernet 101/1/1 channel 1
switch(config-if) #

Binds the specified Ethernet interface to the specified port channel.

The range for fex-chassis-ID is from 100 to 199. The slot must be 1. For FCoE, the range for port is from 1 to 32. The range for channel-no is from 1 to 4096.

Step 10

switchport mode {trunk|access}

Example:

switch(config-if) # switchport mode trunk
switch(config-if) #

Configures the interface as a trunk port or an access port.

Step 11

switchport trunk allowed vlan vlan-ID

Example:

switch(config-if) # switchport trunk allowed vlan 33
switch(config-if) #

(Optional)
If you configured the interface as a trunk port, use this command to specify the VLAN for FCoE traffic.

The range for vlan-ID is from 1 to 4094, except for the VLANs reserved for internal use.

Step 12

switchport access vlan vlan-ID

Example:

switch(config-if) # switchport access vlan 33
switch(config-if) #

(Optional)
If you configured the interface as an access port, use this command to specify the VLAN for FCoE traffic.

Step 13

interface vfc vfc-id

Example:

switch(config-if) # interface vfc 4
switch(config-if) #

Creates a virtual Fibre Channel interface on the switch and enters configuration mode.

The range of vfc-id is from 1 to 8192.

Step 14

bind interface vethernet veth-num

Example:

switch(config-if) # bind interface veth 2
switch(config-if) #

Binds the virtual Fibre Channel interface to the specified virtual Ethernet interface.

The range of veth-num is from 1 to 1048575.

Step 15

no shutdown

Example:

switch(config-if) # no shutdown
switch(config-if) #

Returns the interface to its default operational state.

This example show how to configure Cisco Adapter FEX with FCoE on SAN fabric A using FEX 101 and the Ethernet interface on channel 1 configured as a trunk port.

nexus5000-sanA(config)#configure terminal
nexus5000-sanA(config)# install feature-set virtualization
nexus5000-sanA(config)# feature-set virtualization
nexus5000-sanA(config)# fex 101
nexus5000-sanA(config-fex)# fcoe
nexus5000-sanA(config-fex)# interface ethernet 101/1/1
nexus5000-sanA(config-if)# switchport mode vntag
nexus5000-sanA(config-if)# interface veth 2
nexus5000-sanA(config-if)# bind interface eth 101/1/1 channel 1
nexus5000-sanA(config-if)# switchport mode trunk
nexus5000-sanA(config-if)# switchport trunk allowed vlan 33
nexus5000-sanA(config-if)# interface vfc 4
nexus5000-sanA(config-if)# bind interface veth 2
nexus5000-sanA(config-if)# no shutdown

This example shows how to configure Cisco Adapter FEX with FCoE on SAN fabric B using FEX 102 and Ethernet interface on channel 2 as an access port:

nexus5000-sanB(config)#configure terminal
nexus5000-sanB(config)# install feature-set virtualization
nexus5000-sanB(config)# feature-set virtualization
nexus5000-sanB(config)# fex 102
nexus5000-sanB(config-fex)# fcoe
nexus5000-sanB(config-fex)# interface ethernet 102/1/1
nexus5000-sanB(config-if)# switchport mode vntag
nexus5000-sanB(config-if)# interface veth 5
nexus5000-sanB(config-if)# bind interface eth 102/1/1 channel 2
nexus5000-sanB(config-if)# switchport mode access
nexus5000-sanB(config-if)# switchport access vlan 40
nexus5000-sanB(config-if)# interface vfc 6
nexus5000-sanB(config-if)# bind interface veth 5
nexus5000-sanB(config-if)# no shutdown

Preface

The preface contains the following sections:

- Audience

- Document Conventions

- Documentation Feedback

- Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

Audience

This publication is for network administrators who configure and maintain Cisco Nexus devices and Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders.

Document Conventions

Note

As part of our constant endeavor to remodel our documents to meet our customers' requirements, we have modified the manner in which we document configuration tasks. As a result of this, you may find a deviation in the style used to describe these tasks, with the newly included sections of the document following the new format.

Command descriptions use the following conventions:

Convention

Description

bold

Bold text indicates the commands and keywords that you enter literally as shown.

Italic

Italic text indicates arguments for which the user supplies the values.

[x]

Square brackets enclose an optional element (keyword or argument).

[x | y]

Square brackets enclosing keywords or arguments separated by a vertical bar indicate an optional choice.

{x | y}

Braces enclosing keywords or arguments separated by a vertical bar indicate a required choice.

[x {y | z}]

Nested set of square brackets or braces indicate optional or required choices within optional or required elements. Braces and a vertical bar within square brackets indicate a required choice within an optional element.

variable

Indicates a variable for which you supply values, in context where italics cannot be used.

string

A nonquoted set of characters. Do not use quotation marks around the string or the string will include the quotation marks.

Examples use the following conventions:

Convention

Description

screen font

Terminal sessions and information the switch displays are in screen font.

boldface screen font

Information you must enter is in boldface screen font.

italic screen font

Arguments for which you supply values are in italic screen font.

< >

Nonprinting characters, such as passwords, are in angle brackets.

[ ]

Default responses to system prompts are in square brackets.

!, #

An exclamation point (!) or a pound sign (#) at the beginning of a line of code indicates a comment line.

This document uses the following conventions:

Note

Means reader take note. Notes contain helpful suggestions or references to material not covered in the manual.

Caution

Means reader be careful. In this situation, you might do something that could result in equipment damage or loss of data.

Documentation Feedback

To provide technical feedback on this document, or to report an error or omission, please send your comments to: nexus5k-docfeedback@cisco.com.

We appreciate your feedback.

Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

For information on obtaining documentation, using the Cisco Bug Search Tool (BST), submitting a service request, and gathering additional information, see What's New in Cisco Product Documentation.

To receive new and revised Cisco technical content directly to your desktop, you can subscribe to the What's New in Cisco Product Documentation RSS feed. RSS feeds are a free service.

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