Table of Contents

Preface

New and Changed Information

Overview

FabricPath Authentication

Configuring FabricPath Switching

Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

Configuring FabricPath Forwarding

Configuring Advanced FabricPath Features

Configuration Limits for Cisco Nexus NX-OS FabricPath

Cisco Nexus 6000 NX-OS FabricPath Configuration Guide, Release 6

Preface

This preface contains the following sections:

- Audience

- Organization

- Document Conventions

- Related Documentation

- Documentation Feedback

- Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

Audience

This publication is for experienced users who configure and maintain Cisco NX-OS switches.

Organization

This reference is organized as follows:

Chapter and Title

Description

Chapter 1, “Overview”

Describes an overview of the FabricPath feature.

Chapter 3, “Configuring FabricPath Switching”

Describes FabricPath encapsulation, Layer 2 IS-IS, and MAC address conversational learning. Also describes how to change timers for FabricPath and resolve switch ID conflicts.

Chapter 4, “Configuring FabricPath Interfaces”

Describes FabricPath interfaces and VLANs as well as how the feature interacts with Classical Ethernet networks and Spanning Tree Protocol.

Chapter 5, “Configuring FabricPath Forwarding”

Describes how the FabricPath network uses multiple paths to forward unicast, unknown unicast, broadcast, and multicast frames.

Chapter 6, “Configuring Advanced FabricPath Features”

Describes how to configure more advanced parameters for Layer 2 IS-IS.

Chapter A, “Configuration Limits for Cisco NX-OS FabricPath”

Describes the configuration limits for FabricPath.

Document Conventions

Command descriptions use these conventions:

Convention

Description

boldface font

Commands and keywords are in boldface.

italic font

Arguments for which you supply values are in italics.

{ }

Elements in braces are required choices.

[ ]

Elements in square brackets are optional.

[ x | y | z ]

Optional alternative keywords are grouped in brackets and separated by vertical bars.

string

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

Screen examples use these conventions:

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

Information you must enter is in boldface 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.

Tip Means the following information will help you solve a problem.

Related Documentation

Documentation for the Cisco Nexus 6000 Series Switch is available at the following URL:

The documentation set is divided into the following categories:

Release Notes

The release notes are available at the following URL:

Installation and Upgrade Guides

The installation and upgrade guides are available at the following URL:

Command References

The command references are available at the following URL:

Technical References

The technical references are available at the following URL:

Configuration Guides

The configuration guides are available at the following URL:

Error and System Messages

The system message reference guide is available at the following URL:

Documentation Feedback

. We appreciate your feedback.

Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

, which also lists all new and revised Cisco technical documentation, at:

as a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed and set content to be delivered directly to your desktop using a reader application. The RSS feeds are a free service and Cisco currently supports RSS version 2.0.

New and Changed Information

This chapter provides release-specific information for each new and changed feature in the Cisco Nexus 6000 Series NX-OS FabricPath Configuration Guide. The latest version of this document is available at the following Cisco website:

available at the following Cisco website:

summarizes the new and changed features for the Cisco Nexus 6000 Series NX-OS FabricPath Configuration Guide, and tells you where they are documented.

Table 1 New and Changed Features for Release 5.2(1)N1(1)

Feature

Description

Changed in Release

Where Documented

Multitopologies

This feature was introduced.

5.2(1)N1(1)

Chapter 3, “Configuring FabricPath Switching”

Chapter 4, “Configuring FabricPath Interfaces”

Chapter 5, “Configuring FabricPath Forwarding”

Overview

This chapter contains the following sections:

- Information About FabricPath

- Information About Conversational MAC Address Learning

- Layer 3 Routing Considerations for FabricPath

- Prerequisites for FabricPath

- Guidelines and Limitations for FabricPath

- Licensing Requirements for FabricPath

Information About FabricPath

The FabricPath feature provides the following:

- Allows Layer 2 multipathing in the FabricPath network.

- Provides built-in loop prevention and mitigation with no need to use the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP).

- Provides a single control plane for unicast, unknown unicast, broadcast, and multicast traffic.

- Enhances mobility and virtualization in the FabricPath network.

The software randomly assigns a unique switch ID to each switch that is enabled with FabricPath.

When a frame enters the FabricPath network from a Classical Ethernet (CE) network, the ingressing interfaces encapsulate the frame with a FabricPath header. The software builds paths, called trees, through the FabricPath network and assigns a forwarding tag (FTag) by flow to all the traffic in the FabricPath network. When the frame leaves the FabricPath network to go to a CE network, the egressing interface decapsulates the frame and leaves the regular CE header.

The FabricPath network uses the Layer 2 Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) protocol to forward traffic in the network using the FabricPath headers. Layer 2 IS-IS is different from Layer 3 IS-IS; the two protocols work independently. Layer 2 IS-IS requires no configuration and becomes operational when you enable FabricPath on the switch. The frames carry the same FTag that is assigned at ingress throughout the FabricPath network, and Layer 2 IS-IS allows all switches to have the same view of all the trees built by the software.

For multi-direction traffic, such as unknown unicast, multicast, and broadcast, the tree path is used only to avoid packet looping. FTag ensures that all switches forward packets on the same tree across the network, although FabricPath supports multiple trees. Known unicast packets are forwarded throughout the network using equal cost multipath (ECMP) and FTag trees are not used for these packets. Using ECMP and the trees, the software automatically load balances traffic throughout the FabricPath network.

Information About Conversational MAC Address Learning

You can use conversational MAC address learning or traditional MAC address learning.

To use conversational MAC address learning, you must do the following:

- Enable FabricPath.

- Ensure VLANs do not have switch virtual interface (SVI) enabled.

Conversational MAC address learning means that each switch learns only those MAC addresses for interested hosts, rather than all MAC addresses in the domain. Each switch learns only those MAC addresses that are actively speaking with it. In this way, conversational MAC learning consists of a three-way handshake.

This selective learning, or conversational MAC address learning, allows you to scale the network beyond the limits of individual switch MAC address tables.

All FabricPath VLANs use conversational MAC address learning.

Note CE VLANs support only traditional MAC address learning, where each switch learns the MAC addresses of all hosts in the network.

Layer 3 Routing Considerations for FabricPath

This section provides information you need to consider when you implement routing technologies for Layer 3 routing that take advantage of FabricPath to improve both unicast and multicast routing in your data center.

This section includes the following topics:

- Hot Standby Router Protocol Support

- No Support for the bind-vrf Command

command. For more information about these commands, see the command reference for your platform.

Hot Standby Router Protocol Support

You can configure Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) in Active/Active mode between pairs of switches in the vPC+ domains and access layer, and between pairs of switches in the aggregation layer.

If you configure a peer link between a pair of switches in the aggregation layer, HSRP runs in Active/Active mode for those switches. If you do not configure a peer link between the switches in the aggregation layer, HSRP runs in Active/Standby mode for those switches.

Note If a data center outage occurs and you enable HSRP before the vPC+ successfully comes up, traffic loss can occur. You must enable an HSRP delay to give the vPC time to stabilize. If you enable both an HSRP delay and a preemption delay, the Cisco Nexus 6000 Series switches allows Layer 2 switching only after both timers expire.

The delay option is available only with HSRP. If you use any other FHRP, traffic loss is still possible.

No Support for the bind-vrf Command

command is not supported for FabricPath.

command to remove the static binding between the vPC and the VRF.

Peer Gateway Not Recommended on Aggregation Layer

We do not recommend that you configure a peer gateway on the aggregation layer, as Fabric Path does not require one.

command is supported by vPC and vPC+ at the access. If traffic from a vPC for peer-1’s MAC address is sent to peer-2, the peer gateway configuration ensures that peer-2 can route the packet on peer-1’s behalf. However, a FabricPath topology does not have a port channel that can cause traffic for one peer switch to be sent to the other peer switch. Therefore, FabricPath does not require peer gateway configuration, even though there is a peer link provisioned for HSRP Active-Active support.

Prerequisites for FabricPath

FabricPath has the following prerequisites:

- You should have a working knowledge of Classical Ethernet Layer 2 functioning.

- You must be logged onto the switch.

- You must ensure an Enhanced Layer 2 license is installed on the switch.

- If you want to configure an existing vPC domain for FabricPath, you must first use the no vpc bind-vrf command to remove the static binding between the vPC and the VRF.

Guidelines and Limitations for FabricPath

FabricPath has the following configuration guidelines and limitations:

- FabricPath switches and interfaces carry only FabricPath-encapsulated traffic.

- You must install and enable FabricPath on each switch before you can view or access the commands. See the “Configuring FabricPath Switching” section for more information.

- STP does not run inside a FabricPath network.

- The following guidelines apply to private VLAN configurations when you are running FabricPath:

– All VLANs in a private VLAN must be in the same VLAN mode: either CE or FabricPath. If you attempt to put different types of VLANs into a private VLAN, these VLANs will not be active in the private VLAN. The software remembers the configurations, and if you change the VLAN mode later, that VLAN becomes active in the specified private VLAN.

– FabricPath ports cannot be put into a private VLAN.

- FabricPath does not support hierarchical static MAC addresses. That is, you cannot configure static FabricPath ODAs or OSAs; you can only configure CE static MAC addresses.

- FabricPath does not support VTP when in the same VDC. You must disable VTP when the FabricPath feature set is enabled on the VDC.

Note For information about FabricPath and DHCP snooping, including guidelines and limitations, see the Cisco Nexus 6000 Series NX-OS Security Configuration Guide, Release 6.0.

Licensing Requirements for FabricPath

FabricPath requires an Enhanced Layer 2 license. You must install this license on every switch in a FabricPath network.

In addition, if you want to take advantage of the Layer 3 routing interactions with FabricPath, you must install a LAN Base Services license on all switches with a Layer 3 card.

FabricPath Authentication

This chapter describes how to set the FabricPath Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) authentication parameters on the Cisco Nexus 6000 Series switches.

This chapter includes the following sections:

- FabricPath IS-IS Authentication Parameters

- Setting the FabricPath IS-IS Authentication Parameters Globally

- Setting the FabricPath IS-IS Authentication Parameters Per Interface

- Additional Information About FabricPath IS-IS Authentication

Note For information about the prerequisites, guidelines and limitations, and licensing requirements for FabricPath, see Chapter1, “Overview”

FabricPath IS-IS Authentication Parameters

command configuration. The configuration structure is identical for both IS-IS hello PDUs and IS-IS LSPs.

Setting the FabricPath IS-IS Authentication Parameters Globally

Although the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS protocol works automatically after you enable FabricPath, you can optionally configure the global parameters.

Command

Purpose

Step 1

:

switch# configure terminal

Enters the global configuration mode.

Step 2

:

switch(config)# fabricpath domain default

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

Enters the global FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS configuration mode.

Step 3

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# authentication-check

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

form of this command.)

Step 4

authentication key-chain trees

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

An example of creating a key-chain is as follows:

key chain trees

key 0

key-string cisco01

accept-lifetime 07:00:00 Sep 20 2011 infinite

send-lifetime 07:00:00 Sep 20 2011 infinite

form of this command.)

is the name of a key chain. A maximum of 63 alphanumeric characters is allowed.

for information about key chains.

Step 5

authentication-type md5

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

form of this command.)

You can set one of the following authentication types:

- cleartext —Specifies the cleartext authentication method.

- md5 —Specifies the Message Digest 5 (MD5) authentication method.

Setting the FabricPath IS-IS Authentication Parameters Per Interface

Although the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS protocol works automatically after you enable FabricPath, you can optionally configure the interface parameters.

Command

Purpose

Step 1

:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)#

Enters the global configuration mode.

Step 2

:

switch(config)# interface ethernet 5/2

switch(config-if)#

Enters the interface configuration mode and specifies the interfaces that you want to configure.

The slot can be from 1 to 3. The following list defines the slots available:

- Slot 1 includes all the fixed ports. A Fabric Extender has only one slot.

- Slot 2 includes the ports on the upper expansion module (if populated).

- Slot 3 includes the ports on the lower expansion module (if populated).

The port number within a particular slot can be from 1 to 128.

The port channel number assigned to the EtherChannel logical interface can be from 1 to 4096.

Step 3

:

switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis authentication-check

switch(config-if)#

form of this command.)

Step 4

:

switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis authentication key-chain trees

switch(config-if)#

An example of creating a key-chain is as follows:

key chain trees

key 0

key-string cisco01

accept-lifetime 07:00:00 Sep 20 2011 infinite

send-lifetime 07:00:00 Sep 20 2011 infinite

form of this command.)

is the name of a key chain. A maximum of 63 alphanumeric characters is allowed.

for information about key chains.

Step 5

:

switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis authentication-type md5

switch(config-if)#

form of this command.)

You can set one of the following authentication types:

- cleartext —Specifies the cleartext authentication method.

- md5 —Specifies the Message Digest 5 (MD5) authentication method.

Additional Information About FabricPath IS-IS Authentication

command on all the fabric nodes and interfaces.

Note • If you use LSP authentication on a FabricPath, you must also enable LSP authentication on all the FabricPath nodes. Otherwise, the FabricPath will not function properly.

Note • If you use LSP authentication on a FabricPath, you must also enable LSP authentication on all the FabricPath nodes. Otherwise, the FabricPath will not function properly.

- If you enable hello authentication on a FabricPath, you must also enable hello authentication on both sides of the links between the FabricPath nodes. Otherwise, the links will not be used for FabricPath.

Configuring FabricPath Switching

This chapter contains the following sections:

- Information About FabricPath Switching

- Configuring FabricPath Switching

- Verifying the FabricPath Switching Configuration

- Monitoring FabricPath Switching Statistics

- Configuration Example for FabricPath Switching

- Default Settings for FabricPath Switching

- Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Switching

Note For information about prerequisites, guidelines and limitations, and licensing requirements for FabricPath, see Chapter1, “Overview”

Information About FabricPath Switching

FabricPath switching allows multipath networking at the Layer 2 level. The FabricPath network still delivers packets on a best-effort basis (which is similar to the Classical Ethernet [CE] network), but the FabricPath network can use multiple paths for Layer 2 traffic. In a FabricPath network, you do not need to run the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). Instead, you can use FabricPath across data centers, some of which have only Layer 2 connectivity, with no need for Layer 3 connectivity and IP configurations.

The FabricPath encapsulation facilitates MAC mobility and server virtualization, which means that you can physically move the Layer 2 node but retain the same MAC address and VLAN association for the virtual machine. FabricPath also allows LAN extensions across data centers at Layer 2, which is useful in disaster recovery operations, as well as clustering applications such as databases. Finally, FabricPath is very useful in high-performance, low-latency computing.

With FabricPath, you use the Layer 2 intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) protocol for a single control plane that functions for unicast, broadcast, and multicast packets. There is no need to run the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP); it is a purely Layer 2 domain. This FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS is a separate process from Layer 3 IS-IS.

Cisco supports the conversation-based MAC learning schema. Conversational learning can only be applied to FabricPath VLANs. Using FabricPath and conversational MAC address learning, the switch has to learn far fewer MAC addresses, which results in smaller, more manageable MAC tables.

This section includes the following topics:

- FabricPath Encapsulation

- Default IS-IS Behavior with FabricPath

- Conversational MAC Address Learning

- Switching Using FabricPath

- Conflict Resolution and Optional FabricPath Tunings

FabricPath Encapsulation

This section includes the following topics:

- FabricPath Headers

- Forwarding Tags (FTags)

FabricPath Headers

When a frame enters the FabricPath network, the software encapsulates the Layer 2 frame with a new FabricPath header. The switch IDs that the software assigns to each FabricPath switch as it enters the FabricPath network is used as the outer MAC destination address (ODA) and outer MAC source address (OSA) in the FabricPath header. Figure 3-1 shows the FabricPath header encapsulation of the classical Ethernet (CE) frame.

Figure 3-1 FabricPath Frame Encapsulation

The software applies the encapsulation on the ingressing edge port of the FabricPath network and decapsulates the frame on the egressing edge port of the FabricPath network; all the ports within the FabricPath network are FabricPath ports that use only the hierarchical MAC address (see Chapter 4, “Configuring FabricPath Interfaces”, for more information on configuring FabricPath interfaces). This feature greatly reduces the size of the MAC tables in the core of the FabricPath network.

The software automatically assigns each switch in the FabricPath network with a unique switch ID. Optionally, you can configure the switch ID for the FabricPath switch.

The outer source address (OSA) is the FabricPath switch ID of the switch where the frame ingresses the FabricPath network, and the outer destination address (ODA) is the FabricPath switch ID of the switch where the frame egresses the FabricPath network. When the frame egresses the FabricPath network, the FabricPath switch strips the FabricPath header, and the original CE frame continues on the CE network. The FabricPath network uses only the OSA and ODA, with the Layer 2 IS-IS protocol transmitting the topology information. Both the FabricPath ODA and OSA are in a standard MAC format (xxxx.xxxx.xxxx).

The FabricPath hierarchical MAC address carries the reserved EtherType 0x8903.

When the frame is originally encapsulated, the software sets the time to live (TTL) to 32; on each hop through the FabricPath network, each switch decrements the TTL by 1. If the TTL reaches 0, that frame is discarded. This feature prevents the continuation of any loops that might form in the network.

Forwarding Tags (FTags)

The Forwarding Tag (FTag) in the FabricPath header specifies which path the packet traverses throughout the FabricPath network. The switch uses the FTag-specified paths for multidestination packets that enter the FabricPath network. The FTag, which is a fixed route that the switch learns from the topology, is a 10-bit field with the values from 1 to 1024 (see “Configuring FabricPath Forwarding,” for more information).

The software assigns the FTag to the FabricPath header on the edge port as the frame ingresses the FabricPath network. All subsequent FabricPath switches in that FabricPath network recognize the FTag. Each FTag is unique within the FabricPath topology.

Default IS-IS Behavior with FabricPath

The interfaces in a FabricPath network run only the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS protocol; you do not need to run STP in the FabricPath network because FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS discovers topology information dynamically.

Note Cisco Nexus 6000 Series switches supports two Fabricpath topologies, the default or base topology (topology 0), and another optional topology (for example, topology 1).

FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS is a dynamic link-state routing protocol that detects changes in the network topology and calculates loop-free paths to other nodes in the network. Each FabricPath switch maintains a link-state database (LSDB) that describes the state of the network; each switch updates the status of the links that are adjacent to the switch. The FabricPath switch sends advertisements and updates to the LSDB through all the existing adjacencies. FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS protocol packets do not conflict with standard Layer 2 IS-IS packets because the FabricPath packets go to a different Layer 2 destination MAC address than that used by standard IS-IS for IPv4/IPv6 address families.

The software sends hello packets on the FabricPath core ports to form adjacencies. After the software forms IS-IS adjacencies, the FabricPath unicast traffic uses the equal cost multipath (ECMP) feature of Layer 2 IS-IS to forward traffic. ECMP provides up to 16 paths for unicast traffic.

Within the FabricPath network, you use a single control plane protocol, Layer 2 IS-IS, for all unicast, multicast, and broadcast traffic. To use the basic FabricPath functionality, you do not need to configure Layer 2 IS-IS. The control plane Layer 2 IS-IS comes up and runs automatically when you enable FabricPath on the switch.

The loop-free Layer 2 IS-IS protocol builds two trees for the topology. Multicast and unknown unicast traffic is load-balanced between the two trees (see “Configuring FabricPath Forwarding,” for more information about trees and topology).

FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS is based on the standard IS-IS protocol with the following extensions for the FabricPath environment:

- FabricPath has a single IS-IS area with no hierarchical Layer 1/Layer 2 routing as prescribed within the IS-IS standard. All switches within the FabricPath network are in a single Layer 1 area.

- The switch uses a MAC address that is different from the MAC address used for Layer 3 IS-IS instances.

- The software adds a new sub-TLV that carries switch ID information, which is not in standard IS-IS. This feature allows Layer 2 information to be exchanged through the existing IS-IS protocol implementation.

- Each switch computes its shortest path to every other switch in the network using the shortest-path first (SPF) algorithm. This path is used for forwarding unicast FabricPath frames. FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS uses the standard IS-IS functionality to populate up to 16 routes for a given destination switch. The software uses multiple equal-cost available parallel links that provide ECMP.

- FabricPath IS-IS introduces certain modifications to the standard IS-IS in order to support the construction of broadcast and multicast trees (identified by the FTags). Specifically, using FabricPath, the software constructs two loop-free trees for forwarding multidestination traffic.

Once the adjacency is established among the switches in the FabricPath network, the software sends update information to all neighbors.

By default, you can run Layer 2 IS-IS with FabricPath with the default configuration, However, you can fine-tune some of the Layer 2 IS-IS parameters (see “Configuring Advanced FabricPath Features,” for information on configuring optional IS-IS parameters).

Additionally, FabricPath IS-IS helps to ensure that each switch ID in steady-state is unique within the FabricPath network. If FabricPath networks merge, switch IDs might collide. If the IDs are all dynamically assigned, FabricPath IS-IS ensures that this conflict is resolved without affecting any FabricPath traffic in either network,

Conversational MAC Address Learning

In traditional MAC address learning, each switch learns the MAC address of every other host in the network. When you configure a VLAN for conversational learning, the associated switches learn only those MAC addresses that are actively in conversation with the hosts connected to the edge interfaces of those switches. Not all switches have to learn all the MAC addresses, which greatly reduces the size of the MAC address tables.

You can optimize the MAC learning process. Conversational MAC learning is configured per VLAN. All FabricPath VLANs use conversational learning if a switch virtual interface (SVI) is not enabled on the switch. (See “Configuring FabricPath Forwarding,” for more information on CE and FabricPath VLANs.)

Conversational MAC address learning results in MAC address tables that are much smaller for FabricPath.

The MAC address learning modes are the traditional learning and conversational learning. The following VLAN modes have the following MAC learning modes:

- FabricPath VLANs—Conversational MAC learning is enabled unless you enable an SVI.

- CE VLANs—Only traditional learning.

With conversational MAC learning, the switch learns the source MAC address of an ingressing frame only if destination MAC address is already learnt and present in the MAC address table. It requires three-way handshake for the MAC address to be learnt. Unknown MAC address are forwarded, or flooded throughout the network.

Switching Using FabricPath

The FabricPath hierarchical MAC address scheme and conversational learning result in much smaller, conversational learning MAC tables within the FabricPath network. Within the FabricPath network, the software uses Layer 2 IS-IS to transmit topology information. The switches on the edge of the network, which use conversational MAC address learning, do not have to learn all the MAC addresses in the network (see Figure 3-2).

Figure 3-2 FabricPath Ports Use Only the FabricPath Header to Switch Frames

MAC mobility is expedited using the FabricPath hierarchical MAC addresses. That is, when you want to move a host and keep its same MAC address and VLANs, only the switches at the edge of the FabricPath network track this change. Within the FabricPath network, the FabricPath switches update their tables with only the outer MAC addresses (ODA and OSA) that have changed from the FabricPath encapsulation.

The switch on the edge of the FabricPath network encapsulates the original frame inside the FabricPath header. Once the frame reaches the last, or directly connected, FabricPath switch, the egress interface strips the FabricPath header and forwards the frame as a normal CE frame.

The ports at the edge of a FabricPath network can use conversational learning to learn only those MAC addresses that the specified edge port is having a bidirectional conversation with. Every edge switch does not have to learn the MAC address of every other edge switch; they only need to learn the MAC addresses of the speakers.

As the frame traverses the FabricPath network, all the switches work only with the FabricPath header. So, the FabricPath switches work only with the ODAs and OSAs; they do not need to learn the MAC address for any of the CE hosts or other switches attached to the network. The hierarchical MAC addressing provided by the FabricPath headers results in much smaller MAC tables in the FabricPath network. The switches in the FabricPath network only need to know how to forward frames to another FabricPath switch so they can forward traffic without requiring large MAC address lookup tables in the core of the network.

The switches in the FabricPath network decrement the TTL in the FabricPath header by 1 at each hop. When the TTL reaches 0, the packet is dropped. This process prevents the continuation of any loops that might form in the network.

Conflict Resolution and Optional FabricPath Tunings

After you enable FabricPath in all switches, the software automatically assigns a random switch ID to each FabricPath switch. The switch ID is a 12-bit value that is dynamically assigned to every switch in the FabricPath network, with each switch being a unique value in that FabricPath network. Optionally, you can configure a specific switch ID. If any of the switch IDs in the FabricPath network are not unique, the software provides automatic conflict resolution.

The software chooses a random value for the switch ID and sets this value as tentative during a period when the software waits to hear if this value is already in use. If this value is being used by another switch in the network, the software begins a conflict resolution process. The switch with the lower switch ID keeps the specified value and the other switch gets a new value for its switch ID.

If a single switch joins an existing FabricPath network, that switch changes its switch ID value rather than any of the existing switches in the network changing values. If the specified value is not in use by another switch or after the conflict is resolved, the switch ID is marked as confirmed.

Graceful migration provides that there is no traffic disruption if a conflict arises in the resources, such as two switches that temporarily have the same switch ID.

The FabricPath interfaces come up, but they are not operational until the switch checks for FabricPath conflicts and resolves those conflicts.

The FabricPath resources timers have default values, but you can also change the timer values. You can tune the switch to wait longer or shorter periods to check the conflicts.

Some of the important processes of the FabricPath network are as follows:

- Achieves a conflict-free allocation of switch IDs and FTags

- Provides graceful resource migration during network merges or partition healing

- Supports static switch IDs

- Provides fast convergence during link bringup or network merges

FabricPath uses the Layer 2 IS-IS protocol to transport the database to all switches in the network. The information is distributed among the FabricPath network switches using an IS-IS TLV. Each switch sends its version of the database that contains information about all the switches.

The software allocates the FabricPath values, guarantees their uniqueness within the FabricPath network, and deletes the value from the database once that resource is no longer needed.

When you manually configure static switch IDs for the switch, the automatic conflict resolution process does not work and the network does not come up. You will see syslog messages about the conflict and must manually change one or more switch IDs of the switches in the network.

Configuring FabricPath Switching

After you enable FabricPath switching on each switch, the encapsulation, default IS-IS, and learning occur automatically.

Note You must install the FabricPath feature set before you enable FabricPath on the switch. See the“Enabling the FabricPath Feature Set” section for complete information on installing and enabling the FabricPath feature set.

Instead of using the default values, you can optionally configure the following FabricPath values that the software uses for conflict resolution and other tunings:

- Switch ID for the switch that is used globally in the FabricPath network

- Timers

- Graceful merge of FabricPath networks

(Enabled by default. You might experience traffic drops if the feature is disabled.)

- A one-time forcing of the links to come up

This section includes the following topics:

- Installing the FabricPath Feature Set

- Uninstalling the FabricPath Feature Set

- Enabling the FabricPath Feature Set

- Disabling the FabricPath Feature Set

- Creating a FabricPath Topology

- Configuring the FabricPath Timers (Optional)

- Disabling FabricPath Graceful Merges (Optional)

- Forcing the Links to Come Up (Optional)

Installing the FabricPath Feature Set

You must install the FabricPath feature set on all switches on which you want to configure FabricPath.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have installed an Enhanced Layer 2 license on all switches on which you want to install FabricPath.

SUMMARY STEPS

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)#

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# install feature-set fabricpath

Installs the FabricPath feature set on the switch.

Step 3

switch(config)# exit

switch#

Exits configuration mode.

Step 4

switch# show feature-set

(Optional) Displays which feature sets are enabled on the switch.

Step 5

switch# copy running-config startup-config

(Optional) Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

This example shows how to install the FabricPath feature set on a switch:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# install feature-set fabricpath

switch(config)#

Uninstalling the FabricPath Feature Set

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have disabled the FabricPath featureset on all switches from which you want to uninstall FabricPath. See the “Disabling the FabricPath Feature Set” section for more information.

SUMMARY STEPS

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)#

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# no feature-set fabricpath

Uninstalls the FabricPath feature set from the switch.

Step 3

switch(config)# exit

switch#

Exits configuration mode.

Step 4

switch# show feature-set

(Optional) Displays which feature sets are enabled on the switch.

Step 5

switch# copy running-config startup-config

(Optional) Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

This example shows how to uninstall the FabricPath feature set from a switch:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# no install feature-set fabricpath

switch(config)#

Enabling the FabricPath Feature Set

You must enable the FabricPath feature set on all switches on which you want to run FabricPath. You cannot access the commands that you use to configure the feature until the feature set is installed and enabled.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have installed the FabricPath feature on the switch.

SUMMARY STEPS

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)#

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# feature-set fabricpath

Enables the FabricPath feature set on the switch.

Step 3

switch(config)# exit

switch#

Exits configuration mode.

Step 4

switch# show feature-set

(Optional) Displays which feature sets are enabled on the switch.

Step 5

switch# copy running-config startup-config

(Optional) Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

This example shows how to enable the FabricPath feature set on a switch:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# feature-set fabricpath

switch(config)#

Disabling the FabricPath Feature Set

When you disable the FabricPath feature set, the switch clears all FabricPath configurations from the switch and you can no longer see any of the CLI commands that you need to configure FabricPath.

Note If your FabricPath configuration is large (multiple megabytes in size), disabling the FabricPath feature set may take some time to complete.

SUMMARY STEPS

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)#

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# no feature-set fabricpath

Disables the FabricPath feature in the default VDC.

Step 3

switch(config)# exit

switch#

Exits configuration mode.

Step 4

switch# show feature-set

(Optional) Displays which feature sets are enabled on the switch.

Step 5

switch# copy running-config startup-config

(Optional) Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

This example shows how to disable the FabricPath feature:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# no feature-set fabricpath

switch(config)#

Creating a FabricPath Topology

You must install the FabricPath feature set on all switches on which you want to configure FabricPath.

SUMMARY STEPS

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)#

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# fabricpath topology 1

Specifies the FabricPath topology number.

Note Cisco Nexus Series only supports two topologies; the default or base topology (topology 0) and another optional topology (for example, topology 1).

Step 3

switch# show fabricpath

(Optional) Displays information about the FabricPath IS-IS toopology.

Step 4

switch# copy running-config startup-config

(Optional) Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

This example shows how to configure the FabricPath topology:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# fabricpath topology 1

switch(config)#

Changing a FabricPath Switch ID (Optional)

By default, FabricPath assigns a unique switch ID to a switch after you enable FabricPath on the switch. However, you can manually change the switch ID if you prefer.

Note You do not lose any traffic during switch ID changes.

SUMMARY STEPS

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)#

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# fabricpath switch-id 25

switch(config)#

Specifies the switch ID. The range is from 1 to 4094. There is no default value.

Step 3

switch(config)# exit

switch)#

Exits the configuration mode.

Step 4

switch# show fabricpath switch-id

(Optional) Displays information on the switch IDs.

Step 5

switch# copy running-config startup-config

(Optional) Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

This example shows how to manually change the FabricPath switch ID on a switch to 25:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# fabricpath switch-id 25

switch(config)#

Configuring the FabricPath Timers (Optional)

You can configure the following FabricPath timers:

- allocate-delay—Configures the delay for a new switch ID to be propagated throughout the network before that value becomes available and permanent.

- linkup-delay—Configures the link bringup delay to detect conflicts in the switch ID. If the software does find a conflict, the software takes some time to resolve the conflict and bring FabricPath to an operational state.

- transition-delay—Configures the delay for propagating a transitioned value in the network; during this period, all old and new switch ID values exist in the network. This situation occurs only while the link comes up and the software checks to see if the network has two identical switch IDs.

SUMMARY STEPS

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)#

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# fabricpath allocate-delay 600

switch(config)#

Specifies the FabricPath timer values. The range is from 1 to 1200 seconds for each of these timers. The default values are as follows:

- allocate-delay —10 seconds

- linkup-delay —10 seconds

As a best practice, use a linkup-delay timer value of at least 60 seconds before introducing or joining nodes that are statically configured (directly or indirectly) in the network. This setting avoids incorrect traffic forwarding that might result from conflicts between switch IDs.

- transition-delay —10 seconds

Step 3

switch(config)# exit

switch)#

Exits the configuration mode.

Step 4

switch# show fabricpath timers

(Optional) Displays information on the FabricPath timers.

Step 5

switch# copy running-config startup-config

(Optional) Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

This example shows how to configure the allocation-delay for a FabricPath timer to 600 seconds:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# fabricpath timer allocate-delay 600

switch(config)#

Disabling FabricPath Graceful Merges (Optional)

By default, graceful merges are enabled. If desired, you can disable this aspect of the FabricPath feature. However, if you disable graceful merges, you must do so on all FabricPath switches.

Note You may experience traffic drops if you disable this feature.

SUMMARY STEPS

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)#

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# fabricpath graceful-merge disable

switch(config)#

form of the command.

Step 3

switch(config)# exit

switch)#

Exits configuration mode.

Step 4

switch# show running-config

(Optional) Displays information on the configuration running on the switch.

Step 5

switch# copy running-config startup-config

(Optional) Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

This example shows how to disable graceful merges on a FabricPath switch:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# fabricpath graceful-merge disable

switch(config)#

Forcing the Links to Come Up (Optional)

Note We do NOT recommend that you use the fabricpath force link-bringup command to force the network links to connect.

As a one-time event, you can force the FabricPath network links to connect if they are not coming up because of switch ID conflicts or other problems in the network.

You must repeat this configuration on every switch in the FabricPath network.

SUMMARY STEPS

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

switch# fabricpath force link-bringup

switch#

Forces the FabricPath network links to come up as a one-time event.
command.

This example shows how to force the FabricPath network links to come up as a one-time event:

switch# fabricpath force link-bringup

switch#

Verifying the FabricPath Switching Configuration

To display FabricPath switching information, perform one of the following tasks:

Command

Purpose

Displays whether FabricPath is enabled or not.

Displays information on conflicts in the FabricPath network.

Displays information on the FabricPath network by switch ID.

Displays information on the FabricPath network by system ID.

Displays settings for the allocate-delay, linkup-delay, and transition-delay timers for the FabricPath network.

See “Configuring Advanced FabricPath Features,” for more commands that display the FabricPath switching functionality.

Monitoring FabricPath Switching Statistics

Use the following commands to display or clear the FabricPath switching statistics:

- load- interval {interval seconds {1 | 2 | 3 }}

- show interface counters [module module ]

- show interface counters detailed [all]

- show interface counters errors [module module ]

- clear counters [ interface ]

Configuration Example for FabricPath Switching

Step 1 Install FabricPath on all the switches.

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# install feature-set fabricpath

switch(config)#

Step 2 Enable FabricPath on all the switches.

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# feature-set fabricpath

switch(config)#

Step 3 (Optional) Manually configure a switch ID for the FabricPath switch.

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# fabricpath switch-id 25

switch(config)#

Step 4 Save the configuration.

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

switch(config)#

Default Settings for FabricPath Switching

lists the default settings for FabricPath switching parameters.

Table 3-1 Default FabricPath Parameters

Parameters

Default

FabricPath

Disabled

MAC address learning mode

- FabricPath VLANs—Only conversational learning

- CE VLANs—Traditional (nonconversational) learning

allocate-delay timer

10 seconds

linkup-delay timer

10 seconds

transition-delay timer

10 seconds

graceful merge

Enabled

Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Switching

lists the release history for these features.

Table 3-2 Feature History for FabricPath

Feature Name

Releases

Feature Information

FabricPath Switching

6.0(2)N1(1)

This feature was introduced.

Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

This chapter contains the following sections:

- Information About FabricPath Interfaces

- Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

- Verifying the FabricPath Interface Configuration

- Monitoring FabricPath Interface Statistics

- Configuration Example for FabricPath Interface

- Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

Note For information about prerequisites, guidelines and limitations, and licensing requirements for FabricPath, see Chapter1, “Overview”

Information About FabricPath Interfaces

This section includes the following sections:

- FabricPath Interfaces

- STP and the FabricPath Network

- vPC+

FabricPath Interfaces

After you enable FabricPath on the switches that you are using, you can configure an Ethernet interface or a port-channel interface as a FabricPath interface. If one member of the port channel is in FabricPath mode, all the other members will be in FabricPath mode. After you configure the interface as a FabricPath interface, it automatically becomes a trunk port, capable of carrying traffic for multiple VLANs. You can also configure all the ports on the switch as FabricPath interfaces simultaneously.

The following interface modes carry traffic for the following types of VLANs:

- Interfaces on the switch that are configured as FabricPath interfaces can carry traffic only for FabricPath VLANs.

- Interfaces on the switch that are not configured as FabricPath interfaces carry traffic for the following:

– FabricPath VLANs

– Classical Ethernet (CE) VLANS

See “Configuring FabricPath Forwarding,” for information about FabricPath and CE VLANs.

The FabricPath interfaces connect only to other FabricPath interfaces within the FabricPath network. These FabricPath ports operate on the information in the FabricPath headers and Layer 2 Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) only, and they do not run STP. These ports are aware only of FabricPath VLANs; they are unaware of any CE VLANs. By default, all VLANs are allowed on a trunk port, so the FabricPath interface carries traffic for all FabricPath VLANs.

STP and the FabricPath Network

The Layer 2 gateway switches, which are on the edge between the CE and the FabricPath network, must be configured as the root for all Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) domains that are connected to a FabricPath network.

The STP domains do not cross into the FabricPath network (see Figure 4-1).

Figure 4-1 STP Boundary Termination at FabricPath Network Border

priority. The software assigns the bridge ID for the Layer 2 gateway switches from a pool of reserved MAC addresses.

To ensure a loop-free topology for the CE/FabricPath hybrid network, the FabricPath network automatically displays as a single bridge to all connected CE switches.

Note You must set the STP priority on all FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches to a value low enough to ensure that they become root for any attached STP domains.

Other than configuring the STP priority on the FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches, you do not need to configure anything for the STP to work seamlessly with the FabricPath network. Only connected CE switches form a single STP domain. Those CE switches that are not interconnected form separate STP domains (see Figure 4-1).

All CE interfaces should be designated ports, which occurs automatically, or they are pruned from the active STP topology. If the software prunes any port, the software returns a syslog message. The software clears the port again only when that port is no longer receiving superior BPDUs.

The FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switch also propagates the Topology Change Notifications (TCNs) on all its CE interfaces.

The FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches terminate STP. The set of FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches that are connected by STP forms the STP domain. Because many FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches might be attached to a single FabricPath network, there might also be many separate STP domains (see Figure 4-1). The switches in the separate STP domains need to know the TCN information only for the domain to which they belong. You can configure a unique STP domain ID for each separate STP domain that connects to the same FabricPath network. The Layer 2 IS-IS messages carry the TCNs across the FabricPath network. Only those FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches in the same STP domain as the TCN message need to act and propagate the message to connected CE switches.

When a FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switch receives a TCN for the STP domain it is part of, it takes the following actions:

- Flushes all remote MAC addresses for that STP domain and the MAC addresses on the designated port.

- Propagates the TCN to the other switches in the specified STP domain.

The switches in the separate STP domains need to receive the TCN information and then flush all remote MAC addresses reachable by the STP domain that generated the TCN information.

vPC+

A virtual port channel+ (vPC+) domain allows a classical Ethernet (CE) vPC domain and a Cisco FabricPath cloud to interoperate. A vPC+ also provides a First Hop Routing Protocol (FHRP) active-active capability at the FabricPath to Layer 3 boundary.

Note vPC+ is an extension to virtual port channels (vPCs) that run CE only.. You cannot configure a vPC+ domain and a vPC domain on the same Cisco Nexus device.

A vPC+ domain enables a Cisco Nexus device that has FabricPath enabled to form a single vPC+, which is a unique virtual switch to the rest of the FabricPath network. You configure the same domain on each switch to enable the peers to identify each other and to form the vPC+. Each vPC+ has its own virtual switch ID.

Note We do not recommend that you enable the vPC peer switch feature when you are using a vPC+.

A vPC+ must still provide active-active Layer 2 paths for dual-homed CE switches or clouds, even though the FabricPath network allows only 1-to-1 mapping between the MAC address and the switch ID. vPC+ provides the solution by creating a unique virtual switch to the FabricPath network (see Figure 4-2).

Figure 4-2 Comparison of vPC and vPC+

The FabricPath switch ID for the virtual switch becomes the outer source MAC address (OSA) in the FabricPath encapsulation header. Each vPC+ domain must have its own virtual switch ID.

Layer 2 multipathing is achieved by emulating a single virtual switch. Packets forwarded from host A to host B are sent to the MAC address of the virtual switch as the transit source, and traffic from host B to host A is now load balanced.

The vPC+ downstream links are FabricPath edge interfaces that connect to the CE hosts.

The First Hop Routing Protocols (FHRPs), which include the Hot Standby Routing Protocol (HSRP) and the Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP), interoperate with a vPC+. You should dual-attach all Layer 3 switches to both vPC+ peer switches.

Note You must enable the Layer 3 connectivity from each vPC+ peer switch by configuring a VLAN network interface for the same VLAN from both switches.

Both the primary and secondary vPC+ switches forward traffic, but only the primary FHRP switch responds to ARP requests.

To simplify initial configuration verification and vPC+/HSRP troubleshooting, you can configure the primary vPC+ peer switch with the FHRP active router highest priority.

In addition, you can use the priority command in the if-hsrp configuration mode to configure failover thresholds for when a group state enabled on a vPC+ peer is in standby or in listen state. You can configure lower and upper thresholds to prevent the group state flap, if there is an interface flap (this feature is useful when there is more than one tracking object per group).

When the primary vPC+ peer switch fails over to the secondary vPC+ peer switch, the FHRP traffic continues to flow seamlessly.

You should configure a separate Layer 3 link for routing from the vPC+ peer switches, rather than using a VLAN network interface for this purpose.

Caution We do not recommend that you configure the burnt-in MAC address option (use-bia) for hot standby router protocol HSRP or manually configure virtual MAC addresses for any FHRP protocol in a vPC+ environment because these configurations can adversely affect the vPC+ load balancing.

The HSRP use-bia is not supported with a vPC+. When you are configuring custom MAC addresses, you must configure the same MAC address on both vPC+ peer switches.

You can configure a restore timer that delays the vPC+ coming back up until after the peer adjacency forms and the VLAN interfaces are back up. This feature allows you to avoid packet drops if the routing tables do not converge before the vPC+ is once again passing traffic.

command to configure this feature.

for more information on FHRPs and routing.

Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

You must configure FabricPath interfaces on all switches that are enabled for FabricPath.

Tip If you cannot see any of these commands, verify that you have installed and enabled the Fabricpath feature set.

This section includes the following topics:

- Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

- Configuring the STP Priority with Rapid PVST+

- Configuring the STP Priority with MST

- Configuring the STP Domain ID for STP Domains Connected to the Layer 2 Gateway Switch (Optional)

- Configuring a vPC+ Switch ID

Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

You must configure the interfaces for the FabricPath network as FabricPath interfaces.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have installed and enabled the FabricPath feature on all switches.

SUMMARY STEPS

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)#

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# interface ethernet 2/11-15

switch(config-if)#

Enters interface configuration mode and specifies the interfaces that you want to configure as FabricPath.

The slot can be from 1 to 3. The following list defines the slots available:

- Slot 1 includes all the fixed ports. A Fabric Extender only has one slot.

- Slot 2 includes the ports on the upper expansion module (if populated).

- Slot 3 includes the ports on the lower expansion module (if populated).

The port number within a particular slot can be from 1 to 128.

The port channel number assigned to the EtherChannel logical interface can be from 1 to 4096.
.

Step 3

switch(config-if)# fabricpath topology 1

switch(config-if)#

Specifies the FabricPath topology number. The topology number can be from 1 to 63.

Note Cisco Nexus Series only supports two topologies; the default or base topology (topology 0) and another optional topology (for example, topology 1).

Step 4

switch(config-if)# switchport mode fabricpath

switch(config-if)#

Specifies interfaces as FabricPath ports.
keyword returns the interface to the default CE access interface. The FabricPath ports carry traffic only for those VLANs that are configured as FabricPath VLANs.

Step 5

switch(config-if)# system default switchport fabricpath

switch(config-if)#

(Optional) Converts all CE interfaces on the switch to FabricPath interfaces simultaneously.

Step 6

switch(config-if)# exit

switch(config)#

Exits interface configuration mode.

Step 7

switch(config)# show interface

(Optional) Displays information on all interfaces.

Step 8

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

(Optional) Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

This example shows how to configure specified interfaces as FabricPath interfaces:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# interface ethernet 2/11-15

switch(config-if)# switchport mode fabricpath

switch(config-if)#

Configuring the STP Priority with Rapid PVST+

All Layer 2 gateway switches must have the same bridge priority when they are in the same STP domain. Make sure that the STP priority configured for the Layer 2 gateway switches on a FabricPath network is the lowest value in the Layer 2 network. Additionally, the priorities must match.

We recommend that you configure the STP priority on all FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches to 8192.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have installed and enabled the FabricPath feature on all switches.

SUMMARY STEPS

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)#

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

Example:

switch(config)# spanning-tree pseudo-information

switch(config-pseudo)#

Enters spanning tree pseudo-information configuration mode.

Step 3

switch(config-pseudo)# spanning-tree vlan 11-20 root priority 8192

You must configure all the Rapid PVST+ VLANs on all the FabricPath Layer 2 gateway interfaces to a lower STP priority. We recommend that you configure the priority to be 8192.

Step 4

switch(config-pseudo)# exit

switch(config)#

Exits the spanning-tree pseudo-information configuration mode.

Step 5

switch(config)# show spanning-tree summary

(Optional) Displays STP information.

Step 6

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

(Optional) Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

This example shows how to configure the Rapid PVST+ VLANs on the FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches to have an STP priority of 8192:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config) spanning-tree pseudo-information

switch(config-pseudo)# spanning-tree vlan 11-20 root priority 8192

switch(config)#

for more information on this command.

Configuring the STP Priority with MST

All Layer 2 gateway switches must have the same bridge priority when they are in the same STP domain. Make sure that the STP priority configured for the Layer 2 gateway switches on a FabricPath network is the lowest value in the Layer 2 network. Additionally, the priorities must match.

We recommend that you configure the STP priority for all Multiple Spanning-Tree (MST) instances on all FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches to 8192.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have installed and enabled the FabricPath feature on all switches.

SUMMARY STEPS

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)#

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

Example:

switch(config)# spanning-tree pseudo-information

switch(config-pseudo)#

Enters spanning tree pseudo-information configuration mode.

Step 3

switch(config-pseudo)# spanning-tree mst 1-5 priority 8192

Configures all the MST VLANs on all the FabricPath Layer 2 gateway interfaces to a lower STP priority. We recommend that you configure the priority to be 8192.

Step 4

switch(config-pseudo)# exit

switch(config)#

Exits spanning tree pseudo-information configuration mode.

Step 5

switch(config)# show spanning-tree summary

(Optional) Displays information on STP.

Step 6

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

(Optional) Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

This example shows how to configure the MST instances on the FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches to have an STP priority of 8192:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# spanning-tree pseudo-information

switch(config-pseudo)#

for more information on this command.

Configuring the STP Domain ID for STP Domains Connected to the Layer 2 Gateway Switch (Optional)

Because there can be many FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches attached to a single FabricPath network, there are also many separate STP domains that are each connected to a Layer 2 gateway switch. You can configure a unique STP domain ID in the FabricPath network to propagate TCNs across all the STP domains that are connected to the FabricPath network. This configuration ensures that all MAC addresses are flushed when the software receives a TCN.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have installed and enabled the FabricPath feature on all switches.

SUMMARY STEPS

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)#

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# spanning-tree domain 5

switch(config)#

Assigns an STP domain ID to the different STP domains attached to FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches that are connected to a single FabricPath network. The range is from 1 to 1023.

Step 3

switch(config)# exit

switch#

Exits configuration mode.

Step 4

switch# show spanning-tree summary

(Optional) Displays STP information.

Step 5

switch# copy running-config startup-config

(Optional) Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

This example shows how to configure the STP domain ID attached to the FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switch:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# spanning-tree domain 5

switch(config)# exit

switch

Configuring a vPC+ Switch ID

You can configure a vPC+ switch ID.

Note The vPC+ virtual SID cannot be the same as the FabricPath SID for the switch.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have enabled the FabricPath feature.

SUMMARY STEPS

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

Creates a vPC+ domain on the switch, and enters the vPC-domain configuration mode for configuration purposes.

Step 3

Assigns a static vPC+ ID to the vPC+ peer. The range is from 1 to 4094. This static ID is the virtual switch ID for FabricPath encapsulation.

Note You must assign the same vPC+ switch ID to each of the two vPC+ peer switches before they can form an adjacency.

This example shows how to configure a vPC+ switch ID on each vPC+ peer switch:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# vPC domain 1

switch(config-vPC-domain)# fabricpath switch-id 1

for complete information on configuring vPCs.

Verifying the FabricPath Interface Configuration

To display FabricPath interfaces information, perform one of the following tasks:

Command

Purpose

Displays whether FabricPath is enabled on the switch or not.

Displays information on all interfaces.

Displays information, including access and trunk interface, for all the Layer 2 interfaces.

Displays interface configuration information.
.

Displays information on the capabilities of the interfaces.

Displays information on the status of the interfaces.

Displays STP information.

Displays STP TCN information.

Displays brief information on the vPC+ domains.

]} ]}

Displays the status of those parameters that must be consistent across all vPC+ domain interfaces.

Displays information on the peer-keepalive messages.

Displays the peer status, the role of the local switch, the vPC+ domain’s MAC address and system priority, and the MAC address and priority for the local vPC+ domain’s switch.

]}

Displays statistics on the vPC+ domains.

[all]

Displays running configuration information for vPCs and vPC+ domains.

Monitoring FabricPath Interface Statistics

Use the following commands to display or clear FabricPath interface statistics:

- show interface counters [ module module]

- show interface counters detailed [ all ]

- show interface counters errors [ module module]

- clear counters [ interface {[ all | ethernet mod/slot | port-channel channel-number | loopback virtual-interface-num | mgmt mgmt-interface-num | vlan vlan-id ]} ]

Configuration Example for FabricPath Interface

To configure FabricPath interfaces, perform the following tasks on each switch:

- Enable FabricPath on each switch.

- Configure the interfaces that you want to designate as FabricPath interfaces.

- Set the STP priority switch to 8192 on all FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches.

- (Optional) Set the STP domain ID for each of the separate STP domains that are connected to the FabricPath network.

- (Optional) Configure a vPC+ switch ID.

To configure FabricPath interfaces, follow these steps:

Step 1 (Optional) Enable FabricPath on each switch.

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# feature-set fabricpath

switch(config-lldp)# exit

switch(config)#

Step 2 After you enable FabricPath on the switch, configure the specified interface as FabricPath interfaces.

switch(config)# interface ethernet 1/2

switch(config-if)# switchport mode fabricpath

switch(config-if)# exit

switch(config)#

Step 3 Configure the STP priority for all Rapid PVST+ VLANs as 8192.

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# spanning-tree pseudo-information

switch(config-pseudo)# spanning-tree vlan 11-20 priority 8192

switch(config-pseudo)#

Step 4 Configure the STP priority for all MST instances as 8192.

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# spanning-tree pseudo-information

switch(config-pseudo)# spanning-tree mst 1-5 priority 8192

switch(config-pseudo)#

Step 5 (Optional) Configure the STP domain ID on each FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switch attached to the FabricPath network.

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# spanning-tree domain 5

switch(config)

Step 6 (Optional) Configure the vPC+ switch ID.

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# vPC domain 5

switch(config-vPC-domain)# fabricpath switch-id 100

switch(config-vPC-domain)# exit

switch(config)

If you are configuring the vPC+ with no existing vPC+, follow these steps:

.

.

.

If you are changing an existing vPC configuration to a vPC+, follow these steps:

.

.

.

.

Step 7 Save the configuration.

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

switch(config)#

on all the peer-link interfaces:

- There is no switchport mode FabricPath configuration on the peer-link interfaces, but the FabricPath switch ID is configured in the vPC domain.

- The switchport mode fabricpath configuration is on the peer-link interfaces, but there is no FabricPath switch ID in the vPC domain.

Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

lists the release history for this feature.

Table 4-1 Feature History for FabricPath

Feature Name

Releases

Feature Information

FabricPath Interfaces

6.0(2)N1(1)

This feature was introduced.

Configuring FabricPath Forwarding

This chapter contains the following sections:

- Information About FabricPath Forwarding

- Configuring FabricPath Forwarding

- Verifying the FabricPath Configuration

- Configuration Example for FabricPath Forwarding

- Default Settings for Fabric Path Forwarding

- Feature History for Configuring FabricPath

Note For information about prerequisites, guidelines and limitations, and licensing requirements for FabricPath, see Chapter1, “Overview”

Information About FabricPath Forwarding

This section includes the following sections:

- FabricPath Forwarding Overview

- FabricPath VLANs

- Forwarding Known Unicast Packets Using ECMP

- Forwarding Trees for Broadcast, Unknown Unicast, and Multicast Packets

FabricPath Forwarding Overview

FabricPath provides a multipath Layer 2 domain that does not require STP for a loop-free environment. Using the Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) protocol, the switch provides multiple paths for Layer 2 packets.

Each FabricPath interface can learn multiple parallel paths to the other nodes in the FabricPath network. Because you do not need to use STP, all the paths are available for forwarding traffic. The switch assigns the optimal path per flow.

The flow for known unicast packets is determined by the hierarchical FabricPath outer destination address (ODA) and the outer source address (OSA) value (see “Configuring FabricPath Switching,” for more information on FabricPath hierarchical encapsulation). The software uses IS-IS equal cost multipath (ECMP) to choose the forwarding path for these flows.

For multidestination traffic (unknown unicast, broadcast, and multicast), the software creates two paths or trees. The broadcast and unknown unicast traffic flows through one of these trees. The software distributes the multicast traffic between the two trees based on a hash. The software load balances multicast traffic in the FabricPath network (see the “Forwarding Trees for Broadcast, Unknown Unicast, and Multicast Packets” section for more information).

FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS defines the trees. The highest switch ID is chosen for the root and the first tree is built with that switch as the root. (If needed, you can configure the switch ID to specify which switch has the highest switch ID and is, therefore, the root for the first tree.) Then, the root switch for the first tree elects the root of the second tree, again based on switch ID, and the second tree flows from that root switch. All of this information is advertised to the FabricPath network using Layer 2 IS-IS, so all the switches in the network have the same information.

The software assigns the path at ingress and encodes that path in the FTag portion of the FabricPath header. The software assigns one FTag per tree. Once decided and tagged, the packet uses the same tree throughout the entire FabricPath network. All the nodes in the FabricPath network forward traffic based on this same information because all nodes have the same information using Layer 2 IS-IS.

The FabricPath frame has a Reverse Path Forwarding (RPF) mechanism for multidestination packets, which verifies that the packet is arriving on an interface that leads to the source switch. RPF drops the packet if it is received from an interface that is not part of the tree.

The FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS protocol floods the link-state information across the FabricPath network. Each switch sends hello packets on each FabricPath link and discovers its neighbors. When a neighbor is discovered, the software creates an IS-IS adjacency. Each switch also sends advertisements and updates to the link-state database through all the existing adjacencies.

FabricPath VLANs

To interact with the Classical Ethernet (CE) network, you set VLANs to either CE or FabricPath mode. The CE VLANs carry traffic from the CE hosts to the FabricPath interfaces, and the FabricPath VLANs carry traffic throughout the FabricPath topology. Only the active FabricPath VLANs configured on a switch are advertised as part of the topology in the Layer 2 Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) messages.

The software automatically assigns all FabricPath interfaces and FabricPath VLANs to the FabricPath topology. No added configuration is required. All the FabricPath VLANs and interfaces belong to that topology.

Figure 5-1 shows an example of the FabricPath topology with Classical Ethernet switches and FabricPath/CE VLANs.

Figure 5-1 Example FabricPath Topology and Classical Ethernet Hosts

The default VLAN mode on the switch is the CE VLAN mode. The FabricPath interfaces carry traffic only on the FabricPath VLANs; the CE VLANs do not come up on these interfaces.

You must exit the VLAN configuration mode for the VLAN mode change to take effect.

Note After you configure the VLANs and interfaces, no further configuration is required. The software automatically creates and assigns the paths, and provides load balancing.

Forwarding Known Unicast Packets Using ECMP

The switch forwards unicast traffic per flow using the ODA field in the FabricPath header for known unicast traffic. The FabricPath-enabled switch assigns the switch ID and the ODA for all encapsulated traffic at the ingress switch. (See “Configuring FabricPath Switching,” for more information on FabricPath encapsulation.)

Once the switch assigns the ODA, the FabricPath switch uses the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS ECMP to forward known unicast traffic. FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS has up to 16 active Layer 2 paths for all known unicast packets. The Layer 2 IS-IS messages used by FabricPath are separate and distinct from the Layer 3 IS-IS messages used by the routing protocols and the Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV).

The switches within the FabricPath network exchange topology information using IS-IS adjacencies and forward the traffic along those paths for known unicast traffic flows. Each node in the FabricPath network looks at the FabricPath header for each traffic flow and makes an ECMP forwarding choice based on the available next hops.

Forwarding Trees for Broadcast, Unknown Unicast, and Multicast Packets

FabricPath has a loop-free broadcast functionality that carries broadcast, unknown unicast, and multicast packets, or multidestination traffic. For each broadcast, unknown unicast, and multicast traffic flow, the software chooses the forwarding path from among two software-created paths or trees. The software creates two trees to forward multidestination traffic.

For the FabricPath network, the software creates a broadcast tree that carries broadcast traffic, unknown unicast traffic through the FabricPath network. The software also creates another tree; all the multicast traffic flows are load balanced across these two trees for each flow. Each tree is identified in the FabricPath network by a unique value or FTag. Within the FabricPath network, the software elects a root node that becomes root for the broadcast tree. That node also identifies another bridge to become root for the second multidestination tree, which load balances the multicast traffic.

The FTag is assigned by the ingress switch, along with the ODA and OSA, as part of the FabricPath encapsulation. The FTag determines which loop-free tree the multidestination traffic flow follows through the FabricPath network. The software assigns the trees per flow.

Figure 5-2 shows these trees.

Figure 5-2 Trees for Forwarding Multidestination FabricPath Flows for a Given Flow

Each node in the FabricPath network shares the same view of the forwarding trees for a given FTag.

Forwarding Multicast Packets

Using FabricPath, you can configure Layer 2 multicast multipathing. FabricPath uses a hash-based system to assign each of the multicast flows to one of the two designated trees to ensure that the multicast traffic is load balanced.

The software uses FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS and Classical Ethernet IGMP snooping to learn the multicast group information at the boundaries of the FabricPath/Classical Ethernet network. The software carries that information through the FabricPath network using a new Layer 2 IS-IS LSP called Group Membership LSP (GM-LSP). GM-LSPs carry multicast group/source membership information. This information is carried across the FabricPath network. All FabricPath switches maintain multicast routing information and forward multicast data packets only to switches that have interested receivers. Each node in the FabricPath topology shares the same view and contains the same information.

The multicast traffic uses VLAN information to allocate traffic to one or the other of the two multicast trees. This software constrains multicast based on the group IP address

IGMP snooping and FabricPath IS-IS, using GM-LSP, work together to build per-VLAN multicast group-based trees across the FabricPath network. IGMP snooping on edge switches learns of receivers and routers and builds an edge-port multicast state. FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS propagates this group information through the FabricPath network using GM-LSPs and build the state in the FabricPath network. These GM-LSPs originate from the switches at the edge of the FabricPath network that have multicast groups.

For Layer 2 multicast traffic, you need not run PIM at all when using FabricPath.

For Layer 3 multicast packets, the software sets the ODA to a special multicast group that identifies all IP routers for that group and forwards the traffic along the tree for that group.

Configuring FabricPath Forwarding

Tip If you cannot see any of these commands, verify that you have installed and enabled the FabricPath feature set on the switch.

You must make these configurations on every switch in the FabricPath network.

Only those VLANs that are configured as FabricPath VLANs can belong to the FabricPath topology. By default, all FabricPath VLANs are assigned to the base topology (Topology 0). A FabricPath VLAN can only be assigned to a single topology.

FabricPath has two topologies, you need to set the VLAN mode for those VLANs that you want to traverse the FabricPath network to FabricPath VLAN.

After you configure the VLAN modes and interfaces, the software automatically creates the required paths. You do not need to perform any additional configuration for FabricPath.

This section includes the following topics:

- Setting the VLAN Mode to FabricPath or CE

- Mapping FabricPath VLANs to a Topology

Setting the VLAN Mode to FabricPath or CE

The default VLAN mode is CE.

You designate those VLANs that you want to carry FabricPath traffic on the network by configuring them as FabricPath VLANs.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have created the VLANs.

SUMMARY STEPS

]

]

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)#

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# vlan 1-10

switch(config-vlan)#

Enters the VLAN configuration mode and identifies those VLANs that you want to carry FabricPath traffic.

The VLAN range is from 1 to 4094.

Note You cannot modify VLAN 1 or any of the internally allocated VLANs.

Step 3

switch(config-vlan)# mode fabricpath

switch(config-vlan)#

Configures the VLANs as FabricPath VLANs. The default VLAN mode is CE.

Note A VLAN must be either a CE or an FabricPath VLAN on the FabricPath switch.

Step 4

switch(config-vlan)# exit

switch(config)#

Exits the VLAN configuration mode.

Note As with all VLANs, you must exit the VLAN configuration mode for the VLAN mode (CE or FabricPath) to take effect.

Step 5

switch# show fabricpath topology vlans

(Optional) Displays information about all active VLANs in the FabricPath topology.

Step 6

switch# copy running-config startup-config

(Optional) Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

This example shows how to specify VLANs as FabricPath VLANs:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# vlan 1-10

switch(config-vlan)# mode fabricpath

switch(config-vlan)# exit

switch(config)# exit

Mapping FabricPath VLANs to a Topology

The default VLAN mode is CE.

You designate those VLANs that you want to carry FabricPath traffic on the network by configuring them as FabricPath VLANs. By default, all FabricPath VLANs belong to default topology 0. Also FabricPath VLANs can be a member of only one topology.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have created the VLANs.

SUMMARY STEPS

]

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)#

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

switch(config)# fabricpath topology 1

switch(config-fp-toplology)#

Specifies the FabricPath topology number. The topology number can be from 1 to 63.

Note Cisco Nexus 6000 Series switches support two Fabricpath topologies, the default or base topology (topology 0), and another optional topology (for example, topology 1).

Step 3

switch(config-fp-toplolgy)# member vlan 501-600

switch(config-vlan)#

Specifies the VLANs to assign to FabricPath topology.

Step 4

switch# show fabricpath topology vlans

(Optional) Displays information about all active VLANs in the FabricPath topology.

Step 5

switch# copy running-config startup-config

(Optional) Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

This example shows how to map a VLAN to a FabricPath topology:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# fabricpath topology 1

switch(config-fp-topology)# member vlan 501-600

switch(config-fp-topology)# exit

Configuring FabricPath Unicast Load Balancing (Optional)

The FabricPath network automatically balances unicast traffic when multiple paths are available. However, you can configure specific load balancing for the unicast traffic. The default is to use all options.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have enabled the FabricPath feature set.

SUMMARY STEPS

}

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)#

Enter global configuration mode.

Step 2

}

switch(config)# fabricpath load-balance unicast include-vlan

switch(config-vlan)#

Configures load balancing for FabricPath unicast traffic along the following parameters:

- include-vlan—Specifies that the load-balancing parameters use VLAN.

- layer2—Specifies that the load-balancing parameters only include Layer 2 parameters.

- layer3—Specifies that the load-balancing parameters only include Layer3 parameters.

- layer4—Specifies that the load-balancing parameters only include Layer 4 parameters.

- mixed—Specifies that the load-balancing parameters include a mix of Layer 3 and Layer 4 parameters. This is the default configuration.

form of this command.

Step 3

switch(config)# exit

switch(config)#

Exit configuration mode.

Step 4

switch# copy running-config startup-config

(Optional) Copy the running configuration to the startup configuration.

This example shows how to configure FabricPath unicast load balancing with source parameters:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# fabricpath load-balance unicast include-vlan

switch(config)#

Verifying the FabricPath Configuration

To display FabricPath forwarding information, perform one of the following tasks:

Tip For more information about these commands and the options available, see the command reference for your platform.

Command

Purpose

Displays whether FabricPath is enabled or not.

Displays unicast routes.

]}

Displays multicast routes.

Displays information on the FabricPath topology.

Displays information on all FabricPath topology interfaces.

Displays information on all FabricPath topology VLANs.

Displays information on all FabricPath topology FTags.

Displays the running configuration for FabricPath.

Displays FabricPath unicast load-balancing information.

- ftag-ID —FTag for which you want to view load-balancing. The FTag value is from 0 to 4,294,967,295.

- switch-ID —The ID of the switch for which you want to view load-balancing. The switch ID is from 0 to 4,294,967,295.

Displays FabricPath multicast load-balancing information. The output from this command is valid for multicast traffic ingressing on non-vPC ports. For multicast traffic ingressing on vPC ports, traffic picks the active Ftag only for that switch.

- vlan-id —A VLAN ID in a range between 1 and 4094.

- macg — The multicast group MAC address.

Displays information on all FabricPath and CE VLANs.

Configuration Example for FabricPath Forwarding

To configure the basic FabricPath network, you must accomplish the following tasks on each switch after you have configured the FabricPath interfaces:

- Enable the FabricPath feature set on each switch.

- Configure the FabricPath interfaces. (See “Configuring FabricPath Interfaces,” for information on configuring FabricPath interfaces.)

- Configure the FabricPath VLANs. The default is CE VLANs.

- Enter the show running-config fabricpath command to make sure that your FabricPath configuration is correct.

To configure the FabricPath topology, follow these steps:

Step 1 Enable the FabricPath feature set.

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# feature-set fabricpath

switch(config)#

Step 2 Set the VLAN modes for those VLANs that you want in the FabricPath topology to FabricPath.

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)# vlan 11-20

switch(config-vlan)# mode fabricpath

switch(config-vlan)# exit

switch(config)

Step 3 Display the configuration to ensure that you have the correct configuration.

switch(config)# show running-config fabricpath

switch(config)#

Step 4 Save the configuration.

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

switch(config)#

Default Settings for Fabric Path Forwarding

lists the default settings for the FabricPath forwarding parameters

Table 5-1 Default FabricPath Parameters

Parameters

Default

FabricPath Topology

0

VLAN mode

FabricPath

Feature History for Configuring FabricPath

lists the release history for this feature.

Table 5-2 Feature History for FabricPath

Feature Name

Releases

Feature Information

FabricPath Forwarding

6.0(2)N1(1)

This feature was introduced

Configuring Advanced FabricPath Features

This chapter contains the following sections:

- Information About Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Configurations

- Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters

- Verifying the FabricPath Advanced Configurations

- Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Advanced Features

Note For information about prerequisites, guidelines and limitations, and licensing requirements for FabricPath, see Chapter1, “Overview”

Information About Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Configurations

We recommend that you run the FabricPath network using the default Layer 2 IS-IS configurations.

However, you can change many of the IS-IS settings as follows:

- Globally on the entire switch and on each switch in the FabricPath network

- On specified FabricPath switches within the FabricPath network

If you change any of the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS settings, ensure that you make the same changes for those global parameters on every switch in the FabricPath network and for those parameters on every applicable FabricPath switch in the network.

Layer 2 IS-IS is based on Layer 3 IS-IS with enhancements to run on Layer 2. The commands for Layer 2 IS-IS and Layer 3 IS-IS are not the same. Layer 2 IS-IS is the control plane in FabricPath and a single protocol controls all unicast and multicast traffic. From a forwarding standpoint, FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS forwards traffic for unicast, unknown unicast, broadcast, and multicast frames. Using Layer 2 IS-IS, the software maintains loop-free paths throughout the FabricPath network. (see “Configuring FabricPath Switching,” for information on default FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS behavior and “Configuring FabricPath Forwarding,” for information on FabricPath forwarding.)

You can use these advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS configurations to fine-tune the operation of the FabricPath network.

Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters

Although the Layer 2 IS-IS protocol works automatically once you enable FabricPath, you can optionally configure parameters. Some FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS parameters you configure globally and some you configure per switch. This section includes the following topics:

- Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters Globally

- Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters per Interface

- Clearing Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Counters

Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters Globally

Although the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS protocol works automatically once you enable FabricPath, you can optionally configure the global parameters.

Note Graceful restart of IS-IS is not supported. While the graceful-restart command exists in the CLI, it is not supported at this time.

SUMMARY STEPS

}

]

}

]

17. exit

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

:

switch# configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

:

switch(config)# fabricpath domain default

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

Enters the global FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS configuration mode.

Step 3

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# authentication-check

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

form of this command.

Note The default is ON.

Step 4

authentication key-chain trees

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

form of this command.

The maximum size for the name of an authentication keychain is 63 alphanumeric characters.

An example of key chain creation is as follows:

key chain trees

key 0

key-string cisco01

accept-lifetime 07:00:00 Sep 20 2011 infinite

send-lifetime 07:00:00 Sep 20 2011 infinite

for information about key chains.

Step 5

authentication-type md5

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

form of this command.

You can set one of the following authentication types:

- cleartext —Specifies the cleartext authentication method.

- md5 —Specifies the Message Digest (MD5) authentication.

Step 6

adjacency-changes

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

form of this command. The default is OFF.

Step 7

]

:

interval 100

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

form of this command. The optional parameters are as follows:

- max-wait —The initial wait between the trigger and LSP generation. The range is from 50 to 120000 milliseconds, and the default value is 8000 milliseconds.

- lsp-initial-wait —The initial wait between the trigger and LSP generation. The range is from 50 to 120000 milliseconds, and the default value is 50 milliseconds.

- lsp-second-wait —The second wait used for LSP throttle during backoff. The range is from 50 to 120000 milliseconds, and the default value is 50 milliseconds.

Step 8

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# lsp-mtu 2000

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

form of this command. The range is from 128 to 4352, and the default value is 1200.

Step 9

lifetime 1000

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

form of this command. The range is from 128 to 4352, and the default value is 1492.

Step 10

paths 4

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

form of this command. The range is from 1 to 16, and the default value is 16.

Step 11

bandwidth 200000

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

form of this command. The optional parameters are as follows:

- ref-mbps —The range is from 1 to 4000000, and the default value is 4000000.

- ref-gbps —The range is from 1 to 4000, and the default value is 400.

Step 12

]

:

interval 10000

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

form of this command. The optional parameters are as follows:

- spf-max-wait —The maximum wait between the trigger and shortest path first (SPF) computation. The range is from 50 to 120000 milliseconds, and the default value is 8000 milliseconds.

- spf-initial-wait —The initial wait between the trigger and SPF computation. The range is from 50 to 120000 milliseconds, and the default value is 50 milliseconds.

- spf-second-wait —The second wait used for SPF computation during backoff. The range is from 50 to 120000 milliseconds, and the default value is 50 milliseconds.

Step 13

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# topology 1

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

(Optional) Configures the topology number. The topology number can be from 1 to 63.

Step 14

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# hostname dynamic

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

form of this command.

Step 15

priority 100

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

form of this command. The range is from 1 to 255, and the default value is 64.

Step 16

switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# exit

switch(config)#

Exits global FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS configuration mode.

Step 17

switch(config)# exit

switch#

Exits global configuration mode.

Step 18

switch# show running-config

switch#

(Optional) Displays the running configuration.

Step 19

switch# copy running-config startup-config

(Optional) Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

for more information on IS-IS commands.

Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters per Interface

Although the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS protocol works automatically once you enable FabricPath, you can optionally configure the interface parameters.

SUMMARY STEPS

}

}

14. exit

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

:

switch# configure terminal

switch(config)#

Enters configuration mode.

Step 2

:

switch(config)# interface ethernet 5/2

switch(config-if)#

Enters interface configuration mode and specifies the interfaces that you want to configure.

The slot can be from 1 to 3. The following list defines the slots available:

- Slot 1 includes all the fixed ports. A Fabric Extender only has one slot.

- Slot 2 includes the ports on the upper expansion module (if populated).

- Slot 3 includes the ports on the lower expansion module (if populated).

The port number within a particular slot can be from 1 to 128.

The port channel number assigned to the EtherChannel logical interface can be from 1 to 4096.

Step 3

:

switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis authentication-check

switch(config-if)#

form of the command.

Note Level specification is not required.

Step 4

:

switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis authentication key-chain trees

switch(config-if)#

form of the command.

The maximum size for the name of an authentication keychain is 63 alphanumeric characters.

Note Level specification is not required.
An example of key chain creation is as follows:

key chain trees

key 0

key-string cisco01

accept-lifetime 07:00:00 Sep 20 2011 infinite

send-lifetime 07:00:00 Sep 20 2011 infinite

, for information about key chains.

Step 5

:

switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis authentication-type md5

switch(config-if)#

form of the command.

You can set one of the following authentication types:

- cleartext —Specifies the cleartext authentication method.

- md5 —Specifies the Message Digest (MD5) authentication.

Note Level specification is not required.

Step 6

:

switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis csnp-interval 60

switch(config-if)#

form of this command.

The range is from 1 to 65535, and the default value is 10.

Step 7

:

switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis hello-interval 20

switch(config-if)#

form of this command. The range is from 1 to 65535, and the default value is 10.

Note Level specification is not required.

Step 8

:

switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis hello-multiplier 20

switch(config-if)#

form of this command. The range is from 3 to 1000. The default is 3.

Note Level specification is not required.

Step 9

:

switch(config-if)# fabricpath hello-padding

switch(config-if)#

form of the command.
form of this command, the padding is always on.

Step 10

switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis lsp-interval 100

switch(config-if)#

form of this command. The range is from 10 to 65535. The default is 33.

Step 11

switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis metric 100

switch(config-if)#

form of this command. The default values are as follows:

- 1 GB—400

- 10 GB—40

Step 12

switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis retransmit-interval 100

switch(config-if)#

form of this command. The range is from 1 to 65535. The default is 5.

Step 13

switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis retransmit-throttle-interval 100

switch(config-if)#

form of this command. The range is from 20 to 65535. The default is 66.

Step 14

switch(config-if)# exit

switch(config)#

Exits interface configuration mode.

Step 15

switch(config)# show running-config

switch(config)#

(Optional) Displays the running configuration.

Step 16

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

switch(config)#

(Optional) Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

For more information about IS-IS commands, see the Unicast Routing configuration guide and command reference for your platform.

Clearing Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Counters

You can clear the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS counters.

SUMMARY STEPS

DETAILED STEPS

Command

Purpose

Step 1

}]

:

switch# clear fabricpath isis adjacency

switch#

(Optional) Clears the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS adjacency state.

- * —Specifies the IS-IS adjacencies on all interfaces.

- ethernet —Specifies the Ethernet interface.

- mod/slot —The slot can be from 1 to 6. The port number within a particular slot can be from 1 to 96.

- port-channel —Specifies the port channel interface.

- channel-number —Port channel number. The range is from 1 to 4096.

- system-id —Specifies the system ID.

- sid —System ID in the form of XXXX.XXXX.XXXX.

variable, you affect forwarding which might interrupt traffic; this command tears down all adjacencies.

Step 2

:

switch# clear fabricpath isis statistics *

switch#

(Optional) Clears all FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS protocol statistics.

Step 3

] }

:

switch# clear fabricpath traffic

switch#

(Optional) Clears FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS traffic information.

- * —Specifies the IS-IS adjacencies on all interfaces.

- ethernet —Specifies the Ethernet interface.

- mod/slot —The slot can be from 1 to 3. The port number within a particular slot can be from 1 to 128.

- sub-int— Specifies that sub-interface number.

- port-channel —Specifies the port channel interface.

- channel-number —Port channel number. The range is from 1 to 4096.

Verifying the FabricPath Advanced Configurations

To display FabricPath information for advanced configurations perform one of the following tasks:

Command

Purpose

Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS adjacency database.

Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS database.

Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS dynamic hostname exchange information.

Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS related interface information.

Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS routing table for unicast routes.

Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS SPF calculation statistics.

Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS event counters.

Displays the FTag values associated with the trees in the topology.

Displays the congruent VLAN-set to topology mapping.

Displays the nodes in the trees, reachability to these nodes through a specific interface, and the configured metric.

Displays the switch IDs and reachability information for the topology.

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Displays the locally learned multicast routes.

Displays the multicast routes learned from neighbors.

Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS process level information.

Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS retransmit-routing-message information.

Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS send-routing-message information.

Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS topology database.

Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS traffic information.

Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS send-sequence-number information.

Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Advanced Features

lists the release history for these features.

Table 6-1 Feature History for FabricPath

Feature Name

Releases

Feature Information

Advanced FabricPath features

6.0(2)N1(1)

These features were introduced with support for IS-IS.

Configuration Limits for Cisco NX-OS FabricPath

For the maximum configuration limits for the Cisco NX-OS FabricPath features supported by your platform, see the Configuration Limits document document at this URL:

Cisco Nexus 6000 Series NX-OS FabricPath Configuration Guide, Release 6.x

February 4, 2013

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Cisco Nexus 6000 Series NX-OS FabricPath Configuration Guide

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