Configuring Distributed Virtual Switches in Cisco UCS

This chapter includes the following sections:

Distributed Virtual Switches

Each VMware ESX host has its own software-based virtual switch (vSwitch) in its hypervisor that performs the switching operations between its virtual machines (VMs). The Cisco UCS distributed virtual switch (DVS) is a software-based virtual switch that runs alongside the vSwitch in the ESX hypervisor, and can be distributed across multiple ESX hosts. Unlike vSwitch, which uses its own local port configuration, a DVS associated with multiple ESX hosts uses the same port configuration across all ESX hosts.

After associating an ESX host to a DVS, you can migrate existing VMs from the vSwitch to the DVS, and you can create VMs to use the DVS instead of the vSwitch. With the hardware-based VN-Link implementation, when a VM uses the DVS, all VM traffic passes through the DVS and ASIC-based switching is performed by the fabric interconnect.

In Cisco UCS Manager, DVSes are organized in the following hierarchy:

vCenter
    Folder (optional)
        Datacenter
            Folder (required)
                DVS

At the top of the hierarchy is the vCenter, which represents a VMware vCenter instance. Each vCenter contains one or more datacenters, and optionally vCenter folders with which you can organize the datacenters. Each datacenter contains one or more required datacenter folders. Datacenter folders contain the DVSes.

Configuring a Distributed Virtual Switch

Before You Begin

You must first create a datacenter in VMware vCenter. Do not create the folder inside the datacenter or the DVS in VMware vCenter.

Procedure
      Command or Action Purpose
    Step 1 UCS-A# scope system  

    Enters system mode.

     
    Step 2 UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt  

    Enters system VM management mode.

     
    Step 3 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware  

    Enters system VM management VMware mode.

     
    Step 4 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware # create vcenter vcenter-name  

    Creates the specified vCenter and enters system VM management VMware vCenter mode.

     
    Step 5 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter # set hostname {hostname | ip-addr}  

    Specifics the hostname or IP address of the remote vCenter Server instance associated to the vCenter object in Cisco UCS Manager.

    Note   

    If you use a hostname rather than an IP address, you must configure a DNS server in Cisco UCS Manager.

     
    Step 6 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter # set description description  

    Provides a description for the vCenter.

    Note   

    If your description includes spaces, special characters, or punctuation, you must begin and end your description with quotation marks. The quotation marks will not appear in the description field of any show command output.
     
    Step 7 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter # create folder folder-name   (Optional)

    Creates the specified vCenter folder.

    Note   

    A vCenter can contain multiple datacenters, none of which must be contained in a vCenter folder, so the use of vCenter folders are optionally used only for organizational purposes.
     
    Step 8 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter/ # create data-center data-center-name  

    Creates the specified datacenter and enters system VM management VMware vCenter datacenter mode.

    The datacenter name that you specify in Cisco UCS Manager must match the name of the datacenter previously created in VMware vCenter.

     
    Step 9 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter/data-center # create folder folder-name  

    Creates the specified datacenter folder and enters system VM management VMware vCenter datacenter folder mode.

    Note   

    At least one datacenter folder is required. You cannot create a distributed virtual switch (DVS) directly under a datacenter; you must create the DVS in a datacenter folder.
     
    Step 10 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter/data-center/folder # create distributed-virtual-switch dvs-name  

    Creates the specified DVS and enters system VM management VMware vCenter datacenter folder distributed virtual switch mode.

     
    Step 11 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter/data-center /folder/distributed-virtual-switch # {disable | enable}  

    Disables or enables the DVS.

    If you disable the DVS, Cisco UCS Manager does not push any configuration changes related to the DVS to VMware vCenter.

     
    Step 12 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter/data-center/folder /distributed-virtual-switch # commit-buffer  

    Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

     

    The following example creates a vCenter, a datacenter with the exact same name as the datacenter in VMware vCenter, a DVS in the datacenter folder named Engineering, and commits the transaction:

    UCS-A# scope system
UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware			 
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware # create vcenter MyVcenter
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter* # set hostname 192.168.10.10
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter* # set description "vCenter running on my laptop"
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter* # create data-center MyDatacenter
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center* # create folder Engineering
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center/folder* # create distributed-virtual-switch LabSwitch
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center/folder/distributed-virtual-switch* # enable
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center/folder/distributed-virtual-switch* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center/folder/distributed-virtual-switch #

    Managing Distributed Virtual Switches

    Adding a Folder to a vCenter

    Procedure
        Command or Action Purpose
      Step 1 UCS-A# scope system  

      Enters system mode.

       
      Step 2 UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt  

      Enters system VM management mode.

       
      Step 3 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware  

      Enters system VM management VMware mode.

       
      Step 4 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware # scope vcenter vcenter-name  

      Enters system VM management VMware vCenter mode for the specified vCenter.

       
      Step 5 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter # create folder folder-name   (Optional)

      Creates the specified vCenter folder and enters system VM management VMware vCenter folder mode.

      Note   

      A vCenter can contain multiple datacenters, none of which must be contained in a vCenter folder, so the use of vCenter folders are optionally used only for organizational purposes.
       
      Step 6 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter/folder # commit-buffer  

      Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

       

      The following example adds a vCenter folder named Lab 5 to the vCenter named MyVcenter and commits the transaction: 

      UCS-A# scope system
UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware			 
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware # scope vcenter MyVcenter
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter* # create folder Lab5
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/folder* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/folder #

      Deleting a Folder from a vCenter

      Procedure
          Command or Action Purpose
        Step 1 UCS-A# scope system  

        Enters system mode.

         
        Step 2 UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt  

        Enters system VM management mode.

         
        Step 3 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware  

        Enters system VM management VMware mode.

         
        Step 4 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware # scope vcenter vcenter-name  

        Enters system VM management VMware vCenter mode for the specified vCenter.

         
        Step 5 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter # delete folder folder-name   (Optional)

        Deletes the specified vCenter folder.

         
        Step 6 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter # commit-buffer  

        Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

         

        The following example deletes the vCenter folder named Lab5 from the vCenter named MyVcenter and commits the transaction: 

        UCS-A# scope system
UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware			 
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware # scope vcenter MyVcenter
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter # delete folder Lab5
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter #

        Adding a Datacenter to a vCenter

        Before You Begin

        You must first create a datacenter in VMware vCenter. Do not create the folder inside the datacenter or the DVS in VMware vCenter.

        Procedure
            Command or Action Purpose
          Step 1 UCS-A# scope system  

          Enters system mode.

           
          Step 2 UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt  

          Enters system VM management mode.

           
          Step 3 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware  

          Enters system VM management VMware mode.

           
          Step 4 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware # scope vcenter vcenter-name  

          Enters system VM management VMware vCenter mode for the specified vCenter.

           
          Step 5 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter # scope folder folder-name   (Optional)

          Enters system VM management VMware vCenter folder mode for the specified folder.

           
          Step 6 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/ # create data-center data-center-name  

          Creates the specified datacenter and enters system VM management VMware vCenter datacenter mode.

          The datacenter name that you specify in Cisco UCS Manager must match the name of the datacenter previously created in VMware vCenter.

           
          Step 7 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center # commit-buffer  

          Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

           

          The following example adds a datacenter named SQA-Datacenter to the vCenter named MyVcenter and commits the transaction:

          UCS-A# scope system
UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware			 
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware # scope vcenter MyVcenter
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter* # create data-center SQA-Datacenter
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center #

          Deleting a Datacenter from vCenter

          Procedure
              Command or Action Purpose
            Step 1 UCS-A# scope system  

            Enters system mode.

             
            Step 2 UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt  

            Enters system VM management mode.

             
            Step 3 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware  

            Enters system VM management VMware mode.

             
            Step 4 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware # scope vcenter vcenter-name  

            Enters system VM management VMware vCenter mode for the specified vCenter.

             
            Step 5 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter # scope folder folder-name   (Optional)

            Enters system VM management VMware vCenter folder mode for the specified folder.

             
            Step 6 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/ # delete data-center data-center-name  

            Deletes the specified datacenter. The datacenter name that you specify in Cisco UCS Manager must exactly match the name of a datacenter previously created in vCenter Server.

             
            Step 7 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter # commit-buffer  

            Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

             

            The following example deletes the datacenter named SQA-Datacenter from the vCenter named MyVcenter and commits the transaction:

            UCS-A# scope system
UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware			 
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware # scope vcenter MyVcenter
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter* # delete data-center SQA-Datacenter
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter #

            Adding a Folder to a Datacenter

            Procedure
                Command or Action Purpose
              Step 1 UCS-A# scope system  

              Enters system mode.

               
              Step 2 UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt  

              Enters system VM management mode.

               
              Step 3 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware  

              Enters system VM management VMware mode.

               
              Step 4 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware # scope vcenter vcenter-name  

              Enters system VM management VMware vCenter mode for the specified vCenter.

               
              Step 5 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter # scope folder folder-name   (Optional)

              Enters system VM management VMware vCenter folder mode for the specified folder.

               
              Step 6 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter/ # scope data-center data-center-name  

              Enters system VM management VMware vCenter datacenter mode for the specified datacenter.

               
              Step 7 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter/data-center # create folder folder-name  

              Creates the specified datacenter folder and enters system VM management VMware vCenter datacenter folder mode.

               
              Step 8 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter/data-center/folder # commit-buffer  

              Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

               

              The following example adds a datacenter folder named SoftwareQA to the datacenter named MyDatacenter and commits the transaction:

              UCS-A# scope system
UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware			 
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware # scope vcenter MyVcenter
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter* # scope data-center MyDatacenter
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center* # create folder SoftwareQA
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center/folder* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center/folder #

              Deleting a Folder from a Datacenter

              Procedure
                  Command or Action Purpose
                Step 1 UCS-A# scope system  

                Enters system mode.

                 
                Step 2 UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt  

                Enters system VM management mode.

                 
                Step 3 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware  

                Enters system VM management VMware mode.

                 
                Step 4 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware # scope vcenter vcenter-name  

                Enters system VM management VMware vCenter mode for the specified vCenter.

                 
                Step 5 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter # scope folder folder-name   (Optional)

                Enters system VM management VMware vCenter folder mode for the specified folder.

                 
                Step 6 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter/ # scope data-center data-center-name  

                Enters system VM management VMware vCenter datacenter mode for the specified datacenter.

                 
                Step 7 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter/data-center # delete folder folder-name  

                Deletes the specified datacenter folder.

                 
                Step 8 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt /vmware/vcenter/data-center # commit-buffer  

                Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

                 

                The following example deletes the datacenter folder named SoftwareQA from the datacenter named MyDatacenter and commits the transaction:

                UCS-A# scope system
UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware			 
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware # scope vcenter MyVcenter
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter # scope data-center MyDatacenter
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center # delete folder SoftwareQA
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center #

                Adding a Distributed Virtual Switch to a Datacenter Folder

                Procedure
                    Command or Action Purpose
                  Step 1 UCS-A# scope system  

                  Enters system mode.

                   
                  Step 2 UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt  

                  Enters system VM management mode.

                   
                  Step 3 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware  

                  Enters system VM management VMware mode.

                   
                  Step 4 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware # scope vcenter vcenter-name  

                  Enters system VM management VMware vCenter mode for the specified vCenter.

                   
                  Step 5 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter # scope folder folder-name   (Optional)

                  Enters system VM management VMware vCenter folder mode for the specified folder.

                   
                  Step 6 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/ # scope data-center data-center-name  

                  Enters system VM management VMware vCenter datacenter mode for the specified datacenter.

                   
                  Step 7 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center # scope folder folder-name  

                  Enters system VM management VMware vCenter datacenter folder mode for the specified datacenter folder.

                   
                  Step 8 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/folder/data-center/folder # create distributed-virtual-switch dvs-name  

                  Creates the specified DVS and enters system VM management VMware vCenter datacenter folder distributed virtual switch mode.

                   
                  Step 9 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/folder/data-center/folder/distributed-virtual-switch # {disable | enable}  

                  Disables or enables the DVS.

                   
                  Step 10 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/folder/data-center/folder/distributed-virtual-switch # commit-buffer  

                  Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

                   

                  The following example adds a DVS named TestSwitch to the datacenter folder named Engineering, enables the DVS, and commits the transaction:

                  UCS-A# scope system
UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware			 
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware # scope vcenter MyVcenter
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter* # scope data-center MyDatacenter
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center* # scope folder Engineering
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center/folder* # create distributed-virtual-switch TestSwitch
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center/folder/distributed-virtual-switch* # enable
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center/folder/distributed-virtual-switch* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center/folder/distributed-virtual-switch #

                  Deleting a Distributed Virtual Switch from a Datacenter Folder

                  Procedure
                      Command or Action Purpose
                    Step 1 UCS-A# scope system  

                    Enters system mode.

                     
                    Step 2 UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt  

                    Enters system VM management mode.

                     
                    Step 3 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware  

                    Enters system VM management VMware mode.

                     
                    Step 4 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware # scope vcenter vcenter-name  

                    Enters system VM management VMware vCenter mode for the specified vCenter.

                     
                    Step 5 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter # scope folder folder-name   (Optional)

                    Enters system VM management VMware vCenter folder mode for the specified folder.

                     
                    Step 6 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/ # scope data-center data-center-name  

                    Enters system VM management VMware vCenter datacenter mode for the specified datacenter.

                     
                    Step 7 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center # scope folder folder-name  

                    Enters system VM management VMware vCenter datacenter folder mode for the specified datacenter folder.

                     
                    Step 8 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/folder/data-center/folder # delete distributed-virtual-switch dvs-name  

                    Deletes the specified DVS.

                     
                    Step 9 UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/folder/data-center/folder # commit-buffer  

                    Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

                     

                    The following example deletes the DVS named TestSwitch from the datacenter folder named Engineering and commits the transaction:

                    UCS-A# scope system
UCS-A /system # scope vm-mgmt
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope vmware			 
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware # scope vcenter MyVcenter
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter* # scope data-center MyDatacenter
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center* # scope folder Engineering
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center/folder* # delete distributed-virtual-switch TestSwitch
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center/folder* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /system/vm-mgmt/vmware/vcenter/data-center/folder #