Configuring Ports

This chapter includes the following sections:

Server and Uplink Ports on the Fabric Interconnect

Each fabric interconnect has a set of ports in a fixed port module that you can configure as either server ports or uplink Ethernet ports. These ports are not reserved. They cannot be used by a Cisco UCS instance until you configure them. You can add expansion modules to increase the number of uplink ports on the fabric interconnect, or to add uplink Fibre Channel ports to the fabric interconnect.

You need to create LAN pin groups and SAN pin groups to pin traffic from servers to an uplink port.

Each fabric interconnect can include the following types of ports:

Server Ports

Server ports handle data traffic between the fabric interconnect and the adapter cards on the servers.

You can only configure server ports on the fixed port module. Expansion modules do not include server ports.

Uplink Ethernet Ports

Uplink Ethernet ports handle Ethernet traffic between the fabric interconnect and the next layer of the network. All network-bound Ethernet traffic is pinned to one of these ports.

You can configure uplink Ethernet ports on either the fixed module or an expansion module.

Uplink Fibre Channel Ports

Uplink Fibre Channel ports handle FCoE traffic between the fabric interconnect and the next layer of the network. All network-bound FCoE traffic is pinned to one of these ports.

You can only configure uplink Fibre Channel ports on an expansion module. The fixed module does not include uplink Fibre Channel ports.

Configuring Server Ports

You can only configure server ports on the fixed port module. Expansion modules do not include server ports.

This task describes only one method of configuring ports. You can also configure ports from a right-click menu, from the General tab for the port, or in the LAN Uplinks Manager.

Procedure
Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
Step 2   In the Equipment tab, expand Fabric Interconnects > Fabric Interconnect_Name > Fixed Module > Unconfigured Ports .
Step 3   Click one or more ports under the Unconfigured Ports node.
Step 4   Drag the selected port or ports and drop them in the Server Ports node.

The port or ports are configured as server ports, removed from the list of unconfigured ports, and added to the Server Ports node.

Configuring Uplink Ethernet Ports

You can configure uplink Ethernet ports on either the fixed module or an expansion module.

This task describes only one method of configuring uplink Ethernet ports. You can also configure uplink Ethernet ports from a right-click menu or from the General tab for the port.

Procedure
Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
Step 3   Depending upon the location of the ports you want to configure, expand one of the following:

  • Fixed Module

  • Expansion Module

Step 4   Click one or more of the ports under the Unconfigured Ports node.
Step 5   Drag the selected port or ports and drop them in the Uplink Ethernet Ports node.

The port or ports are configured as uplink Ethernet ports, removed from the list of unconfigured ports, and added to the Uplink Ethernet Ports node.

Reconfiguring a Port on a Fabric Interconnect

Procedure
Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
Step 3   Depending upon the location of the ports you want to reconfigure, expand one of the following:

  • Fixed Module

  • Expansion Module

Step 4   Click the port or ports you want to reconfigure.
Step 5   Drag the selected port or ports and drop them in the appropriate node.

The port or ports are reconfigured as the appropriate type of port, removed from the original node, and added to the new node.

Example: Reconfiguring an Uplink Ethernet Port as a Server Port


  1. Expand the Uplink Ethernet Ports node and select the port you want to reconfigure.

  2. Drag the port and drop it into the Server Ports node.

Enabling a Port on a Fabric Interconnect

Procedure
Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > LAN Cloud.
Step 3   Expand Fabric_Interconnect_Name > Ports.
Step 4   Right-click the port that you want to enable and choose Enable Port.
Step 5   If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

Disabling a Port on a Fabric Interconnect

Procedure
Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > LAN Cloud.
Step 3   Expand Fabric_Interconnect_Name > Ports.
Step 4   Right-click the port that you want to disable and choose Disable Port.
Step 5   If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

Unconfiguring a Port on a Fabric Interconnect

Procedure
Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
Step 3   Depending upon the location of the ports you want to unconfigure, expand one of the following:

  • Fixed Module

  • Expansion Module

Step 4   Click the port or ports you want to unconfigure.
Step 5   Drag the selected port or ports and drop them in the Unconfigured Ports node.

The port or ports are unconfigured, removed from the original node, and added to the new node.

Uplink Ethernet Port Channels

An uplink Ethernet port channel allows you to group several physical uplink Ethernet ports (link aggregation) to create one logical Ethernet link for the purpose of providing fault-tolerance and high-speed connectivity. In Cisco UCS Manager, you create a port channel first and then add uplink Ethernet ports to the port channel. You can add up to eight uplink Ethernet ports to a port channel.


Note

Cisco UCS uses Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP), not Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP), to group the uplink Ethernet ports into a port channel.

Creating an Uplink Ethernet Port Channel

Procedure
Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > LAN Cloud.
Step 3   Expand the node for the fabric interconnect where you want to add the port channel.
Step 4   Right-click the Port Channels node and choose Add Ports.
Step 5   In the Set Port Channel Name page of the Create Port Channel wizard, do the following:
  1. Complete the following fields:
    Name Description

    ID field

    The identifier for the port channel.

    Name field

    A user-defined name for the port channel.

    This name can be between 1 and 16 alphanumeric characters. You cannot use spaces or any special characters, and you cannot change this name after the object has been saved.

  2. Click Next.
Step 6   In the Add Ports page of the Create Port Channel wizard, do the following:
  1. In the Ports table, choose one or more ports to include the port channel.
  2. Click the >> button to add the ports to the Ports in the port channel table.

    You can use the << button to remove ports from the port channel.

    Note   

    Cisco UCS Manager warns you if you select a port that has been configured as a server port. You can click Yes in the dialog box to reconfigure that port as an uplink Ethernet port and include it in the port channel.

Step 7   Click Finish.

Enabling an Uplink Ethernet Port Channel

Procedure
Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > LAN Cloud.
Step 3   Expand the node for the fabric interconnect that includes the port channel you want to enable.
Step 4   Expand the Port Channels node.
Step 5   Right-click the port channel you want to enable and choose Enable Port Channel.

Disabling an Uplink Ethernet Port Channel

Procedure
Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > LAN Cloud.
Step 3   Expand the node for the fabric interconnect that includes the port channel you want to disable.
Step 4   Expand the Port Channels node.
Step 5   Right-click the port channel you want to disable and choose Enable Port Channel.

Adding Ports to an Uplink Ethernet Port Channel

Procedure
Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > LAN Cloud.
Step 3   Expand the node for the fabric interconnect that includes the port channel to which you want to add ports.
Step 4   Right-click the port channel and choose Add Ports.
Step 5   In the Add Ports dialog box:
  1. In the Ports table, chose one or more ports to include the port channel.
  2. Click the >> button to add the ports to the Ports in the port channel table.

    You can use the << button to remove ports from the port channel.

  3. Click Finish.

Removing Ports from an Uplink Ethernet Port Channel

Procedure
Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > LAN Cloud.
Step 3   Expand Fabric_Interconnect_Name > Port Channels > Port_Channel_ID .
Step 4   Right-click the port you want to remove from the port channel and choose Delete.
Step 5   If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

Deleting an Uplink Ethernet Port Channel

Procedure
Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > LAN Cloud.
Step 3   Expand the node for the fabric interconnect where you want to delete the port channel.
Step 4   Click the Port Channels node.
Step 5   In the General tab for the Port Channels node, choose the port channel you want to delete.
Step 6   Right-click the port channel and choose Delete.

Configuring Server Ports with the Internal Fabric Manager

Internal Fabric Manager

The Internal Fabric Manager provides a single interface where you can configure server ports for a fabric interconnect in a Cisco UCS instance. The Internal Fabric Manager is accessible from the General tab for that fabric interconnect.

Some of the configuration that you can do in the Internal Fabric Manager can also be done in nodes on the Equipment tab, on the LAN tab, or in the LAN Uplinks Manager.

Launching the Internal Fabric Manager

Procedure
Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
Step 3   Click Fixed Module.
Step 4   In the Work pane, click Internal Fabric Manager in the Actions area.

The Internal Fabric Manager opens in a separate window.

Configuring a Server Port with the Internal Fabric Manager

Procedure
Step 1   In the Internal Fabric Manager, click the down arrows to expand the Unconfigured Ports area.
Step 2   Right-click the port that you want to configure and choose Configure as Server Port.
Step 3   If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
Step 4   If you have completed all tasks in the Internal Fabric Manager, click OK.

Unconfiguring a Server Port with the Internal Fabric Manager

Procedure
Step 1   In the Internal Fabric Manager, click the server port in the Server Ports table.
Step 2   Click Unconfigure Port.
Step 3   If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
Step 4   If you have completed all tasks in the Internal Fabric Manager, click OK.

Enabling a Server Port with the Internal Fabric Manager

Procedure
Step 1   In the Internal Fabric Manager, click the server port in the Server Ports table.
Step 2   Click Enable Port.
Step 3   If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
Step 4   If you have completed all tasks in the Internal Fabric Manager, click OK.

Disabling a Server Port with the Internal Fabric Manager

Procedure
Step 1   In the Internal Fabric Manager, click the server port in the Server Ports table.
Step 2   Click Disable Port.
Step 3   If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
Step 4   If you have completed all tasks in the Internal Fabric Manager, click OK.