When you plan your configuration for upstream disjoint L2 networks, consider the following:
Ethernet Switching Mode Must Be End-Host Mode
Cisco UCS only supports disjoint L2 networks when the Ethernet switching mode of the fabric interconnects is configured for end-host
mode. You cannot connect to disjoint L2 networks if the Ethernet switching mode of the fabric interconnects is switch mode.
![](https://www.cisco.com/content/dam/en/us/td/i/templates/note.gif) Note |
Switching mode is not supported for UCS 6454 Fabric Interconnects.
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![](https://www.cisco.com/content/dam/en/us/td/i/templates/note.gif) Note |
Cisco UCS Manager Release 4.0(2) and later releases support Ethernet and Fibre Channel switching modes on Cisco UCS 6454 Fabric Interconnects.
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Symmetrical Configuration Is Recommended for High Availability
If a Cisco UCS domain is configured for high availability with two fabric interconnects, we recommend that both fabric interconnects are configured
with the same set of VLANs.
VLAN Validity Criteria Are the Same for Uplink Ethernet Ports and Port Channels
The VLAN used for the disjoint L2 networks must be configured and assigned to an uplink Ethernet port or uplink Ethernet
port channel. If the port or port channel does not include the VLAN, Cisco UCS Manager considers the VLAN invalid and does the following:
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The validity criteria are the same for uplink Ethernet ports and uplink Ethernet port channels. Cisco UCS Manager does not differentiate between the two.
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Overlapping VLANs Are Not Supported
Cisco UCS does not support overlapping VLANs in disjoint L2 networks. You must ensure that each VLAN only connects to one upstream
disjoint L2 domain.
Each vNIC Can Only Communicate with One Disjoint L2 Network
A vNIC can only communicate with one disjoint L2 network. If a server needs to communicate with multiple disjoint L2 networks,
you must configure a vNIC for each of those networks.
To communicate with more than two disjoint L2 networks, a server must have a Cisco VIC adapter that supports more than two
vNICs.
Appliance Port Must Be Configured with the Same VLAN as Uplink Ethernet Port or Port Channel
For an appliance port to communicate with a disjoint L2 network, you must ensure that at least one uplink Ethernet port or
port channel is in the same network and is therefore assigned to the same VLANs that are used by the appliance port. If
Cisco UCS Manager cannot identify an uplink Ethernet port or port channel that includes all VLANs that carry traffic for an appliance port,
the appliance port experiences a pinning failure and goes down.
For example, a Cisco UCS domain includes a global VLAN named vlan500 with an ID of 500. vlan500 is created as a global VLAN on the uplink Ethernet port.
However, Cisco UCS Manager does not propagate this VLAN to appliance ports. To configure an appliance port with vlan500, you must create another VLAN
named vlan500 with an ID of 500 for the appliance port. You can create this duplicate VLAN in the Appliances node on the LAN tab of the Cisco UCS Manager GUI or the eth-storage scope in the Cisco UCS Manager CLI. If you are prompted to check for VLAN Overlap, accept the overlap and Cisco UCS Manager creates the duplicate VLAN for the appliance port.
Default VLAN 1 Cannot Be Configured Explicitly on an Uplink Ethernet Port or Port Channel
Cisco UCS Manager implicitly assigns default VLAN 1 to all uplink ports and port channels. Even if you do not configure any other VLANs, Cisco UCS uses default VLAN 1 to handle data traffic for all uplink ports and port channels.
![](https://www.cisco.com/content/dam/en/us/td/i/templates/note.gif) Note |
After you configure VLANs in a Cisco UCS domain, default VLAN 1 remains implicitly on all uplink ports and port channels. You cannot explicitly assign default VLAN 1 to
an uplink port or port channel, nor can you remove it from an uplink port or port channel.
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If you attempt to assign default VLAN 1 to a specific port or port channel, Cisco UCS Manager raises an Update Failed fault.
Therefore, if you configure a Cisco UCS domain for disjoint L2 networks, do not configure any vNICs with default VLAN 1 unless you want all data traffic for that server
to be carried on all uplink Ethernet ports and port channels and sent to all upstream networks.
VLANs for Both FIs Must be Concurrently Assigned
When you assign a port to a global VLAN, the VLAN is removed from all of the ports that are not explicitly assigned to the
VLAN on both fabric interconnects. The ports on both FIs must be configured at the same time. If the ports are only configured
on the first FI, traffic on the second FI will be disrupted.