100 Innovative Way- Suite 3322 Nashua, NH Tel PLEX (7539) Plexxi Release Notes

Transcription

1 100 Innovative Way- Suite 3322 Nashua, NH Tel PLEX (7539) Plexxi Release Notes Release August 26, 2016

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3 Table of Contents Introduction... 5 Software Versions Included... 5 Supported Hardware... 5 New in this Release... 5 User Defined Path Enhancement... 6 Selecting a LAG as Peer Link from the Ingress Switch in a User Defined Path... 6 Flow Entry Path Enhancements... 8 Overview... 8 Specifying Forwarding Priority in Flow Entry Actions... 8 Selecting a LAG and Fabric Ports as Ingress to a Flow Entry Specifying EtherType and EtherType Mask as Source Qualifiers in a Flow Entry Specifying a VNI Qualifier in Flow Entries for VXLAN Tunnels Plexxi Switch Maintenance About Plexxi Switch Partitions and Partition States Upgrading Plexxi Switches using Plexxi Control Prerequisites Verify Plexxi Control Server Software and Partitions Upload the Installer Image Stage the Image Upgrade the Plexxi Switches Rebooting Plexxi Switches to the Active Partition Rebooting Plexxi Switches to the Alternate Partition Locking Plexxi Switches Unlocking Plexxi Switches Actions and Informational Fields Upgrade informational page Service informational page Upgrade Edit page Service Edit page Actions Informational Fields In- Band Management Overview Configuration In- Band Management CLI Commands inband- management config port inband- management config ip inband- management delete show inband- management Plexxi Release Notes 3

4 Fabric Link Encapsulation (FLE) for DCI Deployments Overview Configuring DCI L2 FLE on Plexxi Switches 2, 2s, 2p, 2sp Example: Switch 2 East- Flexx Example: Switch 2 West- Flexx Configuring DCI L2 FLE on Plexxi Switch 2e Example: Switch 2e W- SFP Example: Switch 2e SFP- E CLI Commands fabric- encap create fabric- encap delete show fabric- encap CLI Enhancements Overview New Commands show ip host show ip fastpath statistics show ip fastpath statistics active Enhanced Commands show ip interface show ip route show ip arp show tech- support Issues Fixed in this Release Known Issues in this Release Contact Plexxi Care Copyright Plexxi Release Notes

5 Introduction This document contains information about the Plexxi release, which delivers software updates for both Plexxi Switch and Plexxi Control. Software Versions Included The following versions of software updates are included: Plexxi Switch Plexxi Control Supported Hardware Plexxi release is supported on the following Plexxi switches: Switch 1x (PX-S1X) Switch 2 (PX-S2) Switch 2s (PX-S2S) Switch 2p (PX-S2P) Switch 2sp (PX-S2SP) Switch 2e (PX-S2E) New in this Release List of new features: Plexxi Control User Defined Path Enhancement: o Specifying a LAG from the Ingress Switch in a User Defined Path Plexxi Control Flow Entry Enhancements: o o o o Specifying Forwarding Priority in Flow Entry Actions Specifying Ether Type and Ether Type Mask as source qualifiers in Flow Entries Selecting a LAG and Fabric Ports as Ingress to a Flow Entry Specifying a VNI Qualifier in Flow Entries for VXLAN Tunnels Plexxi switch upgrade and service using Plexxi Control In-band management DCI L2 Fabric Link Encapsulation CLI Enhancements Plexxi Release Notes 5

6 User Defined Path Enhancement Selecting a LAG as Peer Link from the Ingress Switch in a User Defined Path While configuring a User Defined Path, when selecting the path from the ingress switch, you can select a LAG from the Peer Link dropdown. Traffic will be placed on any of the links in that LAG, as determined by the switch address hashing. Currently, the only fabric ports that form a LAG are those in the confluent ring. The following example selects a LAG from switch Plexxi1: Which configured appears as: And after Applying, appears as the following UDP configuration: 6 Plexxi Release Notes

7 Plexxi Release Notes 7

8 Flow Entry Path Enhancements Overview The release has several new Flow Entry and User Defined Path features. In Plexxi Control, the following new features have been added to Flow Entries: Specifying Forwarding Priority in Flow Entry Actions. Specifying EtherType and EtherType Mask as source qualifiers in flow entries. Selecting a LAG and Fabric Ports as Ingress to a Flow Entry Specifying a VNI Qualifier in Flow Entries for VXLAN Tunnels These features are defined in the following sections. Specifying Forwarding Priority in Flow Entry Actions When configuring some Flow Entry Actions, there is a new Forwarding Priority field used to specify packet Forwarding Priority for the switch egress port. As shown below, there are five different priority designations from Very High to Very Low. These correspond to specific traffic queues associated with the egress switch port. Plexxi switches implement a strict priority queuing scheme; packets in a higher priority queue will always egress before packets in lower queues Forwarding Priority can be configured in two ways: Select Forwarding Priority as the action for the Flow Entry. Flow defined forwarding decisions are made for packets matching the Flow Entry criteria and the selected priority is applied on the egress port. Add Forwarding Priority to other actions selected for the Flow Entry: Police traffic allowed by the policer has the selected priority applied on the egress port. Path the selected priority is applied on the path egress port. Local Redirect the selected priority is applied to the locally redirected egress access ports. 8 Plexxi Release Notes

9 For example, Forwarding Priority High is selected in the following Flow Entry: Plexxi Release Notes 9

10 Selecting a LAG and Fabric Ports as Ingress to a Flow Entry The ingress traffic selection for Flow Entries has been expanded to include specifying a LAG or fabric ports. When selecting a LAG, all traffic arriving on the local switch ports that are part of that LAG will be applied to the Flow Entry. Similarly, the selection of one or more fabric ports will cause traffic on those ports to be applied to the Flow Entry. Note that the Allow action when selecting fabric ports is slightly modified. This rule means to allow the traffic to be forwarded through normal packet processing rules. In general, that processing may lead to forwarding over fabric links. To avoid the possibility of packet loops or lost traffic, packets that ingress on a fabric port with the Allow action are prohibited from egressing on a fabric port. For example, LAG-4 and four fabric ports are selected: Ingress ports Plexxi4 LAG-4 plus fabric ports xp51-xp54, Path-3 egress Plexxi1 port 44: 10 Plexxi Release Notes

11 Specifying EtherType and EtherType Mask as Source Qualifiers in a Flow Entry EtherType and EtherType Mask enable you to define protocol types for encapsulated data as source qualifiers in Flow Entries. The EtherType Mask when configured with EtherType enables you to select a range of protocols. In Plexxi Control, when configuring a Flow Entry, EtherType and EtherType Mask are found under Advanced Qualifier Options. In the EtherType field, enter the hex value of the Ether type as specified by IEEE. Note: All valid IEEE-defined EtherType values are supported. Note: TCP/IP qualifiers are available only if you enter EtherType value IPv4 (0x0800),. To configure a single protocol, enter the Hexadecimal EtherType value for the protocol in the EtherType field. Some examples are: 0x0800 for IPv4 0x86DD for IPv6 0x88F7 for Precision Time Protocol (PTP) packets 0x0806 for ARP 0x88CC for LLDP, as illustrated here: Note: If you enter a single EtherType value and do not enter an EtherTypeMask, the mask value FFFF is automatically entered to exclude all other protocols. To configure a range of protocols, enter the combination of EtherType and EtherType mask that defines the desired range. For example, the following selects the range 0x8800 ox88ff: EtherType: 0x8800 EtherType Mask: 0xff00 Plexxi Release Notes 11

12 Specifying a VNI Qualifier in Flow Entries for VXLAN Tunnels Using the VNI (VXLAN Network Identifier) variable under Advanced Options when creating a Flow Entry, you can specify a Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) tunnel endpoint as a source qualifier in the Flow Entry. Entered values may include a single value, multiple values, or a range. e.g.: 20, 40, Valid values are Examples include: Drop all traffic on VNI 1234: 12 Plexxi Release Notes

13 Redirect all traffic on VNI 1234 from Source IP to Destination IP out fabric port 48: For example: Plexxi Release Notes 13

14 Plexxi Switch Maintenance Using the release of Plexxi Control, you can now perform the following switch maintenance tasks directly from Plexxi Control: Upgrade Plexxi switches. Reboot switches from the current Active partition Reboot switches from the Alternate partition Lock and Unlock switches The next section contains information about switch partitions and partition states. About Plexxi Switch Partitions and Partition States Each Plexxi switch contains two switch software partitions as follows: Active partition - Is the current running partition; containing the software version that the switch is currently running. Alternate partition contains another version of switch software. If you are in the process of upgrading a switch, the Alternate partition is staged with the newer upgrade image. If you have already upgraded a switch and it is running the newer software version, the Alternate partition likely contains the older version of switch software. In this case, if necessary, you can roll back to the older software version by rebooting from the Alternate partition. 14 Plexxi Release Notes IMPORTANT: If you roll back to an older version, you must also roll back the database and Plexxi Control. Contact Plexxi Support for information on booting from the alternate partition and rolling back the switch software to an older version. Partition Tags/States are: Running Is the current running partition. Boot or Armed Is the partition that the switch will boot from next time a boot occurs. This can be either the Active or the Alternate partition. If you boot from the Alternate partition, the Alternate becomes the Active partition and the Active partition becomes the Alternate partition. Upgrading Plexxi Switches using Plexxi Control With the release, you can upgrade the Plexxi switch image using the Plexxi Control UI. The switch upgrade process consists of three main tasks, each of which is initiated by clicking a button in Plexxi Control: 1. Upload File: Upload the new switch image to either Plexxi Control or any webserver reachable from the switches. Multiple switch images can be hosted, any of which can be staged on switches and installed. Before you can upgrade switches, you must first upload the correct image version. Note: This procedure describes how to upload a switch install image to Plexxi Control. If you are hosting the switch install image from another server (not from Plexxi Control), you must set up that server and upload the switch install image to it. 2. Stage Image: Stage the image to the Alternate partition on each switch to be upgraded. The staging process automatically, one switch at a time, installs the image on the Alternate partition, 3. Upgrade: Upgrade all selected switches containing a staged image. You can stage multiple

15 switches to be upgraded, however the switches are upgraded one at a time until all are completed. On each switch, the upgrade process copies the switch configuration to the partition, makes any compatibility changes to the configuration to support the image version, updates the configuration file with any changes made since the configuration file was staged, and the switch is rebooted from the Alternate partition. Prerequisites Before upgrading switches using Plexxi Control, you need the following: Plexxi Control or greater is installed. The correct version of the switch installer file copied to a directory on the system you are working from. The file is: SwitchPlatform.Install. The version is indicated by the date/timestamp that the file was created. To upgrade Plexxi switches, complete the steps in the following sections in sequence. Verify Plexxi Control Server Software and Partitions Before you can upload the installer image to a machine (VM or bare metal server) that has been hosting pre Plexxi Control software, you need to connect to the Plexxi Control host machine, verify that Plexxi Control or greater server software is installed on the host, and verify that the required image hosting partition is created on the host, as follows: 1. Connect via SSH as user plexxi to the Plexxi Control host server: ssh plexxi@address where: Address is the address of the Plexxi Control host server. 2. Run the following command and verify that Plexxi Control (or later) is installed: sudo install-plexxi-control list 3. Run the following update script to check for and create the required image hosting partition: Note: If you are hosting the switch install image from Plexxi Control, you need to perform this step. If you are hosting the switch install image from another server, this step is unnecessary; you must set up your server to host the switch install images. sudo setup-plexxi-imgupload-directory For example: [plexxi@pxctl-install-test ~]$ sudo setup-plexxi-imgupload-directory Checking/updating permissions on /installimgs... The image partition /installimgs is already set up, nothing else to do. Exiting. 4. If prompted to set up the partition, answer "Y" or press <Return>. For example: [plexxi@localhost ~]$ sudo setup-plexxi-imgupload-directory Do you want to attempt to set up the Plexxxi image upload partition? [Y/n]Y Creating new logical volume... Logical volume "lv_instimg" created Creating new filesystem (this may take a minute)... Updating /etc/fstab to add /installimgs entry... Checking/updating permissions on /installimgs... /installimgs has been successfully set up, exiting! Plexxi Release Notes 15

16 Upload the Installer Image Upload the switch installer image to either Plexxi Control or to a webserver that is reachable from the switches. Note: This procedure describes how to upload a switch install image to Plexxi Control. If you are hosting the switch install image from another server (not from Plexxi Control), you must set up that server and upload the switch install image to it. If you are hosting the image from Plexxi Control, upload the image to Plexxi Control as follows: 1. Open Plexxi Control. 2. In Plexxi Control, select Configuration > Switch Maintenance > Image Upload. All current hosted image files are listed. Note: The installer version can be identified by the date appended to the filename. 3. If the correct installer and version is not listed, click Edit. 4. Under Upload a New Plexxi Image, click Choose File. 5. Search for the installer file, select the file, then click Choose. 6. Click Upload File. 7. Click Done. The installer image appears in the list of hosted files. See the Last Modified Date to find the most recent file. Note that this window shows only files hosted from Plexxi Control, not files hosted from another webserver. Stage the Image Stage the new switch image on all switches to be upgraded: 1. In Plexxi Control, click Upgrade > Edit to open the Upgrade configuration page. 16 Plexxi Release Notes

17 The Plexxi switches are listed, providing the following information: Current Version shows the current running switch software version on each switch. Alternate Version shows the installed alternate version. Action shows any current switch software action being performed on each switch. File Name indicates any current staged installer file on each switch. Remove Action removes the current action on the 2. In an environment with multiple Plexxi rings, in the Plexxi Ring dropdown, you can optionally select one Plexxi Ring. All switches on the selected ring are listed. 3. Click Stage Image. 4. In the popup, complete the following fields: a. If you are hosting the image from a webserver (not from Plexxi Control), check the box Use a custom image location. b. In the URL field, either: if the image is hosted from Plexxi Control, you can keep the default URL that appears in this field If the image is hosted from another webserver, enter the URL to access the file from that webserver. c. Enter the Username and Password to connect to the image host, which is either Plexxi Control or another server host. d. In the Image drop-down, select the image to install. e. To stage the image on All Plexxi switches on the selected ring, click the checkbox Select all switches. Otherwise, in the Switches dropdown, select one or more switches to stage the installer image on. f. Click OK. The installer image appears in the Configuration > Upgrade table for switches it is to be staged on, as Action: Stage Image and File Name: *.install. Plexxi Release Notes 17

18 5. Click Apply to stage the image on the selected switches. Upgrade the Plexxi Switches Upgrade all switches that contain a staged image file: 1. Click Upgrade. 2. In the popup, select the switches to upgrade. Note: If you select ALL switches to upgrade, the upgrade will be completed fully one switch at a time before continuing to the next switch. 3. Click OK. The table shows the Upgrade action to be performed. 4. Click Apply to perform the upgrade. Rebooting Plexxi Switches to the Active Partition The Reboot action reboots selected switches to the current Active partition. To reboot Plexxi switches, 1. In Plexxi Control, select Configuration > Switch Maintenance > Service. 2. Click Edit to open the Service configuration window. 3. Click the Reboot button. 4. In the popup, either click Select All or in the dropdown, select the switch(es) to reboot, then click OK. The switches are staged for reboot as listed under the Action column. 5. On the Service Edit page, click Apply to reboot the switches. 18 Plexxi Release Notes

19 Rebooting Plexxi Switches to the Alternate Partition The Reboot to Alternate Partition action reboots selected Plexxi switches to the Alternate partition. This may be done to roll back the switch software to a previous release. However, proceed with great caution! IMPORTANT: If you roll back to an older version of the switch software, you must also roll back the database and Plexxi Control. Otherwise, the Plexxi Switch and Plexxi Control software and the database will be out of sync. Contact Plexxi Support for information on booting from the alternate partition and rolling back the switch software, database, and Plexxi Control to an older version. Note: The procedure to Reboot from the alternate partition is intentionally omitted due to its complexity and inherent dangers. Please contact Plexxi Support. Locking Plexxi Switches The Lock action enables you to lock the configuration on selected switches, preventing configuration changes from occurring on switches. This feature may be optionally used to prevent configuration changes from occurring on switches while the switch software is being upgraded. To lock switches: Note: The following actions are in the Switch Upgrade Edit window in Plexxi Control, accessed by selecting: Configuration > Switch Maintenance > Upgrade > Edit. 1. Click Lock. 2. In the popup, select either all switches or specific switches to lock. 3. Click OK to stage the Lock action. Lock appears in the Action column 4. Click Apply to lock the selected switches. A Lock icon appears in the Locked column for each locked switch. Plexxi Release Notes 19

20 The Locked state is represented in many places in the Plexxi Control UI, including the following few locations. Note switches Plexxi1 and Plexxi2 in the following examples: Networks view: shows switch locked status: Visualizer view shows switch locked status: 20 Plexxi Release Notes

21 Switch Status All view shows switch locked status: Switch Details View shows switch locked status: Activities view shows switch locked status: Rings hoverover view shows switch locked status: Plexxi Release Notes 21

22 Unlocking Plexxi Switches Unlock any switches that have been locked, making them available for configuration changes: To unlock switches: 1. Click Unlock. 2. In the popup, select either all switches or specific switches to unlock. 3. Click OK to stage the Unlock action. Unlock appears in the Action column. 4. Click Apply to unlock the selected switches. The Lock icon is removed from the Locked column for each unlocked switch. Actions and Informational Fields On the Upgrade and Service pages contain the following Actions and informational fields: Upgrade informational page Service informational page 22 Plexxi Release Notes

23 Upgrade Edit page Service Edit page Actions Stage Image Stage the new image on the Alternate Partition of selected switches. Upgrade Upgrade the switch software on selected switches. Before you can select Upgrade, the image must be staged on each switch to be upgraded. Lock Lock selected switches. Locking prevents the switch configuration from being changed. Unlock Unlock selected locked switches. Reboot Reboot selected switches from the current Active Boot partition. Reboot to Alternate Partition Reboot selected switches from the Alternate partition. Plexxi Release Notes 23

24 Remove Remove the current action listed in the Action column for the switch in that row. Plexxi Ring Select a single Plexxi ring from the list of configured Plexxi rings. This selection applies to all ring selections on the Configuration tab. Informational Fields Ring Indicates the selected Plexxi ring. Switch Name Indicates all switches on the selected Plexxi ring. MAC Address MAC address of the switch. IP Address IP address of the switch. Locked Indicates if any switch(es) are locked. Locked state prevents the switch configuration from being changed. On the Upgrade configuration page, a lock switch are unlocked using the Unlock action. icon indicates a locked switch. Locked Currently Running Partition Version Indicates the software version installed on the currentlyrunning switch partition. The software version is indicated by a date/time stamp. Alternate Partition Version Indicates the software version installed on the currently-running switch partition. The software version is indicated by a date/time stamp. Armed Partition Indicates the partition that is Armed to be the boot partition for the next boot/reboot. Staged Image Indicates the staged switch software version. Switch Start Time - The date and time that the switch was last booted. Operational Stage This is primarily a support field which identifies the operational stage of the switch. 24 Plexxi Release Notes

25 In-Band Management Overview Prior to release 2.4.0, network access to Plexxi Switches was solely through the management Ethernet port on the front panel. This management port was external or out-of-band to the Plexxi fabric. Each switch needed to have this external port connected to achieve console action via SSH and connectivity to Plexxi Control. The new in-band management feature allows network management access via a front panel access port on a single Plexxi switch in the ring. For redundancy, additional Plexxi switches can be connected via access ports by creating an MLAG. All other Plexxi switches communicate via the confluent ring to one of the Plexxi switches in the management LAG. As illustrated below, for in-band management, a configured 4-port LAG (2 Plexxi switches 2 access ports each) is connected to external routers or switches that provides connectivity to Plexxi Control and other management tools and applications that reside on a customer server. The Plexxi switches pass management information within the configured VLAN over the Plexxi fabric. Plexxi Release Notes 25

26 Configuration Initial configuration of in-band management is done via the CLI. Adding additional external ports to create a management MLAG is done through Plexxi Control. The inband-management config command (described below) creates a VLAN group and a LAG and notifies Plexxi Control of all configured parameters. Once created, the VLAN group and LAG can be modified using the Plexxi Control UI, however they cannot be deleted (except by deleting the entire in-band management configuration). To configure an in-band management interface: 1. Log into the switch via SSH. 2. Enter the PRIV-EXEC mode: enable 3. Enter the inband-management config port 4. command to configure in-band management: 26 Plexxi Release Notes For example, if DHCP is used: inband-management config dhcp port xp66 speed 1G vlan 2 native true For example, if static IP will be used: inband-management config port xp66 speed 1G vlan 2 native true 5. If static IP is used, on each Plexxi switch in the ring, you need to issue the following command with a unique IP address for each switch: inband-management config ip ipaddress[/cidr] 6. Connect to the Plexxi Control UI. 7. When in-band management is initially configured via the CLI, a default LAG is created. This LAG can be modified (ports added, removed, switches added or removed (MLAG)), however it can not be deleted. To modify the default LAG, in Plexxi Control: a. Select Configuration > Link Aggregation Groups > Edit. b. In the LAG edit window, select the InbandMgmtRingID LAG from the list. Where RingID is a 4-character ring identifier. c. Under Lag Members, you can add or remove ports on the current switch, and add other switches and ports to create an MLAG. d. When finished with changes to the LAG/MLAG, click Apply. e. Click Done. 8. Configure VLANs for in-band management as follows: a. Select Configuration > VLANs > Assignments > Edit. b. Enter the VLAN ID, InbandMgmtRingID, in the search field. Where RingID is a 4-character ring identifier. c. For Native VLANs, check the Native checkbox. The preconfigured VLAN appears in the main panel. You can add and remove ports and switches from the configuration. d. When completed, click Apply.

27 In-Band Management CLI Commands In-band management is configured and deleted using CLI commands. The in-band-management CLI commands are valid in the PRIV-EXEC mode of the CLI which is available by entering the enable command from the initial EXEC mode. inband-management config port Use this command to initially configure and turn on in-band management. The command syntax is: inband-management config [dhcp] port xp## [speed #G] [vlan vlanid native (true false)] where: dhcp Configures DHCP for in-band management. If you will be using static IP, omit this argument. port Local access port on which to configure in-band management. This is entered as xp##. speed Port speed for the access port. inbandconfigvalid values are 1000, 1G, 10000, 10G. vlan The VLAN used for in-band management. Valid values are native Configure whether the in-band management VLAN is untagged (native) or tagged. true = Untagged false = Tagged Example: inband-management config dhcp port xp20 speed 1G vlan 40 native true inband-management config ip If DHCP is not used, use this command to configure static IP addressing for in-band management. If you use static IP, you must issue this command on every switch in the Plexxi ring, with a unique IP address for each switch. The command syntax is: inband-management config ip ipaddress[/cidr] where: ipaddress The unique static IP address for in-band management on the switch you are logged into. /CIDR Optional: Specifies a subnet using CIDR (Classless Inter-Domain Routing) notation. Example: inband-management config ip /24 inband-management delete Use this command to delete in-band management on the switch that you are logged into. The command syntax is: inband-management delete Plexxi Release Notes 27

28 show inband-management This command shows the in-band management configuration or No inband configuration if none is configured The command syntax is: show inband-management 28 Plexxi Release Notes

29 Fabric Link Encapsulation (FLE) for DCI Deployments Overview The Plexxi Data Center Interconnect solution relies on Layer 1 or fully transparent Layer 2 connectivity for fabric links between sites. Any Layer 2 learning device in the paths created for fabric links will interfere with correct operation of the Plexxi ring. In the event that true L1 or fully transparent L2 connectivity cannot be guaranteed, release introduces a fabric link encapsulation capability. By encapsulating the packets traversing these fabric links, a tunnel is created between Plexxi switches through any intermediate devices and issues that result from network learning at these intermediate devices are eliminated. Due to the capabilities of the switching chipset within the Plexxi switch, fabric link encapsulation requires two passes through the chipset to operate. For packets egressing the Plexxi switch on an encapsulated fabric link; the initial pass through the switching element determines regular packet forwarding out the fabric link and the second pass adds the necessary encapsulation. As a result, an encapsulated fabric port uses 3 ports on the switching device. For packets received from the DCI link, on ingress, the first pass removes the encapsulation, and passes un-encapsulated packets into a second pass for regular fabric link packet processing. These ports involved in the packet encapsulation process are designated as: Uplink Port the switch fabric port that is to be encapsulated. Loopback Port the internal (external on switch 2e) switch port which is the ingress for the second pass to encapsulate packets. Egress Port the internal switch port to be used to forward the encapsulated packets, attached to the circuit connecting two Plexxi switches in DCI mode. For example, consider a Plexxi Switch 2 set to east-flexx DCI mode. In this case, fabric port xp53 is connected to front panel port xp71 due to the ring engagement mode. To encapsulate this fabric link, we pick two other switch ports for the loopback and egress ports e.g. xp87 and xp88. In this example, a packet that is processed to egress regular fabric port xp53 is sent back into the switch via xp87. Processing for xp87 adds the encapsulation layer and directs the packet to egress port xp88. Port xp88 is connected to front panel port xp71 where the physical DCI cabling is in place. Similarly, an encapsulated packet entering the switch via port xp71 is de-encapsulated at switch port xp88 and egresses un-encapsulated on port xp87. The packet leaving xp87 is sent in turn to xp53 and processed in the normal fabric port way. Plexxi Switch 2 s unique hardware design allows internal hardware re-wiring capabilities to provide the paths described above. In this case, no additional external cabling is required. For switch 2e, internal wiring is not possible and external cabling is required. Plexxi Release Notes 29

30 Configuring DCI L2 FLE on Plexxi Switches 2, 2s, 2p, 2sp Fabric Link Encapsulation (FLE) is configured via the Plexxi switch CLI. For Plexxi switches 2, 2s, 2p, 2sp, you loop the uplink path internally as illustrated in the following figure. Network cables remain plugged into their original connectors. Only a single command is required to complete this configuration. In this command, you need to provide the uplink port number, loopback port number, and egress port number. To configure DCI L2 fabric link encapsulation on Plexxi switches 2, 2s, 2p, 2sp in both directions between two switches: 1. Plan the ports to be used. Note: 30 Plexxi Release Notes You can use the Plexxi Control UI to help determine which switch ports are available to be used as loopback and egress ports for encapsulation. The switch port graphic window is available in Plexxi Control as follows: select Dashboard > Rings > click on the switch > click the Ports tab. The front panel graphic identifies currently used ports and available ports. Unavailable ports are grayed out. 2. Log into the switch via SSH. You can connect to the switch through Plexxi Control. 3. Enter the PRIV-EXEC mode: enable 4. Enter the following command to configure the DCI FLE: fabric-encap create uplink-port UplinkPort <loopback-port LoopbackPort [internal]> <egress-port EgressPort [front-panel-port <xp#>]> [vlan <VLAN>] For example, for the Switch 2 DCI East-Flexx example (that follows this procedure): fabric-encap create uplink-port xp53 loopback-port xp87 internal egress-port xp88 For example, for the Switch 2 DCI West-Flexx example (that follows this procedure): fabric-encap create uplink-port xp54 loopback-port xp80 internal egress-port xp81 5. Enter the following command and verify that the tunnel is configured: show fabric-encap configuration

31 6. Return to the EXEC mode: exit 7. Logout of the switch. 8. Repeat the steps for to create a DCI L2 FLE tunnel in the reverse direction. The link is ready to use. Example: Switch 2 East-Flexx Consider a Plexxi Switch 2 set to East-Flexx DCI mode. In this case, fabric port xp53 is connected to front panel port xp71 due to the ring engagement mode. To encapsulate this fabric link, we pick two other available switch ports for the loopback and egress ports e.g. xp87 and xp88. Encapsulated packets exit the switch through front panel port xp71, the original DCI uplink port. There is NO impact on cabling. fabric-encap create uplink-port xp53 loopback-port xp87 internal egress-port xp88 Plexxi Release Notes 31

32 Example: Switch 2 West-Flexx Consider a Plexxi Switch 2 set to West-Flexx DCI mode. In this case, fabric port xp54 is connected to front panel port xp72 due to the ring engagement mode. To encapsulate this fabric link, we pick two other available switch ports for the loopback and egress ports e.g. xp80 and xp81. Encapsulated packets exit the switch through front panel port xp72, the original DCI uplink port. There is NO impact on cabling. fabric-encap create uplink-port xp54 loopback-port xp80 internal egress-port xp81 32 Plexxi Release Notes

33 Configuring DCI L2 FLE on Plexxi Switch 2e Fabric Link Encapsulation is configured via the Plexxi switch CLI. For Plexxi Switch 2e, you must externally loop the path from the uplink port to the loopback port as illustrated in the following figure. You also need to define a new uplink port for the encapsulated packets to egress the switch. To configure DCI L2 fabric link encapsulation on Plexxi switch 2e in both directions between two switches: 1. Plan the ports to be used, Note: You can use the Plexxi Control UI to help determine which switch ports are available to be used as loopback and egress ports for encapsulation. The switch port graphic window is available in Plexxi Control as follows: select Dashboard > Rings > click on the switch > click the Ports tab. The front panel graphic identifies currently used ports and available ports. Unavailable ports are grayed out. 2. Physically unplug the uplink cable from the Uplink port (disconnect the cable that connects from the Uplink port to the customer cloud/device). 3. Connect a loopback cable from the uplink port to the loopback port. 4. Plug the uplink cable into the new egress port. 5. Log into the switch via SSH. You can connect to the switch through Plexxi Control. 6. Enter the PRIV-EXEC mode: enable 7. Enter the following command to configure DCI FLE: fabric-encap create uplink-port UplinkPort <loopback-port LoopbackPort [internal]> <egress-port EgressPort> [vlan <VLAN>] For example, for the Switch 2e W-SFP DCI example (that follows this procedure), if you want to encapsulate uplink port xp26, the following command applies: fabric-encap create uplink-port xp26 loopback-port xp27 egress-port xp29 Plexxi Release Notes 33

34 8. Enter the following command and verify that the tunnel is configured: show fabric-encap configuration 9. Return to the EXEC mode: exit 10. Logout of the switch. 11. Repeat the steps for to create a DCI L2 FLE tunnel in the reverse direction. The link is ready to use. 34 Plexxi Release Notes

35 Example: Switch 2e W-SFP Consider a Plexxi Switch 2e set to W-SFP DCI mode. In this example, front panel port xp26 is the uplink port to be encapsulated. To encapsulate this fabric link, we pick two other available switch ports for the loopback and egress ports for example, access port xp27 for loopback and either xp29 (access port) or xp38 (uplink port) for the egress port. The network cable must be unplugged from front panel port xp26 and plugged into either xp27 or xp38, whichever is configured as the egress port. A Loopback cable must be connected between front panel port xp26 and port xp27. Notes: If you want to use uplink ports for either the loopback or egress port, the available uplink ports depend partly on the current and future planned confluent ring size. For example, for W-SFP, with a confluent ring size =1, port xp28 may be available. With a confluent ring size =2 egressing port xp30 may be available. With a confluent ring size =4 port xp34 may be available. it is assumed that xp38, an uplink port, is available to be used for FLE. In this example, ports xp27 and xp29 are available access ports, not currently used or planned for future use. If you use xp29 as the egress port, the following command applies: fabric-encap create uplink-port xp26 loopback-port xp27 egress-port xp29 If you use xp38 as the egress port, the following command applies: fabric-encap create uplink-port xp26 loopback-port xp27 egress-port xp38 For example: Plexxi Release Notes 35

36 Example: Switch 2e SFP-E Consider a Plexxi Switch 2e set to SFP-E DCI mode. Packets routed to uplink port xp25 are looped back through Loopback (access) port xp26, encapsulated, egress through Egress port xp28, and exit the switch through front panel Uplink port xp28. The network cable must be unplugged from port xp25 and plugged into port xp28. A Loopback cable must be connected between front panel port xp25 and port xp26. Notes: If you want to use uplink ports for either the loopback or egress port, the available uplink ports depend partly on the current and future planned confluent ring size. For example, for W-SFP, with a confluent ring size =1, port xp27 may be available. With a confluent ring size =2 egressing port xp29 may be available. With a confluent ring size =4 port xp33 may be available. it is assumed that xp37, an uplink port, is available to be used for FLE. In this example, ports xp27 and xp29 are available access ports, not currently used or planned for future use. If you use xp28 as the egress port, the following command applies: fabric-encap create uplink-port xp25 loopback-port xp26 egress-port xp28 If you use xp37 as the egress port, the following command applies: fabric-encap create uplink-port xp25 loopback-port xp26 egress-port xp37 For example: 36 Plexxi Release Notes

37 CLI Commands The following commands are used to configure, show and delete DCI fabric link encapsulation. Note: When configuring encapsulation and determining ports, to avoid confusion, think in terms of outgoing packet direction where packets are to be encapsulated and sent over DCI; not in terms of incoming packets from a DCI connection. The fabric-encap commands must be executed from the PRIV-EXEC mode of the CLI. To access this mode, after logging into the switch, enter the enable command. You should be at a prompt similar to: Plexxi# fabric-encap create This command configures a DCI fabric link encapsulation for a specified uplink port on a Plexxi switch. The command must be run on both switches in the DCI link to configure FLE in both directions. The CLI command syntax is: fabric-encap create The command arguments are defined as follows: uplink-port UplinkPort <loopback-port LoopbackPort [internal]> <egress-port EgressPort [front-panel-port <xp#>]> [vlan <VLAN>] UplinkPort is the original uplink port to which packets are originally routed and for which the packets need to be encapsulated. LoopbackPort is the port on the internal switch through which non-encapsulated packets enter to be encapsulated. The loopback port can be any available access port or uplink port. Note: You can use the Plexxi Control UI to help determine which switch ports are available to be used as loopback and egress ports for encapsulation. The switch port graphic window is available in Plexxi Control as follows: select Dashboard > Rings > click on the switch > click the Ports tab. The front panel graphic identifies currently used ports and available ports. Unavailable ports are grayed out. Plexxi switches 2, 2s, 2p, 2sp The internal keyword, which is valid only for Plexxi switches 2, 2s, 2p, 2sp, specifies that the loopback from uplink port to loopback port is performed internally. When the internal keyword is used, an external loopback cable is NOT needed. The loopback port can be any uplink port or access port greater than xp48. If you do not use the internal keyword, loopback is external and an external loopback cable is required. if you use any of the ports xp1-xp48 for loopback, you cannot specify the internal keyword and must have an external cable. Plexxi switch 2e In Plexxi switch 2e, a cable must be installed between the original uplink port and the loopback port. The uplink cable that is part of the DCI circuit must be unplugged from the original uplink port and connected to the new front panel egress port. Important: Switch 2e does not support the internal keyword. Plexxi Release Notes 37

38 EgressPort is the port on the internal switch through which encapsulated packets egress the switch. The egress port is a fabric port that can be an access port or an uplink port. Note: You can use the Plexxi Control UI to help determine which switch ports are available to be used as loopback and egress ports for encapsulation. The switch port graphic window is available in Plexxi Control as follows: select Dashboard > Rings > click on the switch > click the Ports tab. The front panel graphic identifies currently used ports and available ports. Unavailable ports are grayed out. Plexxi switches 2, 2s, 2p, 2sp If you do not specify a front panel egress port using the front-panel-port argument, the internal switch egress port connects to the original front panel uplink port. Re-cabling is not needed. However, if you specify an egress port xp1-xp48 using the front-panel-port argument, you will need to move the cable to that port. Plexxi switch 2e In Plexxi switch 2e, the egress port defines the new front panel port through which encapsulated packets egress the switch. The front panel port number is the same as the internal switch egress port number. The uplink cable that is part of the DCI circuit must be unplugged from the original uplink port and connected to the new front panel egress port. The egress port can be any available access port or uplink port. xp# is the variable associated with the Optional front-panel-port argument, and is valid only for Plexxi switches 2, 2s, 2p, 2sp, front-panel-port defines a new front panel port as the uplink port that carries encapsulated packets. Important: If the egress port is in the range 1-48, do NOT specify a front panel xp# port. Important: The xp# parameter does not apply to Switch 2e. VLAN is optional. If specified, it will be used in the tunnel header. If not specified, a value from the Plexxi reserved VLAN range (4040) will be used. The VLAN parameter is important if the Plexxi switches are connecting to an intermediate switch/switches whose ports are members of a VLAN. fabric-encap delete This command deletes the fabric encapsulation configuration associated with a specified uplink port. At the Plexxi# prompt on the switch, enter the command: fabric-encap delete uplink-port UplinkPort where UplinkPort is the original uplink port. For example: fabric-encap delete uplink-port xp53 38 Plexxi Release Notes

39 show fabric-encap This show command provides information of FLE configuration, packet statistics, and link status. This command is valid at the Plexxi# prompt on the switch. Syntax: show fabric-encap <config link stats> Where: config: Shows the FLE configuration. link: Shows the link status for all FLE ports. stats: Shows packet counters for the links in both directions. Examples: FED_LAB_2SP# show fabric-encap config link stats FED_LAB_2SP# show fabric-encap config UplinkPort Loopbackport EgressPort Internal FrontPanelPort Vlan xp73 xp95 xp96 true xp FED_LAB_2SP# show fabric-encap link UplinkPort Link Loopbackport Link EgressPort Link xp73 up xp95 up xp96 up FED_LAB_2SP# FED_LAB_2SP# show fabric-encap stats UplinkPort Loopbackport EgressPort Uplink-TxPkts Loopback-RxPkts Egress-TxPkts Uplink-RxPkts Loopback-TxPkts Egress-RxPkts xp73 xp95 xp Plexxi Release Notes 39

40 CLI Enhancements Overview Release incorporates the following CLI enhancements: The following new CLI commands to make debugging of IP forwarding issues easier. New ip show commands and enhanced output of some existing IP show commands to make IP debugging easier. New CLI commands to support new features in See feature descriptions. Refer to CLI Guide for further information on the new and enhanced commands. New Commands The following new commands have been added to the CLI. show ip host The command syntax is: plexxi# show ip host show ip fastpath statistics The command syntax is: show ip fastpath statistics [active] show ip fastpath statistics active The command syntax is: show ip fastpath statistics active Enhanced Commands show ip interface The following new options in bold: detail extensive hardware statistics show ip route Detailed information Extensive information Hardware information Statistics The 'show ip route' command has been extended with the 'ecmp' and 'fastpath' options: show ip arp The 'show ip arp' command has been extended with the 'macbind' and 'proactive' options: 40 Plexxi Release Notes

41 show tech-support The 'show tech-support' command now runs the following ip show commands and captures their output: show ip fastpath statistics active show ip route database show ip route fastpath show ip route fastpath detail show ip route ecmp show ip route ecmp detail show ip arp show ip arp fastpath show ip arp macbind show ip arp proactive show ip host show ip host extensive show ip interface brief show ip interface extensive Plexxi Release Notes 41

42 Issues Fixed in this Release Issue ID Description PXPF-1073 Fixed an issue on Switch 2e hardware to properly detect and report fans that stop spinning. PXSW-210 Fixed an issue where power levels for QSFP ports were not being reported correctly in the show transceivers command. PXCTL-483 Improved the performance of the Fitting operation. PXCTL-306 Improved the performance of discovery of rings with large number of switches. PXSW-877 Fixed the output of some CLI show commands to include user defined transceiver labels. PXCTL-1923 Fixed an issue where MLAGs created while running previous software releases could not be renamed after upgrading to newer Plexxi Control software. PXUI-2271 Fixed an issue in the Plexxi UI configuration of port mirroring where once a mirror-to port was selected, it could not be deselected. Known Issues in this Release Issue ID Description PXSW-1216 Before increasing the size of the confluent ring via the Plexxi Switch CLI, the user must be certain to remove any configuration from the ports to be added to the confluent ring LAG. This configuration includes L1 Replication, Fabric Link Encapsulation and User Defined Paths. PXCTL-1882 During the period when a 'Fit' operation is being computed and communicated to Plexxi Switches, all configuration changes made by Plexxi Control or Plexxi Connect will be locked out until the Fit operation completes. PXCTL-1973 Fabric Link Encapsulation configuration commands at the Plexxi Switch CLI involving the same resource (e.g. uplink-port, egress-port) must be executed with a sufficient delay between commands 10 seconds to ensure proper synchronization with Plexxi Control. 42 Plexxi Release Notes

43 Contact Plexxi Care Plexxi Care technical support services are available to answer your questions and to make sure your software and hardware are operating properly at all times. Contact Plexxi Care using one of the following methods: (US/Canada toll-free) (US/International) Copyright The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Plexxi and the Plexxi logo are trademarks of Plexxi, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other product or service name may be trademarks or service marks of others. No part of this documentation may be reproduced in any form or by any means or used to make any derivative work (such as translation, transformation, or adaptation) without written permission from Plexxi, Inc. Plexxi, Inc. provides this documentation AS IS, without warranty, term, or condition of any kind, either implied or expressed, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties, terms, or conditions of merchantability, satisfactory quality, non-infringement and fitness for a particular purpose. Plexxi, Inc. reserves the right to make changes to equipment design or program components described in this documentation, as progress in engineering, manufacturing methods, or other circumstances may warrant. No responsibility is assumed for the use of Plexxi, Inc. software or hardware, all rights, obligations and remedies related to which are as set forth in the applicable sales and license agreements. Plexxi, Inc. 100 Innovative Way - Suite 3322 Nashua, NH Tel: PLEX (7539) Published Date, August 26, 2016 Printed in United States of America. Copyright 2016 Plexxi, Inc. All rights reserved. Plexxi Release Notes 43