Cisco UCS 2200 Series Fabric Extenders Data Sheet
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Cisco Unified Computing System Overview
The Cisco Unified Computing System™ (Cisco UCS™) is a next-generation data center platform that unites compute, network, storage access, and virtualization resources into a cohesive system designed to reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) and increase business agility. The system integrates a low-latency, lossless 10 Gigabit Ethernet unified network fabric with enterprise-class, x86-architecture servers. The system is an integrated, scalable, multichassis platform in which all resources participate in a unified management domain (Figure 1).
Product Overview
Cisco UCS 2200 Series Fabric Extenders bring the unified fabric into the blade server enclosure, providing multiple 10 Gigabit Ethernet connections between blade servers and the fabric interconnect, simplifying diagnostics, cabling, and management. It is a second-generation I/O module (IOM) that shares the same form factor with the first-generation Cisco UCS 2100 Series Fabric Extenders IOM and is backward-compatible with the shipping Cisco UCS 5108 Blade Server Chassis.
The Cisco UCS 2200 Series extends the I/O fabric between the Cisco UCS 6100 and 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects and the Cisco UCS 5100 Series Blade Server Chassis, enabling a lossless and deterministic Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) fabric to connect all blades and chassis together. Since the fabric extender is similar to a distributed line card, it does not perform any switching and is managed as an extension of the fabric interconnects. This approach removes switching from the chassis, reducing overall infrastructure complexity and enabling Cisco UCS to scale to many chassis without multiplying the number of switches needed, reducing TCO and allowing all chassis to be managed as a single, highly available management domain.
The Cisco UCS 2200 Series also manages the chassis environment (the power supply and fans as well as the blades) in conjunction with the fabric interconnect. Therefore, separate chassis management modules are not required.
Cisco UCS 2200 Series Fabric Extenders fit into the back of the Cisco UCS 5100 Series chassis. Each Cisco UCS 5100 Series chassis can support up to two fabric extenders, allowing increased capacity and redundancy (Figure 2).
Cisco UCS 2208XP Fabric Extender
The Cisco UCS 2208XP Fabric Extender (Figure 3) has eight 10 Gigabit Ethernet, FCoE-capable, Enhanced Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP+) ports that connect the blade chassis to the fabric interconnect. Each Cisco UCS 2208XP has thirty-two 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports connected through the midplane to each half-width slot in the chassis. Typically configured in pairs for redundancy, two fabric extenders provide up to 160 Gbps of I/O to the chassis.
Cisco UCS 2204XP Fabric Extender
The Cisco UCS 2204XP Fabric Extender (Figure 4) has four 10 Gigabit Ethernet, FCoE-capable, SFP+ ports that connect the blade chassis to the fabric interconnect. Each Cisco UCS 2204XP has sixteen 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports connected through the midplane to each half-width slot in the chassis. Typically configured in pairs for redundancy, two fabric extenders provide up to 80 Gbps of I/O to the chassis.
Cisco SingleConnect Technology
Cisco SingleConnect Technology is an easy, intelligent, and efficient way to connect and manage computing in the data center. Cisco SingleConnect unifies LAN, SAN, and systems management into one simplified link for rack servers, blade servers, and virtual machines.
SingleConnect is an end-to-end I/O architecture. It incorporates Cisco Virtual Interface Cards, Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnects, and Cisco Fabric Extender (FEX) Technology to connect every server on a single network fabric and on a single network layer. SingleConnect innovations dramatically simplify IT operations, reduce data center costs, and are exclusive to the Cisco Unified Computing System (Cisco UCS).
Cisco SingleConnect is one connection:
● For rack servers and blade servers
● For LAN, SAN, and systems management
● For physical servers and virtual machines
Features and Benefits
Table 1 summarizes the main features and benefits of the Cisco UCS 2200 Series.
Table 1. Features and Benefits
| Feature |
Benefit |
| Management by Cisco UCS Manager |
● Reduces TCO by removing management modules from the chassis, making the chassis stateless
● Provides a single, highly available management domain for all system chassis, reducing administrative tasks
|
| Autoconfiguration |
Simplifies operation by automatically synchronizing firmware levels between the fabric extenders and the interconnects |
| Unified fabric |
● Decreases TCO by reducing the number of network interface cards (NICs), host bus adapters (HBAs), switches, and cables needed
● Transparently encapsulates Fibre Channel packets into Ethernet
|
| Automatic failover |
Increases availability with an active-active data plane |
| Scalable bandwidth |
Reduces TCO by optimizing overall system capacity to match actual workload demands |
| Environmental monitoring |
Removes the need for chassis management modules |
| Lossless fabric |
Provides a reliable, robust foundation for unifying LAN and SAN traffic on a single transport |
| Priority flow control (PFC) |
● Simplifies management of multiple traffic flows over a single network link
● Supports different classes of service, allowing both lossless and classic Ethernet on the same fabric
|
| Systemwide bandwidth management |
Helps enable consistent and coherent quality-of-service (QoS) management throughout the system |
| Cisco Data Center Virtual Machine Fabric Extender (VM-FEX) technology |
● Helps enable a consistent operational model between virtual and physical environments
● Provides the same level of network visibility for virtualized and nonvirtualized environments
● Improves diagnostic and troubleshooting capabilities in a virtual environment
● Simplifies network and security policy enforcement when migrating virtual machines from one host to another
|
| SFP+ ports |
● Increases flexibility with a range of interconnect solutions, including copper Twinax cable for short runs and fiber for long runs
● Consumes less power per port than traditional solutions
● Helps enable cost-effective connections on fabric extenders with Cisco Fabric Extender Transceiver (FET) optics
|
| Fabric PortChannel |
● Provides flexibility to bundle fabric ports in a PortChannel
|
Product Specifications
Cabling
Table 2 presents cabling specifications for the Cisco UCS 2200 Series.
Table 2. Cabling Specifications
| Connector (Media) |
Cable |
Distance |
Power (Each Side) |
Transceiver Latency (Link) |
Standard |
| SFP+ copper (CU) |
Twinax |
1, 3, and 5m |
Approximately 0.1 watt (W) |
Approximately 0.1 microsecond |
SFF 8431 |
| SFP+ FET |
MM OM2 MM OM3 MM OM4 |
25 and 100m |
1W |
Approximately 0 microseconds |
IEEE 802.3ae |
| SFP+ short-reach |
MM OM2 MM OM3 MM OM4 |
82 and 300m |
1W |
Approximately 0 microseconds |
IEEE 802.3ae |
| SFP+ long-reach (LR) MMF and SR |
SMF |
Up to 300m over SMF |
1W |
Approximately 0 microseconds |
IEEE 802.3ae |
Performance
● Hardware forwarding at 640 Gbps
● Low-latency cut-through design, providing predictable, consistent traffic latency regardless of packet size, traffic pattern, or enabled features
Layer 2
● Layer 2 VLAN trunks
● IEEE 802.1Q VLAN encapsulation
● Support for up to 1024 VLANs and virtual SANs (VSANs)
● Support for Cisco Data Center VM-FEX architecture
● Jumbo frames on all ports (up to 9216 bytes)
● Pause frames (IEEE 802.3x)
QoS
● Layer 2 IEEE 802.1p (class of service [CoS])
● CoS-based egress queuing
● Egress strict-priority queuing
● Egress port-based scheduling: Weighted Round-Robin (WRR)
● Eight hardware queues per port
High Availability
● Up to two fabric extenders can work in the Cisco UCS 5100 Series Blade Server Chassis
● Active-active data-plane operation with failover
● Capability to fail over from one fabric extender to another in the event of a failure
● Active-passive management-plane operation
● Support for nonstop management-plane functions; if the active fabric extender fails, the passive fabric extender takes over the chassis management functions
Management
● Management of fabric extenders integrated into Cisco UCS Manager (please refer to the Cisco UCS Manager data sheet for more information about management interfaces)
● Capability to manage blade server chassis components such as power supplies, fans, and blades in conjunction with the fabric interconnect
● Firmware levels between the fabric extender and fabric interconnect always synchronized
Low-Latency, Lossless 10 Gigabit Ethernet Unified Network Fabric
● PFC (per-priority pause frame support)
● Data Center Bridging Exchange (DCBX) Protocol
● IEEE 802.1Qaz: Bandwidth management
Industry Standards
● IEEE 802.1p: CoS prioritization
● IEEE 802.1Q: VLAN tagging
● IEEE 802.3: Ethernet
● IEEE 802.3ad: Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)
● IEEE 802.3ae: 10 Gigabit Ethernet
● SFP+ support
Physical Specifications
SFP+ Optics
Cisco UCS products support 10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ copper Twinax cables for short distances and SFP+ optics for longer distances. SFP+ has several advantages compared to other 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity options, including:
● Small 10 Gigabit Ethernet form factor
● Optical interoperability with XENPAK, X2, and 10 Gigabit Small Form-Factor Pluggable (XFP) interface types
● Low power consumption
● Hot-swappable device
Environment
● Physical (height x width x depth): 7.64 x 1.36 x 7.2 in
● Operating temperature: 32 to 104°F (0 to 40°C)
● Nonoperating temperature: -40 to 158°F (-40 to 70°C)
● Humidity: 5 to 95% (noncondensing)
● Altitude: 0 to 10,000 ft (0 to 3000m)
Weight
● 2.5 lb (1.134 kg); Weight similar for Cisco UCS 2208XP and 2204XP IOMs
Regulatory Standards Compliance: Safety and EMC
Table 3 summarizes Cisco UCS 2200 Series regulatory compliance.
Table 3. Regulatory Standards Compliance: Safety and EMC
Warranty Information
Find warranty information at Cisco.com on the Product Warranties page.
Cisco Unified Computing Services
Using a unified view of data center resources, Cisco and our industry-leading partners deliver services that accelerate your transition to a unified computing environment. Cisco Unified Computing Services helps you quickly deploy your data center resources and optimize ongoing operations to better meet your business needs. For more information about these and other Cisco Data Center Services, visit http://www.cisco.com/go/dcservices.
For More Information
For more information about the Cisco UCS 2200 Series Fabric Extenders, visit http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10278/index.html or contact your local Cisco representative.
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