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This chapter includes the following sections:
The first time that you access a fabric interconnect in a Cisco UCS instance, a setup wizard prompts you for the following information required to configure the system:
You can choose to either restore the system configuration from an existing backup file, or manually setup the system by going through the setup wizard. If you choose to restore the system, the backup file must be reachable from the management network.
You can configure a Cisco UCS instance to use a single fabric interconnect in a standalone configuration or to use a redundant pair of fabric interconnects in a cluster configuration.
A cluster configuration provides high availability. If one fabric interconnect becomes unavailable, the other takes over. Only one management port (Mgmt0) connection is required to support a cluster configuration; however, both Mgmt0 ports should be connected to provide link-level redundancy.
Note |
The cluster configuration only provides redundancy for the management plane. Data redundancy is dependent on the user configuration and may require a third-party tool to support data redundancy. |
To use the cluster configuration, the two fabric interconnects must be directly connected together using Ethernet cables between the L1 (L1-to-L1) and L2 (L2-to-L2) high availability ports, with no other fabric interconnects in between. This allows the two fabric interconnects to continuously monitor the status of each other and quickly know when one has failed.
Both fabric interconnects in a cluster configuration must go through the initial setup process. The first fabric interconnect to be setup must be enabled for a cluster configuration, then when the second fabric interconnect is setup, it detects the first fabric interconnect as a peer fabric interconnect in the cluster.
For more information, refer to the Cisco UCS 6100 Series Fabric Interconnect Hardware Installation Guide.
In a standalone configuration, you must specify only one IP address and the subnet mask for the single management port on the fabric interconnect.
In a cluster configuration, you must specify the following three IP addresses in the same subnet:
Management port IP address for fabric interconnect A
Management port IP address for fabric interconnect B
Cluster IP address
Tip |
After the initial configuration, you can change the management IP port and the related subnet mask in the Cisco UCS Manager CLI. You cannot make this change in the Cisco UCS Manager GUI. |
Verify the following physical connections on the fabric interconnect:
The console port is physically connected to a computer terminal or console server
The management Ethernet port (mgmt0) is connected to an external hub, switch, or router
For more information, refer to the Cisco UCS Hardware Installation Guide for your fabric interconnect.
Collect the following information that you will need to supply during the initial setup:
Initial System Setup for a Cluster Configuration
Verify the following physical connections on the fabric interconnect:
A console port on the first fabric interconnect is physically connected to a computer terminal or console server
The management Ethernet port (mgmt0) is connected to an external hub, switch, or router
The L1 ports on both fabric interconnects are directly connected to each other
The L2 ports on both fabric interconnects are directly connected to each other
For more information, refer to the Cisco UCS Hardware Installation Guide for your fabric interconnect.
Collect the following information that you will need to supply during the initial setup:
System name.
Password for the admin account. Choose a strong password with at least one capital letter and one number. This password cannot be blank.
Three static IP addresses: two for the management port on both fabric interconnects (one per fabric interconnect), and one for the cluster IP address used by Cisco UCS Manager.
Subnet mask for the three static IP addresses.
Default gateway IP address.
DNS server IP address (optional).
Domain name for the system (optional).
Step 1 | Connect to the console port. | ||||||||||||||||||
Step 2 |
Power on the fabric interconnect. You will see the power on self-test messages as the fabric interconnect boots. |
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Step 3 | At the installation method prompt, enter gui. | ||||||||||||||||||
Step 4 |
If the system cannot access a DHCP server, you are prompted to enter the following information: |
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Step 5 | Copy the web link from the prompt into a web browser and go to the Cisco UCS Manager GUI launch page. | ||||||||||||||||||
Step 6 | On the Cisco UCS Manager GUI launch page, select Express Setup. | ||||||||||||||||||
Step 7 | On the Express Setup page, select Initial Setup and click Submit. | ||||||||||||||||||
Step 8 | In the Cluster and Fabric Setup Area: | ||||||||||||||||||
Step 9 |
In the System Setup Area, complete the following fields:
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Step 10 |
Click Submit. A page displays the results of your setup operation. |
You must ensure the following:
A console port on the second fabric interconnect is physically connected to a computer terminal or console server
You know the password for the admin account on the first fabric interconnect that you configured.
Step 1 | Connect to the console port. |
Step 2 |
Power on the fabric interconnect. You will see the power on self-test messages as the fabric interconnect boots. |
Step 3 | At the installation method prompt, enter gui. |
Step 4 |
If the system cannot access a DHCP server, you are prompted to enter the following information: |
Step 5 | Copy the web link from the prompt into a web browser and go to the Cisco UCS Manager GUI launch page. |
Step 6 | On the Cisco UCS Manager GUI launch page, select Express Setup. |
Step 7 |
On the Express Setup page, select Initial Setup and click Submit. The fabric interconnect should detect the configuration information for the first fabric interconnect. |
Step 8 | In the Cluster and Fabric Setup Area: |
Step 9 | In the System Setup Area, enter the password for the Admin account into the Admin Password of Master field. |
Step 10 |
Click Submit. A page displays the results of your setup operation. |
You can add a second fabric interconnect to an existing Cisco UCS instance that uses a single standalone fabric interconnect. To do this, you must enable the standalone fabric interconnect for cluster operation, and then add the second fabric interconnect to the cluster.
Command or Action | Purpose | |
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Step 1 | UCS-A# connect local-mgmt | Enters local management mode. |
Step 2 | UCS-A(local-mgmt) # enable cluster ip-addr | Enables cluster operation on the standalone fabric interconnect with the specified IP address. When you enter this command, you are prompted to confirm that you want to enable cluster operation. Type yes to confirm. |
The following example enables a standalone fabric interconnect with IP address 192.168.1.101 for cluster operation:
UCS-A# connect local-mgmt
UCS-A(local-mgmt)# enable cluster 192.168.1.101
This command will enable cluster mode on this setup. You cannot change it
back to stand-alone. Are you sure you want to continue? (yes/no): yes
UCS-A(local-mgmt)#
Add the second fabric interconnect to the cluster.
The Ethernet switching mode determines how the fabric interconnect behaves as a switching device between the servers and the network. The fabric interconnect operates in either of the following Ethernet switching modes:
End-host mode allows the fabric interconnect to act as an end host to the network, representing all server (hosts) connected to it through vNICs. This is achieved by pinning (either dynamically pinned or hard pinned) vNICs to uplink ports, which provides redundancy toward the network, and makes the uplink ports appear as server ports to the rest of the fabric. When in end-host mode, the fabric interconnect does not run the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) and avoids loops by denying uplink ports from forwarding traffic to each other, and by denying egress server traffic on more than one uplink port at a time. End-host mode is the default Ethernet switching mode and should be used if either of the following are used upstream:
Note |
When end-host mode is enabled, if a vNIC is hard pinned to an uplink port and this uplink port goes down, the system cannot re-pin the vNIC, and the vNIC remains down. |
Switch mode is the traditional Ethernet switching mode. The fabric interconnect runs STP to avoid loops, and broadcast and multicast packets are handled in the traditional way. Switch mode is not the default Ethernet switching mode, and should be used only if the fabric interconnect is directly connected to a router, or if either of the following are used upstream:
Note |
For both Ethernet switching modes, even when vNICs are hard pinned to uplink ports, all server-to-server unicast traffic in the server array is sent only through the fabric interconnect and is never sent through uplink ports. Server-to-server multicast and broadcast traffic is sent through all uplink ports in the same VLAN. |
When you change the Ethernet switching mode, Cisco UCS Manager logs you out and restarts the fabric interconnect. For a cluster configuration, Cisco UCS Manager restarts both fabric interconnects sequentially. The second fabric interconnect can take several minutes to complete the change in Ethernet switching mode and become system ready.
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab. |
Step 2 | On the Equipment tab, expand . |
Step 3 | In the Work pane, click the General tab. |
Step 4 |
In the Actions area of the General tab, click one of the following links:
The link for the current Ethernet switching mode is dimmed. |
Step 5 |
In the dialog box, click Yes. Cisco UCS Manager restarts the fabric interconnect, logs you out, and disconnects Cisco UCS Manager GUI. |
Step 6 | Launch Cisco UCS Manager GUI and log back in to continue configuring your system. |
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab. | ||||||||||||||||||
Step 2 | On the Equipment tab, expand . | ||||||||||||||||||
Step 3 | Click the node for the fabric interconnect that you want to monitor. | ||||||||||||||||||
Step 4 |
In the Work pane, click one of the following tabs to view the status of the fabric interconnect:
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Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Admin tab. | ||||||||
Step 2 | On the Admin tab, click All. | ||||||||
Step 3 | In the Work pane, click the General tab. | ||||||||
Step 4 | In the Actions area, click Change System Name/IP Address. | ||||||||
Step 5 |
In the Properties for: UCS Manager dialog box, change one or more of the following fields:
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Step 6 | Click OK. | ||||||||
Step 7 | Log out of Cisco UCS Manager GUI and log back in again to see your changes. |
In-band access cannot be changed from Cisco UCS Manager GUI.
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Admin tab. | ||||||||
Step 2 | On the Admin tab, click All. | ||||||||
Step 3 | In the Work pane, click the General tab. | ||||||||
Step 4 | In the Actions area, click Change Fabric_Interconnect_Name Access. | ||||||||
Step 5 | In the Properties for: Fabric_Interconnect_Name dialog box, click the Communication Services tab. | ||||||||
Step 6 |
Change one or more of the following fields:
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Step 7 | Click OK. |
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab. |
Step 2 | In the Equipment tab, expand . |
Step 3 | Click the fabric interconnect for which you want to identify the role. |
Step 4 | In the Work pane, click the General tab. |
Step 5 | In the General tab, click the down arrows on the High Availability Details bar to expand that area. |
Step 6 | View the Leadership field to determine whether the fabric interconnect is the primary or subordinate. |