Cisco MDS 9000 Family Fabric Manager Configuration Guide, Release 1.3 (from Release 1.3(1) through Release 1.3(6))
Managing System Hardware

Table Of Contents

Managing System Hardware

Configuring Power Supplies

Guidelines for Power Supplies with Different Capacities

Guidelines for Power Supplies with Different Capacities

Managing Power Supplies

Displaying Module Temperature

Monitoring Fan Modules

Monitoring Clock Modules

Viewing System Attributes

Viewing Running Processes

Viewing Flash File Information

Managing Inventory Information

Managing Module Attributes


Managing System Hardware


This chapter provides details on monitoring the health of the switch.

This chapter contains the following topics:

Configuring Power Supplies

Displaying Module Temperature

Monitoring Fan Modules

Monitoring Clock Modules

Viewing System Attributes

Viewing Running Processes

Viewing Flash File Information

Managing Inventory Information

Managing Module Attributes

Configuring Power Supplies

Switches in the MDS 9000 Family have two redundant power supply slots. The power supplies can be configured in either redundant or combined mode.

Redundant mode—Uses the capacity of one power supply only. This is the default mode. In case of power supply failure, the entire switch has sufficient power available in the system.

Combined mode—Uses the combined capacity of both power supplies. In case of power supply failure, the entire switch can be shut down (depends on the power used) causing traffic disruption. This mode is seldom used, except in cases where the switch has two low power supply capacities but a higher power usage.


Note The chassis in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family uses 1200 Watts when powered at 110 volts, and 2500 Watts when powered at 220 volts.


Guidelines for Power Supplies with Different Capacities

When power supplies with different capacities are installed in the switch, the total power available differs based on the configured mode.

In redundant mode, the total power is the lesser of the two power supply capacities. For example, if you have the following usage figures configured:

Power supply 1 = 2500 Watts

Additional Power supply 2 = not used

Current usage = 2000 Watts

Current capacity = 2500 Watts

Then the following three scenarios differ as specified:

Scenario 1—If 1800 Watts is added as power supply 2, then power supply 2 is shut down.

Reason: 1800 Watts is less than the usage of 2000 Watts.

Scenario 2—If 2200 Watts is added as power supply 2, then the current capacity decreases to 2200 Watts.

Reason: 2200 Watts is the lesser of the two power supplies.

Scenario 3—If 3000 Watts is added as power supply 2, then the current capacity value remains at 2500 Watts.

Reason: 2500 Watts is the lesser of the two power supplies.

Table 10-1 lists redundant mode power supply scenarios.

Table 10-1 Redundant Mode Power Supply Scenarios 

Scenario
Power Supply 1 (Watts)
Current Usage (Watts)
Insertion of Power Supply 2 (Watts)
New Capacity (Watts)
Action Taken by Switch

1

2500

2000

1800

2500

Power supply 2 is shut down.

2

2500

2000

2200

2200

Capacity becomes 2200Watts.

3

2500

2000

3300

2500

Capacity remains the same.


In combined mode, the total power is twice the lesser of the two power supply capacities.

For example, if you have the following usage figures configured:

Power supply 1 = 2500 Watts

Additional Power supply 2 = not used

Current Usage = 2000 Watts

Current capacity = 2500 Watts

Then, the following three scenarios differ as specified:

Scenario 1—If 1800 Watts is added as power supply 2, then the capacity increases to 3600 Watts.

Reason: 3600 Watts is twice the minimum (1800 Watts).

Scenario 2—If 2200 Watts is added as power supply 2, then the current capacity increases to 4400 Watts.

Reason: 4400 Watts is twice the minimum (2200 Watts).

Scenario 3—If 3000 Watts is added as power supply 2, then the current capacity increases to 5000 Watts.

Reason: 5000 Watts is twice the minimum (2500 Watts).

Table 10-2 lists combined mode power supply scenarios.

Table 10-2 Combined Mode Power Supply Scenarios 

Scenario
Power Supply 1 (Watts)
Current Usage (Watts)
Insertion of Power Supply 2 (Watts)
New Capacity (Watts)
Action Taken by Switch

1

2500

2000

1800

3600

Power is never shut down. The new capacity is changed.

2

2500

2000

2200

4400

3

2500

2000

3300

5000


Guidelines for Power Supplies with Different Capacities

When you change the configuration from combined to redundant mode and the system detects a power supply that has a capacity lower than the current usage, the power supply is shut down. If both power supplies have a lower capacity than the current system usage, the configuration is not allowed. Various configuration scenarios are displayed and summarized in Table 10-3.

Scenario 1—You have the following usage figures configured:

Power supply 1 = 2500 Watts

Additional Power supply 2 = 1800 Watts

Current Usage = 2000 Watts

Current mode = combined mode (so current capacity is 3600Watts)

You decide to change the switch to redundant mode. Then power supply 2 is shut down.

Reason: 1800Watts is the lesser of the two power supplies and it is less than the system usage.

Scenario 2—You have the following usage figures configured:

Power supply 1 = 2500 Watts

Additional Power supply 2 = 2200 Watts

Current Usage = 2000 Watts

Current mode = combined mode (so current capacity is 4400Watts).

You decide to change the switch to redundant mode. Then the current capacity decreases to 2200Watts.

Reason: 2200Watts is the lesser of the two power supplies.

Scenario 3—You have the following usage figures configured:

Power supply 1 = 2500 Watts

Additional Power supply 2 = 1800 Watts

Current Usage = 3000 Watts

Current mode = combined mode (so current capacity is 3600 Watts).

You decide to change the switch to redundant mode. Then the current capacity decreases to 2500Watts and the configuration is rejected.

Reason: 2500Watts is less than the system usage (3000Watts).

Table 10-3 Summary of Configuration Scenarios for Power Supplies with Different Capacities 

Scenario
Power Supply 1 (W)
Current Mode
Current Usage (W)
Power Supply 2 (W)
New Mode
New Capacity (W)
Action Taken by Switch

1

2500

combined

2000

1800

N/A

3600

Existing configuration.

 

2500

N/A

2000

1800

redundant

2500

Power supply 2 is shut down

2

2500

combined

2000

2200

N/A

4400

Existing configuration.

 

2500

N/A

2000

2200

redundant

2200

The new capacity is changed.

3

2500

combined

3000

1800

N/A

3600

Existing configuration.

 

2500

N/A

3000

1800

redundant

N/A

Rejected, so the mode reverts to combined mode.


Managing Power Supplies

To manage power supply power attributes, perform the following steps.


Step 1 From the Fabric Manager menu tree, choose Switches > Modules and then click the Power Supplies tab, or from the Device Manager, choose Physical > Power Supplies. The Information pane from the Fabric Manager displays power supply power attributes for multiple switches. The dialog box from the Device Manager displays power supply power attributes for a single switch.

Step 2 Configure the power attributes for the power supply.


Displaying Module Temperature

Each module (switching and supervisor) has four sensors: 1 (outlet sensor), 2 (intake sensor), 3 (onboard sensor), and 4 (onboard sensor). Each sensor has two thresholds (in Celsius), minor and major.


Note A threshold value of -127 indicates that no thresholds are configured or applicable.


When a minor threshold is exceeded, a minor alarm occurs and the following action is taken for all four sensors:

Syslog messages are displayed.

Call Home alerts are sent (if configured).

SNMP notifications are sent (if configured).

When a major threshold is exceeded, a major alarm occurs and the following action is taken as follows:

For sensors 1, 3, and 4 (outlet and onboard sensors):

Syslog messages are displayed.

Call Home alerts are sent (if configured).

SNMP notifications are sent (if configured).

For sensor 2 (intake sensor):

If the threshold is exceeded in a switching module, the module is shut down.

If the threshold is exceeded in a supervisor module with HA-standby or standby present, the supervisor module is shut down.

If the standby supervisor is not present, the entire switch is shut down.


Note Switch shut down only happens after a two-minute interval. During this interval the software monitors the temperature every five (5) seconds and continuously sends syslog messages as configured. If the required action is not taken (for example, a new fan module is inserted to decrease temperature) and if the temperature does not come down, the system is shut down at the end of two minutes.


To monitor sensor temperature attributes, perform the following steps.


Step 1 From the Fabric Manager menu tree, choose Switches > Modules and then click the Temperature Sensors tab, or from Device Manager, choose Physical > Temperature Sensors.

The Information pane from the Fabric Manager displays sensor temperature attributes for multiple switches. The Sensors dialog box from the Device Manager displays sensor temperature attributes for a single switch.

Step 2 Configure the sensor attributes.


Monitoring Fan Modules

The fan status is continuously monitored. In case of a fan module failure, the following action is taken:

Syslog messages are displayed.

Call Home alerts are sent (if configured).

SNMP notifications are sent (if configured).


Caution A fan failure could lead to temperature alarms if not corrected immediately.

When a fan module is removed, the Fan module removed message is displayed every 10 seconds for three minutes after the fan removal. After the three-minute interval, a system shutdown message is displayed every 5 seconds for two additional minutes. At the end of this 5-minute sequence, the system is shutdown. If the fan module is re-inserted at any point within this 5-minute period, the remaining sequence is stopped.

To monitor a fan module from Device Manager, choose Physical > Fans. The dialog box displays the fan status.

Monitoring Clock Modules

Each switch has two clock modules for redundancy: Clock A (primary) and Clock B. The redundant clock module (Clock B) takes over if the primary clock module fails. If Clock A is available at startup, the switch uses Clock A, otherwise it uses Clock B.

If Clock A fails, the switch is reset and Clock B automatically takes over. Clock modules cannot be configured. If both modules fail, the switch shuts down. The probability of a clock failure is low given that the mean time between failures (MTBF) is 3660316 hours.

Viewing System Attributes

To manage system attributes, perform the following steps.


Step 1 From the Fabric Manager menu tree, choose Switches, or from Device Manager, choose Admin > System. You can also double-click on the chassis in Device Manager.

The Fabric Manager Information pane shows system attributes for multiple switches. The dialog box from the Device Manager shows system attributes for a single switch.

Step 2 Configure the system attributes for the chassis.


Viewing Running Processes

You can view information about the processes that are currently running on a switch from Device Manager. Choose Admin > Running processes to see the process information listed in the Running Processes dialog box.

Viewing Flash File Information

You can view information about the files that are currently stored in flash memory on the switch from Device Manager. Choose Admin > Flash Files to see the stored files information listed in the Flash Files dialog box.

Managing Inventory Information

To manage inventory attributes, perform the following steps.


Step 1 From the Fabric Manager menu tree, choose Switches > Modules, and then click the Inventory tab, or from Device Manager, choose Physical > Inventory.

The Fabric Manager Information pane displays system attributes for multiple switches. The dialog box from the Device Manager displays system attributes for a single switch.

Step 2 Configure the inventory attributes for the module.


Managing Module Attributes

To manage module status attributes, perform the following steps.


Step 1 From the Fabric Manager menu tree, choose Switches > Modules and then click the Card Status tab, or from Device Manager, choose Physical > Modules.

The Information pane from the Fabric Manager displays card attributes for multiple switches. The dialog box from the Device Manager view displays attributes for a single switch.

Step 2 Configure the status attributes for the module.