Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Security Configuration Guide, Release 6.x
Configuring VLAN ACLs
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Configuring VLAN ACLs

This chapter describes how to configure VLAN access lists (ACLs) on Cisco NX-OS devices.

This chapter includes the following sections:

Information About VLAN ACLs

A VLAN ACL (VACL) is one application of an IP ACL or a MAC ACL. You can configure VACLs to apply to all packets that are routed into or out of a VLAN or are bridged within a VLAN. VACLs are strictly for security packet filtering and for redirecting traffic to specific physical interfaces. VACLs are not defined by direction (ingress or egress).

VLAN Access Maps and Entries

VACLs use access maps to contain an ordered list of one or more map entries. Each map entry associates IP or MAC ACLs to an action. Each entry has a sequence number, which allows you to control the precedence of entries.

When the device applies a VACL to a packet, it applies the action that is configured in the first access map entry that contains an ACL that permits the packet.

VACLs and Actions

In access map configuration mode, you use the action command to specify one of the following actions:

Forward

Sends the traffic to the destination determined by the normal operation of the switch.

Redirect

Redirects the traffic to one or more specified interfaces.

Drop

Drops the traffic. If you specify drop as the action, you can also specify that the device logs the dropped packets.

VACL Statistics

The device can maintain global statistics for each rule in a VACL. If a VACL is applied to multiple VLANs, the maintained rule statistics are the sum of packet matches (hits) on all the interfaces on which that VACL is applied.


Note

The device does not support interface-level VACL statistics.

For each VLAN access map that you configure, you can specify whether the device maintains statistics for that VACL. This feature allows you to turn VACL statistics on or off as needed to monitor traffic filtered by a VACL or to help troubleshoot VLAN access-map configuration.

Session Manager Support for VACLs

Session Manager supports the configuration of VACLs. This feature allows you to verify ACL configuration and confirm that the resources required by the configuration are available prior to committing them to the running configuration. For more information about Session Manager, see the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS System Management Configuration Guide.

Virtualization Support for VACLs

The following information applies to VACLs used in virtual device contexts (VDCs):

  • ACLs are unique per VDC. You cannot use an ACL that you created in one VDC in a different VDC.
  • Because ACLs are not shared by VDCs, you can reuse ACL names in different VDCs.
  • The device does not limit ACLs or rules on a per-VDC basis.

Licensing Requirements for VACLs

This table shows the licensing requirements for this feature.

Product

License Requirement

Cisco NX-OS

VACLs require no license. However to support up to 128,000 ACL entries using an XL line card, you must install the scalable services license. Any feature not included in a license package is bundled with the Cisco NX-OS system images and is provided at no extra charge to you. For an explanation of the Cisco NX-OS licensing scheme, see the Cisco NX-OS Licensing Guide.

Prerequisites for VACLs

VACLs have the following prerequisite:

  • Ensure that the IP ACL or MAC ACL that you want to use in the VACL exists and is configured to filter traffic in the manner that you need for this application.

Guidelines and Limitations for VACLs

VACLs have the following configuration guidelines:

  • We recommend that you perform ACL configurations using the Session Manager. This feature allows you to verify ACL configuration and confirm that the resources required by the configuration are available prior to committing them to the running configuration. For more information about Session Manager, see the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS System Management Configuration Guide.
  • ACL statistics are not supported if the DHCP snooping feature is enabled.
  • The maximum number of supported VACL entries is 64,000 for devices without an XL line card and 128,000 for devices with an XL line card.
  • If you try to apply too many ACL entries to a non-XL line card, the configuration is rejected.
  • Each forwarding engine on an F1 Series module supports 1000 ingress ACL entries, with 984 entries available for user configuration. The total number of VACL entries for the F1 Series modules is from 1000 to 16,000, depending on which forwarding engines the policies are applied.
  • Each of the 16 forwarding engines in an F1 Series module supports up to 250 IPv6 addresses across multiple ACLs.
  • F1 Series modules do not support ACL logging.
  • F1 Series modules do not support bank chaining.
  • Each VACL can support up to six different Layer 4 operations for F1 Series modules.
  • If the same ACL is applied on multiple VLANs of the same port for F1 Series modules (for example, VLAN 10, 20), it is programmed multiple times (in this case, on VLAN 10 and VLAN 20).
  • Each of the 12 forwarding engines in an F2 Series module has 16,000 total TCAM entries, equally split across two banks. 168 default entries are reserved. Each forwarding engine also has 512 IPv6 compression TCAM entries.
  • VACL redirects to SPAN destination ports are not supported.
  • Only F2 Series, M1 Series, and M2 Series modules support deny ACEs in a sequence.
  • Statistics for deny ACE support are supported only for the terminating sequence for the following sequence-based features: VACL, policy-based routing (PBR), and quality of service (QoS).

Default Settings for VACLs

This table lists the default settings for VACL parameters.



Table 1 Default VACL Parameters

Parameters

Default

VACLs

No IP ACLs exist by default

ACL rules

Implicit rules apply to all ACLs

Deny ACE support

Disabled

Configuring VACLs

Creating a VACL or Adding a VACL Entry

You can create a VACL or add entries to an existing VACL. In both cases, you create a VACL entry, which is a VLAN access-map entry that associates one or more ACLs with an action to be applied to the matching traffic.

Before You Begin

Ensure that the ACLs that you want to use in the VACL exists and are configured to filter traffic in the manner that you need for this application.

SUMMARY STEPS

    1.    configure terminal

    2.    vlan access-map map-name [sequence-number]

    3.    Enter one of the following commands:

    • match {ip | ipv6} address ip-access-list
    • match mac address mac-access-list

    4.    action {drop | forward | redirect}

    5.    (Optional) [no] statistics per-entry

    6.    (Optional) show running-config aclmgr

    7.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config


DETAILED STEPS
     Command or ActionPurpose
    Step 1 configure terminal


    Example: 
    switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
     

    Enters global configuration mode.

     
    Step 2 vlan access-map map-name [sequence-number]


    Example: 
    switch(config)# vlan access-map acl-mac-map
switch(config-access-map)#
     

    Enters VLAN access-map configuration mode for the VLAN access map specified. If the VLAN access map does not exist, the device creates it.

    If you do not specify a sequence number, the device creates a new entry whose sequence number is 10 greater than the last sequence number in the access map.

     
    Step 3 Enter one of the following commands:
    • match {ip | ipv6} address ip-access-list
    • match mac address mac-access-list


    Example: 
    switch(config-access-map)# match mac address acl-ip-lab


    Example: 
    switch(config-access-map)# match mac address acl-mac-01
     

    Specifies an ACL for the access-map entry.

     
    Step 4 action {drop | forward | redirect}


    Example: 
    switch(config-access-map)# action forward
     

    Specifies the action that the device applies to traffic that matches the ACL.

    The action command supports many options. For more information, see the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Security Command Reference.

     
    Step 5 [no] statistics per-entry


    Example: 
    switch(config-access-map)# statistics per-entry
          		(Optional)

    Specifies that the device maintains global statistics for packets that match the rules in the VACL.

    The no option stops the device from maintaining global statistics for the VACL.

     
    Step 6 show running-config aclmgr


    Example: 
    switch(config-access-map)# show running-config aclmgr
          		(Optional)

    Displays the ACL configuration.

     
    Step 7 copy running-config startup-config


    Example: 
    switch(config-access-map)# copy running-config startup-config
          		(Optional)

    Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

     

    Removing a VACL or a VACL Entry

    You can remove a VACL, which means that you will delete the VLAN access map.

    You can also remove a single VLAN access-map entry from a VACL.

    Before You Begin

    Ensure that you know whether the VACL is applied to a VLAN. The device allows you to remove VACLs that are currently applied. Removing a VACL does not affect the configuration of VLANs where you have applied the VACL. Instead, the device considers the removed VACL to be empty.

    SUMMARY STEPS

      1.    configure terminal

      2.    no vlan access-map map-name [sequence-number]

      3.    (Optional) show running-config aclmgr

      4.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config


    DETAILED STEPS
       Command or ActionPurpose
      Step 1 configure terminal


      Example: 
      switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
       

      Enters global configuration mode.

       
      Step 2 no vlan access-map map-name [sequence-number]


      Example: 
      switch(config)# no vlan access-map acl-mac-map 10
       

      Removes the VLAN access map configuration for the specified access map. If you specify the sequence-number argument and the VACL contains more than one entry, the command removes only the entry specified.

       
      Step 3 show running-config aclmgr


      Example: 
      switch(config)# show running-config aclmgr
              		(Optional)

      Displays the ACL configuration.

       
      Step 4 copy running-config startup-config


      Example: 
      switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config
              		(Optional)

      Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

       

      Applying a VACL to a VLAN

      You can apply a VACL to a VLAN.

      Before You Begin

      If you are applying a VACL, ensure that the VACL exists and is configured to filter traffic in the manner that you need for this application.

      SUMMARY STEPS

        1.    configure terminal

        2.    [no] vlan filter map-name vlan-list list

        3.    (Optional) show running-config aclmgr

        4.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config


      DETAILED STEPS
         Command or ActionPurpose
        Step 1 configure terminal


        Example: 
        switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
         

        Enters global configuration mode.

         
        Step 2 [no] vlan filter map-name vlan-list list


        Example: 
        switch(config)# vlan filter acl-mac-map vlan-list 1-20,26-30
switch(config)#
         

        Applies the VACL to the VLANs by the list that you specified. The no option unapplies the VACL.

         
        Step 3 show running-config aclmgr


        Example: 
        switch(config)# show running-config aclmgr
                  		(Optional)

        Displays the ACL configuration.

         
        Step 4 copy running-config startup-config


        Example: 
        switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config
                  		(Optional)

        Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

         

        Configuring Deny ACE Support

        You can configure the device to support deny access control entries (ACEs) in a sequence for the following sequence-based features: VACL, policy-based routing (PBR), and QoS. When deny ACEs are enabled, the traffic that matches a deny ACE (an ACL rule with the deny keyword) in a class-map-acl is recursively matched against subsequent class-map-acls until it hits a permit ACE.
        Before You Begin

        Ensure that you are in the correct VDC (or use the switchto vdc command).

        SUMMARY STEPS

          1.    configure terminal

          2.    [no] hardware access-list allow deny ace

          3.    (Optional) show running-config aclmgr

          4.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config


        DETAILED STEPS
           Command or ActionPurpose
          Step 1 configure terminal


          Example: 
          switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
           

          Enters global configuration mode.

           
          Step 2 [no] hardware access-list allow deny ace


          Example: 
          switch(config)# hardware access-list allow deny ace
           

          Enables support for deny ACEs in a sequence.

           
          Step 3 show running-config aclmgr


          Example: 
          switch(config)# show running-config aclmgr
                      		(Optional)

          Displays the ACL configuration.

           
          Step 4 copy running-config startup-config


          Example: 
          switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config
                      		(Optional)

          Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

           

          Verifying the VACL Configuration

          To display VACL configuration information, perform one of the following tasks. For detailed information about the fields in the output from these commands, see the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Security Command Reference.

          Command

          Purpose

          show running-config aclmgr [all]

          Displays the ACL configuration, including the VACL-related configuration.

          Note   

          Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 5.2, this command displays the user-configured ACLs in the running configuration. The all option displays both the default (CoPP-configured) and user-configured ACLs in the running configuration.

          show startup-config aclmgr [all]

          Displays the ACL startup configuration.

          Note   

          Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 5.2, this command displays the user-configured ACLs in the startup configuration. The all option displays both the default (CoPP-configured) and user-configured ACLs in the startup configuration.

          show vlan filter

          Displays information about VACLs that are applied to a VLAN.

          show vlan access-map

          Displays information about VLAN access maps.

          Monitoring and Clearing VACL Statistics

          To monitor or clear VACL statistics, use one of the commands in this table. For detailed information about these commands, see the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Security Command Reference.

          Command

          Purpose

          show vlan access-list

          Displays the VACL configuration. If the VLAN access-map includes the statistics per-entry command, the show vlan access-list command output includes the number of packets that have matched each rule.

          clear vlan access-list counters

          Clears statistics for all VACLs or for a specific VACL.

          Configuration Example for VACLs

          The following example shows how to configure a VACL to forward traffic permitted by a MAC ACL named acl-mac-01 and how to apply the VACL to VLANs 50 through 82.

          conf t 
vlan access-map acl-mac-map
  match mac address acl-mac-01
  action forward 
vlan filter acl-mac-map vlan-list 50-82

          Additional References for VACLs

          Related Documents

          Related Topic

          Document Title

          VACL commands: complete command syntax, command modes, command history, defaults, usage guidelines, and examples

          Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Security Command Reference

          Policy-based routing (PBR) configuration

          Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide

          QoS configuration

          Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Quality of Service Configuration Guide

          Standards

          Standards

          Title

          No new or modified standards are supported by this feature, and support for existing standards has not been modified by this feature.

          —

          Feature History for VLAN ACLs

          This table lists the release history for this feature.

          Table 2 Feature History for VLAN ACLs

          Feature Name

          Releases

          Feature Information

          VLAN ACLs

          6.1(3)

          Added support for deny ACEs in a sequence.

          VLAN ACLs

          6.0(1)

          Updated for F2 Series modules.

          VLAN ACLs

          5.2(1)

          Changed the show running-config aclmgr and show startup-config aclmgr commands to display only the user-configured ACLs (and not also the default CoPP-configured ACLs) in the running and startup configurations.

          VLAN ACLs

          5.1(1)

          No change from Release 5.0.

          VLAN ACLs

          5.0(2)

          Added support for up to 128,000 ACL entries when using an XL line card, provided a scalable services license is installed.

          VLAN access maps

          4.2(1)

          No change from Release 4.1.