Host-Facing and Border Port Channel Management

This chapter explains how to create, edit, and delete host-facing and border port channels. It has the following sections:

Creating a Host-Facing and Border Port Channel

This section explains how to create a host-facing and border port channel.

Before You Begin

  • A switch has been successfully added to the switchpool.

  • Two or more interfaces must be present.

    Step 1   From the Navigation drop-down list, choose Home.
    Step 2   Click the INTERFACES tab. An interface-specific window appears with a group of filter boxes in the Actions bar located above your interface tiles.
    Step 3   (Optional) In the third filter box above the interface tiles, click the drop-down and choose Host facing or Border.
    Step 4   Click the check box located at the bottom right corner of the host-facing or border interface tile you want to add to the port channel. You can choose more than one tile. Note that the interfaces should be connected to the same device. The device information is displayed on the tile as neighbor information if the neighbor device supports and has either CDP or LLDP enabled. If CDP or LLDP information is not available, no information will be displayed.
    Step 5   From the Settings drop-down list, choose Add to new logical port channel. The CREATE NEW LOGICAL PORT CHANNEL dialog box appears with GENERAL, MORE, ROUTING, and MEMBERS tabs.
    Step 6   Enter the appropriate values in the fields of each tab as listed in the CREATE NEW LOGICAL PORT CHANNEL Dialog Box Fields table below then continue to step 9.
    Table 1 CREATE NEW LOGICAL PORT CHANNEL Dialog Box Fields

    Field

    Description

    GENERAL Tab
    Name

    Enter a name for the port channel.

    Profile

    Apply a profile.

    Description

    Enter a description of the port channel.

    Role

    Choose a role:

    • Auto

    • Border

    • Host facing

    Note   

    The role will be automatically determined by the roles of the physical member interfaces. It is rare that there is a requirement to change this setting.
    Port channel mode

    Choose from the following options:

    • LACP

    • Static

    Note   

    The default value is Static.

    State

    Enabled/Disabled

    SELECTED tab

    Click to see the specified interface(s) that can be added to the logical port channel.

    MOVING tab

    Click to see the specified interface(s) being moved to the logical port channel.

    EXCLUDED tab

    Click to see the specified interface(s) that cannot be added to the logical port channel.

    MORE Tab
    Untagged broadcast domain

    Set the untagged broadcast domain for this port channel.

    Speed

    Speed determines the speed of the port channel seed. The seed determines the set of authoritative parameters by which all member interfaces are compared to determine whether they can be an active part of this port channel. Speed does not change the actual speed of the physical ports.
    ROUTING Tab
    Routed mode

    Enabled The interface is configured for Layer 3 mode and the properties below are enabled.

    Disabled The interface is configured for Layer 2 mode and the properties below are disabled.

    IP address

    Enter the IP address.

    VRF

    Choose a VRF.

    MAC address

    Enter a MAC address.

    MTU

    Specify the maximum transmission unit size.

    MEMBERS Tab

    Add more items

    Add interfaces.

    Note   

    As the interfaces are added, they are displayed. Interfaces can be removed by clicking on the check marks beside the included interfaces. A green check mark indicates a valid port channel member. A red check mark indicates an invalid member and a reason is displayed in the dialog by hovering over the red check mark.
    Step 7   Click SAVE CHANGES. A new port-channel interface tile will be displayed.

    Viewing Port Channel Details

    Clicking the port channel name on a port channel tile enables you to view detailed information about the port channel such as the number of Tx and Rx bits and packets sent per second, the members of the port channel, associated broadcast domains, a history of tasks, and a list of faults. This section explains where to find this information.

    Before You Begin

    A host-facing and border port channel has been created.

      Step 1   From the Navigation drop-down list, choose Home.
      Step 2   Click the INTERFACES tab. Your interface tiles appear with a group of filter boxes in the Actions bar located above your interface tiles.
      Step 3   (Optional) In the third filter box above the switch tiles, click the drop-down list and choose Host facing.
      Step 4   Click to highlight a tile. A summary pane appears on the right with the information below:

      • Profile—Interface profile

      • Interface class—Class of the interface

      • Routed mode—Router mode, which can be Layer 2 or Layer 3

      • Description—Description text

      • Management state—State of the interface (managed or monitored)

      • Role—Role assigned to the interface

      • Port channel mode—Port channel mode of the interface

      • MTU—Operational MTU that is being used (where applicable)

      • Aggregate speed—Interface speed

      • Untagged broadcast domain—Untagged broadcast domain

      • Broadcast domains—Number of broadcast domains associated with the interface

      • Neighbor interface—Neighbor interface

      • Neighbor device—Neighbor device

      • Members—Candidate neighbor

      • Backing—Actual port channel interface identifiers on port channel member switches

      Step 5   In the host-facing and border port channel tile, click the name. A port channel-specific window opens displaying the following tabs:

      • OVERVIEW—Displays statistics for transmitted and received bits and packets, member information, such as the number of active broadcast domain members and the total number of configured members on the broadcast domain, general transceiver information, and a comment icon for adding a comment.

      • MEMBERS—Displays the interface members or interfaces that are members of the port channel.

      • BROADCAST DOMAINS—Displays associated broadcast domains and allows broadcast domain membership editing.

      • HISTORY—Lists the history of actions taken on the port channel.

      • FAULTS—Lists the faults on the port channel.

      Editing a Host-Facing or Border Port Channel

      This section explains how to edit a host-facing and border port channel.

      Before You Begin

      A host-facing and border port channel has been created.

        Step 1   From the Navigation drop-down list, choose Home.
        Step 2   Click the INTERFACES tab. Your interface tiles appear. Port channel interfaces are identified by the letters "PO" on the interface tile.
        Step 3   Click in the whitespace of the interface tile you want to edit. A logical port channel-specific window appears with a summary pane on the right that contains the EDIT option.
        Step 4   Click EDIT. The LOGICAL PORT CHANNEL SETTINGS dialog box appears with GENERAL SETTINGS and MORE SETTINGS tabs.
        Step 5   Enter the appropriate values in the fields of each tab as listed in the following table and then continue to the next step.
        Table 2 LOGICAL PORT CHANNEL SETTINGS Dialog Box Fields

        Field

        Description

        GENERAL Tab
        Name

        Enter a name for the port channel.

        Profile

        Apply a profile.

        Description

        Enter a description of the port channel.

        Role

        Choose a role:

        • Auto

        • Border

        • Host facing
        Port channel mode

        Choose from the following options:

        • LACP

        • Static

        Note   

        The default value is LACP.

        State

        Specify the state of the interface. The state can be Enabled/Disabled.

        MORE Tab
        Untagged broadcast domain

        Set the untagged broadcast domain for this port channel.

        Speed

        Set the interface speed.
        ROUTING Tab
        Routed mode

        Enabled The interface is configured for Layer 3 mode and the properties below are enabled.

        Disabled The interface is configured for Layer 2 mode and the properties below are disabled.

        IP address

        Enter the IP address.

        VRF

        Choose a VRF.

        MAC address

        Enter a MAC address.

        MTU

        Specify the maximum transmission unit size.

        Step 6   Click SAVE CHANGES.

        Editing the Broadcast Domain Membership of a Host-Facing and Border Port Channel

        This section explains how to add and remove one or more existing broadcast domains.

        Before You Begin

        • For adding broadcast domains to a host-facing and border port channel:

          • At least one broadcast domain has been created.

          • A host-facing and border port channel has been created.

        • For removing broadcast domains from a host-facing and border port channel:

          • At least one broadcast domain has been added to a host-facing and border port channel.

          Step 1   From the Navigation drop-down list, choose Home.
          Step 2   Click the INTERFACES tab. The INTERFACES tab displays your interface tiles.
          Step 3   (Optional) Follow these instructions to locate your host-facing and border interfaces:

          1. In the third filter box above the switch tiles, click the drop-down arrow.

          2. Choose Host facing or Border.

          The host-facing and border interfaces are displayed.
          Step 4   Click on the name inside an interface tile. An interface-specific window appears.
          Step 5   Click the BROADCAST DOMAINS tab. Any broadcast domain tiles associated with this interface are displayed.
          Step 6   From the Settings drop-down list, choose Manage membership. Broadcast domain tiles appear.
          Step 7   (Optional) Follow these steps to filter for specific broadcast domains:

          1. Enter an expression in the Filter expression field of the Actions bar.

          2. Click Apply filter.

          Step 8   Choose one of the following:

          • Adding broadcast domains:

            • To add all the broadcast domains displayed in the BROADCAST DOMAINS tab, click the + (plus) symbol on the right side of the Actions bar .

            • To add a specific broadcast domain, click the + (plus) symbol in the bottom right corner of a broadcast domain tile.

              Note   

              • You can select more than one tile at a time.

              • After a broadcast domain has been added, it can be set as an untagged broadcast domain by clicking Set untagged in the panel on the right. A small tag icon appears in the tile.

          • Removing broadcast domains:

            • To remove all the broadcast domains displayed in the BROADCAST DOMAINS tab, click the - (minus) symbol on the right side of the Actions bar.

            • To remove a specific broadcast domain, click the - (minus) symbol in the bottom right corner of a broadcast domain tile.

              Note   

              • You can select more than one tile at a time.

              • If the removed broadcast domain was untagged, removing it will also unset it as untagged broadcast domain.

          Step 9   When finished, click EXIT MEMBERSHIP MODE. The changes you made are saved.

          Resetting a Port Channel

          Resetting a port channel interface instructs the switches to perform a shutdown, no-shutdown command sequence on the port channel interface itself. In the case of a virtual port channel (vPC), this action will take place on both member leaf switches.

          This section explains how to reset a host-facing and border port channel.

          Before You Begin

          A host-facing or border port channel has been created.

            Step 1   From the Navigation drop-down list, choose Home.
            Step 2   Click the INTERFACES tab. Your interface tiles appear. Port channel interfaces are identified by the letters "PO" on the interface tile.
            Step 3   Click in the whitespace of the interface tile you want to reset. A port channel interface-specific window appears with a summary pane on the right that contains the RESET option.
            Step 4   Click RESET. The RESET INTERFACES dialog box appears.
            Step 5   Click RESET.

            Deleting a Host-Facing and Border Port Channel

            This section explains how to delete a host-facing and border port channel.

            Before You Begin

            A host-facing or border port channel has been created.

              Step 1   From the Navigation drop-down list, choose Home.
              Step 2   Click the INTERFACES tab. Your interface tiles appear. Port channel interfaces are identified by the letters "PO" on the interface tile.
              Step 3   Click in the whitespace of the interface tile you want to delete. A port channel interface-specific window appears with a summary pane on the right that contains the DELETE option.
              Step 4   Click DELETE. The DELETE SELECTED dialog box appears.
              Step 5   Click DELETE.