Cisco Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator Deployment Guide, Release 4.2(x)

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Configuring Sites That Contain Remote Leaf Switches

Updated: November 11, 2023

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Overview

SD Configuring Sites That Contain Remote Leaf Switches

Multi-Site architecture supports APIC sites with Remote Leaf switches. The following sections describe guidelines, limitations, and configuration steps required to allow Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator to manage these sites.

Remote Leaf Guidelines and Limitations

If you want to add an APIC site with a Remote Leaf to be managed by the Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator, the following restrictions apply:

  • You must upgrade your Cisco APIC to Release 4.2(4) or later.

  • Only physical Remote Leaf switches are supported in this release

  • Only -EX and -FX or later switches are supported as Remote Leaf switches for use with Multi-Site

  • Remote Leaf is not supported with back-to-back connected sites without IPN switches

  • Remote Leaf switches in one site cannot use another site's L3Out

  • Stretching a bridge domain between one site and a Remote Leaf in another site is not supported

You must also perform the following tasks before the site can be added to and managed by the Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator:

  • You must enable Remote Leaf direct communication and configure routable subnets directly in the site's APIC, as described in the following sections.

  • You must add the routable IP addresses of Cisco APIC nodes in the DHCP-Relay configuration applied on the interfaces of the Layer 3 routers connecting to the Remote Leaf switches.

    The routable IP address of each APIC node is listed in the Routable IP field of the System > Controllers > <controller-name> screen of the APIC GUI.

Configuring Routable Subnets for Remote Leaf Switches

Before you can add a site that contains one or more Remote Leaf switches to the Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator, you must configure routable subnets for the pod with which the Remote Leaf nodes are associated.

Procedure

1.

Log in directly to the site's APIC GUI.
2.

From the menu bar, select Fabric > Inventory.
3.

In the Navigation pane, click Pod Fabric Setup Policy.
4.

In the main pane, double-click the pod where you want to configure the subnets.
5.

In the Routable Subnets area, click the + sign to add a subnet.
6.

Enter the IP and Reserve Address Count, set the state to Active or Inactive, then click Update to save the subnet.

When configuring routable subnets, you must provide a netmask between /22 and /29.
7.

Click Submit to save the configuration.

Enabling Direct Communication for Remote Leaf Switches

Before you can add a site that contains one or more Remote Leaf switches to the Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator, you must configure direct remote leaf communication for that site. Additional information about remote leaf direct communication feature is available in the Cisco APIC Layer 3 Networking Configuration Guide. This section outlines the steps and guidelines specific to the integration with Multi-Site.

Note

Once you enable Remote Leaf switch direct communication, the switches will function in the new mode only

Procedure

1.

Log in directly to the site's APIC.
2.

Enable direct traffic forwarding for Remote Leaf switches.

  1. From the menu bar, navigate to System > System Settings.

  2. From the left side bar, select Fabric Wide Setting.

  3. Check the Enable Remote Leaf Direct Traffic Forwarding checkbox.

    Note

    You cannot disable this option after you enable it.

  4. Click Submit to save the changes.