The following Cisco NX-OS features use the CFS infrastructure:

• N Port Virtualization
• FlexAttach Virtual pWWN
• NTP
• Dynamic Port VSAN Membership
• Distributed Device Alias Services
• IVR topology
• SAN device virtualization
• TACACS+ and RADIUS
• User and administrator roles
• Port security
• iSNS
• Call Home
• Syslog
• fctimer
• SCSI flow services
• Saved startup configurations using the Fabric Startup Configuration Manager (FSCM)
• Allowed domain ID lists
• RSCN timer
• iSLB

CFS has the following features:

• Peer-to-peer protocol with no client-server relationship at the CFS layer.
• Three scopes of distribution.
  • Logical scope—The distribution occurs within the scope of a VSAN.
  • Physical scope—The distribution spans the entire physical topology.
  • Over a selected set of VSANs—Some applications, such as Inter-VSAN Routing (IVR), require configuration distribution over some specific VSANs. These applications can specify to CFS the set of VSANs over which to restrict the distribution.
• Three modes of distribution.
  • Coordinated distributions—Only one distribution is allowed in the fabric at any given time.
  • Uncoordinated distributions—Multiple parallel distributions are allowed in the fabric except when a coordinated distribution is in progress.
  • Unrestricted uncoordinated distributions—Multiple parallel distributions are allowed in the fabric in the presence of an existing coordinated distribution. Unrestricted uncoordinated distributions are allowed to run in parallel with all other types of distributions.
• Supports a merge protocol that facilitates the merge of application configuration during a fabric merge event (when two independent fabrics merge).

All CFS-based applications provide an option to enable or disable the distribution capabilities. Features that existed prior to Cisco SAN-OS Release 2.0(1b) have the distribution capability disabled by default and must have distribution capabilities enabled explicitly.

Applications introduced in Cisco SAN-OS Release 2.0(1b) or later, or MDS NX-OS Release 4.1(1) or later have the distribution enabled by default.

The application configuration is not distributed by CFS unless distribution is explicitly enabled for that application.

The CFS functionality is independent of the lower layer transport. Currently, in Cisco MDS switches, the CFS protocol layer resides on top of the Fiber Channel 2 (FC2) layer and is peer-to-peer with no client-server relationship. CFS uses the FC2 transport services to send information to other switches. CFS uses a proprietary SW_ILS (0x77434653) protocol for all CFS packets. CFS packets are sent to or from the switch domain controller addresses.

CFS can also use IP to send information to other switches.

Applications that use CFS are completely unaware of the lower layer transport.

Different applications on the Cisco MDS 9000 Family switches need to distribute the configuration at various levels:

• VSAN level (logical scope)

  Applications that operate within the scope of a VSAN have the configuration distribution restricted to the VSAN. An example application is port security where the configuration database is applicable only within a VSAN.

• Physical topology level (physical scope)

  Applications might need to distribute the configuration to the entire physical topology spanning several VSANs. Such applications include NTP and DPVM (WWN-based VSAN), which are independent of VSANs.

• Between selected switches

  Applications might only operate between selected switches in the fabric. An example application is SCSI flow services, which operates between two switches.

CFS supports different distribution modes to support different application requirements: coordinated and uncoordinated distributions. Both modes are mutually exclusive. Only one mode is allowed at any given time.

CFS is an infrastructure component that also runs on the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switches and the Cisco MDS 9000 switches. A mixed fabric of different platforms (such as the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series, Cisco Nexus 5000 Series, and Cisco MDS 9000 switches) can interact with each other.

Using CFSoIP and CFSoFC, the respective CFS clients can also talk to their instances running on the other platforms. Within a defined domain and distribution scope, CFS can distribute the client’s data and configuration to its peers running on other platforms.

All three platforms support both CFSoIP and CFSoFC. However, the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series and Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switches require an FC or FCoE plugin and corresponding configuration in order for CFSoFC to operate. Both options are available by default on the Cisco MDS 9000 switches.

Note	Some applications are not compatible with their instances running on different platforms. Therefore, Cisco recommends that you carefully read the client guidelines for CFS distribution before committing the configuration.

For more information on CFS for the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series and Cisco MDS 9000 switches, see the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series NX-OS System Management Configuration Guide and the Cisco MDS 9000 Family NX-OS System Management Configuration Guide, respectively.

When you configure (first time configuration) a Cisco NX-OS feature (or application) that uses the CFS infrastructure, that feature starts a CFS session and locks the fabric. When a fabric is locked, the Cisco NX-OS software does not allow any configuration changes from a switch to this Cisco NX-OS feature, other than the switch holding the lock, and issues a message to inform the user about the locked status. The configuration changes are held in a pending database by that application.

If you start a CFS session that requires a fabric lock but forget to end the session, an administrator can clear the session. If you lock a fabric at any time, your user name is remembered across restarts and switchovers. If another user (on the same machine) tries to perform configuration tasks, that user’s attempts are rejected.

For information on verifying CFS lock status, refer to Verifying CFS Lock Status.

A commit operation saves the pending database for all application peers and releases the lock for all switches.

In general, the commit function does not start a session; only a lock function starts a session. However, an empty commit is allowed if configuration changes are not previously made. In this case, a commit operation results in a session that acquires locks and distributes the current database.

When you commit configuration changes to a feature using the CFS infrastructure, you receive a notification about one of the following responses:

• One or more external switches report a successful status—The application applies the changes locally and releases the fabric lock.
• None of the external switches report a successful state—The application considers this state a failure and does not apply the changes to any switch in the fabric. The fabric lock is not released.

Note	Once the feature commit is done the running configuration has been modified on all switches participating in the feature's distribution. You can then use the copy running-config startup-config fabric command to save the running-config to the startup-config on all the switches in the fabric.

An application keeps the configuration synchronized in a fabric through CFS. Two such fabrics might merge as a result of an ISL coming up between them. These two fabrics could have two different sets of configuration information that need to be reconciled in the event of a merge. CFS provides notification each time an application peer comes online. If a fabric with M application peers merges with another fabric with N application peers and if an application triggers a merge action on every such notification, a link-up event results in M*N merges in the fabric.

CFS supports a protocol that reduces the number of merges required to one by handling the complexity of the merge at the CFS layer. This protocol runs per application per scope. The protocol involves selecting one switch in a fabric as the merge manager for that fabric. The other switches do not play any role in the merge process.

During a merge, the merge manager in the two fabrics exchange their configuration databases with each other. The application on one of them merges the information, decides if the merge is successful, and informs all switches in the combined fabric of the status of the merge.

In case of a successful merge, the merged database is distributed to all switches in the combined fabric and the entire new fabric remains in a consistent state.

You can configure CFS to distribute information over IP for networks containing switches that are not reachable over Fibre Channel. CFS distribution over IP supports the following features:

• Physical distribution over an entirely IP network.

• Physical distribution over a hybrid Fibre Channel and IP network with the distribution reaching all switches that are reachable over either Fibre Channel or IP.

Note	The switch attempts to distribute information over Fibre Channel first and then over the IP network if the first attempt over Fibre Channel fails. CFS does not send duplicate messages if distribution over both IP and Fibre Channel is enabled.

• Distribution over IP version 4 (IPv4) or IP version 6 (IPv6).

Note	CFS cannot distribute over both IPv4 and IPv6 from the same switch.

• Keepalive mechanism to detect network topology changes using a configurable multicast address.

• Compatibility with Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 2.x.

• Distribution for logical scope applications is not supported because the VSAN implementation is limited to Fibre Channel.

Network Example 1 with Fibre Channel and IP Connections shows a network with both Fibre Channel and IP connections. Node A forwards an event to node B over Fibre Channel. Node B forwards the event node C and node D using unicast IP. Node C forwards the event to node E using Fibre Channel.

Network Example 2 with Fibre Channel and IP Connections is the same as Network Example 1 with Fibre Channel and IP Connections except that node D and node E are connected using Fibre Channel. All processes is the same in this example because node B has node C and node D the distribution list for IP. Node C does not forward to node D because node D is already in the distribution list from node B.

Network Example 3 with Fibre Channel and IP Connections is the same as Network Example 2 with Fibre Channel and IP Connections except that node D and node E are connected using IP. Both node C and node D forward the event to E because the node E is not in the distribution list from node B.

CFS over IP can also be used with static IP peers. In this case, dynamic discovery over IP multicast is disabled and CFS distribution is done only on the peers configured statically.

CFS uses the list of configured IP addresses to communicate with each peer and learn the peer switch WWN. After learning the peer switch WWN, CFS marks the switch as CFS-capable and triggers application-level merging and database distribution.

Multicast forwarding is disabled by default in some devices. For example, the IBM Blade chassis has multicast forwarding disabled, especially on external Ethernet ports, and there is no method to enable it. N port virtualization devices use only IP as the transport medium and do not have ISL connectivity or a Fibre Channel domain. Such devices may benefit from using static IP peers for CFS.

The following MDS 9000 features require static IP peer configuration for CFS over IP distribution:

• N port virtualization devices have IP as the communication channel because NPV switches do not have FC domain. NPV devices use CFS over IP as the transport medium.
• FlexAttach virtual pWWN distribution on CFS region 201 that links only the NPV-enabled switches.

A CFS region is a user-defined subset of switches for a given feature or application in its physical distribution scope.When a SAN is spanned across a vast geography, you may need to localize or restrict the distribution of certain profiles among a set of switches based on their physical proximity. Before MDS SAN-OS Release 3.2.(1) the distribution scope of an application within a SAN was spanned across the entire physical fabric without the ability to confine or limit the distribution to a required set of switches in the fabric. CFS regions enables you to overcome this limitation by allowing you to create CFS regions, that is, multiple islands of distribution within the fabric, for a given CFS feature or application. CFS regions are designed to restrict the distribution of a feature’s configuration to a specific set or grouping of switches in a fabric.

Note	You can only configure a CFS region on physical switches in a SAN. You cannot configure a CFS region in a VSAN.

Example CFS Scenario : Call Home is an application that triggers alerts to Network Administrators when a situation arises or something abnormal occurs. When the fabric covers many geographies and with multiple Network Administrators who are each responsible for a subset of switches in the fabric, the Call Home application sends alerts to all Network Administrators regardless of their location. For the Call Home application to send message alerts selectively to Network Administrators, the physical scope of the application has to be fine tuned or narrowed down, which is achieved by implementing CFS regions.

CFS regions are identified by numbers ranging from 0 through 200. Region 0 is reserved as the default region, and contains every switch in the fabric. You can configure regions from 1 through 200. The default region maintains backward compatibility. If there are switches on the same fabric running releases of SAN-OS before Release 3.2(1), only features in Region 0 are supported when those switches are synchronized. Features from other regions are ignored when those switches are synchronized.

If the feature is moved, that is, assigned to a new region, its scope is restricted to that region; it ignores all other regions for distribution or merging purposes. The assignment of the region to a feature has precedence in distribution over its initial physical scope.

You can configure a CFS region to distribute configurations for multiple features. However, on a given switch, you can configure only one CFS region at a time to distribute the configuration for a given feature. Once you assign a feature to a CFS region, its configuration cannot be distributed within another CFS region.

You can commit changes for a specified feature by entering the commit command for that feature.

All CFS over IP enabled switches with similar multicast addresses form one CFS over IP fabric. CFS protocol specific distributions, such as the keepalive mechanism for detecting network topology changes, use the IP multicast address to send and receive information.

Note	CFS distributions for application data use directed unicast.

You can configure a CFS over IP multicast address value for either IPv4 or IPv6. The default IPv4 multicast address is 239.255.70.83 and the default IPv6 multicast address is ff15:efff:4653.

The show cfs status command displays the status of CFS distribution on the switch.

switch# show cfs status
Distribution : Enabled
Distribution over IP : Disabled
IPv4 multicast address : 239.255.70.83
IPv6 multicast address : ff15::efff:4653

The show cfs application command displays the applications that are currently registered with CFS. The first column displays the application name. The second column indicates whether the application is enabled or disabled for distribution (enabled or disabled). The last column indicates the scope of distribution for the application (logical, physical, or both).

Note	The show cfs application command only displays applications registered with CFS. Conditional services that use CFS do not appear in the output unless these services are running.

switch# show cfs application
----------------------------------------------
 Application    Enabled   Scope
----------------------------------------------
 ntp            No        Physical-fc-ip
 fscm           Yes       Physical-fc
 role           No        Physical-fc-ip
 rscn           No        Logical
 radius         No        Physical-fc-ip
 fctimer        No        Physical-fc
 syslogd        No        Physical-fc-ip
 callhome       No        Physical-fc-ip
 fcdomain       No        Logical
 fc-redirect    Yes       Physical-fc
 device-alias   Yes       Physical-fc
Total number of entries = 11

The show cfs application name command displays the details for a particular application. It displays the enabled/disabled state, timeout as registered with CFS, merge capability (if it has registered with CFS for merge support), and the distribution scope.

switch# show cfs application name ntp
 Enabled        : Yes
 Timeout        : 5s
 Merge Capable  : Yes
 Scope          : Physical
 Region 				: Default

The show cfs lock command displays all the locks that are currently acquired by any application. For each application the command displays the application name and scope of the lock taken. If the application lock is taken in the physical scope, then this command displays the switch WWN, IP address, user name, and user type of the lock holder. If the application is taken in the logical scope, then this command displays the VSAN in which the lock is taken, the domain, IP address, user name, and user type of the lock holder.

switch# show cfs lock
Application: ntp
Scope      : Physical
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 Switch WWN               IP Address       User Name    User Type
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 20:00:00:05:30:00:6b:9e  10.76.100.167    admin        CLI/SNMP v3
 Total number of entries = 1
Application: port-security
Scope      : Logical
-----------------------------------------------------------
 VSAN   Domain   IP Address       User Name    User Type
-----------------------------------------------------------
 1      238      10.76.100.167    admin        CLI/SNMP v3
 2      211      10.76.100.167    admin        CLI/SNMP v3
 Total number of entries = 2

The show cfs lock name command displays the lock details similar for the specified application.

switch# show cfs lock name ntp
Scope      : Physical
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 Switch WWN               IP Address       User Name    User Type
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 20:00:00:05:30:00:6b:9e  10.76.100.167    admin        CLI/SNMP v3
 Total number of entries = 1

To verify the CFS over IP configuration, use the show cfs status command.

switch# show cfs status
Distribution : Enabled
Distribution over IP : Disabled
IPv4 multicast address : 239.255.70.83
IPv6 multicast address : ff15::efff:4653

To verify the IP multicast address configuration for CFS over IP, use the show cfs status command.

switch# show cfs status
Fabric distribution Enabled
IP distribution Enabled mode ipv4
IPv4 multicast address : 10.1.10.100 
IPv6 multicast address : ff13::e244:4754

To verify the IP peer configuration, use the show cfs status command.

switch# show cfs status
Distribution: Enabled
Distribution over IP: Enabled - mode IPv4 (static)
IPv4 multicast address : 239:255:70:83
IPv6 multicast address : ff15::efff:4563

To display the status of static IP peers discovery, use the show cfs static peers command.

switch# show cfs static peers
-------------------------------------------------------------
IP Address     WWN                         Status         
-------------------------------------------------------------
192.0.2.4     00:00:00:00:00:00:00:00      Discovery in progress
192.0.2.5     20:00:00:0d:ec:06:55:b9      Reachable
192.0.2.6     20:00:00:0d:ec:06:55:c0      Local