Setting Up the Software
This chapter describes how, after installing the Cisco Nexus 1000V software, to create and save an initial Cisco Nexus 1000V configuration file using either the GUI or CLI setup dialog.
Note 
To install the Cisco Nexus 1000V software on your ESX or ESXi VMware server, see the Cisco Nexus 1000V Software Installation Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV1(4).
This chapter includes the following topics:
•Software Configuration Process
Information About Setting Up the Software
After you have installed the Cisco Nexus 1000V software and powered on the VM, a setup configuration dialog starts automatically. This setup configuration dialog is available in either the CLI or GUI and helps you configure the initial configuration file that was created during installation of the software. You can use the procedures in this document and the setup configuration to complete the Cisco Nexus 1000V configuration.
Note To install the Cisco Nexus 1000V software on your ESX or ESXi VMware server, see the Cisco Nexus 1000V Software Installation Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV1(4).
Setting up a Configuration File
Both the CLI and GUI setup dialog prompt you to create an initial configuration file that includes the following minimal configuration:
•Administrative user and password
•Domain ID
•HA Role
•Switch name
•Management 0 interface IP address and netmask
•Telnet and SSH
•VEM feature level
•VLAN for system login and configuration, and control and packet traffic
If you use the configuration GUI, the software also prompts you to do the following in the initial configuration file:
•Create port profiles for the following:
–control, management, and packet port groups
–uplinks
–VMware kernel NICs
•Migrate the following:
–VMware port group or kernel NICs to the correct port-profile.
–PNIC from the VMware vSwitch to the correct uplink on the DVS.
•Create and register a Cisco Nexus 1000V plug-in on the vCenter server.
•Add the host to the Cisco Nexus 1000V DVS.
Guidelines and Limitations
The following guidelines and limitations apply to setting up the Cisco Nexus 1000V.
•It is highly recommended that you install redundant VSMs. For more information about configuring redundant VSMs, see the Cisco Nexus 1000V High Availability and Redundancy Configuration Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV1(4).
A disruption in the broadcast packets between the VSM and VEMs can occur if the following are improperly configured on the ports that carry control or packet traffic:
storm-control broadcast
storm-control multicast
The VSM VM configuration will fail unless the NICs are specified as shown in
Table 2-1.
|
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
First |
Control |
e1000 |
260 |
Second |
Management |
e1000 |
260 |
Third (last) |
Packet |
e1000 |
260 |
•When installing the Cisco Nexus 1000 in a VMware cluster with DRS enabled, all ESX hosts must be migrated to the Cisco Nexus 1000 DVS. If only some hosts are migrated it is possible that VMs could be installed or moved to hosts in which the vSwitch is missing VLANs, physical adapters, or both.
•For a complete list of port profile guidelines and limitations, see the Cisco Nexus 1000V Port Profile Configuration Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV1(4).
Prerequisites
Before beginning the setup of the Cisco Nexus 1000V software, you must know or do the following:
•You have already installed the Cisco Nexus 1000V software and configured the following using the Cisco Nexus 1000V Software Installation Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV1(4).
–A name for the new VSM that is unique within the inventory folder and up to 80 characters in length.
–The name of the host where the VSM is installed in the inventory folder.
–The name of the datastore in which the VM files are stored.
–The names of the network port groups used for the VM.
–The Cisco Nexus 1000V VSM IP address.
•You are familiar with the "Understanding the CLI" section on page 6-1.
•You are familiar with the "List of Terms" section on page 9-1.
•You are familiar with Cisco Nexus 1000V Configuration Example illustrating a sample Cisco Nexus 1000V setup.
•If you are installing redundant VSMs, make sure you have first completed the following before installing the software on the secondary VSM:
–Install the software on the primary VSM.
–Set up the primary VSM using this document.
•To improve redundancy, install primary and secondary VSM virtual machines in separate hosts connected to different upstream switches. For other recommendations, see the "Implementation Guidelines" section.
•You have already identified the HA role for this VSM from those listed in Table 2-2:
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
Standalone |
X |
|
Primary |
X1 |
|
Secondary |
X2 |
1 If this is the first VSM of a dual supervisor pair, install it as primary. 2 If this is the second VSM of a dual supervisor pair, install it as secondary. |
For more information about HA roles, see the Cisco Nexus 1000V High Availability and Redundancy Configuration Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV1(4).
•When you set up the Cisco Nexus 1000V software, you are required to create an administrator password. Table 2-3 lists password strength guidelines:
•All ESX hosts within a Cisco Nexus 1000V VSM domain must have Layer 2 connectivity to each other.
•If you are using a set of switches, make sure that the inter-switch trunk links carry all relevant VLANs, including control and packet VLANs. The uplink should be a trunk port carrying all VLANs configured on the ESX host.
•The control traffic on the Cisco Nexus 1000V can be affected if you have configured storm control or storm suppression on an upstream switch. Since traffic storm control can drop the broadcast packets that the Cisco Nexus 1000V relies on for communication, be aware of the storm control settings on your upstream switch.
•On the host running the VSM VM, the control and packet VLANs are configured through the VMware switch and the physical NIC.
•In an installation where multiple Ethernet port profiles are active on the same VEM, it is recommended that they do not carry the same VLAN(s). The allowed VLAN list should be mutually exclusive. Overlapping VLANs can be configured but may cause duplicate packets to be received by virtual machines in the network.
•If you are planning to run the VSM and the VEM on the same ESX host, refer to the "Running a VSM and VEM on the Same Host" section on page 5-1.
•On the ESX host for the VSM VM, make sure that you have created the following three VMware vSwitch port groups:
–Control VLAN
–Packet VLAN
–Management VLAN
Make sure to associate them with the corresponding VLANs within the physical LAN.
Figure 2-1 Cisco Nexus 1000V Configuration Example
Software Configuration Process
The following section guides you through the setup process. After completing each procedure, return to this section to make sure you complete all required procedures in the correct sequence.
Step 1 Do one of the following:
•If you are using the GUI application to set up your software, then see the "GUI Software Configuration Process" section on page 3-2.
•If you are using the CLI to set up your software, then see the "CLI Software Configuration Process" section on page 4-1.
Step 2 Verify the configuration. See the "Verifying the Configuration" procedure.
Step 3 Start the VMs. See the "Starting the VMs" procedure.
Step 4 Do one of the following:
•If both the VSM and VEMs are working as expected, continue with the next step.
•If not, then see the Cisco Nexus 1000V Troubleshooting Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV1(4).
Step 5 Continue your implementation. See the "Implementation Guidelines" section.
Step 6 You have completed the Cisco Nexus 1000V software configuration process.
Creating VLANs
You can use this procedure to create a single VLAN or a range of VLANs to be used in the following port profiles:
•The system port profile for VSM-VEM communication
•The uplink port profile for VM traffic
•The data port profile for VM traffic
Port profiles are created when setting up the software using the CLI or GUI.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Before beginning this procedure, you must know or do the following:
Note All interfaces and all ports configured as switchports are in VLAN 1 by default.
•You are logged in to the CLI in EXEC mode.
•For an illustration of how VLANs are used in the Cisco Nexus 1000V, see the "Cisco Nexus 1000V Configuration Example"on page 2-1.
•In accordance with the IEEE 802.1Q standard, up to 4094 VLANs (numbered 1-4094) are supported in Cisco Nexus 1000V, and are organized as shown in the following table.
•You can use the same VLAN for control, packet, and management, but if needed for flexibility, you can use separate VLANs. Make sure that the network segment has adequate bandwidth and latency.
•VLAN ranges used for control and packet port groups must be allowed on the upstream switch.
•Newly-created VLANs remain unused until Layer 2 ports are assigned to them.
•For information about the following, see the Cisco Nexus 1000V Interface Configuration Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV1(4).
–Assigning Layer 2 interfaces to VLANs (access or trunk ports).
–Configuring ports as VLAN access or trunk ports and assigning ports to VLANs.
•For more information about configuring VLANs, see the Cisco Nexus 1000V Layer 2 Switching Configuration Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV1(4).
SUMMARY STEPS
1. config t
2. vlan {vlan-id | vlan-range}
3. show vlan id <vlan-id>
4. copy running-config startup-config
DETAILED STEPS
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
Step 1 |
config t Example: n1000v# config t n1000v(config)# |
Enters global configuration mode. |
Step 2 |
vlan |
Creates, and saves in the running configuration, a VLAN or a range or VLANs. Note Note Note To configure the VLAN further, see the Cisco Nexus 1000V Layer 2 Switching Configuration Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV1(4). |
Example: n1000v(config)# vlan 5 n1000v(config-vlan)# |
This example shows VLAN 5 being created. The VLAN is activated and you are automatically placed into a submode for configuring VLAN 5. |
|
Example: n1000v# config t n1000v(config)# vlan 15-20 n1000v(config-vlan)# |
This example shows the range, VLAN 15-20, being created. The VLANs in the range are activated, and you are automatically placed into a submode for configuring VLAN 15-20. Note |
|
Step 3 |
show vlan id 5 Example: n1000v(config)# show vlan id 5 |
(Optional) Displays the VLAN configuration for verification purposes. |
Step 4 |
copy running-config startup-config Example: n1000v(config)# copy running-config startup-config |
(Optional) Saves the running configuration persistently through reboots and restarts by copying it to the startup configuration. |
You have completed this procedure. Return to the configuration process that pointed you here: • |
||
Verifying the Configuration
You can use this procedure to verify that the software is installed and working as expected.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Before beginning this procedure, you must know or do the following:
•Once the host is added to DVS, the Server-Name is displayed in the show module command output. This should happen within 5 minutes of the module coming up on VSM. The server name is the equivalent of the host object name seen in vCenter Server and is fetched from the vCenter Server-VSM connection.
DETAILED STEPS
Step 1 On the VSM, verify that the VEM appears as expected.
•show module
•show module vem mapping
Example:
n1000v# show module
Mod Ports Module-Type Model Status
--- ----- -------------------------------- ------------------ ------------
1 0 Virtual Supervisor Module Nexus1000V ha-standby
2 0 Virtual Supervisor Module Nexus1000V active *
3 248 Virtual Ethernet Module NA ok
Mod Sw Hw
--- --------------- ------
1 4.2(1)SV1(4) 0.0
2 4.2(1)SV1(4) 0.0
3 4.2(1)SV1(4) VMware ESXi 4.0.0 Releasebuild-208167 (2.0)
Mod MAC-Address(es) Serial-Num
--- -------------------------------------- ----------
1 00-19-07-6c-5a-a8 to 00-19-07-6c-62-a8 NA
2 00-19-07-6c-5a-a8 to 00-19-07-6c-62-a8 NA
3 02-00-0c-00-03-00 to 02-00-0c-00-03-80 NA
Mod Server-IP Server-UUID Server-Name
--- --------------- ------------------------------------ --------------------
1 172.28.15.152 NA NA
2 172.28.15.152 NA NA
3 172.28.30.94 89130a67-e66b-3e57-ad25-547750bcfc7e localhost.
* this terminal session
n1000v#
Example:
n1000v(config-port-prof)# show module vem mapping
Mod Status UUID License Status
--- ----------- ------------------------------------ --------------
3 powered-up 0b0a1871-1fd9-3c1d-b3c6-a097c7a1e714 licensed
Step 2 Do one of the following:
•If the VSM and VEM are active and configured correctly, continue with the next step.
•If not, see the Cisco Nexus 1000V Troubleshooting Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV1(4).
Step 3 On the VSM, use the following commands to verify that the interfaces are up and are assigned to the correct port-groups.
•show port-profile usage
•show interface brief
Example:
n1000v# show port-profile virtual usage
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Port Profile Port Adapter Owner
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
n1kv-uplink0 Po1
Eth3/2 vmnic1 localhost.
Eth3/3 vmnic2 localhost.
vlan1767 Veth7 Net Adapter 1 all-tool-7
Veth8 Net Adapter 1 all-tool-8
aipc1765 Veth4 Net Adapter 1 bl-h-s
inband1766 Veth6 Net Adapter 3 bl-h-s
mgmt1764 Veth5 Net Adapter 2 bl-h-s
vpc-mac-uplink Po7
Eth5/2 vmnic1 localhost.
Eth5/3 vmnic2 localhost.
ch-vpc-mac-uplink Po2 Po3
ch-aipc1765 Veth1 Net Adapter 1 bl-h-p
ch-mgmt1764 Veth2 Net Adapter 2 bl-h-p
ch-inband1766 Veth3 Net Adapter 3 bl-h-p
n1000v#
Step 4 You have completed this procedure.
Return to the Software Configuration Process.
Starting the VMs
You can use this procedure to start the VMs and verify their connectivity to the network.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Before beginning this procedure, you must know or do the following:
•You have an IP address in the same subnet as the VMs to use for verifying VM connectivity.
•You have the VMware documentation for creating the VMs.
•For a detailed description of the system, see the Cisco Nexus 1000V Getting Started Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV1(4).
DETAILED STEPS
Step 1 Create the VMs for the datacenter servers which get their connectivity through the Cisco Nexus 1000V.
Step 2 Edit VM settings on the vSphere Client so that their network adapters are in the port profile as defined when you configured the data port profile for VM traffic.
Step 3 Power on the VMs and verify the traffic as you would normally.
Step 4 You have completed this procedure.
Return to Software Configuration Process.
Implementation Guidelines
After completing the installation procedures in this document, use the following guidelines as you configure the Cisco Nexus 1000V.
•If two or more PNICs are required to carry the same VLANs then you must configure them in a port channel. For information about port channels, see the Cisco Nexus 1000V Layer 2 Switching Configuration Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV1(4).
•If PNICs on the same server are connected to different upstream switches, then you must configure the asymmetric port channel in host mode (vPC-HM). For more information, see the following documents:
–Cisco Nexus 1000V Port Profile Configuration Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV1(4)
–Cisco Nexus 1000V Interface Configuration Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV1(4)
•Cisco recommends that you run the VSM in HA mode. For more information about configuring HA, see the Cisco Nexus 1000V High Availability and Redundancy Configuration Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV1(4).
•Cisco recommends that you migrate the following from the VMware vSwitch to the Cisco Nexus 1000V:
–uplinks
–virtual switch interfaces
–vmkernel NICs (including the management ports)
–VSM VM
•When installing the Cisco Nexus 1000 in a VMware cluster with DRS enabled, all ESX hosts must be migrated to the Cisco Nexus 1000 DVS. If only some hosts are migrated it is possible that VMs could be installed or moved to hosts in which the vSwitch is missing VLANs, physical adapters, or both.
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