Cisco UCS CLI System Monitoring Guide for Cisco UCS Mini, Release 3.0

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Book Title

Cisco UCS CLI System Monitoring Guide for Cisco UCS Mini, Release 3.0

Chapter Title

Monitoring Traffic

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Updated:
July 21, 2014

Chapter: Monitoring Traffic

Monitoring Traffic

This chapter includes the following sections:

Traffic Monitoring

Traffic monitoring copies traffic from one or more sources and sends the copied traffic to a dedicated destination port for analysis by a network analyzer. This feature is also known as Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN).

Important:

You can monitor or use SPAN on port channels only for ingress traffic.

Type of Session

When you create a traffic monitoring session, you can choose either an Ethernet or Fibre Channel destination port to receive the traffic. The type of destination port determines the type of session, which in turn determines the types of available traffic sources. For an Ethernet traffic monitoring session, the destination port must be an unconfigured physical port. For a Fibre Channel traffic monitoring session, the destination port must be a Fibre Channel uplink port.

Traffic Sources

An Ethernet traffic monitoring session can monitor any of the following traffic sources:

  • Uplink Ethernet port

  • Ethernet port channel

  • VLAN

  • Service profile vNIC

  • Service profile vHBA

  • FCoE port

  • Port channels

  • Unified uplink port

A Fibre Channel traffic monitoring session can monitor any of the following traffic sources:

  • Uplink Fibre Channel port

  • SAN port channel

  • VSAN

  • Service profile vHBA

  • Fibre Channel storage port

Guidelines and Recommendations for Traffic Monitoring

When configuring or activating traffic monitoring, consider the following guidelines:

  • You can create and store up to 16 traffic monitoring sessions, but only two can be active at the same time.

  • A traffic monitoring session is disabled by default when created. To begin monitoring traffic, you must activate the session.

  • A traffic monitoring session must be unique on any fabric interconnect within the Cisco UCS pod. Therefore, you must create each monitoring session with a unique name and unique VLAN source.

  • To monitor traffic from a server, add all vNICs from the service profile corresponding to the server.

  • You can monitor Fibre Channel traffic using either a Fibre Channel traffic analyzer or an Ethernet traffic analyzer. When Fibre Channel traffic is monitored using an Ethernet traffic monitoring session, with an Ethernet destination port, the destination traffic will be FCoE.

  • Because a traffic monitoring destination is a single physical port, a traffic monitoring session can monitor only a single fabric. To monitor uninterrupted vNIC traffic across a fabric failover, you must create two sessions—one per fabric—and connect two analyzers. Add the vNIC as the traffic source for both sessions.

  • All traffic sources must be located within the same switch as the destination port.

  • A port configured as a destination port cannot also be configured as a source port.

  • A member port of a port channel cannot be configured individually as a source. If the port channel is configured as a source, all member ports are source ports.

  • A vHBA can be a source for either an Ethernet or Fibre Channel monitoring session, but it cannot be a source for both simultaneously.

  • A server port can be a source only if it is a non-virtualized rack server adapter-facing port.

  • A Fibre Channel port on a Cisco UCS 6248 fabric interconnect cannot be configured as a source port.

  • If you change the port profile of a virtual machine, any associated vNICs being used as source ports are removed from monitoring, and you must reconfigure the monitoring session.

  • If a traffic monitoring session was configured on a dynamic vNIC under a release earlier than Cisco UCS Manager Release 2.0, you must reconfigure the traffic monitoring session after upgrading.

  • SPAN traffic is rate-limited to 1 Gbps on Cisco UCS 6200 Series fabric interconnects.


Note

Traffic monitoring can impose a significant load on your system resources. To minimize the load, select sources that carry as little unwanted traffic as possible and disable traffic monitoring when it is not needed.

Creating an Ethernet Traffic Monitoring Session

This procedure describes creating an Ethernet traffic monitoring session.

Procedure
     Command or ActionPurpose
    Step 1UCS-A# scope eth-traffic-mon  

    Enters Ethernet traffic monitoring command mode.

     
    Step 2UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon # scope fabric {a | b}  

    Enters traffic monitoring command mode for the specified fabric.

     
    Step 3UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric # create eth-mon-session session-name  

    Creates a traffic monitoring session with the specified name.

     
    Step 4UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session # create dest-interface slot-num port-num  

    Configures the interface at the specified slot and port number to be the destination for the traffic monitoring session. Enters the command mode for the interface.

     
    Step 5UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session/dest-interface # set speedadmin-speed  

    Sets the data transfer rate of the port channel to be monitored. This can be:

    • 1gbps—1 Gbps

    • 10gbps—10 Gbps

     
    Step 6UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session/dest-interface # commit-buffer  

    Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

     

    The following example creates an Ethernet traffic monitoring session to copy and forward traffic to the destination port at slot 2, port 12, sets the admin speed to 20 Gbps, and commits the transaction: 

    UCS-A# scope eth-traffic-mon
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon # scope fabric a
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric # create eth-mon-session EthMonitor33
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session* # create dest-interface 2 12
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session/dest-interface* # set speed 20gbps
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session/dest-interface* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session/dest-interface #
    What to Do Next

    • Add traffic sources to the traffic monitoring session.

    • Activate the traffic monitoring session.

    Creating a Fibre Channel Traffic Monitoring Session

    Procedure
       Command or ActionPurpose
      Step 1UCS-A# scope fc-traffic-mon  

      Enters Fibre Channel traffic monitoring command mode.

       
      Step 2UCS-A /fc-traffic-mon # scope fabric {a | b}  

      Enters Fibre Channel traffic monitoring command mode for the specified fabric.

       
      Step 3UCS-A /fc-traffic-mon/fabric # create fc-mon-session session-name  

      Creates a Fibre Channel traffic monitoring session with the specified name.

       
      Step 4UCS-A /fc-traffic-mon/fabric/fc-mon-session # create dest-interface slot-num port-num  

      Creates and enters the command mode of the destination slot and port for the Fibre Channel traffic monitoring session.

       
      Step 5UCS-A /fc-traffic-mon/fabric/fc-mon-session/dest-interface # set speedadmin-speed 

      Sets the data transfer rate of the port channel to be monitored. This can be:

      • 1gbps—1 Gbps

      • 2gbps—2 Gbps

      • 4gbps—4 Gbps

      • 8gbps—8 Gbps

      • auto—Cisco UCS determines the data transfer rate.

       
      Step 6UCS-A /fc-traffic-mon/fabric/fc-mon-session/dest-interface # commit-buffer  

      Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

       

      The following example creates a Fibre channel traffic monitoring session to copy and forward traffic to the destination port at slot 1, port 10, sets the admin speed to 8 Gbps, and commits the transaction:

      UCS-A# scope fc-traffic-mon
UCS-A /fc-traffic-mon # scope fabric a
UCS-A /fc-traffic-mon/fabric # create fc-mon-session FCMonitor
UCS-A /fc-traffic-mon/fabric/fc-mon-session* # create dest-interface 1 10
UCS-A /fc-traffic-mon/fabric/fc-mon-session/dest-interface* # set speed 8gbps
UCS-A /fc-traffic-mon/fabric/fc-mon-session/dest-interface* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /fc-traffic-mon/fabric/fc-mon-session/dest-interface #
      What to Do Next

      • Add traffic sources to the traffic monitoring session.

      • Activate the traffic monitoring session.

      Adding Traffic Sources to a Monitoring Session

      Adding an Uplink Source Port to a Monitoring Session


      Note

      This procedure describes adding an Ethernet uplink port as a source for a traffic monitoring session. To add a Fibre Channel uplink port as a source, enter the scope fc-uplink command instead of the scope eth-uplink command in Step 1.

      Before You Begin

      A traffic monitoring session must be created.

      Procedure
         Command or ActionPurpose
        Step 1UCS-A# scope eth-uplink  

        Enters Ethernet uplink command mode.

         
        Step 2UCS-A /eth-uplink # scope fabric {a | b}  

        Enters uplink fabric mode for the specified fabric.

         
        Step 3UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric # scope interface slot-num port-num  

        Enters the interface command mode for the specified uplink port.

         
        Step 4UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/interface # create mon-src session-name  

        Adds the uplink port as a source to the specified monitoring session.

         
        Step 5UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/interface/mon-src # set direction {both | receive | transmit}   (Optional)

        Specifies the traffic direction to be monitored.

        Note   

        If you do not select any direction, the default direction is Rx.

         
        Step 6UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/interface/mon-src # commit-buffer  

        Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

         

        The following example adds the ingress traffic on Ethernet uplink port 3 on slot 2 of fabric A as a source for a monitoring session and commits the transaction: 

        UCS-A# scope eth-uplink
UCS-A /eth-uplink # scope fabric a
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric # scope interface 2 3
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/interface # create mon-src Monitor23
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/interface/mon-src* # set direction receive
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/interface/mon-src* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/interface/mon-src #
        What to Do Next

        You can add additional sources to the traffic monitoring session.

        Adding a vNIC or vHBA Source to a Monitoring Session


        Note

        This procedure describes adding a vNIC as a source for a traffic monitoring session. To add a vHBA as a source, enter the scope vhba command instead of the scope vnic command in Step 2.

        Before You Begin

        A traffic monitoring session must be created.

        Procedure
           Command or ActionPurpose
          Step 1Switch-A# scope system  

          Enters system mode.

           
          Step 2Switch-A /system # scope vm-mgmt  

          Enters VM management mode.

           
          Step 3Switch-A /system/vm-mgmt # show virtual-machine   (Optional)

          Displays the running virtual machines.

           
          Step 4Switch-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope virtual-machine uuid  

          Enters command mode for the virtual machine that contains the dynamic vNIC.

           
          Step 5Switch-A /system/vm-mgmt/virtual-machine # show expand   (Optional)

          Displays the virtual machine details, including the vNIC MAC address.

           
          Step 6Switch-A /system/vm-mgmt/virtual-machine # scope vnic mac-address  

          Enters the command mode for the vNIC at the specified MAC address.

           
          Step 7Switch-A /system/vm-mgmt/virtual-machine/vnic # create mon-src session-name  

          Adds the vNIC as a source to the specified monitoring session.

           
          Step 8Switch-A /system/vm-mgmt/virtual-machine/vnic/mon-src # set direction {both | receive | transmit}   (Optional)

          Specifies the traffic direction to be monitored.

           
          Step 9Switch-A /system/vm-mgmt/virtual-machine/vnic/mon-src # commit-buffer  

          Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

           

          The following example adds the ingress traffic on a dynamic vNIC as a source for a monitoring session and commits the transaction: 

          Switch-A# scope system
Switch-A /system # scope vm-mgmt
Switch-A /system/vm-mgmt # show virtual-machine
Virtual Machine:
    UUID: 42327c42-e00c-886f-e3f7-e615906f51e9
    Service Profile: org-root/ls-dsw-bld1-esx
    Server: sys/chassis-1/blade-1
    Status: Online
.
.
.
Switch-A /system/vm-mgmt # scope virtual-machine 42327c42-e00c-886f-e3f7-e615906f51e9
Switch-A /system/vm-mgmt/virtual-machine # show expand
Virtual Machine:
    UUID: 42327c42-e00c-886f-e3f7-e615906f51e9
    Service Profile: org-root/ls-dsw-bld1-esx
    Server: sys/chassis-1/blade-1
    Status: Online

    vNIC:
        Name:
        Status: Online
        MAC Address: 00:50:56:B2:00:00

        VIF:
            Vif Id: 32772
            Status: Online
            Phys Fabric ID: B
            Virtual Fabric:
Switch-A /system/vm-mgmt/virtual-machine # scope vnic 00:50:56:B2:00:00
Switch-A /system/vm-mgmt/virtual-machine/vnic # create mon-src Monitor23
Switch-A /system/vm-mgmt/virtual-machine/vnic/mon-src* # set direction receive
Switch-A /system/vm-mgmt/virtual-machine/vnic/mon-src* # commit-buffer

Switch-A /system/vm-mgmt/virtual-machine/vnic/mon-src #
          What to Do Next

          You can add additional sources to the traffic monitoring session.

          Adding a VLAN or VSAN Source to a Monitoring Session


          Note
          This procedure describes adding a VLAN as a source for a traffic monitoring session. To add a VSAN as a source, the following changes are required:

          • Enter the scope fc-uplink command instead of the scope eth-uplink command in Step 1.

          • Enter the create vsan command instead of the create vlan command in Step 3.

          Before You Begin

          A traffic monitoring session must be created.

          Procedure
             Command or ActionPurpose
            Step 1UCS-A# scope eth-uplink  

            Enters Ethernet uplink command mode.

             
            Step 2UCS-A /eth-uplink # scope fabric {a | b}  

            Enters uplink fabric mode for the specified fabric.

            Note    This step is required when adding a local VLAN as a source. To add a global VLAN as a source, omit this step.
             
            Step 3UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric # create vlan vlan-name vlan-id  

            Creates a named VLAN, specifies the VLAN name and VLAN ID, and enters uplink VLAN mode.

             
            Step 4UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/vlan # create mon-src session-name  

            Adds the VLAN as a source to the specified monitoring session.

             
            Step 5UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/vlan/mon-src # commit-buffer  

            Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

             

            The following example adds a local VLAN as a source for an Ethernet monitoring session and commits the transaction: 

            UCS-A# scope eth-uplink
UCS-A /eth-uplink # scope fabric a
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric # create vlan vlan23 23
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/vlan # create mon-src Monitor23
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/vlan/mon-src* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/vlan/mon-src #
            What to Do Next

            You can add additional sources to the traffic monitoring session.

            Adding a Storage Port Source to a Monitoring Session


            Note

            This procedure describes adding a Fibre Channel storage port as a source for a Fibre Channel traffic monitoring session. To add an FCoE storage port as a source for an Ethernet traffic monitoring session, enter the create interface fcoe command instead of the create interface fc command in Step 3.

            Before You Begin

            A traffic monitoring session must be created.

            Procedure
               Command or ActionPurpose
              Step 1UCS-A# scope fc-storage  

              Enters Fibre Channel storage port command mode.

               
              Step 2UCS-A /fc-storage # scope fabric {a | b}  

              Enters Fibre Channel storage port fabric mode for the specified fabric.

               
              Step 3UCS-A /fc-storage/fabric # create interface fc slot-num port-num  

              Creates a Fibre Channel storage port interface and enters the interface command mode.

               
              Step 4UCS-A /fc-storage/fabric/fc # create mon-src session-name  

              Adds the storage port as a source to the specified monitoring session.

               
              Step 5UCS-A /fc-storage/fabric/fc/mon-src # commit-buffer  

              Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

               

              The following example adds a Fibre Channel storage port on port 3 of slot 2 as a source for a Fibre Channel monitoring session and commits the transaction: 

              UCS-A# scope fc-storage
UCS-A /fc-storage # scope fabric a
UCS-A /fc-storage/fabric # create interface fc 2 3
UCS-A /fc-storage/fabric/fc* # create mon-src Monitor23
UCS-A /fc-storage/fabric/fc/mon-src* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /fc-storage/fabric/fc/mon-src #
              What to Do Next

              You can add additional sources to the traffic monitoring session.

              Activating a Traffic Monitoring Session

              This procedure describes activating an Ethernet traffic monitoring session.

              Before You Begin

              Configure a traffic monitoring session.

              Procedure
                 Command or ActionPurpose
                Step 1UCS-A# scope eth-traffic-mon  

                Enters Ethernet traffic monitoring command mode.

                 
                Step 2UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon # scope fabric {a | b}  

                Enters traffic monitoring command mode for the specified fabric.

                 
                Step 3UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric # scope eth-mon-session session-name  

                Enters the command mode of the traffic monitoring session with the specified name.

                 
                Step 4UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session # disable | enable  

                Disables or enables the traffic monitoring session.

                 
                Step 5UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session # commit-buffer  

                Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

                 

                When activated, the traffic monitoring session begins forwarding traffic to the destination as soon as a traffic source is configured.

                The following example activates an Ethernet traffic monitoring session and commits the transaction: 

                UCS-A# scope eth-traffic-mon
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon # scope fabric a
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric # scope eth-mon-session Monitor33
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session # enable
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session # show

Ether Traffic Monitoring Session:
    Name       Admin State       Oper State   Oper State Reason
    ---------- ----------------- ------------ -----------------
    Monitor33  Enabled           Up           Active

UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session #

                Deleting a Traffic Monitoring Session

                This procedure describes deleting an Ethernet traffic monitoring session.

                Procedure
                   Command or ActionPurpose
                  Step 1UCS-A# scope eth-traffic-mon  

                  Enters Ethernet traffic monitoring command mode.

                   
                  Step 2UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon # scope fabric {a | b}  

                  Enters traffic monitoring command mode for the specified fabric.

                   
                  Step 3UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric # delete eth-mon-session session-name  

                  Deletes the traffic monitoring session with the specified name.

                   
                  Step 4UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric # commit-buffer  

                  Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

                   

                  The following example deletes an Ethernet traffic monitoring session and commits the transaction: 

                  UCS-A# scope eth-traffic-mon
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon # scope fabric a
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric # delete eth-mon-session Monitor33
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric #

                  SPAN restrictions for Cisco UCS Mini

                  Consider the following guidelines and restrictions when configuring the SPAN feature on Cisco UCS Mini

                  • FC port as SPAN destination is not supported.

                  • VSAN as SPAN source is not supported.

                  • FC uplink ports as SPAN source is not supported.

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