Configuring Ports and Port Channels

This chapter includes the following sections:

Server and Uplink Ports on the 6100 Series Fabric Interconnect

Each 6100 series fabric interconnect has a set of ports in a fixed port module that you can configure as either server ports or uplink Ethernet ports. These ports are not reserved. They cannot be used by a Cisco UCS domain until you configure them. You can add expansion modules to increase the number of uplink ports on the fabric interconnect or to add uplink Fibre Channel ports to the fabric interconnect.

You need to create LAN pin groups and SAN pin groups to pin traffic from servers to an uplink port.


Note

Ports on the 6100 series fabric interconnect are not unified. For more information on Unified Ports, see Unified Ports.

Each fabric interconnect can include the following port types:

Server Ports

Server ports handle data traffic between the fabric interconnect and the adapter cards on the servers.

You can only configure server ports on the fixed port module. Expansion modules do not include server ports.

Uplink Ethernet Ports

Uplink Ethernet ports handle Ethernet traffic between the fabric interconnect and the next layer of the network. All network-bound Ethernet traffic is pinned to one of these ports.

By default, Ethernet ports are unconfigured. However, you can configure them to function in the following ways:
  • Uplink
  • FCoE
  • Appliance

You can configure uplink Ethernet ports on either the fixed module or an expansion module.

Uplink Fibre Channel Ports

Uplink Fibre Channel ports handle FCoE traffic between the fabric interconnect and the next layer of the storage area network. All network-bound FCoE traffic is pinned to one of these ports.

By default, Fibre Channel ports are uplink. However, you can configure them to function as Fibre Channel storage ports. This is useful in cases where Cisco UCS requires a connection to a Direct-Attached Storage (DAS) device.

You can only configure uplink Fibre Channel ports on an expansion module. The fixed module does not include uplink Fibre Channel ports.

Unified Ports on the 6200 Series Fabric Interconnect

Unified ports are ports on the 6200 series fabric interconnect that can be configured to carry either Ethernet or Fibre Channel traffic. These ports are not reserved. They cannot be used by a Cisco UCS domain until you configure them.

Configurable beacon LEDs indicate which unified ports are configured for the selected port mode.

Port Modes

The port mode determines whether a unified port on the fabric interconnect is configured to carry Ethernet or Fibre Channel traffic. The port mode is not automatically discovered by the fabric interconnect; it is configured in Cisco UCS Manager.

Changing the port mode results in the existing port configuration being deleted and replaced by a new logical port. Any objects associated with that port configuration, such as VLANs and VSANS, are removed. There is no restriction on the number of times the port mode can be changed for a unified port.

Port Types

The port type defines the type of traffic carried over a unified port connection.

All of the port types listed are configurable on both the fixed and expansion module, including server ports, which are not configurable on the 6100 series fabric interconnect expansion module, but are configurable on the 6200 series fabric interconnect expansion module.

By default, unified ports changed to Ethernet port mode are set to uplink Ethernet port type. unified ports changed to Fibre Channel port mode are set to the Fibre Channel uplink port type. Fibre Channel ports cannot be unconfigured.

Changing the port type does not require a reboot.

When the port mode is set to Ethernet, you can configure the following port types:

  • Server ports
  • Ethernet uplink ports
  • Ethernet port channel members
  • FCoE ports
  • Appliance ports
  • Appliance port channel members
  • SPAN destination ports
  • SPAN source ports

    Note

    For SPAN source ports, configure one of the port types and then configure the port as SPAN source.

When the port mode is set to Fibre Channel, you can configure the following port types:

  • Fibre Channel uplink ports
  • Fibre Channel port channel members
  • Fibre Channel storage ports
  • SPAN destination ports
  • SPAN source ports

    Note

    For SPAN source ports, configure one of the port types and then configure the port as SPAN source.

Beacon LEDs for Unified Ports

Each port on the 6200 series fabric interconnect has a corresponding beacon LED. When the Beacon LED property is configured, the beacon LEDs illuminate, showing you which ports are configured in a given port mode.

The Beacon LED property can be configured to show you which ports are grouped in one port mode: either Ethernet or Fibre Channel. By default, the Beacon LED property is set to Off.


Note

For unified ports on the expansion module, the Beacon LED property may be reset to the default value of Off during expansion module reboot.

Guidelines for Configuring Unified Ports

Consider the following guidelines and restrictions when configuring unified ports:

Hardware and Software Requirements

Unified ports are supported on the 6200 series fabric interconnect with Cisco UCS Manager, version 2.0.

Unified ports are not supported on 6100 series fabric interconnects, even if they are running Cisco UCS Manager, version 2.0.

Port Mode Placement

Because the Cisco UCS Manager GUI interface uses a slider to configure the port mode for unified ports on a fixed or expansion module, it automatically enforces the following restrictions which limits how port modes can be assigned to unified ports. When using the Cisco UCS Manager CLI interface, these restrictions are enforced when you commit the transaction to the system configuration. If the port mode configuration violates any of the following restrictions, the Cisco UCS Manager CLI displays an error:

  • Ethernet ports must be grouped together in a block. For each module (fixed or expansion), the Ethernet port block must start with the first port and end with an even numbered port.
  • Fibre Channel ports must be grouped together in a block. For each module (fixed or expansion), the first port in the Fibre Channel port block must follow the last Ethernet port and extend to include the rest of the ports in the module. For configurations that include only Fibre Channel ports, the Fibre Channel block must start with the first port on the fixed or expansion module.
  • Alternating Ethernet and Fibre Channel ports is not supported on a single module.

Example of a valid configuration— Might include unified ports 1–16 on the fixed module configured in Ethernet port mode and ports 17–32 in Fibre Channel port mode. On the expansion module you could configure ports 1–4 in Ethernet port mode and then configure ports 5–16 in Fibre Channel mode. The rule about alternating Ethernet and Fibre Channel port types is not violated because this port arrangement complies with the rules on each individual module.

Example of an invalid configuration— Might include a block of Fibre Channel ports starting with port 16. Because each block of ports has to start with an odd-numbered port, you would have to start the block with port 17.


Note

The total number of uplink Ethernet ports and uplink Ethernet port channel members that can be configured on each fabric interconnect is limited to 31. This limitation includes uplink Ethernet ports and uplink Ethernet port channel members configured on the expansion module.

Effect of Port Mode Changes on Data Traffic

Port mode changes can cause an interruption to the data traffic for the Cisco UCS domain. The length of the interruption and the traffic that is affected depend upon the configuration of the Cisco UCS domain and the module on which you made the port mode changes.


Tip

To minimize the traffic disruption during system changes, form a Fibre Channel uplink port-channel across the fixed and expansion modules.

Impact of Port Mode Changes on an Expansion Module

After you make port mode changes on an expansion module, the module reboots. All traffic through ports on the expansion module is interrupted for approximately one minute while the module reboots.

Impact of Port Mode Changes on the Fixed Module in a Cluster Configuration

A cluster configuration has two fabric interconnects. After you make port changes to the fixed module, the fabric interconnect reboots. The impact on the data traffic depends upon whether or not you have configured the server vNICs to failover to the other fabric interconnect when one fails.

If you change the port modes on the expansion module of one fabric interconnect and then wait for that to reboot before changing the port modes on the second fabric interconnect, the following occurs:

  • With server vNIC failover, traffic fails over to the other fabric interconnect and no interruption occurs.
  • Without server vNIC failover, all data traffic through the fabric interconnect on which you changed the port modes is interrupted for approximately eight minutes while the fabric interconnect reboots.

However, if you change the port modes on the fixed modules of both fabric interconnects simultaneously, all data traffic through the fabric interconnects are interrupted for approximately eight minutes while the fabric interconnects reboot.

Impact of Port Mode Changes on the Fixed Module in a Standalone Configuration

A standalone configuration has only one fabric interconnect. After you make port changes to the fixed module, the fabric interconnect reboots. All data traffic through the fabric interconnect is interrupted for approximately eight minutes while the fabric interconnect reboots.

Configuring Port Modes for a 6248 Fabric Interconnect


Caution

Changing the port mode on either module can cause an interruption in data traffic because changes to the fixed module require a reboot of the fabric interconnect and changes on an expansion module require a reboot of that module.

If the Cisco UCS domain has a cluster configuration that is set up for high availability and servers with service profiles that are configured for failover, traffic fails over to the other fabric interconnect and data traffic is not interrupted when the port mode is changed on the fixed module.
Procedure
    Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
    Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
    Step 3   In the Work pane, click the General tab.
    Step 4   In the Actions area of the General tab, click Configure Unified Ports.
    Step 5   Review the confirmation message and click one of the following:
    • Yes—To continue with configuring the port mode.
    • No—To exit without configuring the port mode and wait for an appropriate maintenance window.
    Step 6   Click one of the following buttons to choose the module for which you want to configure the port modes:
    • Configure Fixed Module
    • Configure Expansion Module
    Step 7   Use your mouse to drag the slider along the bar until the displays shows the port mode configuration that you want for the module.

    If you change the port mode for a previously configured port, the port returns to an unconfigured state.
    Step 8   If you need to configure port modes for the other module, repeat Steps 6 and 7.
    Step 9   Click Finish to save your port mode configuration.

    Depending upon the module for which you configured the port modes, data traffic for the Cisco UCS domain is interrupted as follows:

    • Fixed module—The fabric interconnect reboots. All data traffic through that fabric interconnect is interrupted. In a cluster configuration that provides high availability and includes servers with vNICs that are configured for failover, traffic fails over to the other fabric interconnect and no interruption occurs. It takes about 8 minutes for the fixed module to reboot.
    • Expansion module—The module reboots. All data traffic through ports in that module is interrupted. It takes about 1 minute for the expansion module to reboot.
    What to Do Next

    Configure the port types for the ports. You can right-click on any port in the module display above the slider and configure that port for an available port type.

    Configuring Port Modes for a 6296 Fabric Interconnect


    Caution

    Changing the port mode on either module can cause an interruption in data traffic because changes to the fixed module require a reboot of the fabric interconnect and changes on an expansion module require a reboot of that module.

    If the Cisco UCS domain has a cluster configuration that is set up for high availability and servers with service profiles that are configured for failover, traffic fails over to the other fabric interconnect and data traffic is not interrupted when the port mode is changed on the fixed module.
    Procedure
      Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
      Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
      Step 3   In the Work pane, click the General tab.
      Step 4   In the Actions area of the General tab, click Configure Unified Ports.
      Step 5   Review the confirmation message and click one of the following:
      • Yes—To open the Configure Unified Ports wizard and continue with configuring the port mode.
      • No—To exit without configuring the port mode and wait for an appropriate maintenance window.
      Step 6   On the Configure Fixed Module Ports page, do the following:
      1. Use your mouse to drag the slider along the bar until the displays shows the port mode configuration that you want for the fixed module.
      2. If you want to configure the port type for a port, right-click on any port in the module display above the slider and configure that port for an available port type.
      3. Do one of the following:
        • Click Next to configure the port mode for ports in expansion module 1.
        • If you do not wish to configure the port mode for ports on the expansion modules, continue with Step 9.

      If you change the port mode for a previously configured port, the port returns to an unconfigured state.
      Step 7   On the Configure Expansion Module 1 Ports page, do the following:
      1. Use your mouse to drag the slider along the bar until the displays shows the port mode configuration that you want for the expansion module.
      2. If you want to configure the port type for a port, right-click on any port in the module display above the slider and configure that port for an available port type.
      3. Do one of the following:
        • Click Next to configure the port mode for ports in expansion module 2.
        • If you do not wish to configure the port mode for ports on the remaining expansion modules, continue with Step 9.

      If you change the port mode for a previously configured port, the port returns to an unconfigured state.
      Step 8   If you need to configure port modes for expansion module 3, repeat Step 7.
      Step 9   Click Finish to save your port mode configuration.

      Depending upon the module for which you configured the port modes, data traffic for the Cisco UCS domain is interrupted as follows:

      • Fixed module—The fabric interconnect reboots. All data traffic through that fabric interconnect is interrupted. In a cluster configuration that provides high availability and includes servers with vNICs that are configured for failover, traffic fails over to the other fabric interconnect and no interruption occurs. It takes about 8 minutes for the fixed module to reboot.
      • Expansion module—The module reboots. All data traffic through ports in that module is interrupted. It takes about 1 minute for the expansion module to reboot.

      Configuring the Beacon LEDs for Unified Ports

      Complete the following task for each module for which you want to configure beacon LEDs.

      Procedure
        Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
        Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
        Step 3   Depending upon the location of the unified ports for which you want to configure the beacon LEDs, click on one of the following:
        • Fixed Module
        • Expansion Module
        Step 4   In the Work pane, click the General tab.
        Step 5   In the Properties area, click one of the following radio buttons in the Beacon LED field:
        • Off—All physical LEDs are off.
        • Eth—The physical LEDs next to all Ethernet ports are on.
        • Fc—The physical LEDs next to all Fibre Channel ports are on.
        Step 6   Click Save Changes.

        Server Ports

        Configuring Server Ports

        You can only configure server ports on the fixed port module. Expansion modules do not include server ports.

        This task describes only one method of configuring ports. You can also configure ports from a right-click menu, from the General tab for the port, or in the LAN Uplinks Manager.

        Procedure
          Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
          Step 2   In the Equipment tab, expand Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name > Fixed Module > Unconfigured Ports.
          Step 3   Click one or more ports under the Unconfigured Ports node.
          Step 4   Drag the selected port or ports and drop them in the Server Ports node.

          The port or ports are configured as server ports, removed from the list of unconfigured ports, and added to the Server Ports node.

          Uplink Ethernet Ports

          Configuring Uplink Ethernet Ports

          You can configure uplink Ethernet ports on either the fixed module or an expansion module.

          This task describes only one method of configuring uplink Ethernet ports. You can also configure uplink Ethernet ports from a right-click menu or from the General tab for the port.

          Procedure
            Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
            Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
            Step 3   Depending upon the location of the ports you want to configure, expand one of the following:
            • Fixed Module
            • Expansion Module
            Step 4   Click one or more of the ports under the Unconfigured Ethernet Ports node.

            If you want to reconfigure a server port, appliance port, or FCoE storage port, expand the appropriate node.
            Step 5   Drag the selected port or ports and drop them in the Uplink Ethernet Ports node.

            The port or ports are configured as uplink Ethernet ports, removed from the list of unconfigured ports, and added to the Uplink Ethernet Ports node.
            What to Do Next

            If desired, change the properties for the default flow control policy and admin speed of the uplink Ethernet port.

            Changing the Properties of an Uplink Ethernet Port

            Procedure
              Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
              Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
              Step 3   Depending upon the location of the ports you want to configure, expand one of the following:
              • Fixed Module
              • Expansion Module
              Step 4   In the Uplink Ethernet Ports node, click the uplink Ethernet port that you want to change.
              Step 5   In the Work pane, click the General tab.
              Step 6   In the Actions area, click Show Interface.
              Step 7   In the Properties dialog box, complete the following fields:
              1. Optional: In the User Label field, enter a label to identify the port.
              2. From the Flow Control Policy drop-down list, select a flow control policy to determine how the port sends and receives IEEE 802.3x pause frames when the receive buffer fills.
              3. In the Admin Speed field, click one of the following radio buttons:
                • 1Gbps
                • 10Gbps
              Step 8   Click OK.

              Reconfiguring a Port on a Fabric Interconnect

              Procedure
                Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
                Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
                Step 3   Depending upon the location of the ports you want to reconfigure, expand one of the following:
                • Fixed Module
                • Expansion Module
                Step 4   Click the port or ports you want to reconfigure.
                Step 5   Drag the selected port or ports and drop them in the appropriate node.

                The port or ports are reconfigured as the appropriate type of port, removed from the original node, and added to the new node.

                Example: Reconfiguring an Uplink Ethernet Port as a Server Port

                1. Expand the Uplink Ethernet Ports node and select the port you want to reconfigure.
                2. Drag the port and drop it into the Server Ports node.

                Enabling a Port on a Fabric Interconnect

                After you enable or disable a port on a fabric interconnect, wait for at least 1 minute before you reacknowledge the chassis. If you reacknowledge the chassis too soon, the pinning of server traffic from the chassis may not be updated with the changes to the port that you enabled or disabled.

                Procedure
                  Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
                  Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
                  Step 3   Depending upon the location of the ports you want to enable, expand one of the following:
                  • Fixed Module
                  • Expansion Module
                  Step 4   Depending upon the type of port you want to enable, expand one of the following:
                  • Appliance Ports
                  • FCoE Storage Ports
                  • Server Ports
                  • Storage FC Ports
                  • Uplink Ethernet Ports
                  • Uplink FC Ports
                  Step 5   Click the port or ports you want to enable.

                  You can use the Shift key or Ctrl key to select multiple entries.

                  Step 6   Right-click the selected port or ports and choose Enable.

                  The port or ports are enabled. Data traffic can begin to travel through them.

                  Disabling a Port on a Fabric Interconnect

                  After you enable or disable a port on a fabric interconnect, wait for at least 1 minute before you reacknowledge the chassis. If you reacknowledge the chassis too soon, the pinning of server traffic from the chassis may not be updated with the changes to the port that you enabled or disabled.

                  Procedure
                    Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
                    Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
                    Step 3   Depending upon the location of the ports you want to disable, expand one of the following:
                    • Fixed Module
                    • Expansion Module
                    Step 4   Depending upon the type of port you want to disable, expand one of the following:
                    • Appliance Ports
                    • FCoE Storage Ports
                    • Server Ports
                    • Storage FC Ports
                    • Uplink Ethernet Ports
                    • Uplink FC Ports
                    Step 5   Click the port or ports you want to disable.

                    You can use the Shift key or Ctrl key to select multiple entries.

                    Step 6   Right-click the selected port or ports and choose Disable.

                    The port or ports are disabled. No data traffic can travel through them.

                    Unconfiguring a Port on a Fabric Interconnect

                    Procedure
                      Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
                      Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
                      Step 3   Depending upon the location of the ports you want to unconfigure, expand one of the following:
                      • Fixed Module
                      • Expansion Module
                      Step 4   Depending upon the type of port you want to unconfigure, expand one of the following:
                      • Appliance Ports
                      • FCoE Storage Ports
                      • Server Ports
                      • Storage FC Ports
                      • Uplink Ethernet Ports
                      • Uplink FC Ports
                      Step 5   Click the port or ports you want to unconfigure.

                      You can use the Shift key or Ctrl key to select multiple entries.

                      Step 6   Right-click the selected port or ports and choose Unconfigure node.

                      The port or ports are unconfigured, removed from the original node, and added to the Unconfigured Ports node.

                      Appliance Ports

                      Appliance ports are only used to connect fabric interconnects to directly attached NFS storage.

                      Configuring an Appliance Port

                      You can configure Appliance ports on either the fixed module or an expansion module.

                      This task describes only one method of configuring appl ports. You can also configure appliance ports from the General tab for the port.

                      Procedure
                        Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
                        Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
                        Step 3   Depending upon the location of the ports you want to configure, expand one of the following:
                        • Fixed Module
                        • Expansion Module
                        Step 4   Click one or more of the ports under the Unconfigured Ethernet Ports node.

                        If you want to reconfigure a server port, uplink Ethernet port, or FCoE storage port, expand the appropriate node.
                        Step 5   Right-click the selected port or ports and choose Configure as Appliance Port.
                        Step 6   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
                        Step 7   In the Configure as Appliance Port dialog box, complete the following fields:
                        Name Description

                        Priority drop-down list

                        The quality of service setting associated with this interface. This can be one of the following:

                        • Fc—Use this priority for vHBA traffic only.
                        • Platinum—Use this priority for vNIC traffic only.
                        • Gold—Use this priority for vNIC traffic only.
                        • Silver—Use this priority for vNIC traffic only.
                        • Bronze—Use this priority for vNIC traffic only.
                        • Best Effort—Do not use this priority. It is reserved for the Basic Ethernet traffic lane.

                        Pin Group drop-down list

                        The LAN pin group that you want to use as the appliance pin target to the specified fabric and port, or fabric and port channel.

                        Create LAN Pin Group link

                        Click this link if you want to create a LAN pin group.

                        Network Control Policy drop-down list

                        The network control policy associated with this port.

                        Create Network Control Policy link

                        Click this link if you want to create a LAN pin group.

                        Admin Speed field

                        The data transfer rate for the port, which should match the destination to which the port is linked. This can be one of the following:

                        • 1 Gbps
                        • 10 Gbps
                        • 20 Gbps
                        • 40 Gbps
                        Note   

                        The admin speed can be changed only for certain ports, and not all speeds are available on all systems. For more information, see the Hardware Installation Guide for your fabric interconnect.
                        Step 8   In the VLANs area, do the following:
                        1. In the Port Mode field, click one of the following radio buttons to select the mode you want to use for the port channel:
                          • Trunk—Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays the VLANs Table that lets you choose the VLANs you want to use.
                          • Access—Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays the Select VLAN drop-down list that allows you to choose a VLAN to associate with this port channel.

                          With either mode, you can click the Create VLAN link to create a new VLAN.

                        2. If you clicked the Trunk radio button, complete the following fields in the VLANs table:
                          Name Description

                          Select column

                          Check the check box in this column for each VLAN you want to use.

                          Name column

                          The name of the VLAN.

                          Native VLAN column

                          To designate one of the VLANs as the native VLAN, click the radio button in this column.

                        3. If you clicked the access radio button, choose a VLAN from the Select VLAN drop-down list.
                        Step 9   (Optional)If you want to add an endpoint, check the Ethernet Target Endpoint check box and complete the following fields:
                        Name Description

                        Name field

                        The name of the endpoint.

                        This name can be between 1 and 16 alphanumeric characters. You cannot use spaces or any special characters other than - (hyphen), _ (underscore), : (colon), and . (period), and you cannot change this name after the object has been saved.

                        MAC Address field

                        The MAC address for the endpoint.
                        Step 10   Click OK.

                        The port or ports are configured as Appliance ports, removed from the list of unconfigured ports, and added to the Appliance Ports node.

                        Modifying the Properties of an Appliance Port

                        Procedure
                          Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
                          Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
                          Step 3   Depending upon the location of the appliance port you want to modify, expand one of the following:
                          • Fixed Module
                          • Expansion Module
                          Step 4   Expand Appliance Ports.
                          Step 5   Click the appliance port for which you want to modify the properties.
                          Step 6   In the Work pane, click the General tab.
                          Step 7   In the Actions area, click Show Interface.

                          You may need to expand or use the scroll bars in the Properties dialog box to see all the fields.
                          Step 8   In the Properties dialog box, modify the values in one or more of the following fields:
                          Name Description

                          User Label field

                          A user-defined name that can be used for internal tracking or customized identification.

                          Enter up to 32 characters. You can use any characters or spaces except ^ (carat), \ (backslash), > (greater than), < (less than), ' (single quote), " (double quote), ` (accent mark), or = (equal sign).

                          Admin Speed field

                          The data transfer rate for the port, which should match the destination to which the port is linked. This can be one of the following:

                          • 1 Gbps
                          • 10 Gbps
                          • 20 Gbps
                          • 40 Gbps
                          Note   

                          The admin speed can be changed only for certain ports, and not all speeds are available on all systems. For more information, see the Hardware Installation Guide for your fabric interconnect.

                          Priority drop-down list

                          The quality of service setting associated with this interface. This can be one of the following:

                          • Fc—Use this priority for vHBA traffic only.
                          • Platinum—Use this priority for vNIC traffic only.
                          • Gold—Use this priority for vNIC traffic only.
                          • Silver—Use this priority for vNIC traffic only.
                          • Bronze—Use this priority for vNIC traffic only.
                          • Best Effort—Do not use this priority. It is reserved for the Basic Ethernet traffic lane.

                          Pin Group drop-down list

                          The LAN pin group that you want to use as the appliance pin target to the specified fabric and port, or fabric and port channel.

                          Network Control Policy drop-down list

                          The network control policy associated with this port.

                          MAC Address field

                          The MAC address for the endpoint.

                          If you do not see this field, the port does not have an Ethernet target endpoint set. Click Add Ethernet Target Endpoint in the Actions area to add an endpoint.

                          Port Mode field

                          The fields displayed in this area depend on the setting of the Port Mode field. If you choose:

                          • Trunk—Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays the VLANs Table that lets you choose the VLANs you want to use.
                          • Access—Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays the Select VLAN drop-down list that allows you to choose a VLAN to associate with this port channel.
                          Step 9   Click OK.

                          FCoE and Fibre Channel Storage Ports

                          Configuring an FCoE Storage Port

                          You can configure FCoE storage ports on either the fixed module or an expansion module.

                          This task describes only one method of configuring FCoE storage ports. You can also configure FCoE storage ports from the General tab for the port.

                          Before You Begin

                          The Fibre Channel switching mode must be set to Switching for these ports to be valid. The storage ports cannot function in end-host mode.

                          Procedure
                            Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
                            Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
                            Step 3   Depending upon the location of the ports you want to configure, expand one of the following:
                            • Fixed Module
                            • Expansion Module
                            Step 4   Click one or more of the ports under the Unconfigured Ethernet Ports node.

                            If you want to reconfigure an uplink Ethernet port, server port, or appliance port, expand the appropriate node.
                            Step 5   Right-click the selected port or ports and choose Configure as FCoE Storage Port.
                            Step 6   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
                            Step 7   Click OK.

                            The port or ports are configured as FCoE storage ports, removed from the list of unconfigured ports, and added to the FCoE Storage Ports node.

                            Configuring a Fibre Channel Storage Port

                            This task describes only one method of configuring FC storage ports. You can also configure FC storage ports from the General tab for the port.

                            Before You Begin

                            The Fibre Channel switching mode must be set to Switching for these ports to be valid. The storage ports cannot function in end-host mode.

                            Procedure
                              Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
                              Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
                              Step 3   Expand the Expansion Module node.
                              Step 4   Click one or more of the ports under the Uplink FC Ports node.
                              Step 5   Right-click the selected port or ports and choose Configure as FC Storage Port.
                              Step 6   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
                              Step 7   Click OK.

                              The port or ports are configured as FC storage ports, removed from the list of uplink FC ports, and added to the Storage FC Ports node.

                              Restoring an Uplink Fibre Channel Port

                              This task describes only one method of restoring an FC storage port to function as an uplink FC port. You can also reconfigure FC storage ports from the General tab for the port.

                              Procedure
                                Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
                                Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
                                Step 3   Expand the Expansion Module node.
                                Step 4   Click one or more of the ports under the Storage FC Ports node.
                                Step 5   Right-click the selected port or ports and choose Configure as FC Uplink Port.
                                Step 6   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
                                Step 7   Click OK.

                                The port or ports are configured as uplink FC ports, removed from the list of FC storage ports, and added to the Uplink FC Ports node.

                                Default Zoning

                                Zoning allows you to set up access control between hosts and storage devices. When a zone is configured or the configuration is updated, this information is propagated to all the other switches in the fabric.

                                In Cisco UCS, the zoning configuration is inherited from an upstream switch. You cannot configure zoning or view information about your zoning configuration through Cisco UCS Manager. The only configurable zoning option in Cisco UCS Manager is whether the default zone in a VSAN (nodes not assigned to any zone) permits or denies access among its members.

                                When default zoning is enabled, all traffic is permitted among members of the default zone.

                                When default zoning is disabled, all traffic is denied among members of the default zone.

                                Default zoning is applied on a per-VSAN basis. You cannot enable default zoning at the fabric level.


                                Note

                                Default zoned configurations are not recommended for production deployments, which must always use direct connect Fibre Channel topologies with upstream MDS or Nexus 5000 switches.

                                Enabling Default Zoning

                                Procedure
                                  Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the SAN tab.
                                  Step 2   In the SAN tab, click the SAN node.
                                  Step 3   In the Work pane, click the VSANs tab.
                                  Step 4   Click one of the following subtabs, depending upon the type of VSAN for which you want to enable default zoning:
                                  Subtab Description

                                  All

                                  Displays all VSANs in the Cisco UCS domain.

                                  Dual Mode

                                  Displays the VSANs that are accessible to both fabric interconnects.

                                  Switch A

                                  Displays the VSANs that are accessible to only fabric interconnect A.

                                  Switch B

                                  Displays the VSANs that are accessible to only fabric interconnect B.

                                  Step 5   In the table, double-click the VSAN.

                                  Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays the General tab for the VSAN.
                                  Step 6   In the Actions area, click Enable Default Zoning.
                                  Step 7   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                                  Disabling Default Zoning

                                  Procedure
                                    Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the SAN tab.
                                    Step 2   In the SAN tab, click the SAN node.
                                    Step 3   In the Work pane, click the VSANs tab.
                                    Step 4   Click one of the following subtabs, depending upon the type of VSAN for which you want to disable default zoning:
                                    Subtab Description

                                    All

                                    Displays all VSANs in the Cisco UCS domain.

                                    Dual Mode

                                    Displays the VSANs that are accessible to both fabric interconnects.

                                    Switch A

                                    Displays the VSANs that are accessible to only fabric interconnect A.

                                    Switch B

                                    Displays the VSANs that are accessible to only fabric interconnect B.

                                    Step 5   In the table, double-click the VSAN.

                                    Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays the General tab for the VSAN.
                                    Step 6   In the Actions area, click Disable Default Zoning.
                                    Step 7   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                                    Uplink Ethernet Port Channels

                                    An uplink Ethernet port channel allows you to group several physical uplink Ethernet ports (link aggregation) to create one logical Ethernet link to provide fault-tolerance and high-speed connectivity. In Cisco UCS Manager, you create a port channel first and then add uplink Ethernet ports to the port channel. You can add up to eight uplink Ethernet ports to a port channel.


                                    Note

                                    Cisco UCS uses Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP), not Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP), to group the uplink Ethernet ports into a port channel. If the ports on the upstream switch are not configured for LACP, the fabric interconnects treat all ports in an uplink Ethernet port channel as individual ports and therefore forward packets.

                                    Creating an Uplink Ethernet Port Channel

                                    Procedure
                                      Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
                                      Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > LAN Cloud.
                                      Step 3   Expand the node for the fabric interconnect where you want to add the port channel.
                                      Step 4   Right-click the Port Channels node and choose Create Port Channel.
                                      Step 5   In the Set Port Channel Name page of the Create Port Channel wizard, do the following:
                                      1. Complete the following fields:
                                        Name Description

                                        ID field

                                        The identifier for the port channel.

                                        Enter an integer between 1 and 256. This ID cannot be changed after the port channel has been saved.

                                        Name field

                                        A user-defined name for the port channel.

                                        This name can be between 1 and 16 alphanumeric characters. You cannot use spaces or any special characters other than - (hyphen), _ (underscore), : (colon), and . (period), and you cannot change this name after the object has been saved.

                                      2. Click Next.
                                      Step 6   In the Add Ports page of the Create Port Channel wizard, do the following:
                                      1. In the Ports table, choose one or more ports to include in the port channel.
                                      2. Click the >> button to add the ports to the Ports in the port channel table.

                                        You can use the << button to remove ports from the port channel.

                                        Note   

                                        Cisco UCS Manager warns you if you select a port that has been configured as a server port. You can click Yes in the dialog box to reconfigure that port as an uplink Ethernet port and include it in the port channel.

                                      Step 7   Click Finish.

                                      Enabling an Uplink Ethernet Port Channel

                                      Procedure
                                        Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
                                        Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > LAN Cloud.
                                        Step 3   Expand the node for the fabric interconnect that includes the port channel you want to enable.
                                        Step 4   Expand the Port Channels node.
                                        Step 5   Right-click the port channel you want to enable and choose Enable Port Channel.
                                        Step 6   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                                        Disabling an Uplink Ethernet Port Channel

                                        Procedure
                                          Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
                                          Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > LAN Cloud.
                                          Step 3   Expand the node for the fabric interconnect that includes the port channel you want to disable.
                                          Step 4   Expand the Port Channels node.
                                          Step 5   Right-click the port channel you want to disable and choose Enable Port Channel.

                                          Adding Ports to and Removing Ports from an Uplink Ethernet Port Channel

                                          Procedure
                                            Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
                                            Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > LAN Cloud > Fabric > Port Channels.
                                            Step 3   Click the port channel to which you want to add or remove ports.
                                            Step 4   In the Work pane, click the General tab.
                                            Step 5   In the Actions area, click Add Ports.
                                            Step 6   In the Add Ports dialog box, do one of the following:
                                            • To add ports, choose one or more ports in the Ports table, and then click the >> button to add the ports to the Ports in the port channel table.
                                            • To remove ports, choose one or more ports in the Ports in the port channel table, and then click the << button to remove the ports from the port channel and add them to the Ports table.
                                            Step 7   Click OK.

                                            Deleting an Uplink Ethernet Port Channel

                                            Procedure
                                              Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
                                              Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > LAN Cloud.
                                              Step 3   Expand the node for the fabric interconnect where you want to delete the port channel.
                                              Step 4   Click the Port Channels node.
                                              Step 5   In the General tab for the Port Channels node, choose the port channel you want to delete.
                                              Step 6   Right-click the port channel and choose Delete.

                                              Appliance Port Channels

                                              An appliance port channel allows you to group several physical appliance ports to create one logical Ethernet storage link for the purpose of providing fault-tolerance and high-speed connectivity. In Cisco UCS Manager, you create a port channel first and then add appliance ports to the port channel. You can add up to eight appliance ports to a port channel.

                                              Creating an Appliance Port Channel

                                              Procedure
                                                Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
                                                Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > Appliances.
                                                Step 3   Expand the node for the fabric interconnect where you want to add the port channel.
                                                Step 4   Right-click the Port Channels node and choose Create Port Channel.
                                                Step 5   In the Set Port Channel Name page of the Create Port Channel wizard, complete the following fields to specify the identity and other properties of the port channel:
                                                Name Description

                                                ID field

                                                The unique identifier of the port channel.

                                                Enter an integer between 1 and 256. This ID cannot be changed after the port channel has been saved.

                                                Name field

                                                A user-defined name for the port channel.

                                                This name can be between 1 and 16 alphanumeric characters. You cannot use spaces or any special characters other than - (hyphen), _ (underscore), : (colon), and . (period), and you cannot change this name after the object has been saved.

                                                Priority drop-down list

                                                The quality of service setting associated with this interface. This can be one of the following:

                                                • Fc—Use this priority for vHBA traffic only.
                                                • Platinum—Use this priority for vNIC traffic only.
                                                • Gold—Use this priority for vNIC traffic only.
                                                • Silver—Use this priority for vNIC traffic only.
                                                • Bronze—Use this priority for vNIC traffic only.
                                                • Best Effort—Do not use this priority. It is reserved for the Basic Ethernet traffic lane.

                                                Protocol field

                                                The protocol for the port channel. This can be one of the following:

                                                • Static
                                                • Lacp

                                                Create LAN Pin Group link

                                                Click this link to create a LAN pin group.

                                                Network Control Policy drop-down list

                                                The network control policy that vNICs created from this vNIC template should use.

                                                Create Network Control Policy link

                                                Click this link to create a global network control policy that will be available to all port channels.
                                                Step 6   In the VLANs area, do the following:
                                                1. In the Port Mode field, click one of the following radio buttons to select the mode you want to use for the port channel:
                                                  • Trunk—Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays the VLANs Table that lets you choose the VLANs you want to use.
                                                  • Access—Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays the Select VLAN drop-down list that allows you to choose a VLAN to associate with this port channel.

                                                  With either mode, you can click the Create VLAN link to create a new VLAN.

                                                2. If you clicked the Trunk radio button, complete the following fields in the VLANs table:
                                                  Name Description

                                                  Select column

                                                  Check the check box in this column for each VLAN you want to use.

                                                  Name column

                                                  The name of the VLAN.

                                                  Native VLAN column

                                                  To designate one of the VLANs as the native VLAN, click the radio button in this column.

                                                3. If you clicked the access radio button, choose a VLAN from the Select VLAN drop-down list.
                                                Step 7   (Optional)If you want to add an endpoint, check the Ethernet Target Endpoint check box and complete the following fields:
                                                Name Description

                                                Name field

                                                The name of the endpoint.

                                                This name can be between 1 and 16 alphanumeric characters. You cannot use spaces or any special characters other than - (hyphen), _ (underscore), : (colon), and . (period), and you cannot change this name after the object has been saved.

                                                MAC Address field

                                                The MAC address for the endpoint.
                                                Step 8   Click Next.
                                                Step 9   In the Add Ports page of the Create Port Channel wizard, do the following:
                                                1. In the Ports table, choose one or more ports to include in the port channel.
                                                2. Click the >> button to add the ports to the Ports in the port channel table.

                                                  You can use the << button to remove ports from the port channel.

                                                  Note   

                                                  Cisco UCS Manager warns you if your configuration could cause issues with service profiles or port configurations. You can click Yes in the dialog box if you want to create the port channel despite those potential issues.
                                                Step 10   Click Finish.

                                                Enabling an Appliance Port Channel

                                                Procedure
                                                  Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
                                                  Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > Appliances.
                                                  Step 3   Expand the node for the fabric interconnect that includes the port channel you want to enable.
                                                  Step 4   Expand the Port Channels node.
                                                  Step 5   Right-click the port channel you want to enable and choose Enable Port Channel.
                                                  Step 6   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                                                  Disabling an Appliance Port Channel

                                                  Procedure
                                                    Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
                                                    Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > Appliances.
                                                    Step 3   Expand the node for the fabric interconnect that includes the port channel you want to disable.
                                                    Step 4   Expand the Port Channels node.
                                                    Step 5   Right-click the port channel you want to disable and choose Disable Port Channel.
                                                    Step 6   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                                                    Adding Ports to and Removing Ports from an Appliance Port Channel

                                                    Procedure
                                                      Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
                                                      Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > Appliances > Fabric > Port Channels.
                                                      Step 3   Click the port channel to which you want to add or remove ports.
                                                      Step 4   In the Work pane, click the General tab.
                                                      Step 5   In the Actions area, click Add Ports.
                                                      Step 6   In the Add Ports dialog box, do one of the following:
                                                      • To add ports, choose one or more ports in the Ports table, and then click the >> button to add the ports to the Ports in the port channel table.
                                                      • To remove ports, choose one or more ports in the Ports in the port channel table, and then click the << button to remove the ports from the port channel and add them to the Ports table.
                                                      Step 7   Click OK.

                                                      Deleting an Appliance Port Channel

                                                      Procedure
                                                        Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
                                                        Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > Appliances.
                                                        Step 3   Expand the node for the fabric interconnect that includes the port channel you want to enable.
                                                        Step 4   Expand the Port Channels node.
                                                        Step 5   Right-click the port channel you want to enable and choose Disable Port Channel.
                                                        Step 6   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                                                        Fibre Channel Port Channels

                                                        A Fibre Channel port channel allows you to group several physical Fibre Channel ports (link aggregation) to create one logical Fibre Channel link to provide fault-tolerance and high-speed connectivity. In Cisco UCS Manager, you create a port channel first and then add Fibre Channel ports to the port channel.

                                                        You can create up to four Fibre Channel port channels in each Cisco UCS domain. Each Fibre Channel port channel can include a maximum of 16 uplink Fibre Channel ports.

                                                        Creating a Fibre Channel Port Channel

                                                        Procedure
                                                          Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the SAN tab.
                                                          Step 2   On the SAN tab, expand SAN > SAN Cloud.
                                                          Step 3   Expand the node for the fabric where you want to create the port channel.
                                                          Step 4   Right-click the FC Port Channels node and choose Create Port Channel.
                                                          Step 5   In the Set Port Channel Name page of the Create Port Channel wizard, do the following:
                                                          1. Complete the following fields:
                                                            Name Description

                                                            ID field

                                                            The identifier for the port channel.

                                                            Enter an integer between 1 and 256. This ID cannot be changed after the port channel has been saved.

                                                            Name field

                                                            A user-defined name for the port channel.

                                                            This name can be between 1 and 16 alphanumeric characters. You cannot use spaces or any special characters other than - (hyphen), _ (underscore), : (colon), and . (period), and you cannot change this name after the object has been saved.

                                                          2. Click Next.
                                                          Step 6   In the Add Ports page of the Create Port Channel wizard, do the following:
                                                          1. From the Port Channel Admin Speed drop-down list, select one of the following data transfer rates for traffic on the port channel:
                                                            • 1 Gbps
                                                            • 2 Gbps
                                                            • 4 Gbps
                                                            • 8 Gbps
                                                            • Auto— Cisco UCS determines the data transfer rate.
                                                          2. In the Ports table, choose one or more ports to include in the port channel.
                                                          3. Click the >> button to add the ports to the Ports in the port channel table.

                                                            You can use the << button to remove ports from the port channel.

                                                          Step 7   Click Finish.

                                                          Enabling a Fibre Channel Port Channel

                                                          Procedure
                                                            Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the SAN tab.
                                                            Step 2   On the SAN tab, expand SAN > SAN Cloud > Fabric > FC Port Channels.
                                                            Step 3   Click the port channel you want to enable.
                                                            Step 4   In the Work pane, click the General tab.
                                                            Step 5   In the Actions area, click Enable Port Channel.
                                                            Step 6   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                                                            Disabling a Fibre Channel Port Channel

                                                            Procedure
                                                              Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the SAN tab.
                                                              Step 2   On the SAN tab, expand SAN > SAN Cloud > Fabric > FC Port Channels.
                                                              Step 3   Click the port channel you want to disable.
                                                              Step 4   In the Work pane, click the General tab.
                                                              Step 5   In the Actions area, click Disable Port Channel.
                                                              Step 6   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                                                              Adding Ports to and Removing Ports from a Fibre Channel Port Channel

                                                              Procedure
                                                                Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the SAN tab.
                                                                Step 2   On the SAN tab, expand SAN > SAN Cloud > Fabric > FC Port Channels.
                                                                Step 3   Click the port channel to which you want to add or remove ports.
                                                                Step 4   In the Work pane, click the General tab.
                                                                Step 5   In the Actions area, click Add Ports.
                                                                Step 6   In the Add Ports dialog box, do one of the following:
                                                                • To add ports, choose one or more ports in the Ports table, and then click the >> button to add the ports to the Ports in the port channel table.
                                                                • To remove ports, choose one or more ports in the Ports in the port channel table, and then click the << button to remove the ports from the port channel and add them to the Ports table.
                                                                Step 7   Click OK.

                                                                Modifying the Properties of a Fibre Channel Port Channel


                                                                Note

                                                                If you are connecting two Fibre Channel port channels, the admin speed for both port channels must match for the link to operate. If the admin speed for one or both of the Fibre Channel port channels is set to auto, Cisco UCS adjusts the admin speed automatically.
                                                                Procedure
                                                                  Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the SAN tab.
                                                                  Step 2   On the SAN tab, expand SAN > SAN Cloud > Fabric > FC Port Channels.
                                                                  Step 3   Click the port channel that you want to modify.
                                                                  Step 4   In the Work pane, click the General tab.
                                                                  Step 5   In the Actions area, change the values in one or more of the following fields:
                                                                  Name Description

                                                                  Name field

                                                                  The user-defined name given to the port channel. This name can be between 1 and 16 alphanumeric characters.

                                                                  VSAN drop-down list

                                                                  The VSAN associated with the port channel.

                                                                  Port Channel Admin Speed drop-down list

                                                                  The admin speed of the port channel. This can be:

                                                                  • 1 Gbps
                                                                  • 2 Gbps
                                                                  • 4 Gbps
                                                                  • 8 Gbps
                                                                  • auto
                                                                  Step 6   Click Save Changes.

                                                                  Deleting a Fibre Channel Port Channel

                                                                  Procedure
                                                                    Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
                                                                    Step 2   On the SAN tab, expand SAN > SAN Cloud > Fabric > FC Port Channels.
                                                                    Step 3   Right-click the port channel you want to delete and choose Delete.
                                                                    Step 4   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                                                                    Adapter Port Channels

                                                                    An adapter port channel groups all the physical links from a Cisco UCS Virtual Interface Card (VIC) to an IOM into one logical link.

                                                                    Adapter port channels are created and managed internally by Cisco UCS Manager when it detects that the correct hardware is present. Adapter port channels cannot be configured manually. Adapter port channels are viewable using the Cisco UCS Manager GUI or Cisco UCS Manager CLI

                                                                    Viewing Adapter Port Channels

                                                                    Procedure
                                                                      Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
                                                                      Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Chassis > Chassis_Number > Servers > Server_Number > Interface Cards
                                                                      Step 3   Click the adapter for which you want to view the adapter port channels.
                                                                      Step 4   In the Work pane, click the DCE Interfaces tab.
                                                                      Step 5   To view details of the adapter port channel, click the link in the Port Channel column.

                                                                      Fabric Port Channels

                                                                      Fabric port channels allow you to group several of the physical links from an IOM to a fabric interconnect into one logical link for redundancy and bandwidth sharing. As long as one link in the fabric port channel remains active, the fabric port channel continues to operate.

                                                                      If the correct hardware is connected, fabric port channels are created by Cisco UCS Manager in the following ways:

                                                                      • During chassis discovery according to the settings configured in the chassis discovery policy.
                                                                      • After chassis discovery according to the settings configured in the chassis connectivity policy for a specific chassis.

                                                                      For each IOM there is a single fabric port channel. Each uplink connecting an IOM to a fabric interconnect can be configured as a discrete link or included in the port channel, but an uplink cannot belong to more than one fabric port channel. For example, if a chassis with two IOMs is discovered and the chassis discovery policy is configured to create fabric port channels, Cisco UCS Manager creates two separate fabric port channels: one for the uplinks connecting IOM-1 and another for the uplinks connecting IOM-2. No other chassis can join these fabric port channels. Similarly, uplinks belonging to the fabric port channel for IOM-1 cannot join the fabric port channel for IOM-2.

                                                                      Cabling Considerations for Fabric Port Channels

                                                                      When you configure the links between the Cisco UCS 2200 Series IOM and a Cisco UCS 6200 series fabric interconnect in fabric port channel mode, the available VIF namespace on the adapter varies depending on where the IOM uplinks are connected to the fabric interconnect ports.

                                                                      Inside the 6248 fabric interconnect there are six sets of eight contiguous ports, with each set of ports managed by a single chip. When uplinks are connected such that all of the uplinks from an IOM are connected to a set of ports managed by a single chip, Cisco UCS Manager maximizes the number of VIFs used in service profiles deployed on the blades in the chassis. If uplink connections from an IOM are distributed across ports managed by separate chips, the VIF count is decreased.

                                                                      Figure 1. Port Groups for Fabric Port Channels




                                                                      Caution

                                                                      Adding or removing links from a fabric port channel is disruptive and may affect the available amount of VIF namespace.

                                                                      For high availability cluster mode applications, symmetric cabling configurations are strongly recommended. If the cabling is asymmetric, the maximum number of VIFs available is the smaller of the two cabling configurations.

                                                                      For more information on the maximum number of VIFs for your Cisco UCS environment, see the configuration limits document for your for your hardware and software configuration.

                                                                      Configuring a Fabric Port Channel

                                                                      Procedure
                                                                        Step 1   To include all links from the IOM to the fabric interconnect in a fabric port channel during chassis discovery, set the link grouping preference in the chassis discovery policy to port channel.

                                                                        Configuring the Chassis Discovery Policy
                                                                        Step 2   To include links from individual chassis in a fabric port channel during chassis discovery, set the link grouping preference in the chassis connectivity policy to port channel.

                                                                        Configuring a Chassis Connectivity Policy
                                                                        Step 3   After chassis discovery, enable or disable additional fabric port channel member ports.

                                                                        Enabling or Disabling a Fabric Port Channel Member Port
                                                                        What to Do Next

                                                                        To add or remove chassis links from a fabric port channel after making a change to the chassis discovery policy or the chassis connectivity policy, reacknowledge the chassis. Chassis reacknowledgement is not required to enable or disable chassis member ports from a fabric port channel

                                                                        Viewing Fabric Port Channels

                                                                        Procedure
                                                                          Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
                                                                          Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Chassis > Chassis Number > IO Modules.
                                                                          Step 3   Click the IOM for which you want to view the fabric port channels.
                                                                          Step 4   In the Work pane, click the Fabric Ports tab.
                                                                          Step 5   To view details of the fabric port channel, click the link in the Port Channel column.

                                                                          Enabling or Disabling a Fabric Port Channel Member Port

                                                                          Procedure
                                                                            Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
                                                                            Step 2   On the LAN tab, expand LAN > Internal LAN > Fabric > Port Channels.
                                                                            Step 3   Expand the port channel for which you want to enable or disable a member port.
                                                                            Step 4   Click the ethernet interface for the member port you want to enable or disable.
                                                                            Step 5   In the Work pane, click the General tab.
                                                                            Step 6   In the Actions area, click one of the following:
                                                                            • Enable Interface
                                                                            • Disable Interface
                                                                            Step 7   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                                                                            Configuring Server Ports with the Internal Fabric Manager

                                                                            Internal Fabric Manager

                                                                            The Internal Fabric Manager provides a single interface where you can configure server ports for a fabric interconnect in a Cisco UCS domain. The Internal Fabric Manager is accessible from the General tab for that fabric interconnect.

                                                                            Some of the configuration that you can do in the Internal Fabric Manager can also be done in nodes on the Equipment tab, on the LAN tab, or in the LAN Uplinks Manager.

                                                                            Launching the Internal Fabric Manager

                                                                            Procedure
                                                                              Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
                                                                              Step 2   On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
                                                                              Step 3   Click Fixed Module.
                                                                              Step 4   In the Work pane, click Internal Fabric Manager in the Actions area.

                                                                              The Internal Fabric Manager opens in a separate window.

                                                                              Configuring a Server Port with the Internal Fabric Manager

                                                                              Procedure
                                                                                Step 1   In the Internal Fabric Manager, click the down arrows to expand the Unconfigured Ports area.
                                                                                Step 2   Right-click the port that you want to configure and choose Configure as Server Port.
                                                                                Step 3   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
                                                                                Step 4   If you have completed all tasks in the Internal Fabric Manager, click OK.

                                                                                Unconfiguring a Server Port with the Internal Fabric Manager

                                                                                Procedure
                                                                                  Step 1   In the Internal Fabric Manager, click the server port in the Server Ports table.
                                                                                  Step 2   Click Unconfigure Port.
                                                                                  Step 3   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
                                                                                  Step 4   If you have completed all tasks in the Internal Fabric Manager, click OK.

                                                                                  Enabling a Server Port with the Internal Fabric Manager

                                                                                  Procedure
                                                                                    Step 1   In the Internal Fabric Manager, click the server port in the Server Ports table.
                                                                                    Step 2   Click Enable Port.
                                                                                    Step 3   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
                                                                                    Step 4   If you have completed all tasks in the Internal Fabric Manager, click OK.

                                                                                    Disabling a Server Port with the Internal Fabric Manager

                                                                                    Procedure
                                                                                      Step 1   In the Internal Fabric Manager, click the server port in the Server Ports table.
                                                                                      Step 2   Click Disable Port.
                                                                                      Step 3   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
                                                                                      Step 4   If you have completed all tasks in the Internal Fabric Manager, click OK.