Using the LAN Uplinks Manager

This chapter includes the following sections:

LAN Uplinks Manager

The LAN Uplinks Manager provides a single interface where you can configure the connections between Cisco UCS and the LAN. You can use the LAN Uplinks Manager to create and configure the following:

  • Ethernet switching mode

  • Uplink Ethernet ports

  • Port channels

  • LAN pin groups

  • Named VLANs

  • Server ports

  • QoS system classes

Some of the configuration that you can do in the LAN Uplinks Manager can also be done in nodes on other tabs, such as the Equipment tab or the LAN tab.

Launching the LAN Uplinks Manager

Procedure
    Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the LAN tab.
    Step 2   On the LAN tab, click the LAN node.
    Step 3   In the Work pane, click the LAN Uplinks Manager link on the LAN Uplinks tab.

    The LAN Uplinks Manager opens in a separate window.


    Changing the Ethernet Switching Mode with the LAN Uplinks Manager

    Important:

    When you change the Ethernet switching mode, Cisco UCS Manager logs you out and restarts the fabric interconnect. For a cluster configuration, Cisco UCS Manager restarts both fabric interconnects. The second fabric interconnect can take several minutes to complete the change in Ethernet switching mode and become system ready. The configuration is retained.

    While the fabric interconnects are rebooting, all blade servers will lose all LAN and SAN connectivity, causing a complete outage of all services on the blades. This may cause the operating system to crash.

    Procedure
      Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the LAN Uplinks tab.
      Step 2   In the Uplink Mode area, click one of the following buttons:
      • Set Ethernet Switching Mode

      • Set Ethernet End-Host Mode

      The button for the current switching mode is dimmed.

      Step 3   In the dialog box, click Yes.

      Cisco UCS Manager restarts the fabric interconnect, logs you out, and disconnects Cisco UCS Manager GUI.


      Configuring a Port with the LAN Uplinks Manager

      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.

      Procedure
        Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the LAN Uplinks tab.
        Step 2   In the Ports area, click the down arrows to expand the Unconfigured Ports section.
        Step 3   Expand Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name .
        Step 4   Expand one of the following:
        • Fixed Module—To configure a port in the fixed module as a server port or an uplink Ethernet port.
        • Expansion Module Number —To enable a port in an expansion module as an uplink Ethernet port. You cannot configure ports in expansion modules as server ports.

        If no ports are listed below the node that you expanded, all ports in that module have already been configured.

        Step 5   Right-click the port that you want to configure and choose one of the following:
        • Configure as Server Port
        • Configure as Uplink Port
        Step 6   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

        Configuring Server Ports

        Enabling a Server Port with the LAN Uplinks Manager

        This procedure assumes that the port has been configured as a server port, but is disabled.

        Procedure
          Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the LAN Uplinks tab.
          Step 2   In the Ports area, click the down arrows to expand the Server Ports section.
          Step 3   Expand Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name .
          Step 4   Right-click the port that you want to enable and choose Enable.

          Disabling a Server Port with the LAN Uplinks Manager

          Procedure
            Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the LAN Uplinks tab.
            Step 2   In the Ports area, click the down arrows to expand the Server Ports section.
            Step 3   Expand Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name .
            Step 4   Right-click the port that you want to disable and choose Disable.
            Step 5   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

            Unconfiguring a Server Port with the LAN Uplinks Manager

            Procedure
              Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the LAN Uplinks tab.
              Step 2   In the Ports area, click the down arrows to expand the Server Ports section.
              Step 3   Expand Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name .
              Step 4   Right-click the port that you want to unconfigure and choose Unconfigure.
              Step 5   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

              Configuring Uplink Ethernet Ports

              Enabling an Uplink Ethernet Port with the LAN Uplinks Manager

              This procedure assumes that the port has been configured as an uplink Ethernet port, but is disabled.

              Procedure
                Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the LAN Uplinks tab.
                Step 2   In the Port Channels and Uplinks area, expand Interfaces > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name .
                Step 3   Right-click the port that you want to enable and choose Enable Interface.
                Step 4   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                Disabling an Uplink Ethernet Port with the LAN Uplinks Manager

                Procedure
                  Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the LAN Uplinks tab.
                  Step 2   In the Port Channels and Uplinks area, expand Interfaces > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name .
                  Step 3   Right-click the port that you want to disable and choose Disable Interfaces.

                  You can select multiple ports if you want to disable more than one uplink Ethernet port.

                  Step 4   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                  The disabled port is removed from the list of enabled interfaces and returned to the Unconfigured Ports list.

                  Unconfiguring an Uplink Ethernet Port with the LAN Uplinks Manager

                  Procedure
                    Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the LAN Uplinks tab.
                    Step 2   In the Port Channels and Uplinks area, expand Interfaces > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name .
                    Step 3   Click the port that you want to unconfigure.

                    You can select multiple ports if you want to unconfigure more than one uplink Ethernet port.

                    Step 4   Click Disable Interface.
                    Step 5   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                    The disabled port is removed from the list of enabled interfaces and returned to the Unconfigured Ports list.

                    Configuring Uplink Ethernet Port Channels

                    Creating a Port Channel with the LAN Uplinks Manager

                    Procedure
                      Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the LAN Uplinks tab.
                      Step 2   In the Port Channels and Uplinks area, click Create Port Channel.
                      Step 3   From the pop-up menu, select one of the following fabric interconnects where you want to create the port channel:
                      • Fabric Interconnect A
                      • Fabric Interconnect B
                      Step 4   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).

                      2. Click Next.
                      Step 5   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 6   Click Finish.

                      Enabling a Port Channel with the LAN Uplinks Manager

                      Procedure
                        Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the LAN Uplinks tab.
                        Step 2   In the Port Channels and Uplinks area, expand Port Channels > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
                        Step 3   Right-click the port channel that you want to enable and choose Enable Port Channel.
                        Step 4   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                        Disabling a Port Channel with the LAN Uplinks Manager

                        Procedure
                          Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the LAN Uplinks tab.
                          Step 2   In the Port Channels and Uplinks area, expand Port Channels > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
                          Step 3   Right-click the port channel that you want to disable and choose Disable Port Channel.
                          Step 4   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                          Adding Ports to a Port Channel with the LAN Uplinks Manager

                          Procedure
                            Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the LAN Uplinks tab.
                            Step 2   In the Port Channels and Uplinks area, expand Port Channels > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
                            Step 3   Right-click the port channel to which you want to add ports and choose Add Ports.
                            Step 4   In the Add Ports dialog box, 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 5   Click OK.

                            Removing Ports from a Port Channel with the LAN Uplinks Manager

                            Procedure
                              Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the LAN Uplinks tab.
                              Step 2   In the Port Channels and Uplinks area, expand Port Channels > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
                              Step 3   Expand the port channel from which you want to remove ports.
                              Step 4   Right-click the port you want to remove from the port channel and choose Delete.
                              Step 5   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                              Deleting a Port Channel with the LAN Uplinks Manager

                              Procedure
                                Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the LAN Uplinks tab.
                                Step 2   In the Port Channels and Uplinks area, expand Port Channels > Fabric Interconnects > Fabric_Interconnect_Name.
                                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.

                                Configuring LAN Pin Groups

                                Creating a Pin Group with the LAN Uplinks Manager

                                In a system with two fabric interconnects, you can associate the pin group with only one fabric interconnect or with both fabric interconnects.

                                Before You Begin

                                Configure the ports and port channels with which you want to configure the pin group. You can only include ports and port channels configured as uplink ports in a LAN pin group.

                                Procedure
                                  Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the LAN Uplinks tab.
                                  Step 2   In the Port Channels and Uplinks area, click Create Pin Group.
                                  Step 3   In the Create LAN Pin Group dialog box, enter a unique name and description for the pin group.
                                  Step 4   To pin traffic for fabric interconnect A, do the following in the Targets area:
                                  1. Check the Fabric Interconnect A check box.
                                  2. Click the drop-down arrow on the Interface field and navigate through the tree-style browser to select the port or port channel you want to associate with the pin group.
                                  Step 5   To pin traffic for fabric interconnect B, do the following in the Targets area:
                                  1. Check the Fabric Interconnect B check box.
                                  2. Click the drop-down arrow on the Interface field and navigate through the tree-style browser to select the port or port channel you want to associate with the pin group.
                                  Step 6   Click OK.

                                  What to Do Next

                                  Include the pin group in a vNIC template.

                                  Deleting a Pin Group with the LAN Uplinks Manager

                                  Procedure
                                    Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the LAN Uplinks tab.
                                    Step 2   In the Pin Groups area, right-click the pin group you want to delete and choose Delete.
                                    Step 3   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                                    Configuring Named VLANs

                                    Creating a Named VLAN with the LAN Uplinks Manager

                                    In a Cisco UCS domain with two switches, you can create a named VLAN that is accessible to both switches or to only one switch.

                                    Important:

                                    You cannot create VLANs with IDs from 3968 to 4047. This range of VLAN IDs is reserved.

                                    VLANs in the LAN cloud and FCoE VLANs in the SAN cloud must have different IDs. Using the same ID for a VLAN and an FCoE VLAN in a VSAN results in a critical fault and traffic disruption for all vNICs and uplink ports using that VLAN. Ethernet traffic is dropped on any VLAN which has an ID that overlaps with an FCoE VLAN ID.

                                    Procedure
                                      Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the VLANs tab.
                                      Step 2   On the icon bar to the right of the table, click +.

                                      If the + icon is disabled, click an entry in the table to enable it.

                                      Step 3   In the Create VLANs dialog box, complete the following fields:
                                      Name Description

                                      VLAN Name/Prefix field

                                      For a single VLAN, this is the VLAN name. For a range of VLANs, this is the prefix that the system uses for each VLAN name.

                                      The VLAN name is case sensitive.

                                      This name can be between 1 and 32 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.

                                      Multicast Policy drop-down list

                                      The multicast policy associated with this VLAN.

                                      Create Multicast Policy link

                                      Click this link to create a new multicast policy that will be available to all VLANs.

                                      Configuration options

                                      You can choose one of the following:

                                      • Common/Global—The VLANs apply to both fabrics and use the same configuration parameters in both cases

                                      • Fabric A—The VLANs only apply to fabric A.

                                      • Fabric B—The VLAN only apply to fabric B.

                                      • Both Fabrics Configured Differently—The VLANs apply to both fabrics but you can specify different VLAN IDs for each fabric.

                                      For upstream disjoint L2 networks, we recommend that you choose Common/Global to create VLANs that apply to both fabrics.

                                      VLAN IDs field

                                      To create one VLAN, enter a single numeric ID. To create multiple VLANs, enter individual IDs or ranges of IDs separated by commas. A VLAN ID can:

                                      • Be between 1 and 3967

                                      • Be between 4048 and 4093

                                      • Overlap with other VLAN IDs already defined on the system

                                      For example, to create six VLANs with the IDs 4, 22, 40, 41, 42, and 43, you would enter 4, 22, 40-43.

                                      Important:

                                      You cannot create VLANs with IDs from 3968 to 4047. This range of VLAN IDs is reserved.

                                      VLANs in the LAN cloud and FCoE VLANs in the SAN cloud must have different IDs. Using the same ID for a VLAN and an FCoE VLAN in a VSAN results in a critical fault and traffic disruption for all vNICs and uplink ports using that VLAN. Ethernet traffic is dropped on any VLAN which has an ID that overlaps with an FCoE VLAN ID.

                                      Sharing Type field

                                      Whether this VLAN is subdivided into private or secondary VLANs. This can be one of the following:

                                      • None—This VLAN does not have any secondary or private VLANs.

                                      • Primary—This VLAN can have one or more secondary VLANs, as shown in the Secondary VLANs area.

                                      • Isolated—This is a private VLAN. The primary VLAN with which it is associated is shown in the Primary VLAN drop-down list.

                                      Primary VLAN drop-down list

                                      If the Sharing Type field is set to Isolated, this is the primary VLAN associated with this private VLAN.

                                      Permitted Orgs for VLAN(s)

                                      Select the organization from the displayed list for the VLAN. This VLAN will be available for the organizations you select here.

                                      Check Overlap button

                                      Click this button to determine whether the VLAN ID overlaps with any other IDs on the system.

                                      Step 4   Click OK.

                                      Cisco UCS Manager adds the VLAN to one of the following VLANs nodes:

                                      • The LAN Cloud > VLANs node for a VLAN accessible to both fabric interconnects.

                                      • The Fabric_Interconnect_Name > VLANs node for a VLAN accessible to only one fabric interconnect.


                                      Deleting a Named VLAN with the LAN Uplinks Manager

                                      If Cisco UCS Manager includes a named VLAN with the same VLAN ID as the one you delete, the VLAN is not removed from the fabric interconnect configuration until all named VLANs with that ID are deleted.

                                      Procedure
                                        Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the VLANs tab.
                                        Step 2   Click one of the following subtabs, depending upon what type of VLAN you want to delete:
                                        Subtab Description

                                        All

                                        Displays all VLANs in the Cisco UCS domain.

                                        Dual Mode

                                        Displays the VLANs that are accessible to both fabric interconnects.

                                        Fabric A

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

                                        Fabric B

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

                                        Step 3   In the table, click the VLAN you want to delete.

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

                                        Step 4   Right-click the highlighted VLAN or VLANs and select Delete.
                                        Step 5   If the Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

                                        Configuring QoS System Classes with the LAN Uplinks Manager

                                        The type of adapter in a server may limit the maximum MTU supported. For example, network MTU above the maximums may cause the packet to be dropped for the following adapters:

                                        • The Cisco UCS M71KR CNA adapter, which supports a maximum MTU of 9216.

                                        • The Cisco UCS 82598KR-CI adapter, which supports a maximum MTU of 14000.

                                        Procedure
                                          Step 1   In the LAN Uplinks Manager, click the QoS tab.
                                          Step 2   Update the following properties for the system class you want to configure to meet the traffic management needs of the system:
                                          Note   

                                          Some properties may not be configurable for all system classes.

                                          Name Description

                                          Enabled check box

                                          If checked, the associated QoS class is configured on the fabric interconnect and can be assigned to a QoS policy.

                                          If unchecked, the class is not configured on the fabric interconnect and any QoS policies associated with this class default to Best Effort or, if a system class is configured with a Cos of 0, to the Cos 0 system class.

                                          Note   

                                          This field is always checked for Best Effort and Fibre Channel.

                                          CoS field

                                          The class of service. You can enter an integer value between 0 and 6, with 0 being the lowest priority and 6 being the highest priority. We recommend that you do not set the value to 0, unless you want that system class to be the default system class for traffic if the QoS policy is deleted or the assigned system class is disabled.

                                          Note   

                                          This field is set to 7 for internal traffic and to any for Best Effort. Both of these values are reserved and cannot be assigned to any other priority.

                                          Packet Drop check box

                                          If checked, packet drop is allowed for this class. If unchecked, packets cannot be dropped during transmission.

                                          This field is always unchecked for the Fibre Channel class, which never allows dropped packets, and always checked for Best Effort, which always allows dropped packets.

                                          Weight drop-down list

                                          This can be one of the following:

                                          • An integer between 1 and 10. If you enter an integer, Cisco UCS determines the percentage of network bandwidth assigned to the priority level as described in the Weight (%) field.

                                          • best-effort.

                                          • none.

                                          Weight (%) field

                                          To determine the bandwidth allocated to a channel, Cisco UCS:

                                          1. Adds the weights for all the channels

                                          2. Divides the channel weight by the sum of all weights to get a percentage

                                          3. Allocates that percentage of the bandwidth to the channel

                                          MTU drop-down list

                                          The maximum transmission unit for the channel. This can be one of the following:

                                          • An integer between 1500 and 9216. This value corresponds to the maximum packet size.

                                          • fc—A predefined packet size of 2240.

                                          • normal—A predefined packet size of 1500.

                                          Note   

                                          This field is always set to fc for Fibre Channel.

                                          Multicast Optimized check box

                                          If checked, the class is optimized to send packets to multiple destinations simultaneously.

                                          Note   

                                          This option is not applicable to the Fibre Channel.

                                          Step 3   Do one of the following:
                                          • Click OK to save your changes and exit from the LAN Uplinks Manager.
                                          • Click Apply to save your changes without exiting from the LAN Uplinks Manager.