Managing Ports

This chapter contains the following sections:

About Ports

Switch ports are Layer 2-only interfaces that are associated with a physical port. Switch ports belong to one or more VLANs. A switch port can be an access port, a trunk port, or a tunnel port. Switch ports are used to manage the physical interface and associated Layer 2 protocols; they do not handle routing or bridging.

In Cisco UCS Director, you can configure ports and port profiles on the following Cisco network devices:

  • Cisco Nexus 1000 and 1110 Series switches
  • Cisco Nexus 3000 Series switches
  • Cisco Nexus 5000, 5500, and 5672 Series switches
  • Cisco Nexus 6000 Series switches
  • Cisco Nexus 7000 Series switches
  • Cisco Nexus 9300 and 9500 Series switches
  • Cisco MDS 9100 Series switches
  • Cisco MDS 9500 Series switches
  • Cisco MDS 9700 Series switches
  • Cisco ASA 5500 Series firewall
  • Cisco IOS Devices
  • Cisco Adaptive Security Virtual Appliance (ASAv)

Note

For more detailed information about managing ports, see the Cisco NX-OS Software Configuration Guides.

Configuring a Port

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

On the Network page, choose the pod.

Step 3

Select the network device to be configured.

Step 4

Click Interfaces.

Step 5

Choose an interface to be configured.

Step 6

Click Configure Port.

Step 7

In the Configure Port screen, complete the required fields, including the following:

Name Description

Select Port field

The port to be configured is displayed.

Enable check box

Check the check box to enable the port.

Copy Running configuration to Startup configuration check box

Check the check box to copy the running configuration to the startup configuration.

Step 8

Click Submit.

Configuring an STP Port

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

On the Network page, choose the pod.

Step 3

Select the network device to be configured.

The summary status of the device is displayed.

Step 4

Click Configure STP Port.

Step 5

In the Configure STP Port screen, complete the required fields, including the following:

Name Description

Select Port Select button

(Required) Click Select. In the Select dialog box, choose the designated STP port.

Continue to Step 7 if the required parameters are specified for this port.

VLAN field

The VLAN ID number from 1 to 4094.

Cost Auto check box

Check this check box to enable automatic choosing of the least costly port path. Port costs break a tie for the designated port.

Hello Time field

The hello time to be used on this port. This is the time between each bridge protocol data unit (BPDU) that is sent on a port.

Forward Time field

The forward delay to be used on this port. This is the time that is spent in the listening and learning state.

Max Age field

The maximum length of time before a bridge port saves its configuration BPDU information.

Copy Running configuration to Startup configuration check box

Check the check box to copy the running configuration to the startup configuration.

Step 6

Click Submit.

Configuring a Port License

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

On the Network page, choose the pod.

Step 3

Select the network device to be configured.

The summary status of the device is displayed.

Step 4

Click Configure Port License.

Step 5

In the Configure Port License screen, complete the required fields, including the following:

Name Description

Select Port drop-down

Choose a port from the list.

Acquire check box

Check this check box to acquire the license.

Copy Running configuration to Startup configuration check box

Check the check box to copy the running configuration to the startup configuration.

Step 6

Click Submit.

Managing Port Profiles

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

On the Network page, choose the pod.

Step 3

In the Managed Network Elements screen, choose the network device that needs to be configured.

Step 4

Click View Details.

Step 5

Click Port Profiles.

The port profiles created in the network device are displayed. The channel group mode and subgroup type of the port profile appear only when you choose the network device that is configured with Hyper-V. The Port Profiles screen provides the following actions:
Action Description

Refresh

Refreshes the current page.

Favorite

Adds this page to the Favorites tab which displays the page that you go to most often.

Create Port Profile

Creates a port profile in the network device.

When you choose a port profile, the following additional actions appear:

Action Description

View Details

Appears when you choose the network device that is not configured with Hyper-V. Click View Details to view the service request details of the port profile.

Delete Port Profile

Deletes a port profile.

Update Port Profile

Updates a port profile.

Publish Port Profile

This action appears when you choose the network device that is configured with Hyper-V. Click Publish Port Profile to publish the port profile to System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM).

Manage Tag

Adds a tag to the port profile, edits the assigned tag, and deletes the tag from the port profile.

Note 
The tags that are assigned with the taggable entities as physical storage and network device are displayed. For more information on the tab library, see Cisco UCS Director Administration Guide.

Add Tags

Adds a tag to the port profile.

Note 
The tags that are assigned with the taggable entities as physical storage and network device are displayed. For more information on the tab library, see Cisco UCS Director Administration Guide.

Delete Tags

Deletes the tag(s) from the port profile.

Note 
The tags that are assigned with the taggable entities as physical storage and network device are displayed. For more information on the tab library, see Cisco UCS Director Administration Guide.

Creating a Port Profile

The port profile that you create for a network device is available as a distributed port group on VMware vCenter if there is a connection between the Virtual Supervisor Module (VSM) and vCenter.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to the Port Profiles tab.

For more information about how to navigate to the Port Profiles tab, see Managing Port Profiles.

Step 2

Click Create Port Profile.

Step 3

In the Port Profile Configuration screen, complete the fields.

When you choose the network device that is not configured with Hyper-V, you see the following fields:

Name Description

Port Profile Name field

(Required) The name for the network device port profile.

Description field

The description of the port profile.

Port Profile Type drop-down list

Choose one of the following: Vethernet or Ethernet.

Mode drop-down list

Choose one of the following: Access or Trunk.

Access VLAN drop-down list

(Required) Choose the access VLAN type.

Enable VXLAN Capability check box

Check this check box to enable the virtual extensible LAN (VXLAN) capability on this port profile. Uncheck the check box if you do not want to enable the VXLAN capability.

IP address field

The IP network address.

IP network mask field

The subnetwork address mask for this network.

IP next-hop address field

The IP next-hop address.

QOS Policy Map drop-down list

Choose the quality of service (QoS) policy map to apply to the port profile if applicable.

Select Sgt field

This field appears when you choose Vethernet as the port profile type. Click Select. In the Select dialog box, choose an SGT.

Note 

SGT support is provided for the Cisco Nexus 1000v and Cisco Nexus 1110 switches.

Max Ports field

This field appears when you choose Vethernet as the port profile type. Enter the max port number of the port profile. The range is from 1 to 1024.

Note 

This support is provided for the Cisco Nexus 1000v series switches.

Copy Running configuration to Startup configuration check box

Check this check box to copy the running port profile configuration to the startup configuration.

When you choose the network device that is configured with Hyper-V, you see the following fields:

Name Description

Port Profile Name field

(Required) The name for the network device port profile.

Description field

The description of the port profile.

Port Profile Type drop-down list

Choose one of the following: Ethernet or Vethernet.

Defining a port profile type as Ethernet allows the port profile to be used for physical (Ethernet) ports. In a vCenter server, the corresponding port group can be selected and assigned to physical ports (PNICs).

Publish Port Profile check box

This check box appears when you choose Vethernet as the port profile type. Check this check box to publish the port profile to System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM).

Publish Port Profile Name check box

This field appears when you check the Publish Port Profile check box. The name for the published port profile name.

Channel Group Mode drop-down list

This drop-down list appears when you choose Ethernet as the port profile type. Choose one of the following:

  • Sub-Group—Subgroups are logically smaller port channels that can consist of one or more uplinks to the physical switch.

  • Mac-Pinning—If you are connecting to multiple upstream switches that do not support port channels, MAC pinning is the preferred configuration. MAC pinning designates that one subgroup per Ethernet member port must be automatically assigned.

Sub Group Type drop-down list

This drop-down list appears when you choose Sub-Group as the channel sub-group mode. Choose one of the following:

  • CDP—Automatically creates subgroups using information from the Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) packets.

  • Manual—Manually configures port channel subgroups to manage the traffic flow on multiple upstream switches. This option is required for a port channel that connects to multiple upstream switches where CDP is not configured.

Mode drop-down list

Choose one of the following as mode:

  • Trunk—Automatically creates subgroups using information from the Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) packets.

  • Access—Manually configures port channel subgroups to manage the traffic flow on multiple upstream switches. This option is required for a port channel that connects to multiple upstream switches where CDP is not configured.

Allowed VLANs field

This field appears when you choose Trunk as the mode. Click Select and choose VLANs that are allowed on the trunk link.

Enable VXLAN Capability check box

This field appears when you choose Vethernet as the port profile type and Access as the mode of port profile. Check this check box to enable the virtual extensible LAN (VXLAN) capability on this port profile. Uncheck the check box if you do not want to enable the VXLAN capability.

Access VLAN field

This field appears when you choose Access as the mode. Choose the VLAN for which this access port carries traffic.

Add to System VLAN check box

Check this check box to add the port profile to system VLAN.

System VLAN field

This field appears when you check the Add to System VLAN check box. Click Select and choose system VLAN to which you need to add the port profile.

Copy Running configuration to Startup configuration check box

Check this check box to copy the running port profile configuration to the startup configuration.

Step 4

Click Submit.

Managing Port Channels

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

On the Network page, choose the pod.

Step 3

In the Managed Network Elements screen, choose the network device to be configured.

Step 4

Click View Details.

Step 5

Click Interfaces.

The interfaces created in the network device are displayed. The Interfaces screen provides the following actions:
Action Description

Refresh

Refreshes the current page.

Favorite

Adds this page to the Favorites tab which displays the page that you go to most often.

Create Port Channel

Creates a port channel in the network device.

When you choose a port channel, the following actions appear:

Action Description

Configure Port

Configures a port.

Delete Port Channel

Deletes a port channel.

Manage Tag

Adds a tag to the port channel, edits the assigned tag, and deletes the tag from the port channel.

Note 
The tags that are assigned with the taggable entities as physical storage and network device are displayed. For more information on the tab library, see Cisco UCS Director Administration Guide.

Add Tags

Adds a tag to the port channel.

Note 
The tags that are assigned with the taggable entities as physical storage and network device are displayed. For more information on the tab library, see Cisco UCS Director Administration Guide.

Delete Tags

Deletes the tags from the port channel.

Note 
The tags that are assigned with the taggable entities as physical storage and network device are displayed. For more information on the tab library, see Cisco UCS Director Administration Guide.

Configure Access

Configures the interface as an access port.

Configure Trunk

Configures the interface as a trunk port.

Update Trunk

Updates the trunk port that is configured on the interface.

Creating a Port Channel

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

On the Network page, choose the pod.

Step 3

Choose the network device to be configured.

Step 4

Click Interfaces.

Step 5

Click Create Port Channel.

Step 6

In the Create Port Channel screen, complete the required fields, including the following:

Name Description

Port Channel Number field

The port channel number that you choose within the valid range. The valid port channel range value can be between 1 and 4096.

Description field

The description of the port channel.

Copy Running configuration to Startup configuration check box

Check this check box to copy the running configuration to the startup configuration.

Step 7

Click Submit.

Configuring a Private VLAN Port Profile

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

On the Network page, choose the pod.

Step 3

Choose the network device to be configured.

Step 4

Click Private VLANs.

Step 5

Click Configure Private VLAN Port Profile.

Step 6

In the Configure Private VLAN Port Profile screen, complete the required fields, including the following:

Name Description

Port Profile Name field

(Required) The port profile name.

Port Profile Type drop-down list

The port profile type.

Trunk check box

Check this check box to create the port profile in trunk mode.

Type drop-down list

Choose either host or promiscuous.

Primary VLAN ID drop-down list

Choose the primary VLAN ID.

Secondary VLAN ID Select button

Click Select. In the Select Items dialog box, choose the valid secondary VLAN ID(s) and click Select.

Copy Running configuration to Startup configuration check box

Check this check box to copy the running configuration to the startup configuration.

Step 7

Click Submit.