Configuring RPR Supervisor Engine Redundancy
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Table Of Contents

Configuring RPR Supervisor Engine Redundancy

Understanding RPR

Supervisor Engine Redundancy Overview

RPR Operation

Supervisor Engine Configuration Synchronization

Supervisor Engine Redundancy Guidelines and Restrictions

Redundancy Guidelines and Restrictions

Hardware Configuration Guidelines and Restrictions

Configuration Mode Restrictions

Configuring Supervisor Engine Redundancy

Configuring Redundancy

Synchronizing the Supervisor Engine Configurations

Displaying the Redundancy States

Performing a Fast Software Upgrade

Copying Files to the RP


Configuring RPR Supervisor Engine Redundancy

This chapter describes how to configure supervisor engine redundancy using route processor redundancy (RPR).

Note•For complete syntax and usage information for the commands used in this chapter, see the Cisco IOS Software Releases 12.2SX Command References at this URL:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/ios/mcl/122sx_mcl.html

•Cisco ME 6500 Series Ethernet switches do not support redundancy.

•In RPR redundancy mode, the ports on a Supervisor Engine 720-10GE in standby mode are disabled.

•RPR supports IPv6 multicast traffic.

•Release 12.2(33)SXH and later releases do not support Route Processor Redundancy Plus (RPR+).

This chapter consists of these sections:

•Understanding RPR

•Supervisor Engine Redundancy Guidelines and Restrictions

•Configuring Supervisor Engine Redundancy

•Performing a Fast Software Upgrade

•Copying Files to the RP

Understanding RPR

These sections describe RPR supervisor engine redundancy:

•Supervisor Engine Redundancy Overview

•RPR Operation

•Supervisor Engine Configuration Synchronization

Supervisor Engine Redundancy Overview

Note•The two Gigabit Ethernet interfaces on the redundant supervisor engine are always active.

•With a Supervisor Engine 720, if all the installed switching modules have DFCs, enter the fabric switching-mode allow dcef-only command to disable the Ethernet ports on both supervisor engines, which ensures that all modules are operating in dCEF mode and simplifies switchover to the redundant supervisor engine. (CSCec05612)

Catalyst 6500 series switches support fault resistance by allowing a redundant supervisor engine to take over if the primary supervisor engine fails. RPR supports a switchover time of 2 or more minutes.

The following events cause a switchover:

•A hardware failure on the active supervisor engine

•Clock synchronization failure between supervisor engines

•A manual switchover

RPR Operation

RPR supports the following features:

•Auto-startup and bootvar synchronization between active and redundant supervisor engines

•Hardware signals that detect and decide the active or redundant status of supervisor engines

•Clock synchronization every 60 seconds from the active to the redundant supervisor engine

•A redundant supervisor engine that is booted but not all subsystems are up: if the active supervisor engine fails, the redundant supervisor engine become fully operational

•An operational supervisor engine present in place of the failed unit becomes the redundant supervisor engine

•Support for fast software upgrade (FSU) (See the "Performing a Fast Software Upgrade" section.)

When the switch is powered on, RPR runs between the two supervisor engines. The supervisor engine that boots first becomes the RPR active supervisor engine. The Multilayer Switch Feature Card and Policy Feature Card become fully operational. The route processor (RP) and PFC on the redundant supervisor engine come out of reset but are not operational.

In a switchover, the redundant supervisor engine become fully operational and the following occurs:

•All switching modules power up again

•Remaining subsystems on the RP (including Layer 2 and Layer 3 protocols) are brought up

•Access control lists (ACLs) are reprogrammed into supervisor engine hardware

Note In a switchover, there is a disruption of traffic because some address states are lost and then restored after they are dynamically redetermined.

Supervisor Engine Configuration Synchronization

Note Configuration changes made through SNMP are not synchronized to the redundant supervisor engine. After you configure the switch through SNMP, copy the running-config file to the startup-config file on the active supervisor engine to trigger synchronization of the startup-config file on the redundant supervisor engine.

During RPR mode operation, the startup-config files and the config-register configurations are synchronized by default between the two supervisor engines. In a switchover, the new active supervisor engine uses the current configuration.

Supervisor Engine Redundancy Guidelines and Restrictions

These sections describe supervisor engine redundancy guidelines and restrictions:

•Redundancy Guidelines and Restrictions

•Hardware Configuration Guidelines and Restrictions

•Configuration Mode Restrictions

Redundancy Guidelines and Restrictions

These guidelines and restrictions apply to RPR:

•When a redundant supervisor engine is in standby mode, the two Gigabit Ethernet interfaces on the redundant supervisor engine are always active.

•With a Supervisor Engine 720, if all the installed switching modules have DFCs, enter the fabric switching-mode allow dcef-only command to disable the Ethernet ports on both supervisor engines, which ensures that all modules are operating in dCEF mode and simplifies switchover to the redundant supervisor engine. (CSCec05612)

•Supervisor engine redundancy does not provide supervisor engine mirroring or supervisor engine load balancing. Only one supervisor engine is active.

•Configuration changes made through SNMP are not synchronized to the redundant supervisor engine. After you configure the switch through SNMP, copy the running-config file to the startup-config file on the active supervisor engine to trigger synchronization of the startup-config file on the redundant supervisor engine.

•Supervisor engine switchover takes place after the failed supervisor engine completes a core dump. A core dump can take up to 15 minutes. To get faster switchover time, disable core dump on the supervisor engines.

Hardware Configuration Guidelines and Restrictions

For redundant operation, the following guidelines and restrictions must be met:

•Cisco IOS running on the SP and RP supports redundant configurations where the supervisor engines are identical. If they are not identical, one will boot first and become active and hold the other supervisor engine in a reset condition.

•Each supervisor engine must have the resources to run the switch on its own, which means all supervisor engine resources are duplicated, including all flash devices.

•Make separate console connections to each supervisor engine. Do not connect a Y cable to the console ports.

•Both supervisor engines must have the same system image (see the "Copying Files to the RP" section).

Note If a newly installed redundant supervisor engine has the Catalyst operating system installed, remove the active supervisor engine and boot the switch with only the redundant supervisor engine installed. Follow the procedures in the current release notes to convert the redundant supervisor engine from the Catalyst operating system.

•The configuration register must be set to 0x2102 (config-register 0x2102).

Note There is no support for booting from the network.

Configuration Mode Restrictions

The following configuration restrictions apply during the startup synchronization process:

•You cannot perform configuration changes during the startup (bulk) synchronization. If you attempt to make configuration changes during this process, the following message is generated: 

Config mode locked out till standby initializes

•If configuration changes occur at the same time as a supervisor engine switchover, these configuration changes are lost.

Configuring Supervisor Engine Redundancy

These sections describe how to configure supervisor engine redundancy:

•Configuring Redundancy

•Synchronizing the Supervisor Engine Configurations

•Displaying the Redundancy States

Configuring Redundancy

To configure redundancy, perform this task:

 
Command
Purpose

Step 1 

Router(config)# redundancy

Enters redundancy configuration mode.

Step 2 

Router(config-red)# mode rpr

Configures RPR. When this command is entered, the redundant supervisor engine is reloaded and begins to work in RPR mode.

Step 3 

Router# show running-config

Verifies that RPR is enabled.

Step 4 

Router# show redundancy states

Displays the operating redundancy mode.

This example shows how to configure the system for RPR and display the redundancy state: 

Router> enable 

Router# configure terminal 

Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.

Router(config)# redundancy 

Router(config-red)# mode rpr 

Router(config-red)# end 

Router# show redundancy states 

       my state = 13 -ACTIVE

     peer state = 1  -DISABLED

           Mode = Simplex

           Unit = Primary

        Unit ID = 1


Redundancy Mode (Operational) = rpr 

Redundancy Mode (Configured)  = rpr 

Redundancy State              = Non Redundant

     Maintenance Mode = Disabled

 Communications = Down      Reason: Simplex mode


   client count = 11

 client_notification_TMR = 30000 milliseconds

          keep_alive TMR = 4000 milliseconds

        keep_alive count = 0

    keep_alive threshold = 7

           RF debug mask = 0x0


Router#

Synchronizing the Supervisor Engine Configurations

During normal operation, the startup-config and config-registers configuration are synchronized by default between the two supervisor engines. In a switchover, the new active supervisor engine uses the current configuration.

Note Do not change the default auto-sync configuration.

Displaying the Redundancy States

To display the redundancy states, perform this task:

Command
Purpose

Router# show redundancy states

Displays the redundancy states.


This example shows how to display the redundancy states: 

Router# show redundancy states 

my state = 13 -ACTIVE

     peer state = 8  -STANDBY HOT

           Mode = Duplex

           Unit = Primary

        Unit ID = 1


Redundancy Mode (Operational) = Route Processor Redundancy 

Redundancy Mode (Configured)  = Route Processor Redundancy 

     Split Mode = Disabled

   Manual Swact = Enabled

 Communications = Up


   client count = 11

 client_notification_TMR = 30000 milliseconds

          keep_alive TMR = 9000 milliseconds

        keep_alive count = 0

    keep_alive threshold = 18

           RF debug mask = 0x0


Router#

Performing a Fast Software Upgrade

The fast software upgrade (FSU) procedure supported by RPR allows you to upgrade the Cisco IOS image on the supervisor engines without reloading the system.

Note If you are performing a first-time upgrade to RPR from EHSA, you must reload both supervisor engines. FSU from EHSA is not supported.

To perform an FSU, perform this task:

 
Command
Purpose

Step 1 

Router# copy source_device:source_filename {disk0 | disk1}:target_filename

Copies the new Cisco IOS image to the disk0: device or the disk1: device on the active supervisor engine.

Or:

Router# copy source_device:source_filename sup-bootflash:target_filename

Copies the new Cisco IOS image to the bootflash: device on the active supervisor engine.

Or:

Router# copy source_device:source_filename {slavedisk0 | slavedisk1}:target_filename

Copies the new Cisco IOS image to the disk0: device or the disk1: device on the redundant supervisor engine.

Or:

Router# copy source_device:source_filename slavesup-bootflash:target_filename

Copies the new Cisco IOS image to the bootflash: device on the redundant supervisor engine.

Step 2 

Router# config terminal

Router(config)# config-register 0x2102

Router(config)# boot system flash device:file_name

Configures the supervisor engines to boot the new image.

Step 3 

Router# copy running-config start-config

Saves the configuration.

Step 4 

Router# hw-module {module num} reset

Reloads the redundant supervisor engine and brings it back online (running the new version of the Cisco IOS software).

Note Before reloading the redundant supervisor engine, make sure you wait long enough to ensure that all configuration synchronization changes have completed.

Step 5 

Router# redundancy force-switchover

Conducts a manual switchover to the redundant supervisor engine. The redundant supervisor engine becomes the new active supervisor engine running the new Cisco IOS image. The modules are reloaded and the module software is downloaded from the new active supervisor engine.

The old active supervisor engine reboots with the new image and becomes the redundant supervisor engine.

Note To perform an EHSA to RPR FSU, use the reload command in Step 5.

This example shows how to perform an FSU: 

Router# config terminal 

Router(config)# config-register 0x2102 

Router(config)# boot system flash disk0:image_name 

Router# copy running-config start-config 

Router# hw-module reset 

Router# redundancy force-switchover 

Router#

Copying Files to the RP

Use the following command to copy a file to the bootflash: device on an active RP: 

Router# copy source_device:source_filename bootflash:target_filename

Use the following command to copy a file to the bootflash: device on a redundant RP: 

Router# copy source_device:source_filename slavebootflash:target_filename