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Contents
- Configuring the Fabric Interconnects
- Initial System Setup
- Setup Mode
- System Configuration Type
- Management Port IP Address
- Performing an Initial System Setup for a Standalone Configuration
- Initial System Setup for a Cluster Configuration
- Performing an Initial System Setup on the First Fabric Interconnect
- Performing an Initial System Setup on the Second Fabric Interconnect
- Enabling a Standalone Fabric Interconnect for Cluster Configuration
- Ethernet Switching Mode
- Configuring Ethernet Switching Mode
- Fibre Channel Switching Mode
- Configuring Fibre Channel Switching Mode
- Changing the Properties of the Fabric Interconnects
- Determining the Leadership Role of a Fabric Interconnect
Configuring the Fabric Interconnects
This chapter includes the following sections:
- Initial System Setup
- Performing an Initial System Setup for a Standalone Configuration
- Initial System Setup for a Cluster Configuration
- Enabling a Standalone Fabric Interconnect for Cluster Configuration
- Ethernet Switching Mode
- Configuring Ethernet Switching Mode
- Fibre Channel Switching Mode
- Configuring Fibre Channel Switching Mode
- Changing the Properties of the Fabric Interconnects
- Determining the Leadership Role of a Fabric Interconnect
Initial System Setup
The first time that you access a fabric interconnect in a Cisco UCS instance, a setup wizard prompts you for the following information required to configure the system:
Setup Mode
You can choose to either restore the system configuration from an existing backup file, or manually set up the system by going through the Setup wizard. If you choose to restore the system, the backup file must be reachable from the management network.
System Configuration Type
You can configure a Cisco UCS instance to use a single fabric interconnect in a standalone configuration or to use a redundant pair of fabric interconnects in a cluster configuration.
A cluster configuration provides high availability. If one fabric interconnect becomes unavailable, the other takes over. Only one management port (Mgmt0) connection is required to support a cluster configuration; however, both Mgmt0 ports should be connected to provide link-level redundancy.
In addition, a cluster configuration actively enhances failover recovery time for redundant virtual interface (VIF) connections. When an adapter has an active VIF connection to one fabric interconnect and a standby VIF connection to the second, the learned MAC addresses of the active VIF are replicated but not installed on the second fabric interconnect. If the active VIF fails, the second fabric interconnect installs the replicated MAC addresses and broadcasts them to the network through gratuitous ARP messages, shortening the switchover time.
Note
The cluster configuration provides redundancy only for the management plane. Data redundancy is dependent on the user configuration and may require a third-party tool to support data redundancy.
To use the cluster configuration, the two fabric interconnects must be directly connected together using Ethernet cables between the L1 (L1-to-L1) and L2 (L2-to-L2) high availability ports, with no other fabric interconnects in between. This allows the two fabric interconnects to continuously monitor the status of each other and quickly know when one has failed.
Both fabric interconnects in a cluster configuration must go through the initial setup process. The first fabric interconnect to be set up must be enabled for a cluster configuration. Then, when the second fabric interconnect is set up, it detects the first fabric interconnect as a peer fabric interconnect in the cluster.
For more information, refer to the Cisco UCS 6100 Series Fabric Interconnect Hardware Installation Guide.
Performing an Initial System Setup for a Standalone Configuration
Before You BeginProcedure
Verify the following physical connections on the fabric interconnect:
The console port is physically connected to a computer terminal or console server
The management Ethernet port (mgmt0) is connected to an external hub, switch, or router
For more information, refer to the Cisco UCS Hardware Installation Guide for your fabric interconnect.
Collect the following information that you will need to supply during the initial setup:
System name.
Password for the admin account. Choose a strong password that meets the guidelines for Cisco UCS Manager passwords. This password cannot be blank.
Management port IP address and subnet mask.
Default gateway IP address.
DNS server IP address (optional).
Domain name for the system (optional).
Performing an Initial System Setup on the First Fabric Interconnect
Before You BeginProcedure
Verify the following physical connections on the fabric interconnect:
A console port on the first fabric interconnect is physically connected to a computer terminal or console server
The management Ethernet port (mgmt0) is connected to an external hub, switch, or router
The L1 ports on both fabric interconnects are directly connected to each other
The L2 ports on both fabric interconnects are directly connected to each other
For more information, refer to the Cisco UCS Hardware Installation Guide for your fabric interconnect.
Collect the following information that you will need to supply during the initial setup:
System name.
Password for the admin account. Choose a strong password that meets the guidelines for Cisco UCS Manager passwords. This password cannot be blank.
Three static IP addresses: two for the management port on both fabric interconnects (one per fabric interconnect) and one for the cluster IP address used by Cisco UCS Manager.
Subnet mask for the three static IP addresses.
Default gateway IP address.
DNS server IP address (optional).
Domain name for the system (optional).
Step 1 Connect to the console port. Step 2 Power on the fabric interconnect. You will see the power on self-test messages as the fabric interconnect boots.
Step 3 At the installation method prompt, enter gui. Step 4 If the system cannot access a DHCP server, you are prompted to enter the following information:
Step 5 Copy the web link from the prompt into a web browser and go to the Cisco UCS Manager GUI launch page. Step 6 On the Cisco UCS Manager GUI launch page, select Express Setup. Step 7 On the Express Setup page, select Initial Setup and click Submit. Step 8 In the Cluster and Fabric Setup Area: Step 9 In the System Setup Area, complete the following fields:
Field
Description
System Name field
The name assigned to the Cisco UCS instance
In a standalone configuration, the system adds "-A" to the system name. In a cluster configuration, the system adds "-A" to the fabric interconnect assigned to fabric A, and "-B" to the fabric interconnect assigned to fabric B.
Admin Password field
The password used for the Admin account on the fabric interconnect.
Choose a strong password that meets the guidelines for Cisco UCS Manager passwords. This password cannot be blank.
Confirm Admin Password field
The password used for the Admin account on the fabric interconnect.
Mgmt IP Address field
The static IP address for the management port on the fabric interconnect.
Mgmt IP Netmask field
The subnet mask for the management port on the fabric interconnect.
Default Gateway field
The IP address for the default gateway assigned to the management port on the fabric interconnect.
DNS Server IP field
The IP address for the DNS server assigned to the fabric interconnect.
Domain Name field
The name of the domain in which the fabric interconnect resides.
Step 10 Click Submit. A page displays the results of your setup operation.
Performing an Initial System Setup on the Second Fabric Interconnect
Before You BeginProcedureYou must ensure the following:
A console port on the second fabric interconnect is physically connected to a computer terminal or console server
You know the password for the admin account on the first fabric interconnect that you configured.
Step 1 Connect to the console port. Step 2 Power on the fabric interconnect. You will see the power on self-test messages as the fabric interconnect boots.
Step 3 At the installation method prompt, enter gui. Step 4 If the system cannot access a DHCP server, you are prompted to enter the following information:
Step 5 Copy the web link from the prompt into a web browser and go to the Cisco UCS Manager GUI launch page. Step 6 On the Cisco UCS Manager GUI launch page, select Express Setup. Step 7 On the Express Setup page, select Initial Setup and click Submit. The fabric interconnect should detect the configuration information for the first fabric interconnect.
Step 8 In the Cluster and Fabric Setup Area: Step 9 In the System Setup Area, enter the password for the Admin account into the Admin Password of Master field. Step 10 Click Submit. A page displays the results of your setup operation.
Enabling a Standalone Fabric Interconnect for Cluster Configuration
ProcedureYou can add a second fabric interconnect to an existing Cisco UCS instance that uses a single standalone fabric interconnect. To do this, you must enable the standalone fabric interconnect for cluster operation, and then add the second fabric interconnect to the cluster.
Command or Action Purpose Step 1 UCS-A# connect local-mgmt Enters local management mode.
Step 2 UCS-A(local-mgmt) # enable cluster ip-addr Enables cluster operation on the standalone fabric interconnect with the specified IP address. When you enter this command, you are prompted to confirm that you want to enable cluster operation. Type yes to confirm.
What to Do NextThe following example enables a standalone fabric interconnect with IP address 192.168.1.101 for cluster operation:
UCS-A# connect local-mgmt UCS-A(local-mgmt)# enable cluster 192.168.1.101 This command will enable cluster mode on this setup. You cannot change it back to stand-alone. Are you sure you want to continue? (yes/no): yes UCS-A(local-mgmt)#
Add the second fabric interconnect to the cluster.
Ethernet Switching Mode
The Ethernet switching mode determines how the fabric interconnect behaves as a switching device between the servers and the network. The fabric interconnect operates in either of the following Ethernet switching modes:
End-Host Mode
End-host mode allows the fabric interconnect to act as an end host to the network, representing all server (hosts) connected to it through vNICs. This is achieved by pinning (either dynamically pinned or hard pinned) vNICs to uplink ports, which provides redundancy toward the network, and makes the uplink ports appear as server ports to the rest of the fabric. When in end-host mode, the fabric interconnect does not run the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) and avoids loops by denying uplink ports from forwarding traffic to each other, and by denying egress server traffic on more than one uplink port at a time. End-host mode is the default Ethernet switching mode and should be used if either of the following are used upstream:
Note
When end-host mode is enabled, if a vNIC is hard pinned to an uplink port and this uplink port goes down, the system cannot re-pin the vNIC, and the vNIC remains down.Switch Mode
Switch mode is the traditional Ethernet switching mode. The fabric interconnect runs STP to avoid loops, and broadcast and multicast packets are handled in the traditional way. Switch mode is not the default Ethernet switching mode, and should be used only if the fabric interconnect is directly connected to a router, or if either of the following are used upstream:
Note
For both Ethernet switching modes, even when vNICs are hard pinned to uplink ports, all server-to-server unicast traffic in the server array is sent only through the fabric interconnect and is never sent through uplink ports. Server-to-server multicast and broadcast traffic is sent through all uplink ports in the same VLAN.
Configuring Ethernet Switching Mode
ProcedureImportant: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 sequentially. The second fabric interconnect can take several minutes to complete the change in Ethernet switching mode and become system ready.
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab. Step 2 On the Equipment tab, expand . Step 3 In the Work pane, click the General tab. Step 4 In the Actions area of the General tab, click one of the following links: The link for the current mode is dimmed.
Step 5 In the dialog box, click Yes. Cisco UCS Manager restarts the fabric interconnect, logs you out, and disconnects Cisco UCS Manager GUI.
Fibre Channel Switching Mode
The Fibre Channel switching mode determines how the fabric interconnect behaves as a switching device between the servers and storage devices. The fabric interconnect operates in either of the following Fibre Channel switching modes:
End-Host Mode
End-host mode allows the fabric interconnect to act as an end host to the connected fibre channel networks, representing all server (hosts) connected to it through vHBAs. This is achieved by pinning (either dynamically pinned or hard pinned) vHBAs to Fibre Channel uplink ports, which makes the Fibre Channel ports appear as server ports (N-ports) to the rest of the fabric. When in end-host mode, the fabric interconnect avoids loops by denying uplink ports from receiving traffic from one another.
End-host mode is synonymous with NPV mode. This is the default Fibre Channel Switching mode.
Note
When end-host mode is enabled, if a vHBA is hard pinned to a uplink Fibre Channel port and this uplink port goes down, the system cannot re-pin the vHBA, and the vHBA remains down.Switch Mode
Switch mode is the traditional Fibre Channel switching mode. Switch mode allows the fabric interconnect to connect directly to a storage device. Enabling Fibre Channel switch mode is useful in POD models where there is no SAN (for example, a single Cisco UCS system connected directly to storage), or where a SAN exists (with an upstream MDS).
Note
In Fibre Channel switch mode, SAN pin groups are irrelevant. Any existing SAN pin groups will be ignored.
Switch mode is not the default Fibre Channel switching mode. Enabling Fibre Channel switching mode requires a license.
Configuring Fibre Channel Switching Mode
ProcedureImportant:When you change the Fibre Channel switching mode, Cisco UCS Manager logs you out and restarts the fabric interconnect. For a cluster configuration, Cisco UCS Manager restarts both fabric interconnects sequentially. The second fabric interconnect can take several minutes to complete the change in Fibre Channel switching mode and become system ready.
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab. Step 2 On the Equipment tab, expand . Step 3 In the Work pane, click the General tab. Step 4 In the Actions area of the General tab, click one of the following links: The link for the current mode is dimmed.
Step 5 In the dialog box, click Yes. Cisco UCS Manager restarts the fabric interconnect, logs you out, and disconnects Cisco UCS Manager GUI.
Changing the Properties of the Fabric Interconnects
Procedure
Note
To change the subnet for a Cisco UCS instance, you must simultaneously change all subnets, the virtual IP address used to access Cisco UCS Manager, and the IP addresses for all fabric interconnects.
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Admin tab. Step 2 On the Admin tab, click All. Step 3 In the Work pane, click the General tab. Step 4 In the Actions area, click Management Interfaces to open the Management Interfaces dialog box. Step 5 To change only the virtual IP address that you use to access Cisco UCS Manager, enter the desired IP address in the IP Address field in the Virtual IP area. Step 6 To change only the name assigned to the Cisco UCS instance, enter the desired name in the Name field in the Virtual IP area. Step 7 To change the subnet, IP address, and default gateway assigned to the fabric interconnects, update the following fields:
Step 8 Click OK. Step 9 Log out of Cisco UCS Manager GUI and log back in again to see your changes.
Determining the Leadership Role of a Fabric Interconnect
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab. Step 2 In the Equipment tab, expand . Step 3 Click the fabric interconnect for which you want to identify the role. Step 4 In the Work pane, click the General tab. Step 5 In the General tab, click the down arrows on the High Availability Details bar to expand that area. Step 6 View the Leadership field to determine whether the fabric interconnect is the primary or subordinate.
