Users Guide

CAUTION: If you are already using a deployed switch, reset the factory settings. The switch must

be in BMP mode.

For more information on BMP, refer to DHCP Integration and the Configuration Guide for the Dell

Networking OS.

The number and type of switches in a VLT fabric are based on the following:

• The number of current uplinks (at least two) and downlinks for the access switches.

• The number of planned edge ports (future uplinks and downlinks) for the access switches.

• Whether the access switch needs to act as a switch or ToR.

• Fabric interlink bandwidth (the links between the aggregation and access switches).

• The number of available 1 GB, 10 GB, or 40 GB downlinks.

• The fabric interlink bandwidth (10 GB or 40 GB) is static and based on the fabric type.

NOTE: If you do not specify additional ports in the fabric design for future expansion in the

Bandwidth and Port Count screen, you can only expand the downlinks on the existing fabric.

For information on how to expand a fabric, see Editing and Expanding an Existing Fabric Design.

Gathering Useful Information for a Layer 2 VLT Fabric

Gather useful information for a Layer 2 VLT fabric before you begin:

• The CSV file Dell provides that contains the system MAC addresses, Service Tag and serial numbers for

each switch or manually enter this information.

• The location of the switches, including the rack and row number, from your network administrator or

network operator.

• The remote Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) / File Transfer Protocol (FTP) address from your

network administrator or network operator. To specify a TFTP/FTP site, go to Administration >

Settings >TFTP/FTP screen. For information about which software packages to use, refer to the

Release Notes.

• The software image for each type of switch in the fabric. Each switch type within the fabric must use

the same version of the software. Place the software images on the TFTP/FTP site so that the switches

can install the appropriate Dell Networking OS software image and configuration file.

• The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server address to use for the fabric from your

DHCP network administrator or network operator. If a remote DHCP server is not available, AFM also

provides local DHCP. The DHCP server must be in the same subnet as the switches. After you power

cycle the switches, the switches communicate with the DHCP server to obtain a management IP

Address based on the system MAC Address. The DHCP server contains information about where to

load the correct software image configuration file for each type of switch from the TFTP/FTP site

during BMP. For information about BMP, refer to DHCP Integration.

• The pool of IP addresses for the management port for each switch in the fabric.

• The IP addresses (must be an even number) for the uplink configuration from the ISP service. The

uplink port number range is based whether a 10 GB or 40 GB bandwidth is selected.

– For a 10 GB bandwidth, AFM supports 2–32 uplinks.

– For a 40 GB bandwidth, AFM supports 2–8 uplinks.

• The IP addresses or VLAN ID for the downlink configuration to connect to the server or ToR.

• The protocol configuration for uplinks and downlinks.

Supported Fabric Types