Active Fabric Manager Deployment Guide 1.
© 2013 Dell Inc. Trademarks used in this text: Dell™, the Dell logo, Dell Boomi™, Dell Precision™ , OptiPlex™, Latitude™, PowerEdge™, PowerVault™, PowerConnect™, OpenManage™, EqualLogic™, Compellent™, KACE™, FlexAddress™, Force10™ and Vostro™ are trademarks of Dell Inc. Intel®, Pentium®, Xeon®, Core® and Celeron® are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.
Contents 1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................7 Problem: Challenges to Build a Fabric in the Data Center........................................................................................7 Solution: Active Fabric Manager.............................................................................................................................. 7 2 About AFM.......................................
Fabric Design – Step 3: Port Specification.......................................................................................................39 Fabric Design – Step 4: Deployment Type........................................................................................................43 Fabric Design – Step 5: Output.........................................................................................................................44 Fabric Design – Step 6: Summary.................................
Fabric Summary ..................................................................................................................................................... 83 Displaying the Fabric in a Tabular View...........................................................................................................84 Displaying the Fabric in Graphical View.......................................................................................................... 84 Switch Summary................................
Deleting a Backup Configuration................................................................................................................... 110 Editing Description......................................................................................................................................... 110 Updating the Switch Software..............................................................................................................................110 Replacing a Switch........................
Introduction 1 Active Fabric Manager (AFM) is a graphical user interface (GUI) based network automation and orchestration tool that allows you to design, build, deploy, and optimize a Layer 3 distributed core and Layer 2 Virtual Link Trunking (VLT) fabric for your current and future capacity requirements. This tool helps you simplify network operations, automate tasks, and improve efficiency in the data center. AFM supports Dell Networking S4810, S4820T, S55, S60, MXL blade, and Z9000 switches.
About AFM 2 Active Fabric Manager (AFM) is a graphical user interface (GUI) based network automation and orchestration tool that allows you to design, build, deploy, and optimize a Layer 3 distributed core and Layer 2 VLT fabric for your current and future capacity requirements. This tool helps you simplify network operations, automate tasks, and improve efficiency in the data center. NOTE: Before you begin, review the Getting Started page.
Getting Started 3 This section contains the following topics: • Designing and Deploying the Fabric • Flowchart for Designing and Deploying a Fabric Related links: • Supported Fabrics • Designing the Fabric • AFM Site Map NOTE: You can view the Active Fabric Manager Deployment Guide in the AFM by selecting the Deployment Guide option from the Help pull-down menu in the upper right of the screen.
Figure 1. Getting Started Wizard To design and deploy a Layer 2 VLT or layer 3 distributed core fabric. 1. Gather useful information. Related links. – Gather Useful Information for Layer 2 VLT Fabric – Gathering Useful Information for a Layer 3 Distributed Core Fabric. 2. Design the fabric.
– SNMP – CLI Credentials 5. Prepare the Fabric for Deployment 6. Deploy and Validate the Fabric 7. Validate the deployed fabric against the fabric design. 8. Monitor the fabric health and performance. See Performance Management. NOTE: To provision the fabric, enter the Dell Networking operating system (FTOS) CLI user’s Credentials and enable the configuration credential for all the switches in the fabric. For information about this topic, see CLI Credentials.
Figure 2.
4 AFM Site Map To help you navigate the AFM user interface use the following site map.
Jobs Job Results Administration Audit Log 16 Schedule Jobs Backup Switch Configuration Files Update switch software Active Software Data Collection Schedule data collection Edit threshold Reports Create Edit Delete Duplicate Run Administration CLI Credentials Client Settings Data Retention Settings DHCP Server Settings NTP Server Settings Email Settings Syslog IP Addresses SNMP Configuration System Information TFTP/FTP Settings User Accounts Add User Delete User Edit User Unlocking User User Sessio
Supported Fabric Types 5 The fabric design wizard templates define the basic configuration for a Layer 3 distributed core or Layer 2 VLT fabric. • Use the Layer 3 distributed core fabric for large fabric deployments. For information about distributed core fabrics, see Conventional Core Versus Distributed Core and Selecting a Layer 3 Distributed Core Fabric Design. • Use the Layer 2 VLT fabric for workload migration over virtualized environments.
Conventional Core A conventional core is a three-tier network that is typically chassis based and is composed of the following: • Core — The core layer routes traffic to and from the internet and the extranet. Redundancy and resiliency are the main factors for high availability, which requires chassis-based core routers. • Aggregation layer — The aggregation layer connects with top of rack (ToR) switches and aggregates the traffic into fewer high-density interfaces such as 10GbE or 40GbE.
NOTE: There are no uplinks on the spines. All the leaves have downlinks. The uplink should be configured in the first two leaves.
• Downlinks — An edge port link that connects the leaves to the data access layer; for example, servers or ToR elements. Downlinks are always 10 GbE. NOTE: Specify an even number of uplinks. The minimum number of uplinks is 2. One uplink is for redundancy. • Fabric Interlinks — Links that connect the spines to the leaves. The fabric interlink bandwidth is fixed: 40 GbE or 10 GbE. • Fabric over-subscription ratio — Varies the maximum number of available interconnect links.
Key Considerations for Designing a Distributed Core When designing the Layer 3 distributed core fabric, consider the following: • You can deploy up to 10 fabrics. However, the fabrics do not communicate with each other. • AFM manages Dell S4810 and Z9000 switches. CAUTION: If you are already using a deployed switch, reset the factory settings. The switch must be in BMP mode.
• Obtain the Remote Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) / File Transfer Protocol (FTP) address from your network administrator or network operator. • Download the software image for each type of switch in the fabric: S4810 or Z9000. Each type of switch must use the same version of the software image within the fabric. Place the software images on the TFTP/FTP site so that the switches can install the appropriate FTOS software image and configuration file.
3 spines with a fabric OS ratio of 4:1 Max # of leaf devices 32 64 32 8 or 16 Fabric interlink bandwidth 1 x 40 GbE link 1 x 10 GbE link 1 x 40 GbE link 1 x 10 GbE link Max # of ports (10g) based on fabric OS ratio.
For redundancy, each leaf in a large core design can connect 2 to 16 spines. The Type 1: Extra Large Distributed Core Design uses a 1:2 spine-to-leaf ratio. As a result, the maximum number of spines for this design is 16 and the maximum number of leaves is 32.
Type 3: Medium Distributed Core Fabric With a Type 3: Medium Distributed Core design, the Z9000 spines connect to the S4810 leaves at a fixed 40 GbE line rate as shown in the following figure. The maximum number of leaves is based on the maximum number of ports on the spine, 32 ports for the Z9000. The maximum number of spines is 16 and the maximum number of leaves is 32, as shown in the following illustration.
Type 4: Small Distributed Core Fabric Use the Type 4: Small Distributed Core design when: • You require a fabric interlink bandwidth between the spines and leaves of 10 GbE. • The current and future planned uplinks and downlinks on the leaves for your core is less than or equal to 960 ports. • The maximum port count for a Type 4: Small Distributed Core fabric with an OS ratio of 3:1 is 768. For an OS ratio of 5:1, the maximum port count is 896. • The leaves act as a switch or ToR-leaf switch.
outside the VLT domain.) VLT provides Layer 2 multipathing, creating redundancy through increased bandwidth, enabling multiple parallel paths between nodes and load-balancing traffic where alternative paths exist. For information about VLT, see the FTOS Configuration Guide for either the S4810 or the Z9000 at https:// www.force10networks.com/CSPortal20/KnowledgeBase/Documentation.aspx. For more information about VLT, see Selecting a VLT Fabric Design.
interconnect. VLT ensures that local traffic on a chassis does not traverse the VLTi and takes the shortest path to the destination via directly attached links. VLT Fabric Terminology The following terms are unique to the design and deployment of a Layer 2 VLT fabric. • Leaf — A switch that connects switch, servers, storage devices, or top-of-rack (TOR) elements. The role of the leaf switch is to provide access to the fabric. The leaf switch connects to all of spines above it in the fabric.
connect through the non-VLT ports. Key Considerations for Designing a Layer 2 VLT Fabric Use the Layer 2 VLT fabric for workload migration over virtualized environments. When designing the Layer 2 VLT fabric, consider the following: • You can deploy up to 10 fabrics. However, the fabric do not communicate with each other. • For a VLT fabric, the AFM manages Dell Networking S4810, S4820T, S55, S60, Z9000, and MXL Blade switches.
• Fabric interlink bandwidth (the links between the spines and leaves). • Downlinks, 1 Gb or 10 Gb. • The fabric interlink bandwidth, 10 Gb or 40 Gb, is fixed and based on the fabric type. CAUTION: If you do not specify additional links in the fabric design for future expansion in the Port Specification screen: • Any future expansion requires rewiring the hardware. • IP addresses are not reserved. • You might have to bring down current switches to expand the fabric.
• Type 2: 10 Gb Blade Switch (MXL) • Type 3: 10 Gb Top of Rack Deployment (mVLT) For more information about VLT, see Overview of VLT, and Key Core Design Considerations for VLT. See also Getting Started. Use the following table as guideline to select the appropriate Layer 2 VLT fabric design. NOTE: With a Layer 2 VLT fabric, the uplinks come from the first two spines. Table 2.
Figure 8. Type 1: 1 Gb ToR VLT Deployment Important: All the spines must be same type: S4810. On the leaves, all the switches must be same type of switch: S60 or S55. Table 3.
Figure 9. Type 2: 10 Gb Blade Switch (MXL) VLT Deployment Table 4. Type 2: 10 Gb Blade Switch (MXL) VLT Deployment Port Types Port Type Max # of Ports MXL Available ports (10 Chassis * 24) 240 * 10 Gb Uplink ports 8 * 40 Gb Fabric Interlink ports 88 * 10 Gb VLTi Ports (Spine) The maximum number of VLTi ports is 8 * 10 Gb. The ports and maximum VLTi links have a 4 * 10 Gb capacity. Stack Ports (Leaf) 40 * 40 Gb NOTE: With a Type 2: 10 Gb Blade Switch (MXL) VLT deployment, there are no downlinks.
Figure 10. Type 3: 10 Gb ToR VLT Deployment (mVLT) Important: All the spines must be Z9000. On the leaves, all the switches must be same type of switch: either S4810 or S4820T. Table 5.
Designing the Fabric 6 To design a Layer 3 two-tier distributed core fabric or Layer 2 VLT fabric based on your capacity planning for your current and future needs, use the Fabric Design Wizard at the Network > Design Fabric > New Fabric screen. The design consists of a wiring plan, network topology information, summary of the inventory requirement, and a design specification. See also Network Deployment Summary.
Fabric Configuration Phases and States The following table describes the four fabric phases displayed on the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy > Deploy screen. To correct the fabric design and pre-deployment configuration before and after you deploy the fabric, use this information. Table 6. Fabric Configuration Phases and States Phase State State Description Design Incomplete Indicates that not all required information to complete the design was provided.
Partial Complete Indicates that validation was successfully completed for one or more switches but not all switches per design. It provides information about the count of switches successfully validated versus the count of total switches per design. NOTE: Validation of any of the switches is not in-progress during this state. Complete Indicates that validation was successful for all switches. Switch Configuration Phases and States This section describes the phases and possible states for a switch.
Using the Fabric Design Wizard Use the Fabric Design Wizard at the Network > Design Fabric > New Fabric screen to design a Layer 3 distributed core fabric or Layer 2 VLT fabric based on your workload requirements for your current and future needs. This screen allows you to create, edit, delete, and view the fabric. Use the following screens to design a fabric: 1. Fabric Name and Type — Displays the fabric name, type, and description. 2.
6. In the Fabric Type area, select one of the following options: a) Layer 2 Fabric - Virtual Link Trunking (VLT) — Use the Layer 2 VLT fabric for workload migration over virtualized environments. See Selecting a VLT Fabric Design. If you are designing a Layer 2 VLT fabric, select one of the following options: * Top of Rack Deployment * Blade switch (MXL) deployment b) Layer 3 Fabric - Distributed Core — Use the Layer 3 distributed core fabric for large fabric deployments.
Figure 11. Layer 3 Port Specification For information about how to expand the fabric, see Editing and Expanding the Fabric. To configure a Layer 3 distributed core fabric port specification: 1. Navigate to the Network > Configure and Deploy > Design New Fabric > Port Specification screen. 2. Select one of the following Fabric over-subscription ratio options: a) 1:1 (default) — Use the 1:1 fabric over-subscription rate for the non-blocking, line rate between the leaves and spines.
Port Specification for MXL (Layer 2 VLT Fabric) The port specification screen displays the following MXL options when you select the Type 2: 10 Gb Blade Switch (MXL) option for a Layer 2 VLT fabric. Figure 12. Layer 2 Port Specification for a MXL Blade Table 8. MXL Blade Port Specification Options Option Description Available Uplink Ports Displays the maximum available uplink ports. Read-only field. Maximum Available Blade Switch Pairs Displays the maximum available blade switch pairs.
To specify the port specification for an MXL switch: 1. Navigate to the Number of uplink ports and blade switch pairs required by fabric section. 2. In the Uplinks field, specify the number of uplinks (from 2 to 8) for the VLT fabric. 3. In the Blade Switch Pairs field, specify the number of blade pairs: a) from 2 to 11 — without stacking b) from 2 to 10 — with stacking 4. Click the Next button to go to the Deployment Type screen.
Validation Criteria: 96 to the maximum available ports Default: 96 Remaining Available Uplink Ports Displays the difference between the Maximum Available Uplink Ports and the Current Planned Uplink Ports. Validation Criteria: his is a read-only field and pre-populated. Default: It is automatically populated. Remaining Available Downlink Ports Displays the difference between the Maximum Available Downlink Ports and the Current Planned Downlink Ports.
3. For a Layer 2 VLT fabric, select whether you require stacking. 4. For a Layer 2 VLT Type 1: 1 Gb Top of Rack deployment, select one of the following options: a) High Stream Buffering — The fabric uses S60 switches in the leaves. When you uncheck this option, the fabric uses S55 switches in the leaves. b) Deploy using stacking — Deploys stacked S60 and S55 leaves in the fabric. 5.
Figure 15. Network Topology • Tabular Wiring Plan — Displays information about how the spines and leaves are connected in the distributed core design in a tabular format, as shown below. The tabular wiring plan contains a list of switches along with their names and ports which connect to the ports on the other switches. Figure 16. Tabular Wiring Plan Table 10. Tabular Wiring Plan Output Descriptions Field Name Description From Port Displays the port number on the spine — from the side.
Usage Status • • • Current — Represents the links based on your current needs. Future — Represents links based on the fabric’s future needs. Displays usage status: Current / Expansion. To review and export the fabric wiring plan: 1. Navigate to the Network > Design Fabric > New Fabric > Output screen. 2. Click on the type of wiring plan that you want to export: Tabular Wiring Plan, Graphical Wiring Plan, or Network Topology. 3. Click the Export link. The Generate Wiring Plan window displays. 4.
The Import Existing Design screen displays. 3. In the Fabric XML file area, click the Browse button and locate the fabric XML design file (the XML design that you have exported from the AFM design wizard). 4. Click the Upload button. Editing and Expanding an Existing Fabric Design You can edit or expand an existing fabric from the Getting Started screen. After you initiated the pre-deployment configuration, you can only update the fabric description and port count for expanding uplinks and downlinks. 1.
Configuring and Deploying the Fabric 7 After you create a fabric at the Network > Design Fabric > New Fabric screen, you can configure and deploy the fabric at the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen. This screen contains the following options: • • Deploy Fabric — Prepares the fabric for deployment and deploys the fabric.
Pre-deployment Configuration Required Indicates that not all required Pre-deployment Configuration information was provided. Error Indicates that an error occurred during file transfer (transfer of a minimum configuration file) to the FTP/TFTP server or an error occurred during automatic DHCP integration for the local DHCP server.
Complete Not Started Incomplete. The system MAC and IP address are not configured for the switches. Not Started • • • • Complete Partial Complete / Not Started Complete–Partial complete indicates that at least 1 switch has its system MAC and IP address configured.
partial or fully complete • • View Deployment and Validation Status Delete Fabric Using the Pre-deployment Wizard Layer 2 VLT Fabric Pre-deployment To prepare the Layer 2 VLT fabric for deployment, complete the following tasks using the Pre-deployment Configuration wizard. 1. Pre-deployment - Step 1: Uplink Configuration 2. Pre-deployment - Step 2: Configuring a VLT VLAN 3. Pre-deployment – Step 3: VLT Downlink Port Configuration 4. Pre-deployment – Step 4: Assign Switch Identities 5.
Pre-Deployment Configuration To prepare the fabric for deployment, use the Pre-deployment Configuration Wizard. After you initiate the predeployment configuration, you can only update the fabric description and port count for expanding uplinks and downlinks. Prerequisites Before you begin: 1. Rack the equipment in the fabric. NOTE: Before racking the switches, make sure that you have the csv. file that contains the system MAC addresses for each switch in the fabric.
Pre-Deployment Flowchart NOTE: The pre-deployment flowchart does not list all the prerequisites. This flowchart does not include obtaining the fabric interlink and loop back IP address groups. For more information, see Pre-requisites. Pre-Deployment Screens To provide the fabric the minimum configuration to the switches, use the following Pre-deployment screens. These screens automate the deployment process.
• Downlink Port Configuration — (for a Layer 2 VLT fabric only) Associates each of the ports of a leaf (on a per leaf basis) to one or more VLANs. You can associated one or more tagged VLANs one and for untagged VLAN only one is allowed. • VLT VLAN Configuration — (for a Layer 2 VLT fabric only) Specify a VLT VLAN to be applied to the Layer 2 fabric. Include at least one VLAN configuration. • Downlink Configuration — An edge port that connects to the access layer; for example, servers or a ToR.
Figure 17. Fabric Link Configuration To configure the Fabric Link Configuration for a Layer 3 distributed core fabric: 1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen. 2. From the Deploy Fabric pull-down menu, select the Pre-Deployment Configuration option. The Introduction screen displays. 3. 4. Review the Introduction screen and gather the useful information to prepare your fabric for deployment. Click the Next button. The Fabric Link Configuration screen displays. 5.
Figure 18. Layer 3 Uplink Configuration To configure the uplink protocol for the edge port uplinks to the WAN for a Layer 3 distributed core fabric: 1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen. 2. From the Deploy Fabric pull-down menu, select the Pre-deployment Configuration option. 3. Navigate to the Uplink Configuration screen. 4. In the Protocol Settings, select a routing protocol (OSPF, IBGP, or eBGP) for the edge port uplinks.
Figure 19. Downlink Configuration for Layer 3 Distributed Core Fabric To configure the downlinks for a Layer 3 distributed core fabric: 1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen. 2. From the Deploy Fabric pull-down menu, select the Pre-deployment Configuration option. 3. Navigate to the Downlink Configuration screen. 4. Select the Specify Leaf as ToR option if you want to the leaves to act as a ToR. 5.
Pre-deployment – Step 1: Uplink Configuration (VLT) The Uplink Configuration page displays the port bandwidth and the number of specified ports (read-only fields) entered on the Fabric Name and Type and Port Specification screens. To configure the uplink protocol for the edge port uplinks to the WAN, use the Uplink Configuration screen. For information about uplinks, see VLT Terminology. NOTE: For OSPF, the uplinks or interlinks must be in area 0. Figure 20.
Figure 21. VLT VLAN Configuration Table 13. VLT VLAN Configuration Options Field Name Description VLAN Id Enter the VLAN Id. Range: from 1 to 4094 Default: Primary IP Enter the primary IP address. The prefix is auto-populated. Validation Criteria for Primary IP: Valid IP Prefix Range: from 8 to 29 Default Primary IP: Default Prefix: 24 Secondary IP Enter the secondary IP address. The prefix is auto-populated.
5. In the VlanId field, enter the VLAN ID. 6. In the Primary IP address field, enter the primary IP address. 7. In the Seconday IP address field, enter the secondary IP address. 8. In the Virtual IP address field, enter the virtual IP address 9. Click the Next button to view the Downlink Port Configuration screen. Pre-deployment – Step 3: VLT Downlink Port Configuration Figure 22.
Table 15. Layer 2 Downlink Port Options Option Description Copy Switch VLAN Config Copies the VLAN association from the current switch to other switch(es) in the fabric. Copy Port VLAN Config Copies the VLAN association from a selected port to other port(s) within a switch. To configure downlink ports on the leaf switches: 1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen. 2. From the Deploy Fabric pull-down menu, select the Pre-deployment Configuration option. 3.
To assign switch identities: 1. Locate the CSV file that contains the system MAC addresses, serial numbers, and service tags for the switches in the fabric. Contact your Dell Networking sales representative for this file. 2. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen. 3. From the Deploy Fabric pull-down menu, select the Pre-deployment Configuration screen option. 4. Navigate to the Assign Switch Identities screen. 5.
8. Click the Auto-fill Selected Rows button. The system automatically assigns a management IP address to all the selected switches in the fabric. 9. Click Next to go to the Software Images screen. Pre-Deployment – Step 6: Software Images To specify which software images to stage for each type of switch in the fabric from a TFTP or FTP site, use the Software Images screen. The software image must be the same for each type of platform.
administrator to manually configure a switch, resulting in faster installation, elimination of configuration errors, and enforcing standard configurations. With BMP, after a you install a switch, the switch searches the network for a DHCP server. The DHCP server provides the switch with a management IP address and the location of a TFTP or FTP file server.
Figure 25. View Autogenerated Configuration 3. Click on the arrow next to the Autogenerated Configuration option to view its contents. Associating Templates You can associate one or more existing configuration templates to the fabric (entire fabric), all spines, all leaves or a set of switches. When a template is associated to an entire fabric or all spines or all leaves, the template gets automatically applied to the newly added switches (instead of the you having to create new associations manually).
1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen. 2. From the CLI Configuration pull-down, select the Custom Configuration option. 3. In the left navigation pane, select the switch to apply the switch specific-custom configuration to. The Switch Specific Custom Configuration screen displays. Figure 26.
Pre-Deployment – Step 9: Output To review the uplinks or downlinks for each switch in the fabric, use the Pre-deployment Output screen. To view the uplinks and downlinks for each switch in the fabric: 1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen. 2. From the Deploy Fabric pull-down-menu, select the Pre-deployment Configuration option. 3. Navigate to the Output screen. 4. From the View pull-down menu, select one of the following options: a. Downlink Output b. Uplink Output 5.
Viewing the DHCP Configuration File NOTE: If you are using an IE browser with the Windows 7 OS, change your indexing options: 1. Navigate to the Control Panel->Indexing Options screen. 2. Click the Advanced button and then click on the File Types Tab. 3. In the Add new extension to list: field, enter “conf” as the extension file type and then click the Add button. 4. Click the OK button. To view the DHCP configuration file created for the fabric: 1.
2. Restart the deployment of the switch from the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen by selecting the switch from the list and then click on the Deploy Selected link. 6 Error Complete config upload failed 1. Verify TFTP/FTP or Telnet/SSH connectivity. For FTP, verify credentials. 2. Restart the deployment of the switch from the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen by selecting the switch from the list and then click on the Deploy Selected link.
4. Restart the DHCP server that contains the generated DHCP file that you created in the DHCP Integration screen. For information about DHCP integration, see Pre-Deployment Wizard – Step 7: DHCP Integration 5. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen. 6. From the Deploy Fabric pull-down menu, select the Deploy and Validate option. The Deploy and Validate screen displays. 7. On the Deploy tab, select the spines and leaves that you want to deploy in the Switch column. 8.
2. Click the Errors link. 3. Click on the Discovered Errors tab to view error details. 4. Fix any errors. 6 Error Switch is not reachable Verify the switch connectivity from the AFM. 1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deployment screen. 2. Click the Errors link. 3. Click on the Discovered Errors tab to view error details. 4. Fix any errors. 7 Error Switch is not Discovered Verify the switch connectivity from the AFM. 1.
1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deployment screen. 2. Click the Errors link. 3. Click on the Wiring Errors tab to view error details. 4. Fix any errors. 11 InProgress Node validation in progress... NA 12 InProgress Configuration Validation in progress... NA 13 InProgress Wiring Validation in progress... NA Validating the Fabric To verify that the discovered fabric matches the planned fabric and correct any errors: 1.
Managing Templates This section contains the following topics: • Adding Templates • Editing Templates • Deleting Templates • Copying Templates Adding Templates You can add (create) a CLI configuration template. This is useful for applying a custom configuration to the following: • Specific switches in a fabric • All the switches in the fabric • All the leafs in the fabric • All the spines in the fabric 1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric > Configure and Deploy screen. 2.
template at a time. If you attempt to delete a template that is being used, AFM displays an error message indicating which fabric(s) the template is associated with. NOTE: To delete a template, you must have superuser or administrator privileges. 1. Navigate to the Network > > Configure and Deploy screen. 2. From the CLI Configuration pull-down menu, select the Delete Template option. 3. Click OK. Copying Templates You can copy an existing template, modify it, and then apply it to fabric or switch.
6. In the Select Association area, select one the following options: – Fabric — Associates the template to all the switches in the fabric. – Spines — Associates the template to all the spine switches. – Leafs — Associates the template to all the leaf switches. – Custom — Associates the template with specific switches. In the Available Switches, select the switches to associate to the template. 7. Click the Apply button. Editing Template Associations To edit a template association: 1.
Figure 27. Switch Specific Custom Configuration The Switch Specific Custom Configuration screen provides support to view the auto-generated configuration and switch-specific custom configuration that is applied to the individual switches in the fabric. Only the switches that are deployed are listed. 4. Enter the switch specific-custom configuration (FTOS CLI commands) in the Switch Specific Custom Configuration area. 5.
To view custom configuration history: 1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen. 2. From the CLI Configuration pull-down menu, select the View Custom Configuration History option. The Custom Configuration History displays.
Viewing the Fabric 8 This section contains the following topics: • Dashboard • View Network Summary • View Fabric Summary • Switch Summary Related Links: Fabric Performance Management. Dashboard To view the fabric and system health, use Home > Dashboard screen as shown. Figure 28.
Figure 29. Dashboard with Color Codes The Dashboard provides the following key performance information: • System — Provides a tabular listing of system health and fabrics being managed by the AFM and lists the corresponding alert count by severity. The Switch Health column displays the number of switches that are alert free and the total switches that are part of the fabric. • Average Port Bandwidth Utilization — Displays the average port bandwidth utilization for all fabrics managed by the AFM.
Table 19. CPU Utilization Color Codes Color Range Description Green (Good) x < 70 % Represents normal CPU utilization. Yellow (Minor) x > = 70 % and x < 80% Represents low CPU utilization. Red (Critical) x > = 80 % Represents high CPU utilization. NOTE: When the color code is yellow or red, the AFM displays an alarm at the Network > Fabric Name > Switch Name > Alerts and Events > Current screen.
Figure 30. Network Summary Tabular View Network Topology Graphical View The network topology contains fabric icons.
• Enable Move: After enabling this option, you can move each fabric icon to a new location in the map. • Revert to Last Saved: Revert to fabric locations to last saved version. • Save Move: Save the location of the fabrics that were moved. • Popup menu: Right-click a fabric to display a menu that contains actions that can be applied to the fabric. The menu contains the fabric name and “Open” menu item, which opens the fabric view.
Displaying the Fabric in a Tabular View Figure 31. Fabric Tabular View With the fabric tabular view, you view the switches in the fabric and check the alarms. Export your results using the Export link. You can also manage or unmanage a switch using the Manage/Unmanage Switch link. For additional information about the fabric, select the following tabs: • Detail • Links • Hardware • VLT Domain Displaying the Fabric in Graphical View Figure 32.
• Manage/Unmanage — Unmanaged switches appear in the fabric but are not actively managed. A switch must be in a managed state to monitor and manage it. • Show Tooltips — Displays information (fabric, switch name, model name, IP address, alarm status, and manage state) about a switch when you place the cursor over the switch. • Show All Links — Displays all the links between the spines and the leaves.
Troubleshooting 9 This section contains the following topics: • Ping, Traceroute, SSH, and Telnet • Validation Alarms • Deployment and Validation Errors • TFTP/FTP Error • Switch Deployment Status • Validating Connectivity to the ToR For more information about troubleshooting, see Ping, Traceroute, SSH, and Telnet.
1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Switch Name > Troubleshoot screen. . 2. Click the SSH tab. 3. In the SSH Command field, enter the SSH command. 4. Click the Send Command button to display the SSH results. Telnet To issue a Telnet command on a switch: 1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Switch Name > Troubleshoot screen. 2. Click the Telnet tab. 3. In the Telnet Command field, enter the Telnet command. 4. Click the Send Command button to display the Telnet results.
a. Navigate to the Network> Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen. b. From the Deploy Fabric pull-down menu, select the Pre-deployment Configuration option. c. Navigate to the Assign Switch Identities screen and check the system MAC address mapping for the associated switches. 2. Verify your change by validating the switch. a. Navigate to the Network> Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen. b. From the Deploy Fabric pull-down menu, select the Deploy and Validate option. c.
Validation failed because the switch has a configuration mismatch. 1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen. 2. Click the Errors link. 3. Select the Configuration Mismatch tab. 4. Review the configuration mismatch and correct the configuration errors.
2. Restart the deployment of the switch from the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy by selecting the switch from the list and then click on the Deploy Selected link. Device cleanup task failed 1. Verify the Telnet or SSH connectivity from the AFM. 2. Restart the deployment of the switch from the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy by selecting the switch from the list and then click on the Deploy Selected link. Complete configuration upload failed 1.
Table 22. Configuration Errors Configuration Error Configuration Mismatch Recommended Action 1. On the Deployment and Validation Status screen, select the switch that you want to view. 2. Click the View Mismatch button. 3. Review the configuration mismatch and correct the configuration errors. 4. Restart validation of the switch from the Deploy and Validate screen by selecting the switch from the list and clicking the Start Validation button. Table 23.
a. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy. b. From the Deploy Fabric pull-down menu, select the Deploy and Validate option. c. Click the Validation tab and then select the switches to validate. d. Click the Deploy Selected link. Partial Link 1. Verify that the switch is wired according to the wiring plan. 2. Verify the connectivity on the AFM from both of switches of the link. 3. Validate the switch. a. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy. b.
2. If the pre-deployment configuration is updated, you might need to redeploy the switch. 3. Validate the switch. a. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen. b. From the Deploy Fabric pull-down menu, select the Deploy and Validate option. c. Click the Validation tab and then select the switches to validate. d. Click the Deploy Selected link. Switch Model Mismatch 1. Verify that the IP address to switch name mapping is correct in the predeployment configuration. 2.
CONFIG GENERATION IN PROGRESS Configuration File Generation In-progress No CONFIG GENERATION FAILED Configuration File Generation Failed Yes Information only. 1. Check the write permission for the AFM installation directory in the AFM server machine. 2. Verify that the disk space is not full in the AFM server. 3. Restart the deployment of the switch from the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deployscreen by selecting the switch from the list and then click on the Deploy Selected link.
3. Verify that the system MAC address in the dhcpd.conf file matches the csv. file that contains the MAC addresses of the switches. 4. Verify that the min.cfg file is in the correct directory on the TFTP/FTP server. 5. Redeploy the switch from the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen by selecting the switch from the list and then click on the Deploy Selected link. NOTE: The switch is in BMP mode. MIN CONFIG UPLOAD COMPLETED Minimum Configuration Upload Successful No Information only.
a. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen. b. From the Deploy Fabric pulldown menu, select the Deploy and Validate option. c. On the Deploy tab, check the switch to deploy and then click the Deploy Selected link. PROTOCOL CONFIG UPLOAD COMPLETED Protocol Configuration Upload Succesful No Information only. DEVICE DEPLOYMENT SUCCESS Switch Deployment Successful No Information only. UPLINK CONFIG GENERATED Uplink Configuration Generated No Information only.
REDEPLOYMENT REQUIRED Re-deployment of the switch Yes is required Restart the deployment of the switch. NOTE: The switch is not in BMP mode. 1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Configure and Deploy screen. 2. From the Deploy Fabric pull-down menu, select the Deploy and Validate option. 3. On the Deploy tab, check the switch to deploy and then click the Deploy Selected link. TFTP/FTP Error To troubleshoot TFTP/FTP when the deployment status is “TFTP /FTP Failed”, use the following table. Table 27.
Alerts and Events 10 This section contains the following topics: • Current—Active Alerts • Historical — Alerts and Events Current — Active Alerts To view active alerts at the network, fabric and switch levels, use the Current tab. To acknowledge an active alert, select the active alert and then click the Acknowledge button. To display more information about the active alert, select the active alert. The system displays more information about the alert at the bottom of the screen.
Historical — Alerts and Event History To view historical events at the network, fabric or switch level, use Alerts and Events screen . • To filter active alerts at the network level, navigate to the Network > Alerts and Events screen. • To filter active alerts at the network level, navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Alerts and Events screen. • To filter active alerts at the switch level, navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Switch Name > Alerts and Events screen.
Performance Management 11 You can monitor performance at the network, fabric, switch, and port level.
Fabric Performance Management To monitor the following for all the switches in the fabric, use the Network > Fabric Name > Performance screen: • Bandwidth utilization • Top 25 port inbound usage • Top 25 port outbound usage • Top 10 highest CPU utilization • Top 10 high memory utilization Switch Performance Management To view historical and real-time data switch level performance, use the Network > Fabric Name > Switch Name > Performance screen .
Port Performance Management To view a summary of historical and real-time data port performance: 1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Switch Name > Summary screen. Figure 34. Displaying Summary of Port Performance 2. Select a port and then click on the Performance tab to view port performance. 3. Click the Real-Time Data or Historical button. 4. Select one of the following View Type options to display port performance: Bar, Graphical, or Tabular. 5. Review the performance information.
• Packets To display detailed historical and real-time data port level performance: 1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Switch Name > Summary screen. 2. Click the Performance tab at the bottom of the screen. Figure 35. Display Detailed Port Performance 3. In the upper right of the screen, select the format to view the data using the Graphical or Tabular options. 4. In the lower left of the screen near the Performance tab, select the Real-Time Data or Historical Data option.
b) 30 Minutes c) 45 minutes d) 1 Hour 5. Check the fabric to collect data from. 6. Click the OK. TCA Threshold Settings To configure the monitoring link bundle and Threshold Crossing Alert (TCA) between the spine switches and the leaf switches for a fabric, use the Jobs > Data Collections > Edit Threshold Settings screen. The Average Traffic Threshold option monitors the Layer 3 fabric link bundle.
Figure 36. Example: TCA Exceeds the Threshold For information about how to view port performance, see Port Performance. Make sure that you select the Real-Time Data option. Reports This section contains the following topics: • Creating New Reports • Editing Reports • Running Reports • Deleting Reports • Duplicating Reports NOTE: To run a report, schedule the data collection to start the task. See Data Collection. Creating New Reports To create a new report: 1.
6. Click Next. 7. In the Date/Time Range pull-down menu, select a date or time range using one of the following options. If you select the custom range, specify a start and end date. a) b) c) d) 30 days 7 days 24 hours Custom Range 8. Click Next. 9. In the Monitors field, select which monitors to use for the report: CpuUtilization (CPU utilizatizaton), MemUtilization (memory utilization), and then click the >> button. 10.
The Duplicate screen displays. 4. In the Report Name field, enter the name of the report. 5. (Optional) In the Description field, enter a description. 6. Modify the report as needed. 7. Click the Next button to navigate to different parts of the report that you want to duplicate. 8. Click Finish. Deleting Reports To delete a report: 1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Reports screen. 2. Select the report to delete. 3. Click the Delete button. The Delete Confirmation window displays.
Maintenance 12 This section contains the following topics: • Backing Up the Switch Configuration • Scheduling Switch Software Updates • Replacing a Switch • Updating the AFM Back Up Switch To schedule the number of days to keep switch backup files on the AFM, use the Back Up Switch screen. Use this screen to view the fabric, switch name, software version that the switch is running, the startup configuration, running configuration, backup time, and description of the backup configuration.
Deleting a Backup Configuration To delete a switch backup configuration: 1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Maintenance screen. 2. Click the Switch Backup button to display the switch backup options. 3. Select a backup switch configuration to delete. 4. Click the Delete link to delete the switch backup configuration. 5. Click the Yes button. Editing Description To edit a switch backup description: 1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Maintenance screen. 2.
• When there is a “dead device”, the AFM uses the latest periodic backup file or latest configuration file for validation. • The new switch should have a factory default setting (to avoid skipping the DHCP configuration load). • This configuration is deployed to the replaced new switch. • Backup configuration is always the current running configuration. • Before powering on the new switch, powered-off the old switch.
Updating the AFM To view and manage AFM server updates. use the Administration > Update Server screen. Updating the AFM Software 1. Navigate to the Administration > Update Server screen and then click the Update Server link. The Update Server screen is displayed. 2. In the Select RPM packing file location area, choose one of the following options: – Local Drive (DVD, USB) – Remote Server 1. From the Protocol Type pull-down menu, select the protocol type: https, ftp, or sftp 2.
13 Jobs This section contains the following topics: • Displaying Job Results • Scheduling Jobs Displaying Job Results To display the status of your jobs, use the Job Results screen. 1. Navigate to the Jobs > Jobs Results screen. 2. In the upper right of the screen, click the filter icon to filter your job results. 3. In the Job Name field, enter the job name. 4. In the Status pull-down menu, select one of the following filtering options: – All – Success – Failure – In Progress 5.
NOTE: You can only change the scheduled time. You cannot change the job name, image location, or switch. • Delete — Deletes a job. Select a job and then click the Delete link. • Enable — Enable the job or activate the schedule. • Disable — Disable the job or the schedule, without having to delete the job. Switch Backup To backup a switch running configuration and startup configuration files, use the Switch Backup screen. 1. Navigate to the Jobs > Scheduled Jobs screen. 2.
9. In the Path and Image file name to the software updates on selected TFTP or FTP site field, specify the path and image file to the switch software update. 10. Click the Next button. 11. In Update Option, select one of the following options and then click the Next button: – Manual — Update is staged to the secondary partition but not applied. – Automatic — Apply software update and reboot. The Schedule screen displays. 12.
As part of ongoing data center operations, you must periodically update the software and configurations in the fabric. You can update one or more switches. Specify the location to get the software updates and then schedule the updates load immediately or schedule it for a later date and time. To schedule switch software updates: 1. Navigate to the Network > Fabric Name > Maintenance screen. 2. Click the Update Software button. 3. Click the Schedule Switch Software Update link. 4.
3. Click the Schedule Activate Standby Partition link. 4. In the Job Name field, specify the name of the job. 5. (Optional) In the Description field, enter a description of the job. 6. Click the Next button. 7. From the Spines and Leaves pull-down menu select one of the following options: – Spines and Leaves – Leaves – Spines 8. Select that switches to have their standby partition activated and then click the >> to move them to the Selected area and then click the Next button. 9.
Administration 14 This section contains the following topics: • Administrative Settings • Managing User Accounts • Managing User Sessions Administrative Settings To configure Administrative Settings, use the Administration > Settings screen: • CLI Credentials • Client Settings • Data Retention Settings • DHCP Server Settings • NTP Server Settings • SMTP Email • SNMP Configuration • Syslog IP Addresses • System Information • TFTP/FTPSettings NOTE: The AFM allows you to configure th
– In the Password field, enter the password. – In the Confirm Password field, confirm the password. The privilege level is a read-only field and is set at 15. – In the Enable Password field, enter a password for the privilege level. – In the Confirm Enable Password field, confirm the enabled password for the privilege level. – Click OK. Client Settings To configure the maximum number of browser windows for each user’s session and the polling interval from the AFM to the switches in the fabric: 1.
3. Click the OK button. NTP Server Settings To configure NTP Server Settings: 1. Navigate to the Administration > Settings screen. 2. In the NTP Server Settings area, click the Edit link. 3. Enter the NTP server primary IP address. 4. Enter the IP status address. 5. Enter the NTP server secondary IP address. 6. Enter the Secondary IP status address. 7. Click the OK button. SMTP Email To configure SMTP email: 1. Navigate to the Administration Settings screen 2.
6. In the Trap Host field, specify the IP address of the AFMso that the traps are sent to the AFM. 7. Click OK. Syslog Server IP Addresses 1. Navigate to the Administration > Settings screen. 2. In the System IP Addresses area, you can configure up to 8 syslog server IP addresses to log events on the switches in the fabric. By default, the first syslog IP address entry is the AFM system IP address. System Information 1. Navigate to the Administration > Settings screen. 2.
• Edit User — Edits user accounts. • Change Password — Allows a user to change his or her password. • Delete User — Deletes one or more user accounts. The system default user, Superuser, cannot be deleted. • Unlock — Unlocks a user who was locked out because he or she exceeded the maximum login attempts. To unlock a user, select the user and click the Unlock option. • Default User — During the installation process, AFMprompts you to create a Superuser.
To add a user: 1. Navigate to the Administration > User Accounts screen. 2. Click Add User. The Add User screen displays. 3. In the User Name field, enter the user’s name. Enter a unique name that is alphanumeric. Length: from 1 to 25 characters. 4. In the Password field, enter the user’s password.
Deleting a User To add or delete users, you must be a Superuser . For more information about user accounts, see Managing User Accounts. To delete a user: 1. Navigate to the Administration > User Accounts screen. 2. Select the user that you want to delete. 3. Click the Delete button. 4. Click Yes. Editing a User To edit a user, you must be a Superuser . For more information about user accounts, see Managing User Accounts. To edit a user: 1.
To unlock a user: 1. Navigate to the Administration > Users Accounts screen. 2. Select the user you want to unlock. 3. Click the Unlock button. 4. Click OK. Changing Your Password To change your password: 1. Go to the upper right of the screen next to your login name. A pull-down menu displays. 2. Select Change Password. The Change Current Account Password screen displays. 3. In the Current Password field, enter your current password. 4. In the New Password field, enter your new password.
Audit Log To log a chronological sequence of audit records, each of which contains information on who has accessed the switch and what operations the user has performed during a given period of time, use the Audit Log screen. The audit log is from the perspective of the AFM and only the actions performed by AFM users on the switch are logged. 1. Navigate to the Administration > Audit Log screen. 2. Click the filter icon on the upper right of the screen to display the audit trail options. 3.
