Users Guide

NOTE: In a single distributed fabric, all the leaves can act as a non-ToR or as a ToR, not both at

the same time.

Gathering Useful Information for a Distributed Core

Gather the following useful information for a Layer 3 distributed core fabric before you begin:

• The comma-separated values (CSV) file that contains the system media access control (MAC)

addresses, Service Tag, and serial numbers for each switch provided from Dell manufacturing 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) or 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 type of switch must use the same

version of the software image within the fabric. Place the software images on the TFTP or FTP site so

that the switches can install the appropriate FTOS software image and configuration file.

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

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

provides a local DHCP server. The DHCP server must be in the same subnet where the switches are

located. 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, see 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 on 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 for the downlink configuration for connecting to the server or ToR.

• The IP addresses for the fabric link configuration for the spine and leaf switches.

• The protocol configuration for uplinks, downlinks and fabric link configuration

Selecting a Layer 3 Distributed Core Fabric Design

For large fabric deployments, use the Layer 3 distributed core fabric. AFM supports the following

distributed core fabric designs:

• Type 1: Extra Large Core Fabric

• Type 2: Large Distributed Core Fabric

• Type 3: Medium Distributed Core Fabric

• Type 4: Small Distributed Core Fabric

To select the appropriate Layer 3 distributed core fabric design, use the following table as a guide. For

more information about a Layer 3 distributed core, see:

Supported Fabric Types