Users Guide

802.1BR Terms and Definitions
The 802.1BR protocol uses the following terms to describe the operation of a controlling bridge and attached port extenders.
802.1BR Term Definition
Cascade port A port on a controlling bridge or bridge port extender that connects to an upstream port. In the case of
the connection between two bridge port extenders, the cascade port is the port closest to the
controlling bridge.
Controlling bridge A bridge that supports one or more bridge port extenders.
Port extender (PE) A bridge port extender that is not physically part of a controlling bridge, but is controlled by the
controlling bridge.
Upstream port A port on a bridge port extender that connects to a cascade port. In the case of the connection between
two bridge port extenders, the upstream port is the port furthest from the controlling bridge.
Enabling the Port Extender Feature
To use and configure a PE attached to a controlling bridge, such as the C9010, you must first enable the port-extender feature
by entering the
feature extended-bridge command. You only need to enter this command once to enable PE support on
a controlling bridge.
Before you enable the PE feature, ensure that LLDP is enabled on the controlling bridge. LLDP is enabled by default. If LLDP is
disabled when you enter the feature extended-bridge command, the following error message is displayed: % Error:
Port-extender feature cannot be enabled when LLDP is disabled.
• Turn on support for PE configuration on a controlling bridge.
CONFIGURATION mode
feature extended-bridge
NOTE
: The port-extender command (pe pe-id) and other PE configuration commands are only available after you enable
the extended-bridge feature.
NOTE: You can disable the port extender feature by entering the no feature extended-bridge command. Dell
Networking does not recommend that you use this command because it may result in traffic loss. It brings down the all
port extenders that are online and deletes their configurations. For example:
Dell(conf)# no feature extended-bridge
This command will disable the Extended-Bridge feature which will bring down all the PEs and
remove all the PE configs.
Proceed with Extended-Bridge feature disable? [yes/no]:
Provisioning a Port Extender
You can provision a port extender (PE) with an initial software configuration before or after you install and power on the PE. To
provision a PE, start from the control bridge console and enter the following commands. If you enter the commands before
you install the PE with a parent control bridge, the pre-configured software settings are downloaded to the PE when you attach
it to a control bridge port and power up the PE.
NOTE
: Although you can provision a PE before or after you install and power on the PE, Dell Networking OS recommends
pre-configuring software provisioning before you install a PE and then connect it to a pre-configured, cascaded control
bridge port. In this way, you can “plug and play” a PE with a parent control bridge.
To activate PE configuration commands and make them visible, you must first enable the PE feature by entering the feature
extended-bridge command. See Enabling the Port Extender Feature.
1 Enter Port-Extender Configuration mode to provision a PE.
CONFIGURATION mode
Port Extenders (PEs) 686