Setup Guide

16 Dell EMC PowerEdge MX SmartFabric Configuration and Troubleshooting Guide
You can also use the show interface command to display the Fabric Engine physical port-to-Fabric
Expander virtual port mapping, and the operational status of the line:
OS10# show interface ethernet 1/1/30:3
Ethernet 1/1/30:3 is up, line protocol is dormant
Interface is mapped to ethernet1/77/7
NOTE: If you move a FEM by cabling it to a different QSFP28-DD port on the Fabric Engine, all software
configurations on virtual ports are maintained. Only the QSFP28-DD breakout interfaces that map to the virtual
ports change.
2.5 Virtual Link Trunking (VLT)
Virtual Link Trunking (VLT) aggregates two identical physical switches to form a single logical extended
switch. However, each of the VLT peers has its own control and data planes and can be configured
individually for port, protocol, and management behaviors. Though the dual physical units act as a single
logical unit, the control and data plane of both switches remain isolated, ensuring high availability and high
resilience for all its connected devices. This differs from the legacy stacking concept, where there is a single
control plane across all switches in the stack, creating a single point of failure.
With the critical need for high availability in modern data centers and enterprise networks, VLT plays a vital
role connecting with rapid convergence, seamless traffic flow, efficient load balancing, and loop free
capabilities.
With the instantaneous synchronization of MAC and ARP entries, both the nodes remain Active-Active and
continue to forward the data traffic seamlessly.
VLT is required when operating in SmartFabric mode.
For more information on VLT, see the Virtual Link Trunking chapter in the OS10EE User Guide and
Virtual
Link Trunking (VLT) in Dell EMC OS10 Enterprise Edition Best Practices and Deployment Guide.
2.6 Server templates, identities, networks, and deployment
For detailed information on templates, identities, and deployment, see the OpenManage Enterprise - Modular
documentation and the technical paper PowerEdge MX7000: Templates and Profiles
.
2.6.1 Templates
A template is a set of system configuration settings referred to as attributes. A template may contain a small
set of attributes for a specific purpose, or all the attributes for a full system configuration. Templates allow for
multiple servers to be configured quickly and automatically without the risk of human error.
Networks (VLANs) are assigned to NICs as part of the server template. When the template is deployed, those
networks are programmed on the fabric for the servers associated with the template.
NOTE: Network assignment through template only functions for servers connected to a SmartFabric. If a template
with network assignments is deployed to a server connected to a switch in Full Switch mode, the network
assignments are ignored.