Deployment Guide

Data Center Bridging (DCB)

On an I/O Aggregator, data center bridging (DCB) features are auto-congured in standalone mode. You can display information on DCB

operation by using show commands.

NOTE: DCB features are not supported on an Aggregator in stacking mode.

Supported Modes

Standalone, Stacking, PMUX, VLT, and Full–Switch

Topics:

• Ethernet Enhancements in Data Center Bridging

• Priority-Based Flow Control

• Enhanced Transmission Selection

• Data Center Bridging Exchange Protocol (DCBx)

• Creating a DCB Map

• Data Center Bridging: Default Conguration

• Data Center Bridging in a Trac Flow

• Data Center Bridging: Auto-DCB-Enable Mode

• Conguring Priority-Based Flow Control

• Conguring Enhanced Transmission Selection

• Hierarchical Scheduling in ETS Output Policies

• DCBx Operation

• Verifying the DCB Conguration

• QoS dot1p Trac Classication and Queue Assignment

• Troubleshooting PFC, ETS, and DCBx Operation

Ethernet Enhancements in Data Center Bridging

The following section describes DCB.

• The device supports the following DCB features:

• Data center bridging exchange protocol (DCBx)

• Priority-based ow control (PFC)

• Enhanced transmission selection (ETS)

DCB refers to a set of IEEE Ethernet enhancements that provide data centers with a single, robust, converged network to support multiple

trac types, including local area network (LAN), server, and storage trac. Through network consolidation, DCB results in reduced

operational cost, simplied management, and easy scalability by avoiding the need to deploy separate application-specic networks.

For example, instead of deploying an Ethernet network for LAN trac, additional storage area networks (SANs) to ensure lossless bre-

channel trac, and a separate InniBand network for high-performance inter-processor computing within server clusters, only one DCB-

Data Center Bridging (DCB) 239