Administrator Guide
• Internet small computer system interface (iSCSI)optimization.
• Internet group management protocol (IGMP) snooping.
• Jumbo frames: Ports are set to a maximum MTU of 12,000 bytes by default.
• Link tracking: Uplink-state group 1 is automatically congured. In uplink state-group 1, server-facing ports auto-congure as
downstream interfaces; the uplink port-channel (LAG 128) auto-congures as an upstream interface. Server-facing links are
auto-congured to be brought up only if the uplink port-channel is up.
• In VLT mode, port 9 is automatically congured as VLT interconnect ports. VLT domain conguration is automatic. This includes
peer-link, congured MAC, backup link and setting every port channel as VLT port-channel.
Data Center Bridging Support
To eliminate packet loss and provision links with required bandwidth, Data Center Bridging (DCB) enhancements for data center
networks are supported.
The aggregator provides zero-touch conguration for DCB. The aggregator auto-congures DCBX port roles as follows:
• Server-facing ports are congured as auto-downstream interfaces.
• Uplink ports are congured as auto-upstream interfaces.
In operation, DCBx auto-congures uplink ports to match the DCB conguration in the ToR switches to which they connect.
The Aggregator supports DCB only in standalone mode.
FCoE Connectivity and FIP Snooping
Many data centers use Fiber Channel (FC) in storage area networks (SANs). Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) encapsulates Fiber
Channel frames over Ethernet networks.
On an Aggregator, the internal ports support FCoE connectivity and connects to the converged network adapter (CNA) in servers.
FCoE allows Fiber Channel to use 10-Gigabit Ethernet networks while preserving the Fiber Channel protocol.
The Aggregator also provides zero-touch conguration for FCoE connectivity. The Aggregator auto-congures to match the FCoE
settings used in the switches to which it connects through its uplink ports.
FIP snooping is automatically congured on an Aggregator. The auto-congured port channel (LAG 128) operates in FCF port mode.
iSCSI Operation
Support for iSCSI trac is turned on by default when the Aggregator powers up. No conguration is required.
When an aggregator powers up, it monitors known TCP ports for iSCSI storage devices on all interfaces. When a session is detected,
an entry is created and monitored as long as the session is active.
The Aggregator also detects iSCSI storage devices on all interfaces and autocongures to optimize performance. Performance
optimization operations, such as Jumbo frame size support and disabling storm control on interfaces connected to an iSCSI
equallogic (EQL) storage device, are applied automatically.
Link Aggregation
All uplink ports are congured in a single LAG (LAG 128). Server-facing ports are auto-congured as part of link aggregation groups if
the corresponding server is congured for LACP-based network interface controller (NIC) teaming. Static LAGs are not supported.
NOTE: The recommended LACP timeout is Long-Timeout mode.
Before You Start
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