Users Guide

Data Center Bridging (DCB)

Data center bridging (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. DCB features are

auto-congured in standalone mode.

The Dell Networking OS commands for DCB features include 802.1Qbb priority-based ow control (PFC), 802.1Qaz enhanced

transmission selection (ETS), and the data center bridging exchange (DCBX) protocol.

CLI commands for individual DCB features are as follows:

DCB command

• dcb enable auto-detect on-next-reload

• show qos dcb-map

PFC Commands

• clear pfc counters

• show interface pfc

• show interface pfc statistics

ETS Commands

• clear ets counters

• show interface ets

DCBX Commands

• dcbx version

• clear dcbx counters

• show dcb

• show interface dcbx detail

Fibre Channel over Ethernet for FC Flex IO Modules

FCoE provides a converged Ethernet network that allows the combination of storage-area network (SAN) and LAN trac on a

Layer 2 link by encapsulating Fibre Channel data into Ethernet frames.

The Aggregator, installed with the FC Flex IO module, functions as a top-of-rack edge switch that supports converged enhanced

Ethernet (CEE) trac — Fibre channel over Ethernet (FCoE) for storage, Interprocess Communication (IPC) for servers, and

Ethernet local area network (LAN) (IP cloud) for data — as well as FC links to one or more storage area network (SAN) fabrics.

FCoE works with the Ethernet enhancements provided in Data Center Bridging (DCB) to support lossless (no-drop) SAN and LAN

trac. In addition, DCB provides exible bandwidth sharing for dierent trac types, such as LAN and SAN, according to 802.1p

priority classes of service. DCBx should be enabled on the system before the FIP snooping feature is enabled.

Data Center Bridging (DCB)