Users Guide

12 Dell EMC PowerEdge MX SmartFabric Configuration Guide with Cisco ACI
3 SmartFabric mode requirements
Before beginning SmartFabric deployment, ensure that the requirements and guidelines in this section are
followed.
Configuration of SmartFabric on MX Chassis with Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) makes the
following assumptions:
• All MX7000 chassis and management modules are cabled correctly (see Section 3.1.1) and in a
multi-chassis management group (see Section 3.1.2)
• The VLTi cables between switches have been connected (see Section 3.1.1)
• OME-Modular is at version 1.10.00 or later, and SmartFabric OS10 is at version 10.5.0.1 or later
Note: This document assumes that all of the server, network, and chassis hardware for the MX platform has
been updated to the latest firmware, and ESXi is installed on the MX7000 compute sleds. Cisco APIC is also
updated to version 4.0(3d). See Appendix B for the minimum recommended firmware versions.
3.1 PowerEdge MX requirements
3.1.1 Physically cable MX7000 chassis and upstream switches
Use the following guidelines to cable the MX7000 chassis and upstream switches:
• For Management Module cabling, see the PowerEdge MX7000 Chassis Management Networking
Cabling guide
• For VLTi cabling of different IOM placements, see Switch slot placement for SmartFabric mode in
Section 3.5 of the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX SmartFabric Configuration and Troubleshooting Guide.
• For information and requirements on cabling MX chassis to the upstream switches, see Section 3.2 of
the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX SmartFabric Configuration and Troubleshooting Guide.
For more information about cabling the PowerEdge MX, see the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX Networking
Architecture Guide and the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX SmartFabric Configuration and Troubleshooting Guide.
3.1.2 Create multi-chassis management group
For a scalable fabric that uses more than one MX chassis, the chassis must be in a multi-chassis
management (MCM) group. See Dell EMC OpenManage Enterprise-Modular Edition for PowerEdge MX7000
Chassis for information about how to create the MCM group.
Note: SmartFabric mode can be enabled on a single chassis having two MX9116n FSEs or two MX5108n
switches. For a SmartFabric implemented using a single chassis, creating an MCM group is not mandatory
but recommended. The chassis must be in an MCM group for a SmartFabric containing more than one MX
chassis.
3.2 Application Centric Infrastructure
Before using this guide, one or more Cisco APICs should already be deployed with the Nexus leaf and spine
switches already discovered and registered with the APIC. The node ID numbers and names used in the
examples in this guide are listed in Table 2.