ACI VMM integration with Vmware.(esxi not directly connected to leaf switches)

[Networker_eg]

My Cusotmer have around 50 esxi servers connected to Nexus 5000 Switches.

is it possible to integrate VMM domains using DVS when the Esxi servers are not directly connected to leaf switches ?

Regards

Amr

[dpita]

Hello

Thanks for using SupportForum

Yes you can still do VMM integration with the single L2 switch in between. ACI can still dynamically program VLANs so long as CDP/LLDP from ACI Leaf to N5k is work and ESXI host to N5k is working. 

That is the limit though, only a single hop or switch is allowed in between. 

Hope that helps!

[Networker_eg]

Thanks Dipta ,

you mean I will treat the N5K interfaces connected to the leafs as if it is the ESXi interfaces ?

but did you test this before ?

[dpita]

Yes i have tested before. a single switch will be just fine. 

What happens is that ACI treats it as a unmanaged switch, much like a UCS-Fabric Interconnect or any other blade chassis switch. We will build adjacencies for dynamic paths using the management IP address of the n5k in your case. 

we won't necessarily treat the interfaces as if there were ESXI interfaces, but as i mentioned, as a unmanaged switch that has ESXI hosts behind it. 

[Nik Noltenius]

Hi

just to add to the existing answers:
I have this scenario running:

ESXi <-> C3750 <-> C3750 <-> Leaf-Switch

This works too, as long as "l2protocol-tunnel cdp" is configured on the ESXi / Leaf-Switch facing ports of the C3750. CDP is tunneled so that ESXi and leaf switch "think" they are directly connected to each other.