Nexus 7000 - FAB-1 and FAB-2 on the same chassis

[muthumohan]

Hi,

1. Is it possible to have a mix of FAB-1 and FAB-2 modules on the same Nexus 7000 chassis at the same time? Is this supported?

2. What about backward compatibility with FAB-1 supported I/O modules? For example, N7K-M132XP-12. Will this card work with FAB-2 modules on the chassis?

I am not able to find any document from Cisco on how to migrate from FAB-1 to FAB-2?

Would appreciate any help.

Regards,

Mohan Muthu

[muthumohan]

Another related question;

N7K-F248XP-25-> Does this module require FAB-2? Or will it work with FAB-1?

My understanding is the last two digits after the "hypen" in the prodcut code indicate;

2 - Require 2nd Generation FAB cards, that is FAB-2

5 - 5 Fabric cards are needed to fully utilize the backplane speed of this card.

Therefore, does is module work only with FAB-2?

With FAB-1, FAB-2, M1, F1, F2 etc...I am confused on what will work with what?

Would appreciate if anyone can point to a Cisco document to help clarify this.

Thanks,

Mohan  Muthu

[Leo Laohoo]

N7K-F248XP-25-> Does this module require FAB-2? Or will it work with FAB-1?

Starts with an "F2" so it's Fabric 2.

[muthumohan]

Hi Leolaohoo,

Thanks for the reply. But I believe F2 is the series of line module, like M1, F1 etc. For example, N7K-M132XP-12 will work on FAB-1. But my question is will it also work on FAB-2?

Thanks,

Mohan Muthu

[Leo Laohoo]

Q. Are the Nexus 7000 Fabric-2 modules compatible with existing Cisco Nexus 7000 Series I/O modules?

A. The Nexus 7000 Fabric-2 modules are compatible with all Cisco Nexus 7000 Series I/O modules. I/O modules that can operate at 230 Gbps per slot with Fabric-1 modules will continue to run at the same speed on the chassis with Fabric-2 modules. I/O modules that can operate at 550 Gbps per slot will operate at that speed in chassis with Fabric-2 modules.

Sorry, you are right.  F2 does NOT mean it's Fabric-2 cards.

[Oleksandr Nesterov]

Hello Mohan

It's possible to run FAB-1 and FAB-2 at the same time - but not recommended as FAB-2 will work in backward compatibility mode.

Such config possible during the migration from previous fabrics to the new ones.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/docs/switches/datacenter/hw/nexus7000/installation/guide/n7k_replacing.html#wp1382904

HTH,

Alex

[sbhadrav@cisco.com]

You’re able to run both Fabric 1 and Fabric 2 modules together in the same chassis, but there are some significant limitations. From the Upgrading Fabric 1 Modules with Fabric 2 Modules section of the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Hardware Installation and Reference Guide.

"If you are running Cisco NX-OS 6.0(x) or a later release, you can upgrade all of the Fabric 1 modules with Fabric 2 modules in a Cisco Nexus 7010 or 7018 switch (the Cisco Nexus 7009 uses only Fabric 2 modules). You can upgrade the modules during operations if you replace each within a couple of minutes so that the switch can maintain its designed airflow. The upgrade process is non disruptive to switch operations if there is at least one fabric module installed and operating in the switch while you upgrade another fabric module.

When upgrading fabric modules, you must replace all of the Fabric 1 modules in the switch with Fabric 2 modules within 12 hours or you will see a syslog message that reminds you to complete the upgrade.

Note If you power up a switch that has both types of fabric modules installed, only the Fabric 2 modules power up. If you need the Fabric 1 modules to power up, you must first power off all of the Fabric 2 modules (see the “Shutting Down a Fabric Module” section) before the Fabric 1 modules can power up."

The above limitations would suggest this is supported from the perspective of allowing a "hitless" migration, but should not be used as a permanent solution.

I’ve not personally used Fabric-2 modules with Supervisor-1, but I can’t find any documentation stating that Fabric-2 modules will only work with Supervisor-2/2E