catalyst 6500 series redundancy

[ccrespoh]

Hello,

I want to have two catalyst 6500 switches in redundancy, so when one 6500 fails, the other begins to work. In a HSRP format.

I would like to get information about how to connect servers to both switches and how connect the routers. I think all the devices have to be connected to both switches, but I'm not sure how to connect the routers and firewalls.

Can anyone tell me where to find some information about it? Examples too?

Thanks in advance.

[galaer]

generally, u cannot put two network adapter of a server (or router , firewall ) in one subnet , so u cannot directly connect them to both 6500 with HSRP.

i think u can use a Layer2 switch act as a prefix switch, this switch connect to both 6500, and the servers. just like a general HSRP router config.

the low-end switch's reliability is more worse than 6509, so u may need more low-end switchs.

if there are many vlans on 6500, u need trunk them to the pre-switch.

ummm, i dont think it is a very good idea.

[ccrespoh]

Now I have only one Catalyst. It has VLANs and they are connected through a firewall. We can say each Vlan is one interface of the firewall.

Well, the servers are going to be connected to both switches, one network card to each switch. Only one card active and the other will be active when the first connection fails.

The problem is with the routers and firewall connection. The routers have only one interface for "subnet" so I can't do the same as with the servers. But I don't want put "little" switches to connect the routers to the Catalyst. We are talking about fastethernet but gigaethernet UTP and fiber connectors..

That's what I want to know, how connect that devices.

Thanks.

[david.bradley]

You want to use either 2 NICs in each server set to in a 'teaming' configuration, you find it in HP proliants, I think it's an Intel NIC festure. The NICs share the same address, a little like HSRP. There are options on redundancy for the NICs, either one active and the other redundant or you can have load balancing.

If I understatnd this right, you've got multiple 6500s with MSFC2s? and you're connecting multiple routers to both switches? If this is the case all you need to do is set up your MSFC2s with HSRP and the other routers attached in the same VLAN/subnet.. Your routing protocol or static routes should be able to give redundancy or load balancing between your redundant routers.

Dave

[ccrespoh]

That's it, the servers have all two NIC's in teaming configuration. They are in redundant configuration (one active and the other redundant).

I'm going to have 2 catalyst 6500. Yes, with a MSFC2 each one. We have some routers. Ok, let's take one example: the router to connect to Internet. We have one router to go out to Internet. I'd like to connect that router so both catalyst could use it to go out, regardless which one was active or redundant.

How do I must connect them to do it?

Thanks in advance.

[david.bradley]

hi,

Forgive mew if I state the obvious..

I have setup just like the one you describe.

Create a VLAN that contains your MSFC2s and your internet router, if you have this VLAN prune eligible the intenet traffic will only pass between the MSFCs and the router.

Pysically I have the external router connecting to a switch that then has links to both 6500s, unfortunately you hit a single point of redundancy at some point!

So, one of the external switch to 6500 uplinks is closed down by spanning tree. The traffic moves through the active uplink to the 6500, then to the active MSFC2, if for some reason the active MSFC2 is in the other 6500 the traffic passes across a link you have between both 6500.

I hope this is reasonably clear!

Dave

[ccrespoh]

I'd already thought that solution, but I don't like it because if I buy another 6500 as redundant measure, using a "little" switch to interconnect all the devices seems to me to be not a good way.

I mean, all the systems would depend of the "little" switch, do you know what I want to say?

I was looking for another way to interconnect. The security is always the security of the weakest device on the network.

Is not other way to do it? as a link between the catalyst to share one unique connection even if one of them fails?

Maybe I'm asking something impossible, I don't know. I'm only looking for a better option than using a "little" switch between each router and the catalyst.

Thanks in advance.

[david.bradley]

Hi,

If your router was a 6500 with a WAN blade you could use 2 switch ports to connect to your other 6500s of course, or you could double up on you routers and use an HSRP group, or perhaps stay with the one switch but make it a large switch wit redundanct sups, psus and line cards!

Anyone have another solution.

Dave

[abillington]

only other solution I can think of now is the fully redundant HSRP one: two Cat6500 switches going to two separate comms providers using WAN ports (or get comms provider to preeent Ethernet?).

The system design I've been working on for a client is exactly that; DS3s presented from the comms providers are actually connected to us using 100BaseT which is going directly into the switch.

At the moment we are getting ready to put in redundant links but is there a way to do load-balancing as well?

Thanks in advance,

Andy