NPV Edge switch mode

[michaelchurchill1]

I have a customer interested in using 9148s switches in NPV mode in a core edge environment as basically Top of rack switches connected to a single core mds 9710 using code 6.2(5a)

Are there any good document out there that can give me a basic for and against doing it this way over having the edge switches in standard switch mode  and using TE ports and EISL

He is only really thinking of a maximum 10 edge switches so he unlikely to ever hit the FC ID limit or the limit of 105 NPV switches per core

The customer is planning on using two 9148s to mimic this in test so we can do a proof of concepts not even sure if this is possible or supported

I have come across these but it does not really expand on the benefits or not of doing it this way compared to the standard way I am used too

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/storage-networking/mds-9000-series-multilayer-switches/200127-N-Port-Identifier-Virtualization-NPIV.html

This defines limits

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/datacenter/mds9000/sw/6_2/configuration/guides/config_limits/configuration_limits_6-2.pdf

Is anybody doing it this way and if so what do you see as the pitfalls or benefits

[dynamoxxx]

i can't think of cons, that's what esseinticaly i do with my 9124e and 9513s as more core. You just need to make sure of the limit of how many flogi per port, flogi per blade ..etc. Make sure you don't exceed those numbers.

[michaelchurchill1]

Problem is cannot argue for it or against it if I cannot list the negatives as well as the positive

The limit is less in terms of the number of switches that can be used in NPV mode when connected to a core switch to 105 compared to the 329 I believe is related to the FC Domain ID

Basically this looks like it is almost the same as adding a Flex 2000 extender series to  a 5000 series switch it just acts as an almost additional line card

There are limit to the basic management when in NPV mode and a lot of commands and aspects are disabled but still there seem to be lot of documents on the benefits and how to set it up but none on the limitations

[Walter Dey]

A nice NPV feature (Cisco proprietary, therefore not available in a Brocade-Cisco NPV-NPIV configuration) is : Fabric Port (F-Port) Trunking and Channeling. 

http://www.virtualdatacenter.me/2012/06/fibre-channel-trunking-and-port.html

Walter.

[michaelchurchill1]

Yes, will probably look at using that if I do this in production between the 9710 and 9148s but it is not supported between the test environment which will consist off two 9148s switches not even sure these will work in NPV mode and NPIV mode as a test

The plan will use the two 9148s as a test core and edge with one set to NPV mode the other to  use NPIV mode but have not found anything that say it is a supported setup or that it cannot be done

Only details are that it does not support Fabric Port (F-Port) Trunking and Channelling

[Walter Dey]

If a Cisco MDS 9124 or 9134 switch is used as a core switch, only a non-trunking F PortChannel is supported. 
Trunking is not supported on this platform when NPIV enabled.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switches/datacenter/mds9000/sw/4_1/configuration/guides/cli_4_1/pc.html#wp1290386

[michaelchurchill1]

Just to add to this using a test environment which will be two 9148s based on a minimum code level of 6.2(5a) one acting as the core switch with NPIV enabled the other as an edge switch in NPV mode will be looking to answer the customers following questions using this environment

Outstanding Questions

1. Should the Edge switches be configured in NPV mode or not? Pros and Cons

2. Should the uplinks be configured as a port-channels or not, if not using NPV mode really irrelevant as but should we be looking to use F Port channels in NPV mode what are the benefits and cons of this, Can this even be tested using two 9148s which I believe is a no answer seeing the answers I have already seen for this question

3. Do we require the Enterprise licenses on the edge switches (for QoS or IVR).

4. What monitoring/response should we be using to identify and address slow draining hosts or buffer credit exhaustion on inter-switch links (ISLs).

[Walter Dey]

Should the Edge switches be configured in NPV mode or not? Pros and Cons

>>> yes; your SAN network/fabric is much smaller; less FC domain id, FSPF convergence time

Should the uplinks be configured as a port-channels or not, if not using NPV mode really irrelevant as but should we be looking to use F Port channels in NPV mode what are the benefits and cons of this, Can this even be tested using two 9148s which I believe is a no answer seeing the answers I have already seen for this question

>>>> port channel; if you have no pc, if a link fails -> new flogi required; and if link comes back again -> uneven distribution of load across individual links

Do we require the Enterprise licenses on the edge switches (for QoS or IVR).

>>>> No