6500 VSS

[SaeedBakh_2]

we are working to have two Core switches one 6509E and another switch 6513, is it should be same switches model to run VSS between them?.

Also when we have HP switch or 3COM switch as access and the Cisco Two 6500 switch as  a core running VSS,

Can the HP or 3com switch connected to the two Cisco switches running VSS, and  be connected as Multi chassiss etherchannel (LACP), so the HP or 3COM switch can see the two 6500 running VSS as a one entity.

Also is the CSM module supported in VSS or i have to use ACE module,and can be the ACE module configured separatly when the two chassis in VSS?

Please advise..

Thank you

[Reza Sharifi]

Hi Ahmed,

For VSS you can can have have a mix of 6500-E series switches, but it is best if you can use the same exact models. As for MEC,only 3750s support it and even though 3com and HP can do LAPC, but cannot do MEC.  AS for CSM, module support, I have not seen specific info on it being supported in VSS, but ACE is supported.

HTH

Reza

[SaeedBakh_2]

Hi,

i do not understand your answer regarding the access 3com and the core two cisco 6509E VSS, you mean that we can not connect the 3 com access switch to cisco core running VSS, and the 3com switch can not see the two core 6509 VSS as a one entity.

please advise

[SaeedBakh_2]

Hi,

are you sure about your answer that only 3750 do MEC , and also the 3COM switch will not work with 6509 VSS, becausse this is different from the others answer

[Jon Marshall]

SaeedBakh wrote:
Hi,
i do not understand your answer regarding the access 3com and the core two cisco 6509E VSS, you mean that we can not connect the 3 com access switch to cisco core running VSS, and the 3com switch can not see the two core 6509 VSS as a one entity.
please advise

Ahmed

That's not what Reza is saying. If your 3com switch supports LACP then yes you connect it to both 6500 switches running VSS and the pair of VSS switches are seen as on logical switch.

What Reza is saying is that you cannot have 2 3com switches using the SAME etherchannel to the VSS pair of 6500 switches because 3com switches don't support MEC. I can't confirm this as i don't have any experience with 3com switches.

So yes, you can connect a single 3com to both 6500 switches running VSS with the same etherchannel.

Jon

[SaeedBakh_2]

Hi,

ok,

my other question is if we have two access switches 3COM stacked with a technology that make them to be as one switch, and these access switches connected to two core Cisco 6509 not  VSS, can each one of the Cisco 6509 see the 3COM stack as one switch or one unit.

[Reza Sharifi]

Jon,

Thank you for explaining it again.  Maybe I did not do a good job of explaining it

But you understood it perfectly

How is recovery coming along? Are you feeling better and back to normal?

Ahmed,

I do not know if 3Com switches support cross stack Etherchanned. You would need to check their documentation.

With all that said, you would need to test it, because sometimes documentation tells you one thing and the device itself something different. And if you need to integrate 3Com switches with VSS environment, you would need even further testing.

HTH

Reza

[Jon Marshall]

Hi Reza

How is recovery coming along? Are you feeling better and back to normal?

Slowly getting there but the physio stll won't let me get back out on my mountain bike yet, even if i only go on the road !  So i'm feeling pretty unfit at the moment

Jon

[Reza Sharifi]

I left one thing out in my previous post and that is, you can not do cross stack Etherchannel unless your 6500s are VSS.

[SaeedBakh_2]

i think you did not get my point here, if we have 3com switches stacked as one unit ,and the stack connected to 6509 switch, can the 6509 switch see the 3com stack as one unit, i am not talking here about two 6509 vss.

[Jon Marshall]

SaeedBakh wrote:
i think you did not get my point here, if we have 3com switches stacked as one unit ,and the stack connected to 6509 switch, can the 6509 switch see the 3com stack as one unit, i am not talking here about two 6509 vss.

Ahmed

I think you are not getting the point

If the 3com switches can use the equivalent of MEC, whatever that would be for 3com. then of course the 6500 switch would see it as one logical unit. Why would it not ?

At the 6500 switch end the etherchannel would terminate on the same physical switch so as far as the 6500 is concerned it is just an etherchannel. So the question is simply do the 3 com switches have the ability to run the SAME etherchannel across multiple 3 com switches in a stack.

If your'e asking me or Reza if 3com support that ability we have both already said we do not know.

Jon

[lamav]

Ahmed, the ability to virtualize 2 chassis into one is a function of the switches running the virtualization software, not the switches connecting to it.

So one 3Com switch (or HP or Dell, etc) will see two VSS switches as one. And one 6500 will see the 2 virtualized 3Coms (or HP or Dell) as one.

Lastly, if you have two 3Coms stacked into a virtual chassis in the access layer, and two 6500s virtualized into a VSS cluster in the core layer, each layer will see the other layer as one switch. No STP necessary. You can run it as a precaution. but not necessary.

HTH

Victor