Hi Cisco,
I am quite new with the Nexus family. I just wanted to understand what are the difference of each line cards and how I can use them in conjunction with a UCS 6248 and its FEX (Cisco 1k, 2k & 5k series FEX). Just wondering if anyone has better understand than my limited knowledge. So far, I understand that the Nexus 7k is able to connect to the other Nexus switches and 'see' it as one of its own. So, that means that I can centrally manage the FEX switches from the Nexus 7k console (correct me if I am wrong here). But at the end of the day, I need to hook but several UCS servers to my Nexus switches. I understand that I should use the UCS 6248 FI switches but until recently, I can hook the UCS to the Nexus. How it is done, I am unsure.
But I want to start with some of my premilinary questions:
- I noticed that the M-Series line cards for the Nexus 7k can do both L2 & L3 features. I intend to connect, say, a Cisco 1k or 2k or 5k, which line card should I use? I saw that the M-Series does not have FabricPath while the F-Series have. Is this a pre-requisites for FEX to run?
- Some of the line cards supports L2 & L3 but the N7K-F132XP-15 (Nexus 7000 - 32 Port 1G/10G Ethernet Module, SFP/SFP+) specifically does only do L2. If I mix different line cards with L2 & L3 feature and with this line card, won't I still have L3? I can create the VLANs on this L2 line card and create multiple VLANs with IP address and should still be able to perform inter-VLAN routing. Am I right to say this or we can't mix these line cards together?
- And strangely, the M-Series have lower Mpps rates but cost more than the F-Series (No FCoE some more in the datasheets). Am I missing anything?
- If I have a UCS 6200 Series FIs, can I still see the FIs on the Nexus console like a FEX?
- The UCS also comes with a FEX, can I do the same for item (4)?
My apologies if I have so much questions but the Nexus playing field is so new and challenging for new-comers.
