Adding redundant Fabric interconnect to the existing FI

[BALAMURUGAN SINGARAM]

For UCS we have one Fabric interconnect version 2.1, customer purchased one more FI to add for cluster configuration.

The FI comes with latest firmware, please let me know can we downgrade the new FI and form a cluster or upgrade the existing FI to latest firmware.

Please advice the best practice for FI cluster configuration.

[Walter Dey]

see

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/servers-unified-computing/ucs-manager/products-installation-guides-list.html

[Sajith Joseph]

In order to join the FI to the cluster, it is required for both the FIs to be in the same firmware version.

But upgrading the firmware on your current standalone FI will cause an outage to the servers connected to it as there is no redundancy during FI reboot. So the best way to avoid any outage would be to configure the new FI as standalone and use UCSM gui to downgrade the new FI to the same version as the old FI. Then configure the old FI for cluster mode using the cli as per:

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/unified_computing/ucs/sw/gui/config/guide/2-2/b_UCSM_GUI_Configuration_Guide_2_2/configuring_the_fabric_interconnects.html#task_9858FADCDF6E4D2B852118CCEEBAA3DC

After that, when the FIs are in cluster, you can upgrade the FIs to any of the newer versions and there wont be any outage as they are redundant now.

[Walter Dey]

Since version 2.1.3 it is no more necessary to manually synch the firmware of the FI to be added.

http://jeffsaidso.com/2014/05/cool-new-ucs-featurefirmware-sync/

It used to be that when you attempted to cluster two FI’s together, it required the second FI wanting to join to be at the exact same firmware level. And if it wasn’t already, you had to bypass the cluster, boot standalone, upgrade the firmware, erase the config and then join the cluster. Huge pain. That process is no longer required – now when you attempt join with mis-matched firmware, the Fi will prompt you to sync the firmware on the FI to the one that is running the cluster. Very easy and very cool.

The overall question: is it nondisruptive, to change a single FI from standalone to cluster mode ?

Walter.

[BALAMURUGAN SINGARAM]

See have FI - 2.1 already installed in stand alone mode, now I am adding new FI - 2.6 in cluster mode.

Do we need to change any config in FI-2.1 [ old one ], or just adding new FI-2.6 in the network start config in FI -2.6 ?

Adding FI- 2.6 to the network, we will get prompt to "Fabric Interconnect High Availability Firmware Auto Synchronization" in the new FI-2.6 ? . Could you please advice.

[Walter Dey · Accepted solution]

You have to change first the old FI from standalone to cluster mode ! Not sure if this is non disruptive. Anyway, you have to schedule a maintenance window !!!!

Then, if your old FI has minimum 2.1.3, you can add the other FI which in the startup menu will discover the peer FI and ask if it should joint it as cluster member, synching first the firmware (joining FI will have same firmware release as the old FI).

Hope this is clear ?