on 11-07-2013 11:39 AM
A virtualized server implementation consists of one or more VMs running as 'guests' on a single physical server. The guest VMs are hosted and managed by a software layer called the hypervisor or virtual machine manager (VMM). The hypervisor typically presents a virtual network interface to each VM and performs Layer 2 switching of traffic from a VM to other local VMs or to a physical interface to the external network. Working with a Cisco virtual interface card (VIC) adapter, Cisco Virtual Machine Fabric Extender (VM-FEX)bypasses software-based switching of VM traffic by the hypervisor in favor of external hardware-based switching in the fabric interconnect. This method results in a reduced load on the server CPU, faster switching,and the ability to apply a rich set of network management features to local and remote traffic. VM-FEX extends the (prestandard) IEEE 802.1Qbh port extender architecture to the VMs, providing each VM interface with a virtual Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) device and a virtual port ona switch. This solution allows precise rate limiting and quality of service (QoS) guarantees on the VM interface.
– vMotion, HA, DRS, Snapshot and Hot add/remove virtual device, Suspend/Resume
VMware | VMware | |
---|---|---|
VM-FEX Mode | Emulation | Hypervisor Bypass |
Hypervisor Version | ESX 4.0 U1 + | ESXi 5.0 + |
Minmum NX-OS Version | 5.1(3)N1(1) | 5.1(3)N1(1) |
Minimum VIC Firmware Version | P81E: 1.6(2a) VIC1225: HUU 1.5.1(b) VIC1225T: HUU 1.5.1(b) | P81E: 1.6(2a) VIC1225: HUU 1.5.1(b) VIC1225T: HUU 1.5.1(b) |
Minimum CIMC Version | P81E: 1.4(2.3) VIC1225: HUU 1.5.1(b) VIC1225T: HUU 1.5.1(b) | P81E: 1.4(2.3) VIC1225: HUU 1.5.1(b) VIC1225T: HUU 1.5.1(b) |
VMotion / Live Migration | Support | Support |
Support Guest OS | Any OS support by ESX/ ESXi | RHEL 6.0+ , SLES 11+ Window 2008 SP2, Windows 2008 R2, Windows 2012 |
Guest OS/vSphere Version | vSphere 5.0 | vSphere 5.0 U1 | vSphere 5.1 |
---|---|---|---|
Windows 2012 | N/A | 1.2.24.0 (vmwaretools) | 1.3.9.0 (vmwaretools) |
Windows 2008 R2 | 1.2.22.0 (vmwaretools) | 1.2.24.0 (vmwaretools) | 1.3.9.0 (vmwaretools) |
Windows 2008 SP2 | 1.2.22.0 (vmwaretools) | 1.2.24.0 (vmwaretools) | 1.3.9.0 (vmwaretools) |
RHEL 6.0 | 1.0.14.0-k (inbox) | 1.0.14.0-k (inbox) | 1.0.14.0-k (inbox) |
RHEL 6.1 | 1.0.14.0-k (inbox) | 1.0.14.0-k (inbox) | 1.0.14.0-k (inbox) |
RHEL 6.2 | N/A | 1.1.18.0-k (inbox) 1.0.47.0 (vmwaretools) | 1.1.18.0-k (inbox) 1.1.32.0 (vmwaretools) |
SLES11 | 1.0.36.0 (vmwaretools) | 1.0.47.0 (vmwaretools) | 1.1.32.0 (vmwaretools) |
SLES11 SP1 | 1.0.36.0 (vmwaretools) | 1.0.47.0 (vmwaretools) | 1.1.32.0 (vmwaretools) |
UCSM Configuration Limit 2.1 Release -http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/unified_computing/ucs/sw/configuration_limits/2.1/b_UCS_Configuration_Limits_2_1.html
Cisco UCS 6100 / 6200 Series | ||
---|---|---|
Hypervisor | Half-Width Blade with Single VIC | Full-Width Blade with Dual VIC |
ESX 4.0 – 4.1 (DirectPath I/O) | 56 (54 vNIC + 2 vHBA) | 56 (54 vNIC + 2 vHBA) |
ESXi 5.0 – 5.1 (DirectPath I/O) | 116 (114 vNIC + 2 vHBA) | 116 (114 vNIC + 2 vHBA)* |
Windows 2012 (SR-IOV) | 116 (114 vNIC + 2 vHBA) | 232 (228 vNIC + 4 vHBA) |
KVM 6.1 – 6.3 (SR-IOV) | 116 (114 vNIC + 2 vHBA) | 232 (228 vNIC + 4 vHBA) |
* Additional VIC will NOT increase the total VIF count due to OS limitation
* Multiple VICs are Supported for full width blade and B200M3
Nexus 5500 Series | ||
---|---|---|
Hypervisor | Adapter FEX | VM-FEX |
ESX 4.1 – ESXi 5.1 | 96 vNIC | 96 vNIC |
* Only one VIC (P81E/VIC1225) is Supported for each C series rack server
Nexus Verified Scalability 6.0(2)N1(1) release
Feature | Verified Topology | Verified Maximum |
---|---|---|
Number of VFCs over Virtual Ethernet Interfaces | 40 | 40 |
Number of Port Profiles | 1,000 | 1,000 |
Number of Virtual Machines (VMs) Concurrently not VMotioned | 5 VMs with 10 vNICs each | 5 VMs with 10 vNICs each |
Number of Virtual Ethernet Interfaces Enabled with vNIC Shaping | 2,000 | 2,000 |
Number of Virtual Ethernet Interfaces Enabled with Untagged CoS | 2,000 | 2,000 |
Server - Number of Adapters per Server | 1 | 1 |
Server - Number of vNICs per Server | 50 | 96 |
Feature | N5K Adapter FEX | N5K VM-FEX | UCS VM-FEX |
---|---|---|---|
ERSPAN | Yes | ||
SPAN | Yes | Yes | |
FCoE | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Port Security | Yes | Yes | Yes |
IGMP Snooping | Yes | Yes | |
Qos Shaping | Yes | Yes | Yes |
QoS Classification | Yes | Yes | Yes |
PVLAN | Yes | Yes | Isloate |
L2 Multipath | Edge Port | Edge Port | |
TrustSec | Yes | Yes | |
IPv4/IPv6/MAC ACL | Yes | Yes | |
DHCP Snooping | Yes | Yes | |
IP Source Guard | Yes | Yes | |
SNMP | Yes | Yes | |
Netflow+ | Yes | ||
Nexus VM-FEX Configuration Guide
Cisco-Live-BRKCOM-2005-Virtual Machine Fabric Extension (VM-FEX)-2013
VM-FEX Configuration & Best Practice for Multiple Hypervisor
Please refer to the attachmenta
Cisco VM-FEX Performance Testing verus VMware vSwitch
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns340/ns517/ns224/ns944/whitepaper_c11-727581.html
External (Light Reading) VM-FEX Peroformance Testing verus VMware vSwitch
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=693092
VM-FEX Performance Testing with SAP
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns340/ns517/ns224/ns944/whitepaper_c11_703103.pdf
VM-FEX Performance Testing with Microsoft SharePoint 2010
VM-FEX Performance Testing with Microsoft SQL Server 2012
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/ps10265/ps10281/whitepaper_c11-711915.html
VM-FEX Performance Testing with Citrix Xenapp 6.5
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/unified_computing/ucs/UCS_CVDs/citrix_emc_ucs_XDXAscale.pdf
Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track 3.0 with VM-FEX
-No need for OS teaming software
-Required for hypervisor uplink
-Not used for the forwarding plane
Hi,
Dumb question from my part and maybe someone can clear it up:)
As each vNIC has a failover (uplink failover) shouldn't we define vethernet 1, respectively vethernet 2 on both Nexus?
Ex:
on both
interface vethernet 2
bind interface eth102/1/32 channel 2
and
interface vethernet 1
bind interface ethernet 102/1/32 channel 1
Hope someone can help clear this up,
Mihai
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