Hi Merlijn,   For 8Gbps the default is 32 BB credits, yes you can lower it to 16BB Credits. It should be enough, you need to observe the BB Credits "transitions of BB credit out of zero state" in the interface stats which will give you an indication. So I would say start with 16BB Credits. Thanks, Ozden ... View more

Hi Mariana, It is nice to have you in this forum and thanks for your question. Let's first try to understand the definition of each feature. N-Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) NPIV allows a Fibre Channel host connection or N-Port to be assigned multiple N-Port IDs or Fibre Channel IDs (FCID) over a single link. All FCIDs assigned can now be managed on a Fibre Channel fabric as unique entities on the same physical host. Different applications can be used in conjunction with NPIV. In a virtual machine environment where many host operating systems or applications are running on a physical host, each virtual machine can now be managed independently from zoning, aliasing, and security perspectives. N-Port Virtualizer (NPV) An extension to NPIV is the N-Port Virtualizer feature. The N-Port Virtualizer feature allows the blade switch or top-of-rack fabric device to behave as an NPIV-based host bus adapter (HBA) to the core Fibre Channel director. The device aggregates the locally connected host ports or N-Ports into one or more uplinks (pseudo-interswitch links) to the core switches. Whereas NPIV is primarily a host-based solution, NPV is primarily a switch-based technology. It is designed to reduce switch management and overhead in larger SAN deployments. Consider that every Fibre Channel switch in a fabric needs a different domain ID, and that the total number of domain IDs in a fabric is limited. In some cases, this limit can be fairly low depending upon the devices attached to the fabric. The problem, though, is that you often need to add Fibre Channel switches to scale the size of your fabric. There is, therefore, an inherent conflict between trying to reduce the overall number of switches to keep the domain ID count low while also needing to add switches to have a sufficiently high port count. NPV is intended to address this problem. Cisco MDS 9000 NX-OS supports industry-standard N-port identifier virtualization (NPIV), which allows multiple N-port fabric logins concurrently on a single physical Fibre Channel link. HBAs that support NPIV can help improve SAN security by enabling configuration of zoning and port security independently for each virtual machine (OS partition) on a host. In addition to being useful for server connections, NPIV is beneficial for connectivity between core and edge SAN switches. NPV is a complementary feature that reduces the number of Fibre Channel domain IDs in core-edge SANs. Cisco MDS 9000 family fabric switches operating in the NPV mode do not join a fabric; they just pass traffic between core switch links and end devices, which eliminates the domain IDs for these switches. NPIV is used by edge switches in the NPV mode to log in to multiple end devices that share a link to the core switch. Same NPV logic can be applied to FCoE-NPV. At the end FCoE is FC. And David explained FCoE NPV during our webcast yesterday https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/community/learning_center/meet_authors@ I am just posting the recording of that section here https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/docs/DOC-26425 Here is some visual SAN topology diagrams that can help you to understand the concept better. We can summarize NPV and NPIV feature capabilities for Cisco Datacenter platform as below:   Cisco Data Center Platform NPIV NPV FCoE NPV Cisco MDS 9700 Series Director Switches Yes - - Cisco MDS 9500 Series Director Switches Yes - - Cisco MDS 9250i Yes - - Cisco MDS 9222i Yes - - Cisco MDS 9148 Yes Yes - Cisco MDS 9148S Yes Yes - Cisco MDS Blade Switches Yes Yes - Cisco Nexus 9000 Director and 9300 Switches - - - Cisco Nexus 7000 Director Switches Yes - - Cisco Nexus 7700 Director Switches Yes - - Cisco Nexus 6004 Yes Yes Yes Cisco Nexus 5600 Yes Yes Yes Cisco Nexus 5500 Yes Yes Yes Cisco UCS FI 6248UP – 6296UP Yes Yes Yes Cisco UCS FI 6120XP – 6140XP Yes Yes Yes I hope this helps. Thanks, Ozden ... View more

Hi Merlijn,   Actually it is written as 253 Buffers max per port, it is practically 250 fcrxbbcredit that you can configure on a dedicated-mode FC port when other 3 FC ports in that port-group are in out-of-service mode. If you would like to use/set one of the FC ports in the port-group as LW E-port, the total of Buffer credits of the port-group can not be more than 252 Buffers. The default BB Credits for 16Gbps FC in dedicated-mode will be 64. You can change the speed of the F ports and change the fcrxbbcredit minimum to 2.   I hope this answers your question. Thanks, Ozden   ... View more

Dear Fernando, Thanks for posting this question to the forum. I summarized all DC portfolio and the coverage of the protocols in below table: I hope this helps. Thank you, Ozden Cisco Data Center Platform Fibre Channel Protocol FICON Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) iSCSI Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP) Cisco MDS 9700 Series Director Switches 2/4/8/10/16-Gbps 2/4/8/10/16-Gbps Yes - - Cisco MDS 9500 Series Director Switches 2/4/8/10/16-Gbps 2/4/8/10/16-Gbps Yes Yes Yes Cisco MDS 9250i 2/4/8/16-Gbps 2/4/8/16-Gbps Yes Yes Yes Cisco MDS 9222i 1/2/4-Gbps 1/2/4-Gbps Yes Yes Yes Cisco MDS 9148 1/2/4/8-Gbps 1/2/4/8-Gbps - - - Cisco MDS 9148S 2/4/8/16-Gbps 2/4/8/16-Gbps - - - Cisco MDS Blade Switches 1/2/4/8-Gbps - - - - Cisco Nexus 9000 Director and 9300 Switches - - - - - Cisco Nexus 7000 Director Switches - - Yes with F2, F2E, F3 - - Cisco Nexus 7700 Director Switches - - Yes with F2, F2E, F3 - - Cisco Nexus 6004 1/2/4/8-Gbps - Yes - - Cisco Nexus 5600 1/2/4/8-Gbps - Yes - - Cisco Nexus 5500 1/2/4/8-Gbps - Yes - - Cisco UCS FI 6248UP – 6296UP With unified Port support - 8Gbps FC - Yes - - Cisco UCS FI 6120XP – 6140XP 1/2/4/8-Gbps with Expansion Modules - Yes - - Cisco Nexus 2232PP, 2232TM, 2232TM-E, 2248PQ, 2348UPQ, 2348TQ - - Yes - - ... View more

Dear Merlijn, Extended BB credit feature is supported only for Cisco Director class MDS switches (MDS 95xx, MDS 97xx) and the feature is not supported on Cisco Fabric switches (MDS 9250i & MDS 91xx). This was not documented clearly in the configuration guide and data sheets, the information should be updated in NX-OS 6.2(9) and above. Here is the updated version of the configuration guide. http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/datacenter/mds9000/sw/6_2/configuration/guides/interfaces/nx-os/cli_interfaces/overview.pdf In the datasheet it was mentioned that buffer credits: 64 per port (shared-mode ports) and up to 253 on an individual port (dedicated-mode ports), which you need to shut down ports in the port-group. I hope this helps and I am sorry for the mistake in the configuration guide. Thanks and kind regards, Ozden ... View more

Dear Rizky,   Thanks for asking this question in the forum. I believe you want to know more about Fibre Channel terminology. On the other hand you wrote "fibre channel termination, its that on ccnp or ccie" so let me answer to both questions. To learn Fibre Channel from A to Z the best place will be to read Robert W.Kembel's "Fibre Channel  - A Comprehensive Introduction" book http://www.amazon.com/Fibre-Channel-A-Comprehensive-Introduction/dp/0931836107 .If you don't have much time and want to learn it quickly, In our DC CCNA DCICT Certification Guide there is a good summary on the concepts and I also provided many references of good Storage books in the book. The Fibre Channel concepts are being asked in DC CCNA, DC CCIE Certification exams. http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/exams/list/dcict.html http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/certifications/expert/ccie_dc/index.html And for DC CCNP you need to have DC CCNA or DC CCIE as prereq if I am not mistaken more on CCNP https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/community/certifications/ccnp_data_center/syllabus/?utm_source=cdc&utm_medium=lnk&utm_campaign=cdc-inbnd I hope this answers your question. Please let me know if you need more information or I didn't understand your question. Thank you, Ozden ... View more

Dear Tenaro,   I will go with option A and that's why it was presented as first option in my diagram. SAN B is not extended to Brocade fabric, there is minimum traffic disruption. If I were a sales person I would try to convince the customer to use the best in class Cisco MDS switches http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/storage-networking/product-listing.html in his/her SAN network. SAN best practices can be best explained via white paper or in a book (chapter 6/7/8/9) http://www.ciscopress.com/store/ccna-data-center-dcict-640-916-official-cert-guide-9781587144226 http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/storage-networking/mds-9500-series-multilayer-directors/white_paper_C11-515630.html http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/storage-networking/mds-9500-series-multilayer-directors/white_paper_c11_586100.html I hope this helps. Thanks and kind regards, Ozden   ... View more

Dear Tenaro, It is nice to have you in this forum, thanks for your question. I see three different options. And you may also want to consider how much disruption you can have in production SAN network. NPV option will always be disruptive. Both Option A & C can be less disruptive, you can provide the traffic separation either via zoning (activate zoning on N5K) or via VSAN. SAN best practices should always be followed. I hope this helps. Kind regards, Ozden   ... View more

Dear Sir, You may want to post your queries on http://www.asus.com/support/. Kind regards, Ozden ... View more

Good Morning Tenaro, At this moment we have 100G support on "Cisco Nexus 7000 M2-Series 2-Port 100 Gigabit Ethernet Module with XL" http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps9441/ps9402/data_sheet_c78-695859.html M2-Series 2 port XL module supports 100G and 40G with CFP transceiver modules. Here are the CFPs that M2 module supports: For 100G: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/modules/ps5455/data_sheet_c78-633027.html For 40G: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/interfaces_modules/transceiver_modules/compatibility/matrix/OL_24900.pdf In short N7K-M202CF-22L module supports CFP-40G-SR4 & CFP-40G-LR4 transceiver modules with minimum NX-OS 6.1(2) version. So we don't have breakout cable support on M2-series 100G XL module, you will not be able to configure 10G on 100G interfaces at this moment on Nexus platforms. Please stay tune, we will have this support coming soon. Coming to your FCoE question where you asked if 100G interfaces can be configured as 10G FCoE interfaces. The answer will be no at this stage. I am attaching a slide that is showing all of our FCoE and FC portfolio as of today: I hope this answers your question. Thanks again for your interest to this forum. Ozden ... View more

Hi Tenaro, I am glad that you asked this question. At this moment Cisco has 40G FCoE support on Nexus 6004 and Nexus 6001 platforms which was launced at the begining of 2013. At this moment none of the vendors have 100G FCoE support. 40 Gigabit Ethernet ports can be connected to  four 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports using QSFP breakout cables and we support FCoE on this connection. I believe Nexus 6004/6001 Data sheets will be useful: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps9441/ps12806/ps12807/data_sheet_c78-723667.html http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps9441/ps12806/ps12869/data_sheet_c78-726128.html QSFP types are listed in: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps9441/ps12806/product_bulletin_c25-726519.html And a white paper from my friend J Metz about 40Gb FCoE: http://www.fibrechannel.org/library/documents/FCIA_FCSolutionGuide_2012_40GbFCoE.pdf I hope this answers your quesion. Thanks, Ozden ... View more

Hi Tenaro, I am sorry that I am not aware of a device that supports FCoE but doesn't support DCB enhancements. It will be nice if you can share your research result with us when you find the answer or maybe open your design requirement a bit more. Nexus 3000 platform doesn't support FCoE, for FCoE support (as you know) you need to check Nexus 55XX, MDS 95XX, Nexus 7000 and UCS platforms. Nexus 3000 is designed for ultra-low latency environments. Nexus 5000 is for all general Data Center access environments and it has features like FEX support, FCoE, adapter-FEX, VM-FEX etc... Just for your reference I am posting the link for datasheets for our DC platform: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps9441/Products_Sub_Category_Home.html I hope this helps. Thanks, Ozden ... View more

In the case of using HBA with NPIV (assigning individual WWNs to each VM), you will need to use Raw Device Mappings disks. And in that case the FLOGIs or FDISCs limit that I mentioned in my previous response will apply. But if you will not be utilizing NPIV on the HBA and would like to benefit from VMDK and VMFS, you will only need to worry about real pWWNs of the physical HBAs since those are the ones that will login to the Fabric. Thanks for clarifying your question. Ozden ... View more

Hi Tenaro, It is great to have you in this session. FCoE requires specific Ethernet capabilities to be implemented such as lossless switches/ fabrics (IEEE 802.3 Pause), jumbo frames. FCoE utilizes IEEE 802.1 advance capabilities and this set of functions is called DCB - Data Center Bridging. These DCB extensions should be considered in order to make FCoE reliable and easy to use. The main three standards that make up DCB are: Priority-based Flow Control (PFC) — IEEE 802.1Qbb provides a link level flow control mechanism that can be controlled independently for each Class of Service (CoS), as defined by 802.1p. The goal of this mechanism is to ensure zero loss under congestion in DCB networks. Enhanced Transmission Selection (ETS) — EEE 802.1Qaz provides a common management framework for assignment of bandwidth to 802.1p CoS-based traffic classes and guarantees that amount of bandwidth for the specified Class of Service. Data Center Bridging Capability eXchange Protocol (DCBX) — A discovery and capability exchange protocol used for conveying capabilities and configuration of the above features between neighbors to ensure consistent configuration across the network. This protocol leverages functionality provided by LLDP -Link Layer Discovery Protocol. Here is the DCB Protocol tree: http://sniaesfblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Protocol-Tree.jpg Short and very recent article from SNIA about DCB if you want to learn a bit more: http://sniaesfblog.org/?p=231 I hope this helps. Thanks, Ozden ... View more