Convert FIs from 4 individual uplinks to port channel

[smorgan_byte]

Just looking for a little validation.  Have a customer that deployed their environment using 4 x 10GbE connection as 4 separate uplinks versus creating a port-channel with the 4 interfaces.  Is it possible to non-disruptively configure them in a port-channel on the subordinate FI and switch side, then verify the port-channel is up, failover, and repeat the process?

[Flavio Miranda]

If spanning-tree is envolved and probably is, then there will be network flap. Spanning tree will see change on the links and will recalculate the path. 

[RedNectar · Accepted solution]

@Flavio Miranda ,

The northbound Meraki switches should see the FIs as STP Edge ports - or at least should be configured to do so, which means Spanning Tree should not be a factor.

@smorgan_byte "Disabling Spanning Tree" sounds dramatic. Configuring the Meraki ports as STP Edge ports would be the ideal situation, but I don't think Meraki switches are that smart - but I believe you can selectively disable STP on the four ports connecting to each FI without disabling Spanning Tree completely for the switch.

I presume the topology looks like this:

If it looks like this

Then you will have to configure VPCs on the Meraki switches - and I'm not sure they support VPC (In fact, I suspect they don't)

IF your cabling is as per the 2nd figure, 

AND you can't configure VPC on Meraki

THEN - leave them as they are - individual uplinks

I hope this helps.

---

Don't forget to mark answers as correct if it solves your problem. This helps others find the correct answer if they search for the same problem.

---

[smorgan_byte]

Wow RedNectar!  I am honored, follow a lot of your postings.  Thank you for the answers.  It is as picture 2 and it does appear we can do LACP on the Meraki, we will test on the sub, if no dice on the LACP building, we can stick with the 4 links and just turn off RSTP on the uplinks.

I greatly appreciate your help!

[RedNectar]

IF you CAN'T do VPCs on the Meraki, then having unbundled uplinks as per

is not that bad anyway.

It's all about balancing traffic. 

If no VPCs are configured, then each FI will balance traffic by pinning server MAC addresses to one of the four uplinks, so a pretty even distribution will occur anyway for northbound traffic.

Similarly, IF VPCs can be configured on the Meraki, and PCs configured on the FIs, each FI will now balance traffic over the four links using LACP logic rather than MAC pinning - generally not a big deal or big difference to the northbound traffic.

The advantage of being able to configure a VPC on the Northern (Meraki) switches is that traffic coming back to a server whose MAC lives on FI-B (on the right) can hit either northern Meraki switch and that switch will have a direct link back to that MAC because the Marakis will share the MAC address table for the VPCs

[smorgan_byte]

Per Cisco TAC, we are going to disable RSTP on the upstream Meraki before hand on the 4 individual links and make sure that RSTP is disabled on the newly created LACP on the Meraki side.

[smorgan_byte]

Just wanted to update the thread.  Indeed we were able to do this without downtime.