Fabric Path TRILL

FabricPath Technology and Design
BRKDCT-2081
Agenda
FabricPath Introduction FabricPath Technical Overview FabricPath and TRILL FabricPath Use Case and Designs FabricPath Monitoring and Troubleshooting Summary
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2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
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FabricPath Introduction
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Eternal Debates on Network Design

Layer 2 or Layer 3?
Layer 3 Network
L3
Both Layer 2 and Layer 3 are required for any network design
Subnet provide fault isolation Scalable control planes with inherent provision of multi-pathing and multi-topology HA with fast convergence Additional loop-mitigation mechanism in the data plane (e.g. TTL, RPF check, etc.)
Core
Layer 3? Layer 2?
Cisco has solutions for both Layer 2 and Layer 3 to satisfy Customers requirements
Access
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VLAN VLAN VLAN VLAN
VLAN VLAN VLAN VLAN
Simplicity (no planning/configuration required for either addressing or control plane) Single control plane protocol for unicast, broadcast, and multicast Easy application development
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L2
L2 Network Requirements inside DC

Maximize Bi-Sectional Bandwidth Scalable Layer 2 domain High Availability
Resilient control-plane Fast convergence upon failure Fault-domain isolation
Facilitate Application Deployment

Workload mobility, Clustering, etc.
Multi-Pathing/Multi-Topology
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L2 Provides Flexibility in the Data Center

Layer 2 required by data center applications Layer 2 is plug and play Layer 2 is Layer 3 agnostic With Layer 2:
Server mobility does not require interaction between Network/ Server teams Theoretically, no physical constraint on server location
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L2 Requires a Tree
11 Physical Links
Branches of trees never interconnect (no loop)
5 Logical Links
S2
S1
S3
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) typically used to build this tree Tree topology implies:
Wasted bandwidth increased oversubscription Sub-optimal paths Conservative convergence (timer-based) failure catastrophic (fails open)
BRKDCT-2081 2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Public
Virtual Port Channel (vPC)

Simple Building Block Introduces some changes to the data plane Provides active/active redundancy Does not rely on STP (STP kept as safeguard) Limited to pair of switches (enough for most cases)
VPC domain
Blocked port (STP)

Redundancy handled by STP
Data plane based loop prevention

Redundancy handled by vPC
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MAC Address Scaling & L2 Bridging

MAC addresses encode no location or network hierarchy Default forwarding behavior in bridged network is flood MAC filtering database limits scope of flooding Ultimately, does not scale every switch learns every MAC
MAC Table A
MAC Table A
Layer 2 Domain
MAC Table A MAC Table A MAC Table A MAC Table A
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Network Addressing Scheme

MAC v.s. IP
Network Address 10.0.0.0/24
0011.1111.1111
Non-hierarchical Address
0011.1111.1111 0011.1111.1111 0011.1111.1111 10.0.0.0/24
10.0.0.10 /24
Host Address 10.0.0.10
10.0.0.0/16 20.0.0.0/16 20.0.0.0/24
0011.1111.1111
0011.1111.1111
10.0.0.10
20.0.0.20
L2 Forwarding (Bridging)
Data-plane learning Flat address space and forwarding table (MAC everywhere!!!) Flooding required for unknown unicast destination Destination MACs need to be known for all switches in the same network to avoid flooding
BRKDCT-2081 2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
L3 Forwarding (Routing)
Control-plane learning Hierarchical address space and forwarding Only forwarding to destination addresses with matching routes in the table Flooding is isolated within subnets No dependence on data-plane for maintaining forwarding table
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The Next Era of Layer 2 Network

What Can Be Improved? Network Address Scheme: Flat Hierarchical
Additional header is required to allow L2 Routing instead of Bridging Provide additional loop-prevention mechanism like TTL
Address Learning: Data Plane Control Plane

Eliminate the needs to program all MACs on every switches to avoid flooding
Control Plane: Distance-Vector Link-State

Improve scalability, minimize convergence time, and allow multipathing inherently
The ultimate solution needs to take both control and data plane into consideration this time!!!
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Introducing Cisco FabricPath

An NX-OS Innovation for Layer 2 Networks
licity
Layer 2 strengths
Simple configuration Flexible provisioning Low cost
Resilience
Flex ib
p Sim
Fabric Path
Layer 3 strengths
Leverage bandwidth Fast convergence Highly scalable
ility
Simplicity
Flexibility
Bandwidth
Availability
Cost
"The FabricPath capability within Cisco's NX-OS offers dramatic increases in network scalability and resiliency for our service delivery data center. FabricPath extends the benefits of the Nexus 7000 in our network, allowing us to leverage a common platform, simplify operations, and reduce operational costs. Mr. Klaus Schmid, Head of DC Network & Operating, T-Systems International GmbH its affiliates. All rights reserved. BRKDCT-2081 2010 Cisco and/or Cisco Public
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FabricPath: an Ethernet Fabric

Enabling Network Fabrics
FabricPath
Connect a group of switches using an arbitrary topology With a simple CLI, aggregate them into a Fabric:
N7K(config)# interface ethernet 1/1 N7K(config-if)# switchport mode fabricpath
An open protocol based on L3 technology provides Fabricwide intelligence and ties the elements together
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What is a Fabric?
Externally, a Fabric looks like a single switch Internally, a protocol adds Fabric-wide intelligence and ties the elements together. This protocol provides in a plug-and-play fashion:
Optimal, low latency connectivity any to any High bandwidth, high resiliency Open management and troubleshooting
Cisco FabricPath provides additional capabilities in term of scalability and L3 integration
FabricPath
FabricPath
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FabricPath Simplicity from the Outside

Multi-Domain Silos FabricPath Any App, Anywhere!
Fabric
Benefits server team by providing a network Fabric that looks like a single switch Breaks down silos, permits workload mobility, provides maximum flexibility Lowers OPEX by simplifying server team operation Reduces dependency on/ interaction with network team
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FabricPath Simplicty from the Inside

Benefits network team by: Reducing number of switches
Higher port density Lower oversubscription
Isolating network from the users

No impact due to topology changes Fabric can be upgraded/reconfigured live
Utilizing an open protocol

Unicast, multicast, broadcast, VLAN pruning all controlled by single control protocol Maintenance and troubleshooting equivalent to L3 network Easy to extend, providing standards-compliance with Cisco value-add
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Cisco FabricPath Overview
Data Plane Innovation

FabricPath encapsulation Conversation Learning Routing, not bridging Built-in loop-mitigation Time-to-Live (TTL) RPF Check
Control Plane Innovation

Plug-n-Play Layer 2 IS-IS Support unicast and multicast Fast, efficient, and scalable Equal Cost Multipathing (ECMP) VLAN and Multicast Pruning
Cisco NX-OS Cisco Nexus Platform

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FabricPath versus Classic Ethernet Interfaces

Classic Ethernet (CE) Interface Interfaces connected to existing NICs and traditional network devices Send/receive traffic in 802.3 Ethernet frame format Participate in STP domain Forwarding based on MAC table
Ethernet Ethernet
FabricPath interface CE interface
FabricPath Header
FabricPath Interface Interfaces connected to another FabricPath device Send/receive traffic with FabricPath header No spanning tree!!! No MAC learning Exchange topology info through L2 ISIS adjacency Forwarding based on Switch ID Table
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FabricPath IS-IS
FabricPath IS-IS replaces STP as control-plane protocol in FabricPath network Introduces link-state protocol with support for ECMP for Layer 2 forwarding Exchanges reachability of Switch IDs and builds forwarding trees
STP BPDU STP BPDU
Improves failure detection, network reconvergence, and high availability Minimal IS-IS knowledge required no user configuration by default
Maintains plug-and-play nature of Layer 2
FabricPath IS-IS
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Why IS-IS?
A few key reasons: Has no IP dependency no need for IP reachability in order to form adjacency between devices Easily extensible Using custom TLVs, IS-IS devices can exchange information about virtually anything
FabricPath Port CE Port
Provides SPF routing Excellent topology building and reconvergence characteristics

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Basic FabricPath Data Plane Operation

Encapsulation to creates hierarchical address scheme
DSID20 SSID10 DMACB SMACA DSID20 SSID10 DMACB SMACA Payload
FabricPath interface CE interface
S10
Ingress FabricPath Switch
Payload
S20
Egress FabricPath Switch
Payload
DMACB SMACA Payload
SMACA DMACB
DMACB SMACA Payload
Payload SMACA DMACB
MAC A
MAC B
Ingress FabricPath switch determines destination Switch ID and imposes FabricPath header Destination Switch ID used to make routing decisions through FabricPath core No MAC learning or lookups required inside core Egress FabricPath switch removes FabricPath header and forwards to CE
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FabricPath Encapsulation
16-Byte MAC-in-MAC Header
Classical Ethernet Frame
DMAC
SMAC
802.1Q
Etype
Payload
CRC
Original CE Frame
Cisco FabricPath Frame

6 bits Endnode ID (5:0) 1
U/L
Outer DA (48)
Outer SA (48)
FP Tag (32)
DMAC
SMAC
802.1Q
Etype
Payload
CRC (new)
1
I/G
2 bits Endnode ID (7:6)
1
RSVD
1
OOO/DL
12 bits Switch ID
8 bits Sub Switch ID
16 bits Port ID
16 bits Etype
10 bits Ftag
6 bits TTL
Switch ID Unique number identifying each FabricPath switch Sub-Switch ID Identifies devices/hosts connected via VPC+ Port ID Identifies the destination or source interface Ftag (Forwarding tag) Unique number identifying topology and/or multidestination distribution tree TTL Decremented at each switch hop to prevent frames looping infinitely
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FabricPath MAC Table

Edge switches maintain both MAC address table and Switch ID table Ingress switch uses MAC table to determine destination Switch ID Egress switch uses MAC table (optionally) to determine output switchport
S10 S20 S30 S40
FabricPath MAC Table on S100

MAC IF/SID e1/1 e1/2 S101 S200
Local MACs point to switchports Remote MACs point to Switch IDs
A B C D
S100
S101
S200
MAC A
MAC B
MAC C
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show mac address-table dynamic

S100# sh mac address-table dynamic Legend: * - primary entry, G - Gateway MAC, (R) - Routed MAC, O - Overlay MAC age - seconds since last seen,+ - primary entry using vPC Peer-Link VLAN MAC Address Type age Secure NTFY Ports/SWID.SSID.LID ---------+-----------------+--------+---------+------+----+-----------------* 10 0000.0000.0001 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.0002 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.0003 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.0004 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.0005 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.0006 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.0007 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.0008 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.0009 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.000a dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 10 0000.0000.000b dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.000c dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.000d dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.000e dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.000f dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.0010 dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.0011 dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.0012 dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.0013 dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.0014 dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 S100#
S100 S200
S10
S20
S30
S40
po1 po2 po3 po4
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FabricPath Control Plane Operation

Plug-n-Play L2 IS-IS manages forwarding topology
FabricPath IS-IS manages Switch ID (routing) table All FabricPath-enabled switches automatically assigned Switch ID (no user configuration required) Algorithm computes shortest (best) paths to each Switch ID based on link metrics Equal-cost paths supported between FabricPath switches
S10 S20 S30 S40
FabricPath Routing Table on S100

One best path to S10 (via L1)
Switch S10 S20 S30 S40 IF L1 L2 L3 L4 L1, L2, L3, L4 L1, L2, L3, L4 L1 L2 L3 L4
Four equal-cost paths to S101
S101 S200
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S101
S200
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Building the FabricPath Routing Table

Switch S20 S30 S40 S100 S101 S200 IF L1,L5,L9 L1,L5,L9 L1,L5,L9 L1 L5 L9 L5 L1 L2 L3 L6 L4 L7 L9 L8 L10 L11 L12 Switch S10 S20 IF L4,L8,L12 L4,L8,L12 L4,L8,L12 L4 L8 L12
S10
S20
S30
S40
S30 S100 S101 S200
S100
Switch S10 S20 S30 S40 S101 S200 IF L1 L2 L3 L4 L1, L2, L3, L4
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S101
S200
Switch S10 S20 S30 IF L9 L10 L11 L12 L9, L10, L11, L12 L9, L10, L11, L12
MAC A
MAC B
MAC C
MAC D
S40 S100 S101
L1, L2, L3, L4
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show fabricpath route

S100# sh fabricpath route FabricPath Unicast Route Table 'a/b/c' denotes ftag/switch-id/subswitch-id '[x/y]' denotes [admin distance/metric] ftag 0 is local ftag subswitch-id 0 is default subswitch-id FabricPath Unicast Route Table for Topology-Default 0/100/0, number of next-hops: 0 via ---- , [60/0], 5 day/s 1/10/0, number of next-hops: 1 via Po1, [115/10], 0 day/s 1/20/0, number of next-hops: 1 via Po2, [115/10], 0 day/s 1/30/0, number of next-hops: 1 via Po3, [115/10], 2 day/s 1/40/0, number of next-hops: 1 via Po4, [115/10], 2 day/s 1/200/0, number of next-hops: 4 via Po1, [115/20], 0 day/s via Po2, [115/20], 0 day/s via Po3, [115/20], 2 day/s via Po4, [115/20], 2 day/s S100# 18:38:46, local 04:15:58, isis_l2mp-default 04:16:05, isis_l2mp-default 08:49:51, isis_l2mp-default 08:47:56, isis_l2mp-default 04:15:58, 04:15:58, 08:49:51, 08:47:56, isis_l2mp-default isis_l2mp-default isis_l2mp-default isis_l2mp-default
S10
S20
S30
S40
po1 po2 po3 po4
S100
S200
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FabricPath ECMP
When multiple forwarding paths available, path selection based on ECMP hash function Up to 16 next-hop interfaces for each destination Switch ID Number of next-hops installed controlled by maximum-paths command under FabricPath IS-IS process (default is 16) Path selection based on hash function
S1
S100
S16
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Multiple Topologies
L2 L5 Topology 0 Topology 1 Topology 2 L9 L1 L6 L3 L7 L10 L4 L8 L11 L12
Topology: A group of links in the Fabric. By default, all the links are part of topology 0. Other topologies can be created by assigning a subset of the links to them. A link can belong to several topologies A VLAN is mapped to a unique topology Topologies can be used for traffic engineering, security etc
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Conversational MAC Learning

MAC learning method designed to conserve MAC table entries on FabricPath edge switches
FabricPath core switches do not learn MACs at all
Each forwarding engine distinguishes between two types of MAC entry:

Local MAC MAC of host directly connected to forwarding engine Remote MAC MAC of host connected to another forwarding engine or switch
Forwarding engine learns remote MAC only if bidirectional conversation occurring between local and remote MAC
MAC learning not triggered by flood frames
Conversational learning enabled in all FabricPath VLANs
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MAC B C IF/SID S200 (remote) e7/10 (local)
S300

MAC A B IF/SID e1/1 (local) S200 (remote)
S100
MAC C

MAC IF/SID S100 (remote) e12/1(local) S300 (remote)
S200 MAC A
A B C
MAC B
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250 MACs 500 MACs 250 MACs 500 MACs
Optimize Resource Utilization Learning only the MAC addresses required

MAC IF
MAC B
IF 2/1
STP Domain
500 MACs 250 MACs 500 MACs 250 MACs
S11
MAC C A IF 3/1 S11
ALL MACs needs to be learn on EVERY Switch Large L2 domain and virtualization present challenges to MAC Table scalability
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Local MAC: Source-MAC Learning only happen to traffic received on CE Ports Remote MAC: Source-MAC for traffic received on FabricPath Ports are only learned if Destination-MAC is already known as Local
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FabricPath Tree
Used for forwarding L2 multi-destination traffic (Unknown Unicast, Broadcast, and Multicast) inside the L2 Fabric
S101
Tree # 1
IF L1, L101
S100
S105
Tree topology is required to forward multi-destination traffic properly

One Ingress Switch Many Egress Switches
S200
S1
Root for Tree #1
S2
S16
L101 L1 S100 L2 L16
L102 L116
S200
Same method is also used by L3 (e.g. PIM Source Tree/Shared Tree) One or more Root devices are first elected for the L2 Fabric A Tree spanning from each Root is then formed and a network-wide unique ID is assigned to it Support for multiple Trees allows Cisco FabricPath to support multipathing even for multi-destination traffic Ingress Switch determines the Tree for each traffic flow
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FabricPath Multidestination Trees

S10 Root for Tree 1 S20 S30 S40 Root for Tree 2
Multidestination traffic constrained to loop-free trees touching all FabricPath switches Root switch assigned for each multidestination tree in FabricPath domain Loop-free tree built from each Root and assigned a network-wide identifier (Ftag) Support for multiple multidestination trees provides multipathing for multi-destination traffic
Two trees supported in NX-OS release 5.1
S100
S101
S200
S100
S20
S100
S10
S10
S101
S30
S40
S101
S20
Root
S200
S40
Root
S200
S30
Logical Tree 1
Logical Tree 2
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Multidestination Trees and Role of the Ingress FabricPath Switch

Ingress FabricPath switch determines which tree to use for each flow
Other FabricPath switches forward based on tree selected by ingress switch
S10 Root for Tree 1 S20 S30 S40 Root for Tree 2
Broadcast and unknown unicast typically use first tree Hash-based tree selection for multicast, with several configurable hash options
Multidestination Trees on Switch 100
Tree 1 2 IF L1,L2,L3,L4 L4 L5 L1 L2 L3 L6 L4 L7 L9 L8 L10 L11 L12
S100
S101
S200
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Putting It All Together Host A to Host B

(1) Broadcast ARP Request
Tree IF L1,L5,L9 L9 DSIDFF Ftag1 SSID100 DMACFF SMACA L5 L1 L2 L3 L6 L4 L7 L9 L8 L10 L11 L12 DSIDFF Ftag1 SSID100 DMACFF SMACA Payload
S10
Root for Tree 1
S20
S30
S40
Root for Tree 2
Ftag
1 2

Tree IF L1,L2,L3,L4 L4
Payload
Broadcast
1 2
S100
S101
S200

DMACFF SMACA Payload Tree IF L9 L9,L10,L11,L12 Payload SMACA DMACFF

MAC A IF/SID e1/1 (local)
Ftag
MAC A
1 2
MAC B

MAC IF/SID
Learn MACs of directly-connected devices unconditionally

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Dont learn MACs in flood frames
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(2) Unicast ARP Reply
Tree IF L1,L5,L9 L9 DSIDMC1 Ftag1 SSID200 L5 L1 L2 L3 L6 L4 L7 L9 L8 L10 L11 L12 DSIDMC1 Ftag1 SSID200 DMACA SMACB Payload
S10
S20
S30
S40
Ftag
1 2

Tree IF L1,L2,L3,L4 L4
DMACA SMACB Payload
Ftag
1 2
S100
S101
S200

Payload SMACB DMACA Tree IF L9 L9,L10,L11,L12 DMACA SMACB Payload

MAC IF/SID e1/1 (local) S200 (remote)
Unknown
MAC A
1 2
A B
MAC B

MAC IF/SID
If DMAC is known, then learn remote MAC

A
B e12/2 (local)
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(3) Unicast Data
Switch IF L11 DSID200 Ftag1 SSID100 L5 L1 L2 L3 L6 L4 L7 L9 L8 L10 L11 L12 DSID200 Ftag1 SSID100 DMACB SMACA
S10
S20
S30
S40
S200
S200

Switch S10 S20 S30 S40 S101 IF L1 L2 L3 L4 L1, L2, L3, L4 L1, L2, L3, L4
DMACB SMACA Payload
Hash S100 S101
Payload
S200

DMACB SMACA Payload Switch IF Payload SMACA DMACB
S200
S200
MAC A
S200
S200
MAC B

MAC A IF/SID e1/1 (local) S200 (remote)

MAC A IF/SID S100 (remote) e12/2 (local)
B
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Loop Mitigation with FabricPath

Minimize impact of transient loop with TTL and RPF Check
Root
S1 S2
TTL=1
Root
TTL=2
S10
TTL=0 TTL=3
Block redundant paths to ensure loop-free topology Frames loop indefinitely if STP failed Could results in complete network melt-down as the result of flooding
TTL is part of FabricPath header Decrement by 1 at each hop Frames are discarded when TTL=0 RPF check for multicast based on tree info
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VLAN Pruning in L2 Fabric

VL10 VL30
Shared Broadcast Tree
Switches indicate locally interested VLANs to the rest of the L2 Fabric Broadcast traffic for any VLAN only sent to switches that have requested for it
VL20
VLAN 10
VL10 VL20 VL30
VLAN 20
VLAN 30
L2 Fabric
L2 Fabric
L2 Fabric
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STP Interaction
FabricPath (L2 IS-IS)
Classical Ethernet (STP)
STP Domain 1
STP Domain 2
L2 Fabric is presented as a single bridge to all connected CE devices L2 Fabric should be the root for all connected STP domains. CE ports will be put into blocking state when better BPDU is received (rootguard) No BPDUs are forwarded across the fabric (terminated on CE ports)
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vPC Enhancement for FabricPath

MAC Table A ??? B MAC Table A S4 B
S3
S3
L2 Fabric
S3 S1 B A Payload S3 S2 B A Payload S3 S4 B A
L2 Fabric
Payload S3 S4 B A Payload
vPC
B
S1
S2
MAC Table B S3
vPC+
S1
S2
MAC Table B S3
Payload A B A Payload A
S4
For Switches at L2 Fabric Edge vPC is still required to provide active/active L2 paths for dualhomed CE devices or clouds However, MAC Table only allows 1-to-1 mapping between MAC and Switch ID
Each vPC domain is represented by an unique Virtual Switch to the rest of L2 Fabric Switch ID for such Virtual Switch is then used as Source in FabricPath encapsulation
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Connect L3 or Services to L2 Fabric

Layer 3 Network Layer 3 Network
L3 L2
FHRP Active
L3
Multi-pathing
FHRP
FHRP Active
VMAC
VMAC
FHRP
VMAC
L2 Fabric
L2 Fabric
FabricPath enables multipathing for bridged traffic However, FHRP allows only 1 active gateway for each host, therefore prevent traffic that needs to be routed to take advantage of multi-pathing
Provide active/active data-plane for FabricPath with no change to existing FHRP Allow multi-pathing even for routed traffic Same feature can be leveraged by service nodes as well
Multi-pathing
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L2
vPC+
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S3
FabricPath
L2
VPC+
S1
L1
F1 F1 F1
VPC+ F1
F1 S2
CE
VPC+ allows dual-homed connections from edge ports into FabricPath domain with active/active forwarding
CE switch, Layer 3 router, dualhomed server, etc.
F1
po3
Physical
Host A
VPC+ requires F1 modules with FabricPath enabled in the VDC

Peer-link and all VPC+ connections must be to F1 ports Logical
F1 S1 F1 F1 S3
L1 L2
Host AS4L1,L2
F1 F1 F1 S2
VPC+ creates virtual FabricPath switch for each VPC+-attached device to allow load-balancing within FabricPath domain
VPC+
Virtual Switch 4 becomes next-hop for Host A in FabricPath domain
S4
po3
Host A
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VPC+ Physical Topology

Peer link and PKA required Peer link runs as FabricPath core port VPCs configured as normal VLANs must be FabricPath VLANs
S10 S20 S30 S40
No requirements for attached devices other than channel support
S100
S200
MAC A
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MAC B
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VPC+ Logical Topology
S10
S20
S30
S40
Virtual switch introduced
S1000
S100
S200
MAC A
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MAC B
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Remote MAC Entries for VPC+

S200# sh mac address-table dynamic Legend: * - primary entry, G - Gateway MAC, (R) - Routed MAC, O - Overlay MAC age - seconds since last seen,+ - primary entry using vPC Peer-Link VLAN MAC Address Type age Secure NTFY Ports/SWID.SSID.LID ---------+-----------------+--------+---------+------+----+-----------------* 10 0000.0000.000c dynamic 1500 F F Eth1/30 10 0000.0000.000a dynamic 1500 F F 1000.11.4513 S200#
S10
S20
S30
S40
S1000
po1 po2
S100
S200
1/30
MAC A
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MAC B
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MAC C
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FabricPath Routing for VPC+

S200# sh fabricpath route topology 0 switchid 1000 FabricPath Unicast Route Table 'a/b/c' denotes ftag/switch-id/subswitch-id '[x/y]' denotes [admin distance/metric] ftag 0 is local ftag subswitch-id 0 is default subswitch-id FabricPath Unicast Route Table for Topology-Default 1/1000/0, number of next-hops: 2 via Po1, [115/10], 0 day/s 01:09:56, isis_l2mp-default via Po2, [115/10], 0 day/s 01:09:56, isis_l2mp-default S200#
S10
S20
S30
S40
S1000
po1 po2
S100
S200
1/30
MAC A
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MAC B
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MAC C
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VPC+ and Active/Active HSRP

With VPC+ and SVIs in mixed-chassis, HSRP Hellos sent with VPC+ virtual switch ID FabricPath edge switches learn HSRP MAC as reached through virtual switch Traffic destined to HSRP MAC can leverage ECMP if available Either VPC+ peer can route traffic destined to HSRP MAC
HSRP Active
DSIDMC SSID1000 DMAC0002 SMACHSRP Payload S1000
po1 po2
HSRP Standby
SVI
S10 S20
SVI
S30 S40
S100
S200
1/30
MAC A
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MAC B
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MAC C
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HSRP MAC on Edge Switches

HSRP Active HSRP Standby
SVI
S10 S20
SVI
S30 S40
S1000
po1 po2
S100
S200
MAC A
MAC B
MAC C
S200# sh mac address-table dynamic address 0000.0c07.ac0a Legend: * - primary entry, G - Gateway MAC, (R) - Routed MAC, O - Overlay MAC age - seconds since last seen,+ - primary entry using vPC Peer-Link VLAN MAC Address Type age Secure NTFY Ports/SWID.SSID.LID ---------+-----------------+--------+---------+------+----+-----------------10 0000.0c07.ac0a dynamic 0 F F 1000.0.1054 S200#
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Edge Devices Integration

Hosts can leverage multiple L3 default gateways
L3
dg dg
FabricPath
s3 A
Hosts see a single default gateway The fabric provide them transparently with multiple simultaneously active default gateways dg Allows extending the multipathing from the inside to the fabric to the L3 domain outside the fabric
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Layer 3 Integration
SVIs anywhere
L3
FabricPath
L3
The fabric provides seamless L3 integration An arbitrary number of routed interfaces can be created at the edge or within the fabric Attached L3 devices can peer with those interfaces The hardware is capable of handling million of routes
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Integrating L3 with Fabric Path

Alternatives for N-Way Layer 3 Egress Various alternatives exist, depending on FHRP preference and location of L2/L3 boundary FHRP options: HSRP/VRRP, GLBP L2/L3 boundary: internal or external routers
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Alternatives for N-Way Layer 3 Egress

VLAN Splitting with Active/Active HSRP in VPC+
Leverages benefit of VPC+ active/active HSRP Each router still has interface in all VLANs but not running HSRP Does require PL/PKA, and mixed chassis FabricPath CE
L3
Active/Active HSRP for VLANs X GWY MAC X
HSRP
HSRP
VPC+ S2
VPC+ S3
Active/Active HSRP for VLANs Y GWY MAC Y
S1
S4
L1
L2
L3 L4
VLANs x: GWY MAC XL1, L2 VLANs y: GWY MAC YL3, L4

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GLBP with FabricPath (Internal Routers)
Single virtual IP, multiple virtual MACs (up to 4) Load sharing toward exit points based on which MAC each server learns through ARP CE FabricPath
L3
GLBP
SVI
GWY IP X GWY MAC A
SVI
GWY IP X GWY MAC B
SVI
GWY IP X GWY MAC C
SVI
GWY IP X GWY MAC D
S1
S2
S3
S4
GWY MAC AL1 GWY MAC BL2 GWY MAC CL3 GWY MAC DL4
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GLBP with FabricPath (External Routers)
provides more FabricPath port density
FabricPath CE
L3
GWY IP X GWY MAC A
GLBP
GWY IP X GWY MAC B
GWY IP X GWY MAC C
GWY IP X GWY MAC D
S1
S2
S3
S4
L1
L2
L3 L4
GWY MAC AL1 GWY MAC BL2 GWY MAC CL3 GWY MAC DL4
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MHSRP with FabricPath
More complex configuration, DHCP changes But, can scale beyond four active forwarders FabricPath CE
L3
GWY IP W (a)
GWY IP Z (s)
GWY IP X (a)
GWY IP W (s)
GWY IP Y (a)
GWY IP X (s)
GWY IP Z (a)
GWY IP Y (s)
GWY MAC W
GWY MAC X
HSRP
GWY MAC Y
GWY MAC Z
S1
S2
S3
S4
For VLAN n: GWY MAC WL1 GWY MAC XL2 GWY MAC YL3 GWY MAC ZL4
L1
L2
L3 L4
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VLAN Splitting with HSRP
Splitting by VLAN (avoids DHCP challenge of MHSRP) Each router still has interface in all VLANs but not HSRP (or HSRP in Listen mode) Active VLANs W
Standby VLANs Z
FabricPath CE
L3
Active VLANs Y
Standby VLANs X
Active VLANs X
Standby VLANs W
Active VLANs Z
Standby VLANs Y
GWY MAC W
GWY MAC X
GWY MAC Y
GWY MAC Z
HSRP
S1
S2
S3
S4
L1
L2
L3 L4
VLANs w: GWY MAC WL1 VLANs x: GWY MAC XL2 VLANs y: GWY MAC YL3 VLANs z: GWY MAC ZL4
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FabricPath Configuration
No L2 IS-IS configuration required New feature-set keyword allows multiple conditional services required by FabricPath (e.g. L2 IS-IS, LLDP, etc.) to be enabled in one shot Simplified operational model only 3 CLIs to get FabricPath up and running
N7K(config)# feature-set fabricpath N7K(config)# vlan 10-19 N7K(config-vlan)# mode fabricpath N7K(config)# interface port-channel 1 N7K(config-if)# switchport mode fabricpath
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FabricPath comparison
Transparent Bridging
Control Protocol Default forwarding behavior Data plane loop protection Frames/packets forwarded along the shortest path Multiple paths between nodes Transparent to IP and other L3 protocols Configuration less addressing
vPC Spanning Tree Flood None Yes

(limited topologies)
FabricPath IS-IS Drop RPFC, TTL Yes Yes, ECMP Yes Yes
IP Routing IS-IS/ EIGRP/ OSPF etc Drop RPFC, TTL Yes Yes, ECMP No No
Spanning Tree Flood None No No Yes Yes
Yes
(limited topologies)
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Cisco FabricPath Feature Set

Value-Add Enhancements
16-Way Equal Cost Multipathing (ECMP) at Layer 2 FabricPath Header
Hierarchical Addressing with built in loop mitigation (RPF,TTL)

Efficient use of hardware resource by learning only MACs for interested hosts
Up to 16-Way L2 ECMP
Interoperability with existing classic Ethernet networks

VPC + allows VPC into a L2 Fabric STP Boundary Termination
Up to 16Way L2 ECMP
Multi-Topology providing traffic engineering capabilities
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TRILL Standardizing Multi-pathing

IETF RFC 5556 defines Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) TRILL is a standards based implementation of Layer 2 Multi-pathing Lot of similarities between Ciscos current implementation and TRILL
TRILL HW Frame format finalized Final control plane (SW implementation) to be standardized by end of the year
IETF standard for Layer 2 multipathing Driven by multiple vendors, including Cisco Base protocol RFC ready for standardization but waiting on dependent standards Control-plane protocol RFCs still in process Target for standard completion is early CY2011 http://datatracker.ietf.org/wg/trill/
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What Is the Relationship between FabricPath and TRILL?

a set of Layer 2 multipathing technologies FabricPath initial release runs in a Native mode that is Cisco-specific, using proprietary encapsulation and control-plane elements Nexus 7000 F1 I/O modules and Nexus 5500 HW are capable of running both FabricPath and TRILL modes
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FabricPath & TRILL Feature Summary

FS-link is a superset of TRILL
L2MP
Frame routing
(ECMP, TTL, RPFC etc)
TRILL
Yes No No No No Point-to-point OR shared
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Point-to-point only
vPC+ FHRP active/active Multiple topologies Conversational learning Inter-switch links
Base protocol specification is now a proposed IETF standard (March 2010) Control plane specification will become a proposed standard within months
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FabricPath Design Guidance

Industry has converged on a handful of wellunderstood designs/network topologies
Largely driven by constraints of STP, and density limits of switches
Designs will necessarily evolve

Not only what can/cannot be built today versus in future, but how people think about L2 designs in general
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Scaling Bandwidth with FabricPath

Example: 2,048 X 10GE Server Design
16X
improvement in bandwidth performance 74 managed devices to 12 devices IT operations

FabricPath Based Network
From 2X+
increase in network availability
Simplified
Traditional Spanning Tree Based Network

Blocked Links
Fully Non-Blocking
Oversubscription 16:1
2:1
Network Fabric
4 Pods 8 Access Switches 2, 048 Servers
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8:1
64 Access Switches
2, 048 Servers
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Use Case: High Performance Compute

Building Large Scalable Compute Clusters
Spine Switch
16 Chassis
8,192 10GE ports 512 10GE FabricPath ports per system

16-port Etherchannel 16-way ECMP
Edge Switch
32 Chassis
256 10GE FabricPath Ports Open I/O Slots for connectivity
160 Tbps System Bandwidth
HPC Requirements HPC Clusters require highdensity of compute nodes Minimal over-subscription Low server to server latency
FabricPath Benefits for HPC FabricPath enables building a highdensity fat-tree network Fully non-blocking with FabricPath ECMP & port-channels Minimize switch hops to reduce server to server latencies
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Workload Flexibility with FabricPath

Example: Removing Data Center Silos
Single
domain agility
Responsive
Pooled compute resources

Increased
Virtualized Applications move within minutes vs. days

Capex
Seamless data center wide workload mobility

Multi-Domain Silod
and Opex savings
Maximize resource utilization, simplify IT operations

Single Domain Any App, Any where!
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Use Case: L2 Internet Exchange Point

IXP Requirements
Provider A Provider B
Layer 2 Peering enables multiple providers to peer their internet routers with one another 10GE non-blocking fabric Scale to thousands of ports FabricPath Benefits for IXP Transparent Layer 2 fabric , No STP at core, simple to manage Scalable to thousands of ports Bandwidth not limited by chassis / portchannel limitations N+1 redundancy in distribution Large bisectional bandwidth at distribution
Provider C
Provider D
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Classical POD with FabricPath

FabricPath vs. vPC/STP
Simple configuration (no peer link, no pair of switches, no port channels)
L3
L3 Core
Total flexibility in design and cabling Seamless L3 integration No STP, no traditional bridging (no topology changes, no sync to worry about, no risk of loops) Scale mac address tables with conversational learning Unlimited bandwidth, even if hosts are single attached
FabricPath POD
vPC POD
Can extend easily and without operational impact
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FabricPath Core
Efficient POD Interconnect
L3
L2+L3 FabricPath Core
FabricPath in the Core VLANs can terminate at the distribution or extend between PODs. STP is not extended between PODs, remote PODs or even remote data centers can be aggregated.
vPC+ POD
vPC+ POD
Bandwidth or scale can be introduced in a non-disruptive way
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Combining FabricPath PODs and Core

Allows Tier Consolidation
L3 L3 1
L2+L3 FabricPath
1
FabricPath
2 2 3 3
L3
FabricPath
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FabricPath at the Edge
A B C
1/10G connectivity to Nexus 7000 1/10G connectivity to Fabric Extender attached to Nexus 7000 1/10G connectivity to Nexus 5500 1/10G connectivity to Fabric Extender attached to Nexus 5500
D A B C D E
E
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Migration of Existing Designs

Emphasis on preserving existing topologies without major disruption Evolution rather than revolution in existing DC network Assumes DC isnt pure Nexus Phases:
Integrate Nexus 7000 with F1 modules into existing Aggregation Migrate to VPC+ Migrate Access devices to FabricPath Interconnect FabricPath Pods Pod scale-out
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Migration Phases
Simple Integration of Classical Ethernet
FabricPath
vPC+
7K access
Cairo
CE access 7K or 5K access + FEX

Cairo (maint) End CY2010 Radar
Only the core of the network needs to be running L2MP

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Fabric Module Integration

Adding F1 modules to agg (either as part of Catalyst 6500 to Nexus 7000 migration or adding F1 cards into agg that already has M1 modules) Uplinks are on M1 modules (L3 links to core) Downlinks on F1 modules (L2 agg to access) Uses standard VPC with peer link in CE mode, providing active/active HSRP forwarding at agg layer Access could be anything 7k, 6k, 5k, 5k+FEX, or any other box Motivations: minimize STP, use high-density, low-cost F1 modules at aggregation layer Understand East-West capacity requirements (160G proxy L3 per agg switch in 5.1) North-South bandwidth already limited by uplink capacity
L3
Uplinks on M1 modules Active/Active HSRP for VLANs 100-199
Active/Active HSRP for VLANs 200-299
L3 Active/Active HSRP for VLANs 300-399 VPC Peer link runs in CE mode CE VPC VPC
Downlinks on F1 modules
160G proxy L3 per switch
Pod 1 VLANs 100-199

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Pod 3 VLANs 300-399

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VPC+ in Localized Pods

Only change here is migration from VPC to VPC+, in preparation to add FabricPath devices in access combined with VPC+ attached legacy CE devices
Motivations: prepare for scale-out and VLAN anywhere while preserving investment in STP devices Note that change from VPC to VPC+ is disruptive
L3
L3 Active/Active HSRP for VLANs 100-199 VPC+ Peer link runs in FabricPath mode CE CE VPC+ VPC Active/Active HSRP for VLANs 300-399
Pod 1 VLANs 100-199
Pod 2 VLANs 200-299
Pod 3 VLANs 300-399
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Migrating to FabricPath Pods

Migrate all or part of each pod to FabricPath Keep VPC+ to provide active/active HSRP
Motivations: prepare for scale-out and VLAN anywhere
L3
L3 Active/Active HSRP for VLANs 100-199 VPC+ Keep VPC+ for active/active forwarding FabricPath VPC+ VPC Active/Active HSRP for VLANs 300-399
Pod 1 VLANs 100-199 FabricPath here assumes Nexus 5500

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Pod 3 VLANs 300-399
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Meshed Aggregation Layer

Backbone/mesh agg layer connections provide VLAN anywhere capability among connected FabricPath Pods Still have Layer 3 VLAN affinity at Pod level HSRP for particular VLAN only lives in one Pod Motivations: Consolidation; VLAN anywhere with FabricPath network Number of Pods you can combine limited by abilty to fully mesh aggregation switches Reduced cabling burden vs direct access connect, but has gateway and scale limits
L3
Active/Active HSRP for VLANs 100-199 VPC+ FabricPath
L3 Active/Active HSRP for VLANs 300-399 VPC+ VPC
Pod 1 VLANs 100-299

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Pod 3 VLANs 300-399

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reserved. Cisco Public Affinity for 2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rightsAffinity for 200-299 100-199
Parallel FabricPath Core

Meshed agg model overly complex after a certain point Add FabricPath core parallel to L3 core to interconnect FabricPath Pods
Motivations: Consolidation and whole-network scale Removes access connections and aggregation mesh limitations
L3
FabricPath Core
L3 Active/Active HSRP for VLANs 100-199 VPC+ FabricPath VPC+ VPC Active/Active HSRP for VLANs 300-399
Pod 1 VLANs 100-299
Pod 2 VLANs 100-299
Pod 3 VLANs 300-399
Affinity for 100-199

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Parallel FabricPath Core with VDCs

Layer 3 Core VDC FabricPath Core VDC FabricPath Core VDC
L3
Layer 3 Core VDC
L3
Exact same model as prior slide but with VDCs instead of separate physical switches
L3 Active/Active HSRP for VLANs 100-199 VPC+ FabricPath VPC+ VPC
Pod 1 VLANs 100-299
Pod 2 VLANs 100-299
Pod 3 VLANs 300-399

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Pod Build-Out with Parallel FabricPath Core

Add additional capacity in each Pod using more agg switches Not all aggs have to connect to FabricPath or L3 core necessarily
Motivations: Consolidation and per-Pod scale Requires n-way FHRP
L3
FabricPath Core
N-Way Active FHRP for VLANs 100-299 L3 Active/Active HSRP for VLANs 300-399 VPC
FabricPath Pod 1 VLANs 100-299
Pod 2 VLANs 100-299
Pod 3 VLANs 300-399
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FabricPath Core with L3 Access

Scales L3 at the edge Can extend VLANs through FabricPath backbone (no hard requirement to terminate L3 at edge VPC+ peers) VLANs still have affinity to L3 access pair FabricPath CE
L3
L3 Egress 1 L3 Egress 2 L3 Egress 3
OSPF OSPF etc. OSPF etc.
L3 Egress 4
S1
S2
S3
S4
Can extend some or all VLANs into FabricPath core

SVI
Active
SVI
VPC+
HSRP
SVI
Standby
VPC+
HSRP
SVI SVI
Active
VPC+
HSRP
SVI
Standby
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Requires FabricPath and L3 support on 5500
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FabricPath Core with L3 Access

Scales L3 at the edge Can extend VLANs through FabricPath backbone (no hard requirement to terminate L3 at edge VPC+ peers) VLANs still have affinity to L3 access pair FP extended to core
OSPF OSPF etc. OSPF etc.
FabricPath
L3
SVI L3 Egress 3 SVI
CE
L3 Egress 1
S1
S2
S3
S4
Can extend some or all VLANs into FabricPath core
SVI
Active
SVI
VPC+
HSRP
SVI
Standby
VPC+
HSRP
SVI SVI
Active
VPC+
HSRP
SVI
Standby
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Troubleshooting FabricPath
Improved Visibility for Layer 2 Evolution
Leverage the same tooling for L3 technologies

Routing table Link-state database Distribution trees ECMP path selection
Pong L2 Ping + Traceroute

Provide info on all devices on a given path in L2 Fabric Check on link health
Performance Profiling across FabricPath

Through IEEE 1588 timestamp and pong to help estimate average end-to-end latency
89
show mac address-table dynamic

S100# sh mac address-table dynamic Legend: * - primary entry, G - Gateway MAC, (R) - Routed MAC, O - Overlay MAC age - seconds since last seen,+ - primary entry using vPC Peer-Link VLAN MAC Address Type age Secure NTFY Ports/SWID.SSID.LID ---------+-----------------+--------+---------+------+----+-----------------* 10 0000.0000.0001 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.0002 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.0003 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.0004 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.0005 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.0006 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.0007 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.0008 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.0009 dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 * 10 0000.0000.000a dynamic 0 F F Eth1/15 10 0000.0000.000b dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.000c dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.000d dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.000e dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.000f dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.0010 dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.0011 dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.0012 dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.0013 dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 10 0000.0000.0014 dynamic 0 F F 200.0.30 S100#
S100 S200
Local mac
S10
S20
S30
S40
po1 po2 po3 po4
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show fabricpath route

S10 S20 S30 S40
po1 po2 po3 po4
S100
S200
S100# sh fabricpath route FabricPath Unicast Route Table 'a/b/c' denotes ftag/switch-id/subswitch-id '[x/y]' denotes [admin distance/metric] ftag 0 is local ftag subswitch-id 0 is default subswitch-id FabricPath Unicast Route Table for Topology-Default
B 0/100/0, number of next-hops: 0 via ---- , [60/0], 5 day/s 1/10/0, number of next-hops: 1 via Po1, [115/10], 0 day/s 1/20/0, number of next-hops: 1 via Po2, [115/10], 0 day/s 1/30/0, number of next-hops: 1 via Po3, [115/10], 2 day/s 1/40/0, number of next-hops: 1 via Po4, [115/10], 2 day/s 1/200/0, number of next-hops: 4 via Po1, [115/20], 0 day/s via Po2, [115/20], 0 day/s via Po3, [115/20], 2 day/s via Po4, [115/20], 2 day/s S100# 18:38:46, local 04:15:58, isis_l2mp-default 04:16:05, isis_l2mp-default 08:49:51, isis_l2mp-default 08:47:56, isis_l2mp-default 04:15:58, 04:15:58, 08:49:51, 08:47:56, isis_l2mp-default isis_l2mp-default isis_l2mp-default isis_l2mp-default
Topology ID: 0 Switch ID: 100 Subswitch ID:0 used for vPC+
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FabricPath: In Control with DCNM

Abstracted Fabric View
Identify fabric hot-spots FabricPath state awareness
Traffic Monitoring
Frames distribution visibility Threshold crossing alerts for bandwidth management
Up to 16-Way L2 ECMP
Troubleshooting
Visualize unicast, multicast and broadcast paths Check reachability between source and destination nodes
Configuration Expert
Manage FabricPath topologies with Wizard tools Simplify fine-tuning FabricPath
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FabricPath is Simple
No L2 IS-IS configuration required Single control protocol for unicast, multicast, vlan pruning
N7K(config)# feature-set fabricpath N7K(config)# fabricpath switch-id <#> N7K(config)# interface ethernet 1/1 N7K(config-if)# switchport mode fabricpath
1/1
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FabricPath is Efficient & Resilient

Shortest path, Multi-Pathing, High-availability
Shortest path for low latency Up to 256 links active between any 2 nodes Multipathing over all links increase availability High availability with N+1 path redundancy Enhanced redundancy models No STP S1 S2 Fast convergence
S3
S4
FabricPath Routing Table

Switch S42 IF L1, L2, L3, L4
S11
L1 L2 L3 L4 S12 S42
A
B
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FabricPath is Scalable
Safe Data Plane, Conversational learning
TTL and RFP check the data plane protect against loops
L2 can be extended in the data center (while STP is segmented)
Conversational learning allows scaling mac address tables at the edge

S11 S22 S42
AB
AB
Classical Ethernet Mac Address Table

MAC A B IF 1/1 S42

MAC IF

MAC A B IF S11 1/1
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Key Takeaways
Fabric Path enables network fabric scalability, flexibility, availability and resiliency Innovations in FabricPath will change long-standing Layer 2 networking design paradigms FabricPath will evolve going forward
Hardware, software, and design options will only increase our flexibility and scale
Nexus hardware available has FabricPath and TRILL capability
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Fabric Path TRILL

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FabricPath Technology and Design

2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Eternal Debates on Network Design

VLAN VLAN VLAN VLAN

2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

VLAN VLAN VLAN VLAN

L2 Network Requirements inside DC

Facilitate Application Deployment

2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

L2 Provides Flexibility in the Data Center

2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Branches of trees never interconnect (no loop)

Virtual Port Channel (vPC)

Blocked port (STP)

Data plane based loop prevention

MAC Address Scaling & L2 Bridging

2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Network Addressing Scheme

The Next Era of Layer 2 Network

Address Learning: Data Plane Control Plane

Control Plane: Distance-Vector Link-State

Introducing Cisco FabricPath

FabricPath: an Ethernet Fabric

Cisco FabricPath provides additional capabilities in term of scalability and L3 integration

2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

FabricPath Simplicity from the Outside

2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

FabricPath Simplicty from the Inside

Isolating network from the users

Utilizing an open protocol

2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Cisco FabricPath Overview

Data Plane Innovation

Control Plane Innovation

Cisco NX-OS Cisco Nexus Platform

FabricPath versus Classic Ethernet Interfaces

FabricPath interface CE interface

2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Provides SPF routing Excellent topology building and reconvergence characteristics

2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Basic FabricPath Data Plane Operation

FabricPath interface CE interface

DMACB SMACA Payload

DMACB SMACA Payload

Payload SMACA DMACB

Classical Ethernet Frame

Cisco FabricPath Frame

2 bits Endnode ID (7:6)

8 bits Sub Switch ID

FabricPath MAC Table

FabricPath MAC Table on S100

Local MACs point to switchports Remote MACs point to Switch IDs

show mac address-table dynamic

po1 po2 po3 po4

2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

FabricPath Control Plane Operation

FabricPath Routing Table on S100

Four equal-cost paths to S101

2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Building the FabricPath Routing Table

S30 S100 S101 S200