Cisco Nexus 2000 Series User Manual

Overview
This chapter provides an architectural overview of the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender and includes
the following sections:
•
Information About the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender, page 2
•
Fabric Extender Terminology, page 2
•
Fabric Interface Features , page 3
•
Host Interfaces, page 3
•
Host Interface Port Channels, page 4
•
VLANs, page 6
•
Protocol Offload, page 6
•
Quality of Service, page 6
•
Access Control Lists, page 6
•
IGMP Snooping, page 7
•
Switched Port Analyzer, page 7
•
Oversubscription, page 7
•
Management Model, page 8
•
Forwarding Model, page 9
•
Port Channel Fabric Interface Connection, page 10
•
Port Numbering Convention, page 10
•
Fabric Extender Image Management, page 11
•
Licensing Requirements for the Fabric Extender, page 11
•
Guidelines and Limitations for the Fabric Extender, page 11
•
Default Settings, page 19
Cisco Nexus 2000 Series NX-OS Fabric Extender Software Configuration Guide for Cisco Nexus 7000 Series
Switches, Release 5.2
1

Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Specifications

General

Series	Nexus 2000
Cooling	Front-to-back airflow
Product Category	Switch
Management	Cisco NX-OS
Redundancy	Power supplies, fans

Summary

Overview

Information About the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender

Provides an architectural overview of the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender and its capabilities.

Fabric Extender Terminology

Defines key terms and concepts related to Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders for clarity.

Fabric Interface Features

Details the features of Fabric Extender fabric interfaces, including SFP+ validation and port configuration.

Host Interfaces

Explains Layer 3 and Layer 2 host interfaces on Fabric Extenders, including configuration and connectivity.

Host Interface Port Channels

Covers configuring Layer 3 and Layer 2 port channels for host interfaces on Fabric Extenders.

VLANs

Describes Fabric Extender support for Layer 2 VLAN trunks and IEEE 802.1Q VLAN encapsulation.

Protocol Offload

Explains how link-level protocol processing is offloaded to the Fabric Extender CPU for performance.

Quality of Service

Details Fabric Extender's use of 802.1p CoS values and per-port QoS configuration.

Access Control Lists

Discusses the Fabric Extender's support for ingress access control lists (ACLs) from the parent switch.

IGMP Snooping

Covers IGMP snooping support on Fabric Extender host interfaces for multicast traffic.

Switched Port Analyzer

Explains configuring host interfaces as SPAN source ports on Fabric Extenders.

Oversubscription

Details Fabric Extender oversubscription ratios and their role in cost-effective scalability.

Management Model

Describes the zero-touch configuration and management model for Fabric Extenders via parent switch.

Forwarding Model

Explains the forwarding model where traffic is centralized at the parent switch for policy enforcement.

Port Channel Fabric Interface Connection

Details configuring port channel fabric interface connections for load balancing to the parent switch.

Port Numbering Convention

Explains the interface ethernet chassis/slot/port numbering convention for Fabric Extenders.

Fabric Extender Image Management

Covers Fabric Extender software image bundling, verification, and automated upgrades from the parent switch.

Licensing Requirements for the Fabric Extender

Outlines the licensing requirements for the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender, stating no separate license is needed.

Guidelines and Limitations for the Fabric Extender

Lists important configuration guidelines and limitations for Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders.

Default Settings

Lists the default parameter settings for Fabric Extender features like feature-set and port mode.