Cisco Nexus 5500 Series NX-OS

FabricPath Configuration Guide, Release

6.x
January 30, 2013

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Cisco Nexus 5500 Series NX-OS FabricPath Configuration Guide 

© 2013 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
 CONTENTS

Preface vii

Audience vii

Organization vii

Document Conventions viii

Related Documentation ix

Documentation Feedback ix

Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request ix

CHAPTER 1 Overview 1-1

Information About FabricPath 1-1

Information About Conversational MAC Address Learning 1-2

Layer 3 Routing Considerations for FabricPath 1-2

Hot Standby Router Protocol Support 1-2
No Support for the bind-vrf Command 1-3
Peer Gateway Not Recommended on Aggregation Layer 1-3

Prerequisites for FabricPath 1-3

Guidelines and Limitations for FabricPath 1-3

Licensing Requirements for FabricPath 1-4

CHAPTER 2 Configuring FabricPath Switching 2-1

Information About FabricPath Switching 2-1
FabricPath Encapsulation 2-2
FabricPath Headers 2-2
Forwarding Tags (FTags) 2-3
Default IS-IS Behavior with FabricPath 2-3
Conversational MAC Address Learning 2-4
Switching Using FabricPath 2-5
Conflict Resolution and Optional FabricPath Tunings 2-6

Configuring FabricPath Switching 2-6

Installing the FabricPath Feature Set 2-7
Uninstalling the FabricPath Feature Set 2-8
Enabling the FabricPath Feature Set 2-9
Disabling the FabricPath Feature Set 2-10

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 Contents

Creating a FabricPath Topology 2-11

Changing a FabricPath Switch ID (Optional) 2-12
Configuring the FabricPath Timers (Optional) 2-13
Disabling FabricPath Graceful Merges (Optional) 2-14
Forcing the Links to Come Up (Optional) 2-15
Verifying the FabricPath Switching Configuration 2-16

Monitoring FabricPath Switching Statistics 2-16

Configuration Example for FabricPath Switching 2-17

Default Settings for FabricPath Switching 2-17

Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Switching 2-18

CHAPTER 3 Configuring FabricPath Interfaces 3-1

Information About FabricPath Interfaces 3-1

FabricPath Interfaces 3-1
STP and the FabricPath Network 3-2
vPC+ 3-3
Configuring FabricPath Interfaces 3-5
Configuring FabricPath Interfaces 3-5
Configuring the STP Priority with Rapid PVST+ 3-7
Configuring the STP Priority with MST 3-8
Configuring the STP Domain ID for STP Domains Connected to the Layer 2 Gateway Switch
(Optional) 3-10
Configuring a vPC+ Switch ID 3-11
Verifying the FabricPath Interface Configuration 3-12
Monitoring FabricPath Interface Statistics 3-13

Configuration Example for FabricPath Interface 3-13

Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Interfaces 3-15

CHAPTER 4 Configuring FabricPath Forwarding 4-1

Information About FabricPath Forwarding 4-1

FabricPath Forwarding Overview 4-1
FabricPath VLANs 4-2
Forwarding Known Unicast Packets Using ECMP 4-3
Forwarding Trees for Broadcast, Unknown Unicast, and Multicast Packets 4-4
Forwarding Multicast Packets 4-4
Configuring FabricPath Forwarding 4-5
Setting the VLAN Mode to FabricPath or CE 4-5
Mapping FabricPath VLANs to a Topology 4-6

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 Contents

Configuring FabricPath Unicast Load Balancing (Optional) 4-8

Verifying the FabricPath Configuration 4-9

Configuration Example for FabricPath Forwarding 4-10

Default Settings for Fabric Path Forwarding 4-11

Feature History for Configuring FabricPath 4-11

CHAPTER 5 Configuring Advanced FabricPath Features 5-1

Information About Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Configurations 5-1

Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters 5-2

Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters Globally 5-2
Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters per Interface 5-6
Clearing Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Counters 5-10
Verifying the FabricPath Advanced Configurations 5-12

Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Advanced Features 5-13

CHAPTER A Configuration Limits for Cisco NX-OS FabricPath A-1

INDEX

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Contents

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 Preface

This preface describes the audience, organization, and conventions of the Cisco Nexus 5500 Series
NX-OS FabricPath Configuration Guide. It also provides information on how to obtain related
documentation.
This chapter includes the following sections:
• Audience, page vii
• Organization, page vii
• Document Conventions, page viii
• Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request, page ix
• Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request, page ix

Audience
This publication is for experienced users who configure and maintain Cisco NX-OS switches.

Organization
This reference is organized as follows:

Chapter and Title Description

Chapter 1, “Overview” Describes an overview of the FabricPath feature.
Chapter 2, “Configuring FabricPath Switching” Describes FabricPath encapsulation, Layer 2
IS-IS, and MAC address conversational learning.
Also describes how to change timers for
FabricPath and resolve switch ID conflicts.
Chapter 3, “Configuring FabricPath Interfaces” Describes FabricPath interfaces and VLANs as
well as how the feature interacts with Classical
Ethernet networks and Spanning Tree Protocol.
Chapter 4, “Configuring FabricPath Forwarding” Describes how the FabricPath network uses
multiple paths to forward unicast, unknown
unicast, broadcast, and multicast frames.

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 Chapter and Title Description
Chapter 5, “Configuring Advanced FabricPath Describes how to configure more advanced
Features” parameters for Layer 2 IS-IS.
Chapter A, “Configuration Limits for Cisco Describes the configuration limits for FabricPath.
NX-OS FabricPath”

Document Conventions
Command descriptions use these conventions:

Convention Description
boldface font Commands and keywords are in boldface.
italic font Arguments for which you supply values are in italics.
{} Elements in braces are required choices.
[] Elements in square brackets are optional.
[x|y|z] Optional alternative keywords are grouped in brackets and separated by vertical
bars.
string A nonquoted set of characters. Do not use quotation marks around the string or
the string will include the quotation marks.

Screen examples use these conventions:

screen font Terminal sessions and information that the switch displays are in screen font.
boldface screen Information you must enter is in boldface screen font.
font

italic screen font Arguments for which you supply values are in italic screen font.
< > Nonprinting characters, such as passwords, are in angle brackets.
[ ] Default responses to system prompts are in square brackets.
!, # An exclamation point (!) or a pound sign (#) at the beginning of a line of code
indicates a comment line.

This document uses the following conventions:

Note Means reader take note. Notes contain helpful suggestions or references to material not covered in the
manual.

Caution Means reader be careful. In this situation, you might do something that could result in equipment
damage or loss of data.

Tip Means the following information will help you solve a problem.

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Related Documentation
Documentation for Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches and Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders is
available at the following URL:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps9670/tsd_products_support_series_home.html
The documentation set includes the following types of documents:
• Licensing Information Guide
• Release Notes
• Installation and Upgrade Guides
• Configuration Guides
• Configuration Examples and TechNotes
• Programming Guides
• Operations Guides
• Error and System Message Guides
• Field Notices
• Security Advisories, Responses and Notices
• Troubleshooting Guide
• Command References
• MIB Reference Guide

Documentation Feedback
To provide technical feedback on this document or to report an error or ommission, please send your
comments to [email protected]. We appreciate your feedback.

Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

For information on obtaining documentation, submitting a service request, and gathering additional
information, see the monthly What’s New in Cisco Product Documentation, which also lists all new and
revised Cisco technical documentation, at:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/general/whatsnew/whatsnew.html
Subscribe to the What’s New in Cisco Product Documentation as a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed
and set content to be delivered directly to your desktop using a reader application. The RSS feeds are a free
service and Cisco currently supports RSS version 2.0.

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 Cisco Nexus 5500 Series NX-OS FabricPath Configuration Guide
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 CH A P T E R 1
Overview

This chapter provides an overview of the FabricPath and conversational MAC address learning features
that are supported by the Cisco NX-OS software for the Cisco Nexus 5500 Series switches.
This chapter includes the following sections:
• Information About FabricPath, page 1-1
• Information About Conversational MAC Address Learning, page 1-2
• Layer 3 Routing Considerations for FabricPath, page 1-2
• Prerequisites for FabricPath, page 1-3
• Guidelines and Limitations for FabricPath, page 1-3
• Licensing Requirements for FabricPath, page 1-4

Information About FabricPath

The FabricPath feature provides the following:
• Allows Layer 2 multipathing in the FabricPath network.
• Provides built-in loop prevention and mitigation with no need to use the Spanning Tree Protocol
(STP).
• Provides a single control plane for unicast, unknown unicast, broadcast, and multicast traffic.
• Enhances mobility and virtualization in the FabricPath network.
The software randomly assigns a unique switch ID to each switch that is enabled with FabricPath.
When a frame enters the FabricPath network from a Classical Ethernet (CE) network, the ingressing
interfaces encapsulate the frame with a FabricPath header. The software builds paths, called trees,
through the FabricPath network and assigns a forwarding tag (FTag) by flow to all the traffic in the
FabricPath network. When the frame leaves the FabricPath network to go to a CE network, the egressing
interface decapsulates the frame and leaves the regular CE header.
The FabricPath network uses the Layer 2 Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) protocol
to forward traffic in the network using the FabricPath headers. Layer 2 IS-IS is different from Layer 3
IS-IS; the two protocols work independently. Layer 2 IS-IS requires no configuration and becomes
operational when you enable FabricPath on the switch. The frames carry the same FTag that is assigned
at ingress throughout the FabricPath network, and Layer 2 IS-IS allows all switches to have the same
view of all the trees built by the software.

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 Chapter 1 Overview
Information About Conversational MAC Address Learning

For multi-direction traffic, such as unknown unicast, multicast, and broadcast, the tree path is used only
to avoid packet looping. FTag ensures that all switches forward packets on the same tree across the
network, although FabricPath supports multiple trees. Known unicast packets are forwarded throughout
the network using equal cost multipath (ECMP) and FTag trees are not used for these packets. Using
ECMP and the trees, the software automatically load balances traffic throughout the FabricPath network.

Information About Conversational MAC Address Learning

Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 5.1(3)N1(1), you can use conversational MAC address learning
or traditional MAC address learning.
To use conversational MAC address learning, you must do the following:
• Enable FabricPath.
• Ensure VLANs do not have switch virtual interface (SVI) enabled.
Conversational MAC address learning means that each switch learns only those MAC addresses for
interested hosts, rather than all MAC addresses in the domain. Each switch learns only those MAC
addresses that are actively speaking with it. In this way, conversational MAC learning consists of a
three-way handshake.
This selective learning, or conversational MAC address learning, allows you to scale the network beyond
the limits of individual switch MAC address tables.
All FabricPath VLANs use conversational MAC address learning.

Note CE VLANs support only traditional MAC address learning, where each switch learns the MAC addresses
of all hosts in the network.

Layer 3 Routing Considerations for FabricPath

This section provides information you need to consider when you implement routing technologies for
Layer 3 routing that take advantage of FabricPath to improve both unicast and multicast routing in your
data center.
This section includes the following topics:
• Hot Standby Router Protocol Support, page 1-2
• No Support for the bind-vrf Command, page 1-3
In addition to the above, FabricPath includes support for the delay restore interface-vlan command and
the ip arp synchronize command. For more information about these commands, see the Cisco Nexus
5500 Series NX-OS vPC Command Reference.

Hot Standby Router Protocol Support

You can configure Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) in Active/Active mode between pairs of
switches in the vPC+ domains and access layer, and between pairs of switches in the aggregation layer.
If you configure a peer link between a pair of switches in the aggregation layer, HSRP runs in
Active/Active mode for those switches. If you do not configure a peer link between the switches in the
aggregation layer, HSRP runs in Active/Standby mode for those switches.

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 Chapter 1 Overview
Prerequisites for FabricPath

Note If a data center outage occurs and you enable HSRP before the vPC+ successfully comes up, traffic loss
can occur. You must enable an HSRP delay to give the vPC time to stabilize. If you enable both an HSRP
delay and a preemption delay, the Cisco Nexus 5500 Series switches allows Layer 2 switching only after
both timers expire.

The delay option is available only with HSRP. If you use any other FHRP, traffic loss is still possible.

No Support for the bind-vrf Command

One consequence of the single-DR implementation for FabricPath is that you do not need to bind a
virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) instance to a vPC. As a result, the vpc bind-vrf command is not
supported for FabricPath.
If you want to configure an existing vPC domain for FabricPath, you must first use the no vpc bind-vrf
command to remove the static binding between the vPC and the VRF.

Peer Gateway Not Recommended on Aggregation Layer

We do not recommend that you configure a peer gateway on the aggregation layer, as Fabric Path does
not require one.
The peer-gateway command is supported by vPC and vPC+ at the access. If traffic from a vPC for
peer-1’s MAC address is sent to peer-2, the peer gateway configuration ensures that peer-2 can route the
packet on peer-1’s behalf. However, a FabricPath topology does not have a port channel that can cause
traffic for one peer switch to be sent to the other peer switch. Therefore, FabricPath does not require peer
gateway configuration, even though there is a peer link provisioned for HSRP Active-Active support.

Prerequisites for FabricPath

FabricPath has the following prerequisites:
• You should have a working knowledge of Classical Ethernet Layer 2 functioning.
• You must be logged onto the switch.
• You must ensure an Enhanced Layer 2 license is installed on the switch.
• If you want to configure an existing vPC domain for FabricPath, you must first use the no vpc
bind-vrf command to remove the static binding between the vPC and the VRF.

Guidelines and Limitations for FabricPath

FabricPath has the following configuration guidelines and limitations:
• FabricPath switches and interfaces carry only FabricPath-encapsulated traffic.
• You must install and enable FabricPath on each switch before you can view or access the commands.
See the “Configuring FabricPath Switching” section on page 2-6 for more information.
• STP does not run inside a FabricPath network.

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 Chapter 1 Overview
Licensing Requirements for FabricPath

• The following guidelines apply to private VLAN configurations when you are running FabricPath:
– All VLANs in a private VLAN must be in the same VLAN mode: either CE or FabricPath. If
you attempt to put different types of VLANs into a private VLAN, these VLANs will not be
active in the private VLAN. The software remembers the configurations, and if you change the
VLAN mode later, that VLAN becomes active in the specified private VLAN.
– FabricPath ports cannot be put into a private VLAN.
• FabricPath does not support hierarchical static MAC addresses. That is, you cannot configure static
FabricPath ODAs or OSAs; you can only configure CE static MAC addresses.

Note For information about FabricPath and DHCP snooping, including guidelines and limitations, see the
Cisco Nexus 5500 Series NX-OS Security Configuration Guide, Release 6.0.

Licensing Requirements for FabricPath

FabricPath requires an Enhanced Layer 2 license. You must install this license on every switch in a
FabricPath network.
In addition, if you want to take advantage of the Layer 3 routing interactions with FabricPath, you must
install a LAN Base Services license on all switches with a Layer 3 card.

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 CH A P T E R 2
Configuring FabricPath Switching

This chapter describes how to configure FabricPath switching on the Cisco NX-OS 5500 Series switches.
This chapter includes the following sections:
• Information About FabricPath Switching, page 2-1
• Configuring FabricPath Switching, page 2-6
• Verifying the FabricPath Switching Configuration, page 2-16
• Monitoring FabricPath Switching Statistics, page 2-16
• Configuration Example for FabricPath Switching, page 2-17
• Default Settings for FabricPath Switching, page 2-17
• Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Switching, page 2-18

Note For information about prerequisites, guidelines and limitations, and licensing requirements for
FabricPath, see Chapter 1, “Overview.”

Information About FabricPath Switching

FabricPath switching allows multipath networking at the Layer 2 level. The FabricPath network still
delivers packets on a best-effort basis (which is similar to the Classical Ethernet [CE] network), but the
FabricPath network can use multiple paths for Layer 2 traffic. In a FabricPath network, you do not need
to run the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). Instead, you can use FabricPath across data centers, some of
which have only Layer 2 connectivity, with no need for Layer 3 connectivity and IP configurations.
The FabricPath encapsulation facilitates MAC mobility and server virtualization, which means that you
can physically move the Layer 2 node but retain the same MAC address and VLAN association for the
virtual machine. FabricPath also allows LAN extensions across data centers at Layer 2, which is useful
in disaster recovery operations, as well as clustering applications such as databases. Finally, FabricPath
is very useful in high-performance, low-latency computing.
With FabricPath, you use the Layer 2 intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) protocol for
a single control plane that functions for unicast, broadcast, and multicast packets. There is no need to
run the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP); it is a purely Layer 2 domain. This FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS is a
separate process from Layer 3 IS-IS.
Cisco supports the conversation-based MAC learning schema. Conversational learning can only be
applied to FabricPath VLANs. Using FabricPath and conversational MAC address learning, the switch
has to learn far fewer MAC addresses, which results in smaller, more manageable MAC tables.

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 Chapter 2 Configuring FabricPath Switching
Information About FabricPath Switching

This section includes the following topics:

• FabricPath Encapsulation, page 2-2
• Default IS-IS Behavior with FabricPath, page 2-3
• Conversational MAC Address Learning, page 2-4
• Switching Using FabricPath, page 2-5
• Conflict Resolution and Optional FabricPath Tunings, page 2-6

FabricPath Encapsulation
This section includes the following topics:
• FabricPath Headers, page 2-2
• Forwarding Tags (FTags), page 2-3

FabricPath Headers
When a frame enters the FabricPath network, the software encapsulates the Layer 2 frame with a new
FabricPath header. The switch IDs that the software assigns to each FabricPath switch as it enters the
FabricPath network is used as the outer MAC destination address (ODA) and outer MAC source address
(OSA) in the FabricPath header. Figure 2-1 shows the FabricPath header encapsulation of the classical
Ethernet (CE) frame.

Figure 2-1 FabricPath Frame Encapsulation

Classical Ethernet frame format

MAC
IP header Payload
DA SA Type

FP frame format

OMAC iMAC
IP header Payload
ODA OSA FTag iDA iSA Type
Switch ID Subswitch ID Switch ID Etype 0x8903 FTag TTL 196127

FP header = Outer MAC

The software applies the encapsulation on the ingressing edge port of the FabricPath network and
decapsulates the frame on the egressing edge port of the FabricPath network; all the ports within the
FabricPath network are FabricPath ports that use only the hierarchical MAC address (see Chapter 3,
“Configuring FabricPath Interfaces”, for more information on configuring FabricPath interfaces). This
feature greatly reduces the size of the MAC tables in the core of the FabricPath network.
The software automatically assigns each switch in the FabricPath network with a unique switch ID.
Optionally, you can configure the switch ID for the FabricPath switch.
The outer source address (OSA) is the FabricPath switch ID of the switch where the frame ingresses the
FabricPath network, and the outer destination address (ODA) is the FabricPath switch ID of the switch
where the frame egresses the FabricPath network. When the frame egresses the FabricPath network, the
FabricPath switch strips the FabricPath header, and the original CE frame continues on the CE network.

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 Chapter 2 Configuring FabricPath Switching
Information About FabricPath Switching

The FabricPath network uses only the OSA and ODA, with the Layer 2 IS-IS protocol transmitting the
topology information. Both the FabricPath ODA and OSA are in a standard MAC format
(xxxx.xxxx.xxxx).
The FabricPath hierarchical MAC address carries the reserved EtherType 0x8903.
When the frame is originally encapsulated, the software sets the time to live (TTL) to 32; on each hop
through the FabricPath network, each switch decrements the TTL by 1. If the TTL reaches 0, that frame
is discarded. This feature prevents the continuation of any loops that might form in the network.

Forwarding Tags (FTags)

The Forwarding Tag (FTag) in the FabricPath header specifies which path the packet traverses
throughout the FabricPath network. The switch uses the FTag-specified paths for multidestination
packets that enter the FabricPath network. The FTag, which is a fixed route that the switch learns from
the topology, is a 10-bit field with the values from 1 to 1024 (see Chapter 4, “Configuring FabricPath
Forwarding,” for more information).
The software assigns the FTag to the FabricPath header on the edge port as the frame ingresses the
FabricPath network. All subsequent FabricPath switches in that FabricPath network recognize the FTag.
Each FTag is unique within the FabricPath topology.

Default IS-IS Behavior with FabricPath

The interfaces in a FabricPath network run only the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS protocol; you do not need
to run STP in the FabricPath network because FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS discovers topology information
dynamically.

Note Cisco Nexus 5500 Series switches supports two Fabricpath topologies, the default or base topology
(topology 0), and another optional topology (for example, topology 1).

FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS is a dynamic link-state routing protocol that detects changes in the network
topology and calculates loop-free paths to other nodes in the network. Each FabricPath switch maintains
a link-state database (LSDB) that describes the state of the network; each switch updates the status of
the links that are adjacent to the switch. The FabricPath switch sends advertisements and updates to the
LSDB through all the existing adjacencies. FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS protocol packets do not conflict
with standard Layer 2 IS-IS packets because the FabricPath packets go to a different Layer 2 destination
MAC address than that used by standard IS-IS for IPv4/IPv6 address families.
The software sends hello packets on the FabricPath core ports to form adjacencies. After the software
forms IS-IS adjacencies, the FabricPath unicast traffic uses the equal cost multipath (ECMP) feature of
Layer 2 IS-IS to forward traffic. ECMP provides up to 16 paths for unicast traffic.
Within the FabricPath network, you use a single control plane protocol, Layer 2 IS-IS, for all unicast,
multicast, and broadcast traffic. To use the basic FabricPath functionality, you do not need to configure
Layer 2 IS-IS. The control plane Layer 2 IS-IS comes up and runs automatically when you enable
FabricPath on the switch.
The loop-free Layer 2 IS-IS protocol builds two trees for the topology. One tree carries unknown unicast
and broadcast traffic, and the second tree carries multicast traffic. The software load balances the
multicast traffic across the two trees (see Chapter 4, “Configuring FabricPath Forwarding,” for more
information about trees and topology).

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 Chapter 2 Configuring FabricPath Switching
Information About FabricPath Switching

FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS is based on the standard IS-IS protocol with the following extensions for the
FabricPath environment:
• FabricPath has a single IS-IS area with no hierarchical Layer 1/Layer 2 routing as prescribed within
the IS-IS standard. All switches within the FabricPath network are in a single Layer 1 area.
• The switch uses a MAC address that is different from the MAC address used for Layer 3 IS-IS
instances.
• The software adds a new sub-TLV that carries switch ID information, which is not in standard IS-IS.
This feature allows Layer 2 information to be exchanged through the existing IS-IS protocol
implementation.
• Each switch computes its shortest path to every other switch in the network using the shortest-path
first (SPF) algorithm. This path is used for forwarding unicast FabricPath frames. FabricPath Layer
2 IS-IS uses the standard IS-IS functionality to populate up to 16 routes for a given destination
switch. The software uses multiple equal-cost available parallel links that provide ECMP.
• FabricPath IS-IS introduces certain modifications to the standard IS-IS in order to support the
construction of broadcast and multicast trees (identified by the FTags). Specifically, using
FabricPath, the software constructs two loop-free trees for forwarding multidestination traffic.
Once the adjacency is established among the switches in the FabricPath network, the software sends
update information to all neighbors.
By default, you can run Layer 2 IS-IS with FabricPath with the default configuration, However, you can
fine-tune some of the Layer 2 IS-IS parameters (see Chapter 5, “Configuring Advanced FabricPath
Features,” for information on configuring optional IS-IS parameters).
Additionally, FabricPath IS-IS helps to ensure that each switch ID in steady-state is unique within the
FabricPath network. If FabricPath networks merge, switch IDs might collide. If the IDs are all
dynamically assigned, FabricPath IS-IS ensures that this conflict is resolved without affecting any
FabricPath traffic in either network,

Conversational MAC Address Learning

In traditional MAC address learning, each switch learns the MAC address of every other host in the
network. When you configure a VLAN for conversational learning, the associated switches learn only
those MAC addresses that are actively in conversation with the hosts connected to the edge interfaces of
those switches. Not all switches have to learn all the MAC addresses, which greatly reduces the size of
the MAC address tables.
You can optimize the MAC learning process. Conversational MAC learning is configured per VLAN. All
FabricPath VLANs use conversational learning if a switch virtual interface (SVI) is not enabled on the
switch. (See Chapter 4, “Configuring FabricPath Forwarding,” for more information on CE and
FabricPath VLANs.)
Conversational MAC address learning results in MAC address tables that are much smaller for
FabricPath.
The MAC address learning modes are the traditional learning and conversational learning. The following
VLAN modes have the following MAC learning modes:
• FabricPath VLANs—Conversational MAC learning is enabled unless you enable an SVI.
• CE VLANs—Only traditional learning.

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 Chapter 2 Configuring FabricPath Switching
Information About FabricPath Switching

With conversational MAC learning, the switch learns the source MAC address of an ingressing frame
only if destination MAC address is already learnt and present in the MAC address table. It requires
three-way handshake for the MAC address to be learnt. Unknown MAC address are forwarded, or
flooded throughout the network.

Switching Using FabricPath

The FabricPath hierarchical MAC address scheme and conversational learning result in much smaller,
conversational learning MAC tables within the FabricPath network. Within the FabricPath network, the
software uses Layer 2 IS-IS to transmit topology information. The switches on the edge of the network,
which use conversational MAC address learning, do not have to learn all the MAC addresses in the
network (see Figure 2-2).

Figure 2-2 FabricPath Ports Use Only the FabricPath Header to Switch Frames

FabricPath S42
Header S11
S11 S42 FabricPath Routing
C
A S11 FabricPath S42
DATA
A C
C Ingress Switch Egress Switch L2 Bridging
A
DATA

STP Domain 1 STP Domain 2

199467
A C A C

MAC mobility is expedited using the FabricPath hierarchical MAC addresses. That is, when you want
to move a host and keep its same MAC address and VLANs, only the switches at the edge of the
FabricPath network track this change. Within the FabricPath network, the FabricPath switches update
their tables with only the outer MAC addresses (ODA and OSA) that have changed from the FabricPath
encapsulation.
The switch on the edge of the FabricPath network encapsulates the original frame inside the FabricPath
header. Once the frame reaches the last, or directly connected, FabricPath switch, the egress interface
strips the FabricPath header and forwards the frame as a normal CE frame.
The ports at the edge of a FabricPath network can use conversational learning to learn only those MAC
addresses that the specified edge port is having a bidirectional conversation with. Every edge switch does
not have to learn the MAC address of every other edge switch; they only need to learn the MAC addresses
of the speakers.
As the frame traverses the FabricPath network, all the switches work only with the FabricPath header.
So, the FabricPath switches work only with the ODAs and OSAs; they do not need to learn the MAC
address for any of the CE hosts or other switches attached to the network. The hierarchical MAC
addressing provided by the FabricPath headers results in much smaller MAC tables in the FabricPath
network. The switches in the FabricPath network only need to know how to forward frames to another
FabricPath switch so they can forward traffic without requiring large MAC address lookup tables in the
core of the network.

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Configuring FabricPath Switching

The switches in the FabricPath network decrement the TTL in the FabricPath header by 1 at each hop.
When the TTL reaches 0, the packet is dropped. This process prevents the continuation of any loops that
might form in the network.

Conflict Resolution and Optional FabricPath Tunings

After you enable FabricPath in all switches, the software automatically assigns a random switch ID to
each FabricPath switch. The switch ID is a 12-bit value that is dynamically assigned to every switch in
the FabricPath network, with each switch being a unique value in that FabricPath network. Optionally,
you can configure a specific switch ID. If any of the switch IDs in the FabricPath network are not unique,
the software provides automatic conflict resolution.
The software chooses a random value for the switch ID and sets this value as tentative during a period
when the software waits to hear if this value is already in use. If this value is being used by another switch
in the network, the software begins a conflict resolution process. The switch with the lower switch ID
keeps the specified value and the other switch gets a new value for its switch ID.
If a single switch joins an existing FabricPath network, that switch changes its switch ID value rather
than any of the existing switches in the network changing values. If the specified value is not in use by
another switch or after the conflict is resolved, the switch ID is marked as confirmed.
Graceful migration provides that there is no traffic disruption if a conflict arises in the resources, such
as two switches that temporarily have the same switch ID.
The FabricPath interfaces come up, but they are not operational until the switch checks for FabricPath
conflicts and resolves those conflicts.
The FabricPath resources timers have default values, but you can also change the timer values. You can
tune the switch to wait longer or shorter periods to check the conflicts.
Some of the important processes of the FabricPath network are as follows:
• Achieves a conflict-free allocation of switch IDs and FTags
• Provides graceful resource migration during network merges or partition healing
• Supports static switch IDs
• Provides fast convergence during link bringup or network merges
FabricPath uses the Layer 2 IS-IS protocol to transport the database to all switches in the network. The
information is distributed among the FabricPath network switches using an IS-IS TLV. Each switch sends
its version of the database that contains information about all the switches.
The software allocates the FabricPath values, guarantees their uniqueness within the FabricPath network,
and deletes the value from the database once that resource is no longer needed.
When you manually configure static switch IDs for the switch, the automatic conflict resolution process
does not work and the network does not come up. You will see syslog messages about the conflict and
must manually change one or more switch IDs of the switches in the network.

Configuring FabricPath Switching

After you enable FabricPath switching on each switch, the encapsulation, default IS-IS, and learning
occur automatically.

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Configuring FabricPath Switching

Note You must install the FabricPath feature set before you enable FabricPath on the switch. See the“Enabling
the FabricPath Feature Set” section on page 2-9 for complete information on installing and enabling the
FabricPath feature set.

Instead of using the default values, you can optionally configure the following FabricPath values that the
software uses for conflict resolution and other tunings:
• Switch ID for the switch that is used globally in the FabricPath network
• Timers
• Graceful merge of FabricPath networks
(Enabled by default. You might experience traffic drops if the feature is disabled.)
• A one-time forcing of the links to come up
This section includes the following topics:
• Installing the FabricPath Feature Set, page 2-7
• Uninstalling the FabricPath Feature Set, page 2-8
• Enabling the FabricPath Feature Set, page 2-9
• Disabling the FabricPath Feature Set, page 2-10
• Creating a FabricPath Topology, page 2-11
• Configuring the FabricPath Timers (Optional), page 2-13
• Disabling FabricPath Graceful Merges (Optional), page 2-14
• Forcing the Links to Come Up (Optional), page 2-15

Installing the FabricPath Feature Set

You must install the FabricPath feature set on all switches on which you want to configure FabricPath.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have installed an Enhanced Layer 2 license on all switches on which you want to install
FabricPath.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. install feature-set fabricpath
3. exit
4. (Optional) show feature-set
5. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

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Configuring FabricPath Switching

DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Step 2 install feature-set fabricpath Installs the FabricPath feature set on the switch.
Example:
switch(config)# install feature-set
fabricpath
Step 3 exit Exits configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# exit
switch#
Step 4 show feature-set (Optional) Displays which feature sets are enabled
on the switch.
Example:
switch# show feature-set
Step 5 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to the
startup configuration.
Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config

This example shows how to install the FabricPath feature set on a switch:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# install feature-set fabricpath
switch(config)#

Uninstalling the FabricPath Feature Set

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have disabled the FabricPath featureset on all switches from which you want to uninstall
FabricPath. See the “Disabling the FabricPath Feature Set” section on page 2-10 for more information.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. no install feature-set fabricpath
3. exit
4. (Optional) show feature-set
5. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

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Configuring FabricPath Switching

DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Step 2 no install feature-set fabricpath Uninstalls the FabricPath feature set from the
switch.
Example:
switch(config)# no feature-set fabricpath
Step 3 exit Exits configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# exit
switch#
Step 4 show feature-set (Optional) Displays which feature sets are enabled
on the switch.
Example:
switch# show feature-set
Step 5 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to the
startup configuration.
Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config

This example shows how to uninstall the FabricPath feature set from a switch:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# no install feature-set fabricpath
switch(config)#

Enabling the FabricPath Feature Set

You must enable the FabricPath feature set on all switches on which you want to run FabricPath. You
cannot access the commands that you use to configure the feature until the feature set is installed and
enabled.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have installed the FabricPath feature on the switch.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. feature-set fabricpath
3. exit
4. (Optional) show feature-set
5. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

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Configuring FabricPath Switching

DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Step 2 feature-set fabricpath Enables the FabricPath feature set on the switch.
Example:
switch(config)# feature-set fabricpath
Step 3 exit Exits configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# exit
switch#
Step 4 show feature-set (Optional) Displays which feature sets are enabled
on the switch.
Example:
switch# show feature-set
Step 5 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to the
startup configuration.
Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config

This example shows how to enable the FabricPath feature set on a switch:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# feature-set fabricpath
switch(config)#

Disabling the FabricPath Feature Set

When you disable the FabricPath feature set, the switch clears all FabricPath configurations from the
switch and you can no longer see any of the CLI commands that you need to configure FabricPath.

Note If your FabricPath configuration is large (multiple megabytes in size), disabling the FabricPath feature
set may take some time to complete.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. no feature-set fabricpath
3. exit
4. (Optional) show feature-set
5. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

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Configuring FabricPath Switching

DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Step 2 no feature-set fabricpath Disables the FabricPath feature in the default VDC.
Example:
switch(config)# no feature-set fabricpath
Step 3 exit Exits configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# exit
switch#
Step 4 show feature-set (Optional) Displays which feature sets are enabled
on the switch.
Example:
switch# show feature-set
Step 5 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to the
startup configuration.
Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config

This example shows how to disable the FabricPath feature:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# no feature-set fabricpath
switch(config)#

Creating a FabricPath Topology

You must install the FabricPath feature set on all switches on which you want to configure FabricPath.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. fabricpath topology topology-number
3. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

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Configuring FabricPath Switching

DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Step 2 fabricpath topology topology-number Specifies the FabricPath topology number.
Example: Note Cisco Nexus Series only supports 2
switch(config)# fabricpath topology 1 topologies; the default or base topology
(topology 0) and another optional topology
(for example, topology 1).
Step 3 show fabricpath topology (Optional) Displays information about the
FabricPath IS-IS toopology.
Example:
switch# show fabricpath
Step 4 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to the
startup configuration.
Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config

This example shows how to configure the FabricPath topology:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# fabricpath topology 1
switch(config)#

Changing a FabricPath Switch ID (Optional)

By default, FabricPath assigns a unique switch ID to a switch after you enable FabricPath on the switch.
However, you can manually change the switch ID if you prefer.

Note You do not lose any traffic during switch ID changes.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. fabricpath switch-id value
3. exit
4. (Optional) show fabricpath switch-id
5. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

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Configuring FabricPath Switching

DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Step 2 fabricpath switch-id value Specifies the switch ID. The range is from 1 to 4094.
There is no default value.
Example:
switch(config)# fabricpath switch-id 25
switch(config)#
Step 3 exit Exits the configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# exit
switch)#
Step 4 show fabricpath switch-id (Optional) Displays information on the switch IDs.
Example:
switch# show fabricpath switch-id
Step 5 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to the
startup configuration.
Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config

This example shows how to manually change the FabricPath switch ID on a switch to 25:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# fabricpath switch-id 25
switch(config)#

Configuring the FabricPath Timers (Optional)

You can configure the following FabricPath timers:
• allocate-delay—Configures the delay for a new switch ID to be propagated throughout the network
before that value becomes available and permanent.
• linkup-delay—Configures the link bringup delay to detect conflicts in the switch ID. If the software
does find a conflict, the software takes some time to resolve the conflict and bring FabricPath to an
operational state.
• transition-delay—Configures the delay for propagating a transitioned value in the network; during
this period, all old and new switch ID values exist in the network. This situation occurs only while
the link comes up and the software checks to see if the network has two identical switch IDs.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. fabricpath timers {allocate-delay seconds | linkup-delay seconds | transition-delay seconds}
3. exit
4. (Optional) show fabricpath timers

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Configuring FabricPath Switching

5. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Step 2 fabricpath timers {allocate-delay seconds Specifies the FabricPath timer values. The range is
| linkup-delay seconds | transition-delay from 1 to 1200 seconds for each of these timers. The
seconds}
default values are as follows:
Example: • allocate-delay—10 seconds
switch(config)# fabricpath allocate-delay
600 • linkup-delay—10 seconds
switch(config)#
• transition-delay—10 seconds
Step 3 exit Exits the configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# exit
switch)#
Step 4 show fabricpath timers (Optional) Displays information on the FabricPath
timers.
Example:
switch# show fabricpath timers
Step 5 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to the
startup configuration.
Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config

This example shows how to configure the allocation-delay for a FabricPath timer to 600 seconds:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# fabricpath timer allocate-delay 600
switch(config)#

Disabling FabricPath Graceful Merges (Optional)

By default, graceful merges are enabled. If desired, you can disable this aspect of the FabricPath feature.
However, if you disable graceful merges, you must do so on all FabricPath switches.

Note You may experience traffic drops if you disable this feature.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. [no] fabricpath graceful-merge disable
3. exit
4. (Optional) show running-config

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Configuring FabricPath Switching

5. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Step 2 [no] fabricpath graceful-merge disable Disables graceful merge of the FabricPath feature.
To reenable this feature, enter the no form of the
Example:
switch(config)# fabricpath graceful-merge
command.
disable
switch(config)#
Step 3 exit Exits configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# exit
switch)#
Step 4 show running-config (Optional) Displays information on the
configuration running on the switch.
Example:
switch# show running-config
Step 5 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to the
startup configuration.
Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config

This example shows how to disable graceful merges on a FabricPath switch:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# fabricpath graceful-merge disable
switch(config)#

Forcing the Links to Come Up (Optional)

Note We do NOT recommend that you use the fabricpath force link-bringup command to force the network
links to connect.

As a one-time event, you can force the FabricPath network links to connect if they are not coming up
because of switch ID conflicts or other problems in the network.
You must repeat this configuration on every switch in the FabricPath network.

SUMMARY STEPS

Step 1 fabricpath force link-bringup

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Verifying the FabricPath Switching Configuration

DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 fabricpath force link-bringup Forces the FabricPath network links to come up as a
one-time event.
Example:
switch# fabricpath force link-bringup Note This command is not saved when you enter
switch# the copy running-config startup-config
command.

This example shows how to force the FabricPath network links to come up as a one-time event:
switch# fabricpath force link-bringup
switch#

Verifying the FabricPath Switching Configuration

To display FabricPath switching information, perform one of the following tasks:

Command Purpose
show feature-set Displays whether FabricPath is enabled or not.
show fabricpath conflict {all [detail] | link Displays information on conflicts in the
[detail] | switch-id [detail] | transitions [detail]} FabricPath network.
show fabricpath switch-id [local] Displays information on the FabricPath network
by switch ID.
show fabricpath system-id {mac-addr} Displays information on the FabricPath network
by system ID.
show fabricpath timers Displays settings for the allocate-delay,
linkup-delay, and transition-delay timers for the
FabricPath network.

See Chapter 5, “Configuring Advanced FabricPath Features,” for more commands that display the
FabricPath switching functionality.

Monitoring FabricPath Switching Statistics

Use the following commands to display or clear the FabricPath switching statistics:
• load- interval {interval seconds {1 | 2 | 3}}
• show interface counters [module module]
• show interface counters detailed [all]
• show interface counters errors [module module]
• clear counters [interface]

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 Chapter 2 Configuring FabricPath Switching
Configuration Example for FabricPath Switching

Configuration Example for FabricPath Switching

Step 1 Install FabricPath on all the switches.
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# install feature-set fabricpath
switch(config)#

Step 2 Enable FabricPath on all the switches.

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# feature-set fabricpath
switch(config)#

Step 3 (Optional) Manually configure a switch ID for the FabricPath switch.

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# fabricpath switch-id 25
switch(config)#

Step 4 Save the configuration.

switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config
switch(config)#

Default Settings for FabricPath Switching

Table 2-1 lists the default settings for FabricPath switching parameters.

Table 2-1 Default FabricPath Parameters

Parameters Default
FabricPath Disabled
MAC address learning mode • FabricPath VLANs—Only conversational
learning
• CE VLANs—Traditional (nonconversational)
learning
allocate-delay timer 10 seconds
linkup-delay timer 10 seconds
transition-delay timer 10 seconds
graceful merge Enabled

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 Chapter 2 Configuring FabricPath Switching
Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Switching

Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Switching

Table 2-2 lists the release history for these features.

Table 2-2 Feature History for FabricPath

Feature Name Releases Feature Information

FabricPath Switching 5.1(3)N1(1) This feature was introduced.

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 CH A P T E R 3
Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

This chapter describes how to configure the FabricPath interfaces on the Cisco NX-OS 5500 Series
switches.
This chapter includes the following sections:
• Information About FabricPath Interfaces, page 3-1
• Configuring FabricPath Interfaces, page 3-5
• Verifying the FabricPath Interface Configuration, page 3-12
• Monitoring FabricPath Interface Statistics, page 3-13
• Configuration Example for FabricPath Interface, page 3-13
• Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Interfaces, page 3-15

Note For information about prerequisites, guidelines and limitations, and licensing requirements for
FabricPath, see Chapter 1, “Overview.”

Information About FabricPath Interfaces

This section includes the following sections:
• FabricPath Interfaces, page 3-1
• STP and the FabricPath Network, page 3-2
• vPC+, page 3-3

FabricPath Interfaces
After you enable FabricPath on the switches that you are using, you can configure an Ethernet interface
or a port-channel interface as a FabricPath interface. If one member of the port channel is in FabricPath
mode, all the other members will be in FabricPath mode. After you configure the interface as a
FabricPath interface, it automatically becomes a trunk port, capable of carrying traffic for multiple
VLANs. You can also configure all the ports on the switch as FabricPath interfaces simultaneously.
The following interface modes carry traffic for the following types of VLANs:
• Interfaces on the switch that are configured as FabricPath interfaces can carry traffic only for
FabricPath VLANs.

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Information About FabricPath Interfaces

• Interfaces on the switch that are not configured as FabricPath interfaces carry traffic for the
following:
– FabricPath VLANs
– Classical Ethernet (CE) VLANS
See Chapter 4, “Configuring FabricPath Forwarding,” for information about FabricPath and CE VLANs.
The FabricPath interfaces connect only to other FabricPath interfaces within the FabricPath network.
These FabricPath ports operate on the information in the FabricPath headers and Layer 2 Intermediate
System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) only, and they do not run STP. These ports are aware only of
FabricPath VLANs; they are unaware of any CE VLANs. By default, all VLANs are allowed on a trunk
port, so the FabricPath interface carries traffic for all FabricPath VLANs.

STP and the FabricPath Network

The Layer 2 gateway switches, which are on the edge between the CE and the FabricPath network, must
be configured as the root for all Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) domains that are connected to a
FabricPath network.
The STP domains do not cross into the FabricPath network (see Figure 3-1).

Figure 3-1 STP Boundary Termination at FabricPath Network Border

FP core switches

FabricPath
(L2 IS-IS)
FP Layer 2
gateway switches

BP
BPDU
DU

Classical D U D
U
BP
BP

Ethernet
(STP)

STP STP
Domain 1 Domain 2

FabricPath ports
199518

CE port

You must configure the FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switch to have the lowest STP priority of all the
switches in the STP domain to which it is attached. You must also configure all the FabricPath Layer 2
gateway switches that are connected to one FabricPath network to have the same priority. The software
assigns the bridge ID for the Layer 2 gateway switches from a pool of reserved MAC addresses.

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Chapter 3 Configuring FabricPath Interfaces
Information About FabricPath Interfaces

To ensure a loop-free topology for the CE/FabricPath hybrid network, the FabricPath network
automatically displays as a single bridge to all connected CE switches.

Note You must set the STP priority on all FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches to a value low enough to ensure
that they become root for any attached STP domains.

Other than configuring the STP priority on the FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches, you do not need to
configure anything for the STP to work seamlessly with the FabricPath network. Only connected CE
switches form a single STP domain. Those CE switches that are not interconnected form separate STP
domains (see Figure 3-1).
All CE interfaces should be designated ports, which occurs automatically, or they are pruned from the
active STP topology. If the software prunes any port, the software returns a syslog message. The software
clears the port again only when that port is no longer receiving superior BPDUs.
The FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switch also propagates the Topology Change Notifications (TCNs) on
all its CE interfaces.
The FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches terminate STP. The set of FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches
that are connected by STP forms the STP domain. Because many FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches
might be attached to a single FabricPath network, there might also be many separate STP domains (see
Figure 3-1). The switches in the separate STP domains need to know the TCN information only for the
domain to which they belong. You can configure a unique STP domain ID for each separate STP domain
that connects to the same FabricPath network. The Layer 2 IS-IS messages carry the TCNs across the
FabricPath network. Only those FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches in the same STP domain as the
TCN message need to act and propagate the message to connected CE switches.
When a FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switch receives a TCN for the STP domain it is part of, it takes the
following actions:
• Flushes all remote MAC addresses for that STP domain and the MAC addresses on the designated
port.
• Propagates the TCN to the other switches in the specified STP domain.
The switches in the separate STP domains need to receive the TCN information and then flush all remote
MAC addresses reachable by the STP domain that generated the TCN information.

vPC+
A virtual port channel+ (vPC+) domain allows a classical Ethernet (CE) vPC domain and a Cisco
FabricPath cloud to interoperate. A vPC+ also provides a First Hop Routing Protocol (FHRP)
active-active capability at the FabricPath to Layer 3 boundary.

Note vPC+ is an extension to virtual port channels (vPCs) that run CE only (see the “Configuring vPCs”
chapter in the Cisco Nexus 5500 Series NX-OS Interfaces Configuration Guide, Release 6.0). You cannot
configure a vPC+ domain and a vPC domain on the same Cisco Nexus 5500 Series switch.

A vPC+ domain enables Cisco Nexus 5500 Series switches that have FabricPath enabled to form a single
vPC+, which is a unique virtual switch to the rest of the FabricPath network. You configure the same
domain on each switch to enable the peers to identify each other and to form the vPC+. Each vPC+ has
its own virtual switch ID.

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Information About FabricPath Interfaces

Note We do not recommend that you enable the vPC peer switch feature when you are using a vPC+.

A vPC+ must still provide active-active Layer 2 paths for dual-homed CE switches or clouds, even
though the FabricPath network allows only 1-to-1 mapping between the MAC address and the switch ID.
vPC+ provides the solution by creating a unique virtual switch to the FabricPath network (see
Figure 3-2).

Figure 3-2 Comparison of vPC and vPC+

B B
CE CE
FP network S3 FP network S3

vPC S1 S2 vPC+ S1 S2

279717
S4
A
CE

A
CE

The FabricPath switch ID for the virtual switch becomes the outer source MAC address (OSA) in the
FabricPath encapsulation header. Each vPC+ domain must have its own virtual switch ID.
Layer 2 multipathing is achieved by emulating a single virtual switch. Packets forwarded from host A to
host B are sent to the MAC address of the virtual switch as the transit source, and traffic from host B to
host A is now load balanced.
The vPC+ downstream links are FabricPath edge interfaces that connect to the CE hosts.
The First Hop Routing Protocols (FHRPs), which include the Hot Standby Routing Protocol (HSRP) and
the Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP), interoperate with a vPC+. You should dual-attach all
Layer 3 switches to both vPC+ peer switches.

Note You must enable the Layer 3 connectivity from each vPC+ peer switch by configuring a VLAN network
interface for the same VLAN from both switches.

Both the primary and secondary vPC+ switches forward traffic, but only the primary FHRP switch
responds to ARP requests.
To simplify initial configuration verification and vPC+/HSRP troubleshooting, you can configure the
primary vPC+ peer switch with the FHRP active router highest priority.

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Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

In addition, you can use the priority command in the if-hsrp configuration mode to configure failover
thresholds for when a group state enabled on a vPC+ peer is in standby or in listen state. You can
configure lower and upper thresholds to prevent the group state flap, if there is an interface flap (this
feature is useful when there is more than one tracking object per group).
When the primary vPC+ peer switch fails over to the secondary vPC+ peer switch, the FHRP traffic
continues to flow seamlessly.
You should configure a separate Layer 3 link for routing from the vPC+ peer switches, rather than using
a VLAN network interface for this purpose.

Caution We do not recommend that you configure the burnt-in MAC address option (use-bia) for hot standby
router protocol HSRP or manually configure virtual MAC addresses for any FHRP protocol in a vPC+
environment because these configurations can adversely affect the vPC+ load balancing.

The HSRP use-bia is not supported with a vPC+. When you are configuring custom MAC addresses, you
must configure the same MAC address on both vPC+ peer switches.
You can configure a restore timer that delays the vPC+ coming back up until after the peer adjacency
forms and the VLAN interfaces are back up. This feature allows you to avoid packet drops if the routing
tables do not converge before the vPC+ is once again passing traffic.
Use the delay restore command to configure this feature.
See the Cisco Nexus 5500 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide, Release 6.0 for more
information on FHRPs and routing.

Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

You must configure FabricPath interfaces on all switches that are enabled for FabricPath.

Tip If you cannot see any of these commands, verify that you have installed and enabled the Fabricpath
feature set.

This section includes the following topics:

• Configuring FabricPath Interfaces, page 3-5
• Configuring the STP Priority with Rapid PVST+, page 3-7
• Configuring the STP Priority with MST, page 3-8
• Configuring the STP Domain ID for STP Domains Connected to the Layer 2 Gateway Switch
(Optional), page 3-10
• Configuring a vPC+ Switch ID, page 3-11

Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

You must configure the interfaces for the FabricPath network as FabricPath interfaces.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have installed and enabled the FabricPath feature on all switches.

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Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. interface [ethernet slot/port | port-channel channel-no]
3. fabricpath topology topology-number
4. [no] switchport mode fabricpath
5. (Optional) system default switchport fabricpath
6. exit
7. (Optional) show interface
8. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Step 2 interface [ethernet slot/port | Enters interface configuration mode and specifies
port-channel channel-no] the interfaces that you want to configure as
Example:
FabricPath.
switch(config)# interface ethernet 2/11-15 The slot can be from 1 to 3. The following list
switch(config-if)#
defines the slots available:
• Slot 1 includes all the fixed ports. A Fabric
Extender only has one slot.
• Slot 2 includes the ports on the upper expansion
module (if populated).
• Slot 3 includes the ports on the lower expansion
module (if populated).
The port number within a particular slot can be from
1 to 128.
The port channel number assigned to the
EtherChannel logical interface can be from 1 to
4096.
Step 3 fabricpath topology topology-number Specifies the FabricPath topology number.
Example: Note Cisco Nexus Series only supports two
switch(config-if)# fabricpath topology 1 topologies; the default or base topology
switch(config-if)# (topology 0) and another optional topology
(for example, topology 1).
Step 4 [no] switchport mode fabricpath Specifies interfaces as FabricPath ports.
Example: Note The no keyword returns the interface to the
switch(config-if)# switchport mode default CE access interface. The FabricPath
fabricpath ports carry traffic only for those VLANs that
switch(config-if)#
are configured as FabricPath VLANs.

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Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

Command Purpose
Step 5 system default switchport fabricpath (Optional) Converts all CE interfaces on the switch
to FabricPath interfaces simultaneously.
Example:
switch(config-if)# system default
switchport fabricpath
switch(config-if)#
Step 6 exit Exits interface configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config-if)# exit
switch(config)#
Step 7 show interface (Optional) Displays information on all interfaces.
Example:
switch(config)# show interface
Step 8 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to the
startup configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

This example shows how to configure specified interfaces as FabricPath interfaces:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# interface ethernet 2/11-15
switch(config-if)# switchport mode fabricpath
switch(config-if)#

Configuring the STP Priority with Rapid PVST+

All Layer 2 gateway switches must have the same bridge priority when they are in the same STP domain.
Make sure that the STP priority configured for the Layer 2 gateway switches on a FabricPath network is
the lowest value in the Layer 2 network. Additionally, the priorities must match.
We recommend that you configure the STP priority on all FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches to 8192.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have installed and enabled the FabricPath feature on all switches.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. spanning-tree pseudo-information
3. spanning-tree vlan [vlan-id] priority [value]
4. exit
5. (Optional) show spanning-tree summary
6. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

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Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Step 2 spanning-tree pseudo-information Enters spanning tree pseudo-information
configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# spanning-tree
pseudo-information
switch(config-pseudo)#
Step 3 spanning-tree vlan [vlan-id] priority You must configure all the Rapid PVST+ VLANs on
[value] all the FabricPath Layer 2 gateway interfaces to a
Example:
lower STP priority. We recommend that you
switch(config-pseudo)# spanning-tree vlan configure the priority to be 8192.
11-20 priority 8192
switch(config-pseudo)#
Step 4 exit Exits the interface configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config-pseudo)# exit
switch(config)#
Step 5 show spanning-tree summary (Optional) Displays STP information.
Example:
switch# show spanning-tree summary
Step 6 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to the
startup configuration.
Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config

This example shows how to configure the Rapid PVST+ VLANs on the FabricPath Layer 2 gateway
switches to have an STP priority of 8192:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# spanning-tree pseudo-information
switch(config-pseudo)# spanning-tree vlan 11-20 priority 8192
switch(config)#

See the Cisco Nexus 5500 Series NX-OS Layer 2 Switching Configuration Guide, Release 6.0 for more
information on this command.

Configuring the STP Priority with MST

All Layer 2 gateway switches must have the same bridge priority when they are in the same STP domain.
Make sure that the STP priority configured for the Layer 2 gateway switches on a FabricPath network is
the lowest value in the Layer 2 network. Additionally, the priorities must match.
We recommend that you configure the STP priority for all Multiple Spanning-Tree (MST) instances on
all FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches to 8192.

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Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have installed and enabled the FabricPath feature on all switches.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. spanning-tree pseudo-information
3. spanning-tree mst [instance-id] priority [value]
4. exit
5. (Optional) show spanning-tree summary
6. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Step 2 spanning-tree pseudo-information Enters spanning tree pseudo-information
configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# spanning-tree
pseudo-information
switch(config-pseudo)#
Step 3 spanning-tree mst [instance-id] priority Configures all the MST VLANs on all the
[value] FabricPath Layer 2 gateway interfaces to a lower
Example:
STP priority. We recommend that you configure the
switch(config-pseudo)# spanning-tree mst priority to be 8192.
1-5 priority 8192
switch(config-pseudo)#
Step 4 exit Exits interface configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config-pseudo)# exit
switch(config)#
Step 5 show spanning-tree summary (Optional) Displays information on STP.
Example:
switch# show spanning-tree summary
Step 6 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to the
startup configuration.
Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config

This example shows how to configure the MST instances on the FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches to
have an STP priority of 8192:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# spanning-tree pseudo-information

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Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

switch(config-pseudo)# spanning-tree mst 1-5 priority 8192

switch(config-pseudo)#

See the Cisco Nexus 5500 Series NX-OS Layer 2 Switching Configuration Guide, Release 6.0 for more
information on this command.

Configuring the STP Domain ID for STP Domains Connected to the Layer 2
Gateway Switch (Optional)
Because there can be many FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches attached to a single FabricPath
network, there are also many separate STP domains that are each connected to a Layer 2 gateway switch.
You can configure a unique STP domain ID in the FabricPath network to propagate TCNs across all the
STP domains that are connected to the FabricPath network. This configuration ensures that all MAC
addresses are flushed when the software receives a TCN.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have installed and enabled the FabricPath feature on all switches.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. spanning-tree domain domain-id
3. exit
4. (Optional) show spanning-tree summary
5. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Step 2 spanning-tree domain domain-id Assigns an STP domain ID to the different STP
domains attached to FabricPath Layer 2 gateway
Example:
switch(config)# spanning-tree domain 5
switches that are connected to a single FabricPath
switch(config)# network. The range is from 1 to 1023.
Step 3 exit Exits configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# exit
switch#

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Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

Command Purpose
Step 4 show spanning-tree summary (Optional) Displays STP information.
Example:
switch# show spanning-tree summary
Step 5 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to the
startup configuration.
Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config

This example shows how to configure the STP domain ID attached to the FabricPath Layer 2 gateway
switch:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# spanning-tree domain 5
switch(config)# exit
switch

Configuring a vPC+ Switch ID

You can configure a vPC+ switch ID.

Note The vPC+ virtual SID cannot be the same as the FabricPath SID for the switch.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have enabled the FabricPath feature.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. vPC domain domain-id
3. fabricpath switch-id switch-id

DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal

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Verifying the FabricPath Interface Configuration

Command Purpose
Step 2 vPC domain domain-id Creates a vPC+ domain on the switch, and enters the
vPC-domain configuration mode for configuration
Example:
switch(config)# vPC domain 1
purposes.
Step 3 fabricpath switch-id switch-id Assigns a static vPC+ ID to the vPC+ peer. The
range is from 1 to 4094. This static ID is the virtual
Example:
switch(config-vPC-domain)# fabricpath
switch ID for FabricPath encapsulation.
switch-id 1 Note You must assign the same vPC+ switch ID to
each of the two vPC+ peer switches before
they can form an adjacency.

This example shows how to configure a vPC+ switch ID on each vPC+ peer switch:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# vPC domain 1
switch(config-vPC-domain)# fabricpath switch-id 1

See the Cisco Nexus 5500 Series NX-OS Interfaces Configuration Guide, Release 6.0 for complete
information on configuring vPCs.

Verifying the FabricPath Interface Configuration

To display FabricPath interfaces information, perform one of the following tasks:

Command Purpose
show feature-set Displays whether FabricPath is enabled on the
switch or not.
show interface brief Displays information on all interfaces.
show interface switchport Displays information, including access and trunk
interface, for all the Layer 2 interfaces.
show interface type {slot/port | channel-number} Displays interface configuration information.
[trunk]
show interface capabilities Displays information on the capabilities of the
interfaces.
show interface status Displays information on the status of the
interfaces.
show spanning-tree summary Displays STP information.
show fabricpath is-is database Displays STP TCN information.
show vPC brief Displays brief information on the vPC+ domains.
show vPC consistency-parameters {[vpc vpc-id Displays the status of those parameters that must
| global | vlans | interface {[ethernet mod/slot | be consistent across all vPC+ domain interfaces.
port-channel channel-number]}]}
show vPC peer-keepalive Displays information on the peer-keepalive
messages.

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Monitoring FabricPath Interface Statistics

Command Purpose
show vPC role Displays the peer status, the role of the local
switch, the vPC+ domain’s MAC address and
system priority, and the MAC address and priority
for the local vPC+ domain’s switch.
show vPC statistics {[peer-keepalive | peer-link Displays statistics on the vPC+ domains.
| vpc vpc-id]}
show running-config vPC [all] Displays running configuration information for
vPCs and vPC+ domains.

Monitoring FabricPath Interface Statistics

Use the following commands to display or clear FabricPath interface statistics:
• show interface counters [module module]
• show interface counters detailed [all]
• show interface counters errors [module module]
• clear counters [interface {[all | ethernet mod/slot | port-channel channel-number | loopback
virtual-interface-num | mgmt mgmt-interface-num | vlan vlan-id]} ]

Configuration Example for FabricPath Interface

To configure FabricPath interfaces, perform the following tasks on each switch:
• Enable FabricPath on each switch.
• Configure the interfaces that you want to designate as FabricPath interfaces.
• Set the STP priority switch to 8192 on all FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switches.
• (Optional) Set the STP domain ID for each of the separate STP domains that are connected to the
FabricPath network.
• (Optional) Configure a vPC+ switch ID.
To configure FabricPath interfaces, follow these steps:

Step 1 (Optional) Enable FabricPath on each switch.

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# feature-set fabricpath
switch(config-lldp)# exit
switch(config)#

Step 2 After you enable FabricPath on the switch, configure the specified interface as FabricPath interfaces.
switch(config)# interface ethernet 1/2
switch(config-if)# switchport mode fabricpath
switch(config-if)# exit
switch(config)#

Step 3 Configure the STP priority for all Rapid PVST+ VLANs as 8192.
switch# configure terminal

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Configuration Example for FabricPath Interface

switch(config)# spanning-tree vlan 11-20 priority 8192

switch(config)#

Step 4 Configure the STP priority for all MST instances as 8192.
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# spanning-tree mst 1-5 priority 8192
switch(config)#

Step 5 (Optional) Configure the STP domain ID on each FabricPath Layer 2 gateway switch attached to the
FabricPath network.
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# spanning-tree domain 5
switch(config)

Step 6 (Optional) Configure the vPC+ switch ID.

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# vPC domain 5
switch(config-vPC-domain)# fabricpath switch-id 100
switch(config-vPC-domain)# exit
switch(config)

If you are configuring the vPC+ with no existing vPC+, follow these steps:
1. In the vPC domain configuration mode, enter the fabricpath switch-id switch-id command.
2. On each of the vPC+ peer link interfaces in interface configuration mode, enter the switchport
mode fabricpath command.
3. On the vPC+ peer link port channel, enter the vPC peer-link command.
If you are changing an existing vPC configuration to a vPC+, follow these steps:
1. On each vPC peer link port channel, enter the shutdown command.
2. In the vPC domain configuration mode, enter the fabricpath switch-id switch-id command.
3. On each of the vPC+ peer link interfaces in interface configuration mode, enter the switchport
mode fabricpath command.
4. On the vPC+ peer link port channel, enter the no shutdown command.
Step 7 Save the configuration.
switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config
switch(config)#

If you are configuring a vPC+, and you see the following situations, you must enter the shutdown
command and then the no shutdown command on all the peer-link interfaces:
• There is no switchport mode FabricPath configuration on the peer-link interfaces, but the FabricPath
switch ID is configured in the vPC domain.
• The switchport mode fabricpath configuration is on the peer-link interfaces, but there is no
FabricPath switch ID in the vPC domain.

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Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

Table 3-1 lists the release history for this feature.

Table 3-1 Feature History for FabricPath

Feature Name Releases Feature Information

FabricPath Interfaces 5.1(3)N1(1) This feature was introduced.

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Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Interfaces

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 CH A P T E R 4
Configuring FabricPath Forwarding

This chapter describes how to configure FabricPath forwarding on Cisco Nexus 5500 Series switches.
This chapter includes the following sections:
• Information About FabricPath Forwarding, page 4-1
• Configuring FabricPath Forwarding, page 4-5
• Verifying the FabricPath Configuration, page 4-9
• Configuration Example for FabricPath Forwarding, page 4-10
• Default Settings for Fabric Path Forwarding, page 4-11
• Feature History for Configuring FabricPath, page 4-11

Note For information about prerequisites, guidelines and limitations, and licensing requirements for
FabricPath, see Chapter 1, “Overview.”

Information About FabricPath Forwarding

This section includes the following sections:
• FabricPath Forwarding Overview, page 4-1
• FabricPath VLANs, page 4-2
• Forwarding Known Unicast Packets Using ECMP, page 4-3
• Forwarding Trees for Broadcast, Unknown Unicast, and Multicast Packets, page 4-4

FabricPath Forwarding Overview

FabricPath provides a multipath Layer 2 domain that does not require STP for a loop-free environment.
Using the Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) protocol, the switch provides multiple
paths for Layer 2 packets.
Each FabricPath interface can learn multiple parallel paths to the other nodes in the FabricPath network.
Because you do not need to use STP, all the paths are available for forwarding traffic. The switch assigns
the optimal path per flow.

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Information About FabricPath Forwarding

The flow for known unicast packets is determined by the hierarchical FabricPath outer destination
address (ODA) and the outer source address (OSA) value (see Chapter 2, “Configuring FabricPath
Switching,” for more information on FabricPath hierarchical encapsulation). The software uses IS-IS
equal cost multipath (ECMP) to choose the forwarding path for these flows.
For multidestination traffic (unknown unicast, broadcast, and multicast), the software creates two paths
or trees. The broadcast and unknown unicast traffic flows through one of these trees. The software
distributes the multicast traffic between the two trees based on a hash. The software load balances
multicast traffic in the FabricPath network (see the “Forwarding Trees for Broadcast, Unknown Unicast,
and Multicast Packets” section on page 4-4 for more information).
FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS defines the trees. The highest switch ID is chosen for the root and the first tree
is built with that switch as the root. (If needed, you can configure the switch ID to specify which switch
has the highest switch ID and is, therefore, the root for the first tree.) Then, the root switch for the first
tree elects the root of the second tree, again based on switch ID, and the second tree flows from that root
switch. All of this information is advertised to the FabricPath network using Layer 2 IS-IS, so all the
switches in the network have the same information.
The software assigns the path at ingress and encodes that path in the FTag portion of the FabricPath
header. The software assigns one FTag per tree. Once decided and tagged, the packet uses the same tree
throughout the entire FabricPath network. All the nodes in the FabricPath network forward traffic based
on this same information because all nodes have the same information using Layer 2 IS-IS.
The FabricPath frame has a Reverse Path Forwarding (RPF) mechanism for multidestination packets,
which verifies that the packet is arriving on an interface that leads to the source switch. RPF drops the
packet if it is received from an interface that is not part of the tree.
The FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS protocol floods the link-state information across the FabricPath network.
Each switch sends hello packets on each FabricPath link and discovers its neighbors. When a neighbor
is discovered, the software creates an IS-IS adjacency. Each switch also sends advertisements and
updates to the link-state database through all the existing adjacencies.

FabricPath VLANs
To interact with the Classical Ethernet (CE) network, you set VLANs to either CE or FabricPath mode.
The CE VLANs carry traffic from the CE hosts to the FabricPath interfaces, and the FabricPath VLANs
carry traffic throughout the FabricPath topology. Only the active FabricPath VLANs configured on a
switch are advertised as part of the topology in the Layer 2 Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System
(IS-IS) messages.
The software automatically assigns all FabricPath interfaces and FabricPath VLANs to the FabricPath
topology. No added configuration is required. All the FabricPath VLANs and interfaces belong to that
topology.

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Information About FabricPath Forwarding

Figure 4-1 shows an example of the FabricPath topology with Classical Ethernet switches and
FabricPath/CE VLANs.

Figure 4-1 Example FabricPath Topology and Classical Ethernet Hosts

Uses FP
IS-IS

FP 3 FP

1 FP 5
Edge 2 VLANs 11-20 4 Edge
FP FP
VLANs=11-20 VLANs=11-20
CE VLANs=1-10 FP L2 CE VLANs=1-10
Gateway Switch

198880
Switch A - CE only Switch B - CE only
VLANs 1-20 VLANs 1-20
The default VLAN mode on the switch is the CE VLAN mode. The FabricPath interfaces carry traffic
only on the FabricPath VLANs; the CE VLANs do not come up on these interfaces.
You must exit the VLAN configuration mode for the VLAN mode change to take effect.

Note After you configure the VLANs and interfaces, no further configuration is required. The software
automatically creates and assigns the paths, and provides load balancing.

Forwarding Known Unicast Packets Using ECMP

The switch forwards unicast traffic per flow using the ODA field in the FabricPath header for known
unicast traffic. The FabricPath-enabled switch assigns the switch ID and the ODA for all encapsulated
traffic at the ingress switch. (See Chapter 2, “Configuring FabricPath Switching,” for more information
on FabricPath encapsulation.)
Once the switch assigns the ODA, the FabricPath switch uses the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS ECMP to
forward known unicast traffic. FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS has up to 16 active Layer 2 paths for all known
unicast packets. The Layer 2 IS-IS messages used by FabricPath are separate and distinct from the Layer
3 IS-IS messages used by the routing protocols and the Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV).
The switches within the FabricPath network exchange topology information using IS-IS adjacencies and
forward the traffic along those paths for known unicast traffic flows. Each node in the FabricPath
network looks at the FabricPath header for each traffic flow and makes an ECMP forwarding choice
based on the available next hops.

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Information About FabricPath Forwarding

Forwarding Trees for Broadcast, Unknown Unicast, and Multicast Packets

FabricPath has a loop-free broadcast functionality that carries broadcast, unknown unicast, and multicast
packets, or multidestination traffic. For each broadcast, unknown unicast, and multicast traffic flow, the
software chooses the forwarding path from among two software-created paths or trees. The software
creates two trees to forward multidestination traffic.
For the FabricPath network, the software creates a broadcast tree that carries broadcast traffic, unknown
unicast traffic through the FabricPath network. The software also creates another tree; all the multicast
traffic flows are load balanced across these two trees for each flow. Each tree is identified in the
FabricPath network by a unique value or FTag. Within the FabricPath network, the software elects a root
node that becomes root for the broadcast tree. That node also identifies another bridge to become root
for the second multidestination tree, which load balances the multicast traffic.
The FTag is assigned by the ingress switch, along with the ODA and OSA, as part of the FabricPath
encapsulation. The FTag determines which loop-free tree the multidestination traffic flow follows
through the FabricPath network. The software assigns the trees per flow.
Figure 4-2 shows these trees.

Figure 4-2 Trees for Forwarding Multidestination FabricPath Flows for a Given Flow

FTag
Assigned at Ingress

Unknown unicast
Broadcast
Multicast
(load-balanced) 198940
Tree/FTag Tree/FTag

Each node in the FabricPath network shares the same view of the forwarding trees for a given FTag.

Forwarding Multicast Packets

Using FabricPath, you can configure Layer 2 multicast multipathing. FabricPath uses a hash-based
system to assign each of the multicast flows to one of the two designated trees to ensure that the multicast
traffic is load balanced.
The software uses FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS and Classical Ethernet IGMP snooping to learn the multicast
group information at the boundaries of the FabricPath/Classical Ethernet network. The software carries
that information through the FabricPath network using a new Layer 2 IS-IS LSP called Group
Membership LSP (GM-LSP). GM-LSPs carry multicast group/source membership information. This
information is carried across the FabricPath network. All FabricPath switches maintain multicast routing
information and forward multicast data packets only to switches that have interested receivers. Each
node in the FabricPath topology shares the same view and contains the same information.
The multicast traffic uses VLAN information to allocate traffic to one or the other of the two multicast
trees. This software constrains multicast based on the group IP address
IGMP snooping and FabricPath IS-IS, using GM-LSP, work together to build per-VLAN multicast
group-based trees across the FabricPath network. IGMP snooping on edge switches learns of receivers
and routers and builds an edge-port multicast state. FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS propagates this group

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Configuring FabricPath Forwarding

information through the FabricPath network using GM-LSPs and build the state in the FabricPath
network. These GM-LSPs originate from the switches at the edge of the FabricPath network that have
multicast groups.
For Layer 2 multicast traffic, you need not run PIM at all when using FabricPath.
For Layer 3 multicast packets, the software sets the ODA to a special multicast group that identifies all
IP routers for that group and forwards the traffic along the tree for that group.

Configuring FabricPath Forwarding

Tip If you cannot see any of these commands, verify that you have installed and enabled the FabricPath
feature set on the switch.

You must make these configurations on every switch in the FabricPath network.
Only those VLANs that are configured as FabricPath VLANs can belong to the FabricPath topology. By
default, all FabricPath VLANs are assigned to the base topology (topology 0). However, you can
configure the FabricPath VLAN can belong to a different topology.
FabricPath has two topologies, you need to set the VLAN mode for those VLANs that you want to
traverse the FabricPath network to FabricPath VLAN.
After you configure the VLAN modes and interfaces, the software automatically creates the required
paths. You do not need to perform any additional configuration for FabricPath.
This section includes the following topics:
• Setting the VLAN Mode to FabricPath or CE, page 4-5
• Mapping FabricPath VLANs to a Topology, page 4-6

Setting the VLAN Mode to FabricPath or CE

The default VLAN mode is CE.
You designate those VLANs that you want to carry FabricPath traffic on the network by configuring them
as FabricPath VLANs.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have created the VLANs.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. vlan vlan-id
3. mode [ce | fabricpath]
4. exit
5. (Optional) show fabricpath topology vlans [active]
6. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

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DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Step 2 vlan vlan-id Enters the VLAN configuration mode and identifies
those VLANs that you want to carry FabricPath
Example:
switch(config)# vlan 1-10
traffic.
switch(config-vlan)# The VLAN range is from 1 to 4094.
Note You cannot modify VLAN 1 or any of the
internally allocated VLANs.
Step 3 mode [ce | fabricpath] Configures the VLANs as FabricPath VLANs. The
default VLAN mode is CE.
Example:
switch(config-vlan)# mode fabricpath Note A VLAN must be either a CE or an
switch(config-vlan)# FabricPath VLAN on the FabricPath switch.
Step 4 exit Exits the VLAN configuration mode.
Example: Note As with all VLANs, you must exit the
switch(config-vlan)# exit VLAN configuration mode for the VLAN
switch(config)# mode (CE or FabricPath) to take effect.
Step 5 show fabricpath topology vlans [active] (Optional) Displays information about all active
VLANs in the FabricPath topology.
Example:
switch# show fabricpath topology vlans
Step 6 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to the
startup configuration.
Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config

This example shows how to specify VLANs as FabricPath VLANs:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# vlan 1-10
switch(config-vlan)# mode fabricpath
switch(config-vlan)# exit
switch(config)# exit

Mapping FabricPath VLANs to a Topology

The default VLAN mode is CE.
You designate those VLANs that you want to carry FabricPath traffic on the network by configuring them
as FabricPath VLANs. By default, all FabricPath VLANs belong to default topology 0. Also FabricPath
VLANs can be a member of only one topology.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have created the VLANs.

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SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. fabricpath topology topology-number
3. member vlan vlan-id
4. (Optional) show fabricpath topology vlans [active]
5. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Step 2 fabricpath topology topology-number Specifies the FabricPath topology number.
Example: Note Cisco Nexus 5500 Series switches support
switch(config)# fabricpath topology 1 two Fabricpath topologies, the default or
switch(config-fp-toplology)# base topology (topology 0), and another
optional topology (for example, topology 1).
Step 3 member vlan vlan-id Specifies the VLANs to assign to FabricPath
topology.
Example:
switch(config-fp-toplolgy)# member vlan
501-600
switch(config-vlan)#
Step 4 show fabricpath topology vlans [active] (Optional) Displays information about all active
VLANs in the FabricPath topology.
Example:
switch# show fabricpath topology vlans
Step 5 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to the
startup configuration.
Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config

This example shows how to map a VLAN to a FabricPath topology:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# fabricpath topology 1
switch(config-fp-topology)# member vlan 501-600
switch(config-fp-topology)# exit

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Configuring FabricPath Unicast Load Balancing (Optional)

The FabricPath network automatically balances unicast traffic when multiple paths are available.
However, you can configure specific load balancing for the unicast traffic. The default is to use all
options.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure that you have enabled the FabricPath feature set.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. fabricpath load-balance unicast {include-vlan | layer2 | layer3 | layer4 | mixed}
3. exit
4. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enter global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Step 2 fabricpath load-balance unicast Configures load balancing for FabricPath unicast
{include-vlan | layer2 | layer3 | layer4 | traffic along the following parameters:
mixed}
• include-vlan—Specifies that the load-balancing
Example: parameters use VLAN.
switch(config)# fabricpath load-balance
unicast source • layer2—Specifies that the load-balancing
switch(config-vlan)# parameters only include Layer 2 parameters.
• layer3—Specifies that the load-balancing
parameters only include Layer3 parameters.
• layer4—Specifies that the load-balancing
parameters only include Layer 4 parameters.
• mixed—Specifies that the load-balancing
parameters include a mix of Layer 3 and Layer
4 parameters.
This is the default configuration. To return to the
default unicast load-balancing scheme, enter the no
form of this command.

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Command Purpose
Step 3 exit Exit configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# exit
switch(config)#
Step 4 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copy the running configuration to the
startup configuration.
Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config

This example shows how to configure FabricPath unicast load balancing with source parameters:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# fabricpath load-balance unicast include-vlan
switch(config)#

Verifying the FabricPath Configuration

To display FabricPath forwarding information, perform one of the following tasks:

Tip For more information about these commands and the options available, see the Cisco Nexus 5500 Series
NX-OS FabricPath Command Reference.

Command Purpose
show feature-set Displays whether FabricPath is enabled or not.
show {l2 | fabricpath} route [switchid switch-id] Displays unicast routes.
[detail] [hex]
show {l2 | fabricpath} mroute {[vdc_omf] | Displays multicast routes.
[vlan vlanid] {{[omf] | [flood] | [source {srcaddr
| ipv6srcaddr}] [group {groupaddr |
ipv6groupaddr}]} [resolved] [ftag ftag-id]
[hex]}
show fabricpath topology [detail] Displays information on the FabricPath topology.
show fabricpath topology interface Displays information on all FabricPath topology
interfaces.
show fabricpath topology vlan [active] Displays information on all FabricPath topology
VLANs.
show fabricpath topology ftag [active] Displays information on all FabricPath topology
[multicast] [unicast] FTags.
show running-config fabricpath Displays the running configuration for
FabricPath.

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Configuration Example for FabricPath Forwarding

Command Purpose
show fabricpath load-balance unicast Displays FabricPath unicast load-balancing
forwarding-path ftag ftag-ID switchid information.
switch-ID src-mac MAC-addr
This command contains the following options:
• ftag-ID—FTag for which you want to view
load-balancing. The FTag value is from 0 to
4,294,967,295.
• switch-ID—The ID of the switch for which
you want to view load-balancing. The switch
ID is from 0 to 4,294,967,295.
show fabricpath load-balance multicast Displays FabricPath multicast load-balancing
ftag-selected vlan vlan-id macg macg information. The output from this command is
valid for multicast traffic ingressing on non-vPC
ports. For multicast traffic ingressing on vPC
ports, traffic picks the active Ftag only for that
switch.
This command contains the following options:
• vlan-id—A VLAN ID in a range between 1
and 4094.
• macg—The multicast group MAC address.
show vlan Displays information on all FabricPath and CE
VLANs.

Configuration Example for FabricPath Forwarding

To configure the basic FabricPath network, you must accomplish the following tasks on each switch after
you have configured the FabricPath interfaces:
• Enable the FabricPath feature set on each switch.
• Configure the FabricPath interfaces. (See Chapter 3, “Configuring FabricPath Interfaces,” for
information on configuring FabricPath interfaces.)
• Configure the FabricPath VLANs. The default is CE VLANs.
• Enter the show running-config fabricpath command to make sure that your FabricPath
configuration is correct.
To configure the FabricPath topology, follow these steps:

Step 1 Enable the FabricPath feature set.

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# feature-set fabricpath
switch(config)#

Step 2 Set the VLAN modes for those VLANs that you want in the FabricPath topology to FabricPath.
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# vlan 11-20
switch(config-vlan)# mode fabricpath
switch(config-vlan)# exit

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Default Settings for Fabric Path Forwarding

switch(config)

Step 3 Display the configuration to ensure that you have the correct configuration.
switch(config)# show running-config fabricpath
switch(config)#

Step 4 Save the configuration.

switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config
switch(config)#

Default Settings for Fabric Path Forwarding

Table 4-1 lists the default settings for the FabricPath forwarding parameters

Table 4-1 Default FabricPath Parameters

Parameters Default
FabricPath Topology 0
VLAN mode FabricPath

Feature History for Configuring FabricPath

Table 4-2 lists the release history for this feature.

Table 4-2 Feature History for FabricPath

Feature Name Releases Feature Information

FabricPath Forwarding 5.1(3)N1(1) This feature was introduced

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 CH A P T E R 5
Configuring Advanced FabricPath Features

This chapter describes how to configure advanced FabricPath features, such as using the Intermediate
System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) protocol on Cisco NX-OS 5500 Series switches.
This chapter includes the following sections:
• Information About Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Configurations, page 5-1
• Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters, page 5-2
• Verifying the FabricPath Advanced Configurations, page 5-12
• Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Advanced Features, page 5-13

Note For information about prerequisites, guidelines and limitations, and licensing requirements for
FabricPath, see Chapter 1, “Overview.”

Information About Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS

Configurations
We recommend that you run the FabricPath network using the default Layer 2 IS-IS configurations.
However, you can change many of the IS-IS settings as follows:
• Globally on the entire switch and on each switch in the FabricPath network
• On specified FabricPath switches within the FabricPath network
If you change any of the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS settings, ensure that you make the same changes for
those global parameters on every switch in the FabricPath network and for those parameters on every
applicable FabricPath switch in the network.
Layer 2 IS-IS is based on Layer 3 IS-IS with enhancements to run on Layer 2. The commands for Layer
2 IS-IS and Layer 3 IS-IS are not the same. Layer 2 IS-IS is the control plane in FabricPath and a single
protocol controls all unicast and multicast traffic. From a forwarding standpoint, FabricPath Layer 2
IS-IS forwards traffic for unicast, unknown unicast, broadcast, and multicast frames. Using Layer 2
IS-IS, the software maintains loop-free paths throughout the FabricPath network. (see Chapter 2,
“Configuring FabricPath Switching,” for information on default FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS behavior and
Chapter 4, “Configuring FabricPath Forwarding,” for information on FabricPath forwarding.)
You can use these advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS configurations to fine-tune the operation of the
FabricPath network.

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Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters

Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters

Although the Layer 2 IS-IS protocol works automatically once you enable FabricPath, you can
optionally configure parameters. Some FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS parameters you configure globally and
some you configure per switch. This section includes the following topics:
• Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters Globally, page 5-2
• Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters per Interface, page 5-6
• Clearing Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Counters, page 5-10

Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters Globally

Although the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS protocol works automatically once you enable FabricPath, you
can optionally configure the global parameters.

Note Graceful restart of IS-IS is not supported in Cisco 5500 Series Switches. While the graceful-restart
command exists in the CLI, it is not supported at this time.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. fabricpath domain default
3. (Optional) authentication-check
4. (Optional) authentication key-chain auth-key-chain-name
5. (Optional) authentication type {cleartext | md5}
6. (Optional) log-adjacency-changes
7. (Optional) lsp-gen-interval msecs [msecs msecs]
8. (Optional) lsp-mtu mtu
9. (Optional) max-lsp-lifetime secs
10. (Optional) maximum-paths max-paths
11. (Optional) reference-bandwidth {ref-mbps [Mbps] | ref-gbps [Gbps]}
12. (Optional) spf-interval msecs [msecs msecs]
13. (Optional) topoology topology number
14. (Optional) hostname dynamic
15. (Optional) root-priority value
16. exit
17. exit
18. (Optional) show running-config
19. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

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DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
Step 2 fabricpath domain default Enters the global FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS
configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# fabricpath domain default
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#
Step 3 authentication-check (Optional) Configures an authentication check
when the switch receives a protocol data unit
Example:
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#
(PDU). To turn the authentication check off, enter
authentication-check the no form of this command.
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#
Note The default is ON.
Step 4 authentication key-chain (Optional) Configures the authentication keychain.
auth-key-chain-name To clear this parameter, enter the no form of this
Example:
command.
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# The maximum size for the name of an
authentication key-chain trees
authentication keychain is 63 alphanumeric
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#
characters.
An example of key chain creation is as follows:
key chain trees
key 0
key-string cisco01
accept-lifetime 07:00:00 Sep 20 2011
infinite
send-lifetime 07:00:00 Sep 20 2011
infinite

See the Cisco Nexus 5500 Series NX-OS Security

Configuration Guide, Release 6.0 for information
about key chains.
Step 5 authentication-type {cleartext | md5} (Optional) Configures the authentication type. To
clear this parameter, enter the no form of this
Example:
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#
command.
authentication-type md5 You can set one of the following authentication
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#
types:
• cleartext—Specifies the cleartext
authentication method.
• md5—Specifies the Message Digest (MD5)
authentication.
Step 6 log-adjacency-changes (Optional) Sets the switch to send a log message
when the state of a FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS
Example:
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# log-
neighbor changes. To stop the log messages, enter
adjacency-changes the no form of this command. The default is OFF.
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#

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Command Purpose
Step 7 lsp-gen-interval msecs [msecs msecs] (Optional) Configures the link-state packet (LSP)
generation interval. To return to the default values,
Example:
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# lsp-gen-
enter the no form of this command. The optional
interval 100 parameters are as follows:
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#
• max-wait—The initial wait between the
trigger and LSP generation. The range is from
50 to 120000 milliseconds, and the default
value is 8000 milliseconds.
• lsp-initial-wait—The initial wait between the
trigger and LSP generation. The range is from
50 to 120000 milliseconds, and the default
value is 50 milliseconds.
• lsp-second-wait—The second wait used for
LSP throttle during backoff. The range is from
50 to 120000 milliseconds, and the default
value is 50 milliseconds.
Step 8 lsp-mtu mtu (Optional) Sets the LSP MTU. To return to the
default values, enter the no form of this command.
Example:
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# lsp-mtu
The range is from 128 to 4352, and the default
2000 value is 1492.
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#
Step 9 max-lsp-lifetime secs (Optional) Sets the maximum LSP lifetime in
seconds. To return to the default values, enter the
Example:
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# max-lsp-
no form of this command. The range is from 128 to
lifetime 1000 4352, and the default value is 1200.
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#
Step 10 maximum-paths max-paths (Optional) Sets the maximum number of paths per
destination. To return to the default values, enter
Example:
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# maximum-
the no form of this command. The range is from 1
paths 4 to 16, and the default value is 16.
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#
Step 11 reference-bandwidth {ref-mbps [Mbps] | (Optional) Configures the reference bandwidth,
ref-gbps [Gbps]} which is used to assign the FabricPath Layer 2
Example:
IS-IS cost. The default value is 400000 Mbps. To
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# reference- return to the default values, enter the no form of
bandwidth 200000 this command. The optional parameters are as
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# follows:
• ref-mbps—The range is from 1 to 4000000,
and the default value is 400000.
• ref-gbps—The range is from 1 to 4000, and the
default value is 400.

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Command Purpose
Step 12 spf-interval msecs [msecs msecs] (Optional) Configures the interval between
link-state advertisement (LSA) arrivals. To return
Example:
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# spf-
to the default values, enter the no form of this
interval 10000 command. The optional parameters are as follows:
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#
• spf-max-wait—The maximum wait between
the trigger and shortest path first (SPF)
computation. The range is from 50 to 120000
milliseconds, and the default value is 8000
milliseconds.
• spf-initial-wait—The initial wait between the
trigger and SPF computation. The range is
from 50 to 120000 milliseconds, and the
default value is 50 milliseconds.
• spf-second-wait—The second wait used for
SPF computation during backoff. The range is
from 50 to 120000 milliseconds, and the
default value is 50 milliseconds.
Step 13 topology topology number (Optional) Configures the topology number. The
topology number can be from 1 to 63.
Example:
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# topology 1
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#
Step 14 hostname dynamic (Optional) Enables dynamic hostname for the
FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS protocol. To disable the
Example:
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# hostname
dynamic hostname, enter the no form of this
dynamic command.
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)#
Step 15 root-priority value (Optional) Sets the priority for which node
becomes the Layer 2 IS-IS protocol root in the
Example:
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# root-
FabricPath network. The highest numerical value
priority 100 for the priority is likely to become the root. To
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# return to the default values, enter the no form of
this command. The range is from 1 to 255, and the
default value is 64.
Step 16 exit Exits global FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS configuration
mode.
Example:
switch(config-fabricpath-isis)# exit
switch(config)#
Step 17 exit Exits global configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# exit
switch#

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Command Purpose
Step 18 show running-config (Optional) Displays the running configuration.
Example:
switch# show running-config
switch#
Step 19 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to the
startup configuration.
Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config

See the Cisco Nexus 5500 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide, Release 6.0 for more
information on IS-IS commands.

Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters per Interface

Although the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS protocol works automatically once you enable FabricPath, you
can optionally configure the interface parameters.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. configure terminal
2. interface {ethernet mod/slot | port-channel channel-number}
3. (Optional) fabricpath isis authentication-check
4. (Optional) fabricpath isis authentication key-chain auth-key-chain-name
5. (Optional) fabricpath isis authentication type {cleartext | md5}
6. (Optional) fabricpath isis csnp-interval seconds
7. (Optional) fabricpath isis hello-interval seconds
8. (Optional) fabricpath isis hello-multiplier multiplier
9. (Optional) fabricpath isis hello-padding
10. (Optional) fabricpath isis lsp-interval milliseconds
11. (Optional) fabricpath isis metric metric
12. (Optional) fabricpath isis retransmit-interval seconds
13. (Optional) fabricpath isis retransmit-throttle- interval milliseconds
14. exit
15. (Optional) show running-config
16. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

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DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enters configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Step 2 interface {ethernet mod/slot | Enters interface configuration mode and specifies
port-channel channel-number} the interfaces that you want to configure.
Example: The slot can be from 1 to 3. The following list
switch(config)# interface ethernet 5/2 defines the slots available:
switch(config-if)#
• Slot 1 includes all the fixed ports. A Fabric
Extender only has one slot.
• Slot 2 includes the ports on the upper
expansion module (if populated).
• Slot 3 includes the ports on the lower
expansion module (if populated).
The port number within a particular slot can be
from 1 to 128.
The port channel number assigned to the
EtherChannel logical interface can be from 1 to
4096.
Step 3 fabricpath isis authentication-check (Optional) Enables authentication checking on
incoming FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS hello protocol
Example:
switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis
data units (PDUs) for the interface. The default is
authentication-check ON. To disable authentication, enter the no form of
switch(config-if)# the command.
Note Level specification is not required.

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Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters

Command Purpose
Step 4 fabricpath isis authentication key-chain (Optional) Assigns a password to authentication
auth-key-chain-name hello PDUs. To remove this password, enter the no
Example:
form of the command.
switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis The maximum size for the name of an
authentication key-chain trees
authentication keychain is 63 alphanumeric
switch(config-if)#
characters.
Note Level specification is not required.

An example of key chain creation is as follows:

key chain trees
key 0
key-string cisco01
accept-lifetime 07:00:00 Sep 20 2011
infinite
send-lifetime 07:00:00 Sep 20 2011
infinite

See the Cisco Nexus 5500 Series NX-OS Security

Configuration Guide, Release 6.0, for information
about key chains.
Step 5 fabricpath isis authentication-type (Optional) Specifies the authentication type for an
{cleartext | md5} interface for FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS hello PDUs.
Example:
To remove this type, enter the no form of the
switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis command.
authentication-type md5
You can set one of the following authentication
switch(config-if)#
types:
• cleartext—Specifies the cleartext
authentication method.
• md5—Specifies the Message Digest (MD5)
authentication.
Note Level specification is not required.
Step 6 fabricpath isis csnp-interval seconds (Optional) Specifies the interval in seconds
between Complete Sequence Number (CSNP)
Example:
switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis
PDUs sent on the interface. To return to the default
csnp-interval 60 value, enter the no form of this command.
switch(config-if)#
The range is from 1 to 65535, and the default value
is 10.
Step 7 fabricpath isis hello-interval seconds (Optional) Sets the hello interval between PDUs
sent on the interface. To return to the default value,
Example:
switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis
enter the no form of this command. The range is
hello-interval 20 from 1 to 65535, and the default value is 10.
switch(config-if)#
Note Level specification is not required.

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Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters

Command Purpose
Step 8 fabricpath isis hello-multiplier (Optional) Specifies the multiplier used to
multiplier calculate the interval within which hello PDUs
Example:
must be received or adjacency goes down. To return
switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis to the default value, enter the no form of this
hello-multiplier 20 command. The range is from 3 to 1000. The default
switch(config-if)# is 3.
Note Level specification is not required.
Step 9 fabricpath isis hello-padding (Optional) Enables padding on the hello PDUs. The
default is ON. To disable authentication, enter the
Example:
switch(config-if)# fabricpath
no form of the command.
hello-padding Note If you enter the always keyword with the
switch(config-if)#
no form of this command, the padding is
always on.
Step 10 fabricpath isis lsp-interval milliseconds (Optional) Sets the interval in milliseconds
between link-state packets (LSPs) sent on this
Example:
switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis
interface during flooding. To return to the default
lsp-interval 100 value, enter the no form of this command. The
switch(config-if)# range is from 10 to 65535. The default is 33.
Step 11 fabricpath isis metric metric (Optional) Configures the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS
metric for this interface. The range is from 0 to
Example:
switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis metric
16777215. To return to the default value, enter the
100 no form of this command. The default values are as
switch(config-if)# follows:
• 1 GB—400
• 10 GB—40
Step 12 fabricpath isis retransmit-interval (Optional) Sets the interval between initial LSP
seconds retransmissions. To return to the default value,
Example:
enter the no form of this command. The range is
switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis from 1 to 65535. The default is 5.
retransmit-interval 100
switch(config-if)#
Step 13 fabricpath isis retransmit-throttle- (Optional) Sets the interval between subsequent
interval milliseconds LSP retransmissions. To return to the default value,
Example:
enter the no form of this command. The range is
switch(config-if)# fabricpath isis from 20 to 65535. The default is 66.
retransmit-throttle-interval 100
switch(config-if)#
Step 14 exit Exits interface configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config-if)# exit
switch(config)#

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Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters

Command Purpose
Step 15 show running-config (Optional) Displays the running configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# show running-config
switch(config)#
Step 16 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to the
startup configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config
switch(config)#

See the Cisco Nexus 5500 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide, Release 6.0 and the
Cisco Nexus 5500 Series NX-OS FabricPath Command Reference for more information on IS-IS
commands.

Clearing Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Counters

You can clear the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS counters.

SUMMARY STEPS

Step 1 (Optional) clear fabricpath isis adjacency [* | system-id | interface {ethernet mod/slot | port-channel
channel-number}]
Step 2 (Optional) clear fabricpath isis statistics *
Step 3 (Optional) clear fabricpath isis traffic [* | interface {ethernet mod/slot | port-channel
channel-number}]

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Setting Advanced FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS Parameters

DETAILED STEPS

Command Purpose
Step 1 clear fabricpath isis adjacency [ * | (Optional) Clears the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS
ethernet | port-channel | system-id adjacency state.
{ethernet mod/slot | port-channel
channel-number | system-id sid}] • *—Specifies the IS-IS adjacencies on all
interfaces.
Example:
switch# clear fabricpath isis adjacency • ethernet—Specifies the Ethernet interface.
switch#
• mod/slot—The slot can be from 1 to 6. The
port number within a particular slot can be
from 1 to 96.
• port-channel—Specifies the port channel
interface.
• channel-number—Port channel number. The
range is from 1 to 4096.
• system-id—Specifies the system ID.
• sid—System ID in the form of
XXXX.XXXX.XXXX.
Note If you enter the * variable, you affect
forwarding which might interrupt traffic;
this command tears down all adjacencies.
Step 2 clear fabricpath isis statistics * (Optional) Clears all FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS
protocol statistics.
Example:
switch# clear fabricpath isis statistics *
switch#
Step 3 clear fabricpath isis traffic {* | (Optional) Clears FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS traffic
ethernet mod/slot [. sub-int ] | information.
port-channel channel-number]}
• *—Specifies the IS-IS adjacencies on all
Example: interfaces.
switch# clear fabricpath traffic
switch# • ethernet—Specifies the Ethernet interface.
• mod/slot—The slot can be from 1 to 3. The
port number within a particular slot can be
from 1 to 128.
• sub-int—Specifies the sub-interface number.
• port-channel—Specifies the port channel
interface.
• channel-number—Port channel number. The
range is from 1 to 4096.

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 Chapter 5 Configuring Advanced FabricPath Features
Verifying the FabricPath Advanced Configurations

Verifying the FabricPath Advanced Configurations

To display FabricPath information for advanced configurations perform one of the following tasks:

Command Purpose
show fabricpath isis adjacency [ {ethernet Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS adjacency
mod/slot | port-channel channel-number} | database.
system-id | detail | summary]
show fabricpath isis database [level-1] Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS database.
[mgroup] [detail | summary] {zero-seq |
router-id | adjacency}[SID.XX-XX]
show fabricpath isis hostname [detail} Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS dynamic
hostname exchange information.
show fabricpath isis interface [ethernet Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS related
mod/slot | port-channel channel-number] interface information.
[brief]
show fabricpath isis route [summary | detail] Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS routing
table for unicast routes.
show fabricpath isis spf-log [detail] Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS SPF
calculation statistics.
show fabricpath isis statistics Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS event
counters.
show fabricpath isis ftag [multidestination Displays the FTag values associated with the trees
tree_id] in the topology.
show fabricpath isis vlan-range Displays the congruent VLAN-set to topology
mapping.
show fabricpath isis trees [multidestination Displays the nodes in the trees, reachability to
tree_id] these notes through a specific interface, and the
configured metric.
show fabricpath isis switch-id Displays the switch IDs and reachability
information for the topology.
show fabricpath isis ip redistribute mroute Displays the locally learned multicast routes.
[vlan vlan-id [group group-id [source
source-id]]]
show fabricpath isis ip mroute [vlan vlan-id Displays the multicast routes learned from
[group group-id [source source-id]]] neighbors.
show fabricpath isis [protocol] Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS process
level information.
show fabricpath isis rrm [gm] {ethernet Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS
mod/slot | port-channel channel-number} retransmit-routing-message information.
show fabricpath isis srm [gm] {ethernet Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS
mod/slot | port-channel channel-number} send-routing-message information.
show fabricpath isis topology summary Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS topology
database.

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Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Advanced Features

Command Purpose
show fabricpath isis traffic {ethernet mod/slot | Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS traffic
port-channel channel-number} information.
show fabricpath isis ssn [gm] {ethernet Displays the FabricPath Layer 2 IS-IS
mod/slot | port-channel channel-number} send-sequence-number information.

Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Advanced Features

Table 5-1 lists the release history for these features.

Table 5-1 Feature History for FabricPath

Feature Name Releases Feature Information

Advanced FabricPath features 5.1(3)N1(1) These features were introduced with support for IS-IS.

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Feature History for Configuring FabricPath Advanced Features

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 A P P E N D I X A
Configuration Limits for Cisco NX-OS FabricPath

See the Cisco Nexus 5500 Series Configuration Limits for Cisco NX-OS for the FabricPath features
supported by Cisco NX-OS that have maximum configuration limits.

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 Appendix A Configuration Limits for Cisco NX-OS FabricPath

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 INDEX

FabricPath VLANs 2-4, 3-1, 4-2

C
configuring 4-5, 4-6
CE VLANs 2-4, 3-1, 4-2, 4-5, 4-6 example configuration 4-10
configuring 4-5, 4-6 feature set
conflict resolution 2-6 displaying 3-12
displaying 2-16 forwarding
conversational learning 2-4, 2-5 configuring 4-5
displaying 4-9
example configuration 4-10
D
trees 4-1
DHCP snooping 1-4 FTag 2-3
disabling 2-10 FTags 2-3, 2-6, 4-1
documentation
related documents i-viii
G

GM-LSP 4-4
E
graceful merge
ECMP 4-1, 4-3 configuring 2-14
enabling 1-3, 2-7 graceful migration 2-6
configuring 2-9 guidelines 1-3
example 3-13
encapsulation
I
EtherType 2-3
FTag 2-3 IGMP Snooping 4-5
PIM 4-5
interfaces
F
clearing counters 3-13
FabricPath displaying 3-12
configuring vPC+ 3-11 examples 3-13
switch ID 2-6 network 3-2
timers 2-6 statistics 3-13
FabricPath forwarding 4-1 STP 3-2
unicast traffic 4-3 tunnel 3-11

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 Index

K O

known unicast traffic 4-3 ODA 2-2

forwarding 2-4 OSA 2-2

L P

Layer 2 gateway switch 3-2 ports 3-1

STP priority 3-7
layer2 gateway switches 3-10
S
Layer 2 IS-IS 2-3, 5-1
adjacencies 2-3, 4-3 Spanning Tree Protocol 2-3
advanced settings 5-1 STP 3-2, 3-3
clearing 5-10 displaying 3-12
configuring 5-2 root 3-2
displaying 5-12 separate connected domains 3-10
ECMP 2-3 TCNs 3-3
global parameters 5-2 STP domain 3-13
interface parameters 5-6 STP domains 3-10
limitations 1-3 STP priority 3-7
load balancing example 3-13
displaying 4-9 switch ID 2-2, 2-6
unicast traffic 4-8 conflict 2-6
displaying 2-16
switching 2-1
M
clearing counters 2-16
MAC address default settings 2-17
hierarchical 2-3 example 2-5
MAC addresses 2-5 prerequisites 1-3
conversational learning 2-4 statistics 2-16
mobility 2-5 verifying 2-16
multicast traffic
groups 4-4
T
IGMP Snooping 4-5
multidestination traffic TCNs 3-3, 3-10
forwarding 2-4 timers 2-6
multipathing at Layer 2 4-1 allocate-delay 2-13
multiple paths configuring 2-12, 2-13
FTag 2-3

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 Index

displaying 2-16 displaying 3-12

linkup-delay 2-13 switch ID 3-11
transition-delay 2-13
TLV 2-6
TLV information 2-4
topology
FabricPath 4-3
traditional learning 2-4
traffic
CE 4-3
FabricPath 4-3
trees 4-1
displaying 4-9
troubleshooting 2-4, 2-6, 2-15, 3-3, 3-4, 4-3, 4-5
enabling 1-3, 2-7
traffic drops 2-14
trunk ports 3-1
TTL 2-3
tunnels
creating 3-11

unicast traffic 4-3

VLAN modes 2-4

VLANs 2-4, 3-1, 4-5, 4-6
default 4-11
default mode 4-3
displaying 4-9
example configuration 4-10
FabricPath 4-2
troubleshooting 4-3
4-3
vPC+ 3-3, 3-4
configuring 3-14

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 Index

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