Category Archives: Protocols

LACP and Trunking Between Brocade FOS and Dell FTOS Switches

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Humair

In this short lab I’ll demonstrate creating a LACP LAG and trunking between Brocade switches running FOS and Dell switches running FTOS. I utilize two Brocade 8000 switches [FOS 6.3], one Dell S60 switch [FTOS 8.3.3.8], and one Dell PowerEdge … Continue reading →

Posted in Brocade, Dell, Dell Force10, Labs, Networking, Protocols, Technology | Tagged 802.1q, Brocade, Brocade 8000, Brocade 8000 Converged Switch, Brocade 8000 FCoE Switch, Brocade FOS, Brocade-proprietary LAG, Dell, Dell Force10 FTOS, Dell Force10 S5000, Dell Force10 S60, Dell FTOS, Dell PowerEdge 2950, Dell PowerEdge 2950 server, Dell S5000, Dell S5000 converged switch, Dell S5000 FCoE switch, Dell S60, Dynamic LAG, Ethernet, FC, Fibre Channel, Force10 FTOS, Force10 S5000, Force10 S60, LACP, LACP LAG, LAG, port channel, PowerEdge 2950, PowerEdge 2950 server, QLE8242, QLE8242 CNA, QLogic 8242, QLogic 8242 CNA, QLogic QLE8242, QLogic QLE8242 CNA, S5000, S60, Static LAG, Trunking, Trunking between Brocade and Dell, Trunking between Brocade and Dell Force10, Trunking between Brocade and Force10, vlans | Leave a comment

Default Port and VLAN Configuration/Behavior on Cisco IOS switches

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Humair

In this short lab, I use two Cisco Catalyst 3550 switches [IOS 12.2(44)SE6] to demonstrate the default port and VLAN behavior on a Cisco switch running IOS. Below is the network diagram for this lab.

Posted in Cisco, Labs, Networking, Protocols, Technology | Tagged 3550, auto-created trunk link, Catalyst, Cisco 3550 default configuration, Cisco auto-created trunk link, Cisco Catalyst, Cisco Catalyst 3550, Cisco Catalyst 3550 default configuration, Cisco Catalyst default configuration, Cisco default configuration, Cisco default port configuration, Cisco default VLAN configuration, Cisco IOS, Cisco IOS switch, Cisco IOS switches, DNS broadcast, IOS default configuration, omain Name System (DNS) broadcast, omain Name System broadcast, switchport mode, switchport mode access, switchport mode dynamic desirable, switchport mode trunk | Leave a comment

AAA Login Authentication on Dell Switches Running FTOS

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Humair

By default Dell switches running FTOS use local username/passwords for login authentication. This default behavior is assigned in the ‘default’ method list. To change the login authentication behavior, you can either modify the ‘default’ method list or create new method … Continue reading →

Posted in Dell, Dell Force10, Labs, Network Security, Networking, Protocols, Technology | Tagged AAA, Accounting, Authentication, Authentication Authorization and Accounting, Authorization, console terminal server, Cyclades, Cyclades console terminal server, Cyclades TS3000, Cyclades TS3000 terminal server, Dell, Dell AAA, Dell Force10, Dell Force10 AAA, Dell Force10 RADIUS, Dell Force10 TACACS+, Dell RADIUS, Dell TACACS+, Force10 RADIUS, Force10 TACACS+, FTOS, FTOS 8.3.3.8, FTOS AAA, FTOS RADIUS, FTOS security, FTOS TACACS+, login authentication, management switch, password, RADIUS, TACACS+, terminal server, TS3000, username | Leave a comment

Network Virtualization with VMware NSX Dominates VMworld 2013

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Humair

I’ve been meaning to write this blog for some time now as VMworld 2013 ended in San Francisco in late August. However, as VMworld just eneded in Barcelona, Spain last week, I guess it’s still not too late. I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Arista, Dell, Network Architecture, Networking, Protocols, Virtualization and Cloud Computing, VMware, VMworld 2013 | Tagged Arista, Arista 7150S, CloudStack, Dell, Dell S6000, distributed firewall, ESXi, Hyper-V, KVM, Microsoft Hyper-V, network, network overlay, Network Virtualization, network virtualization platform, Nicira, Nicira NVP, NSX, NSX API, NSX Manager, NSX vSwitch, Open vSwitch, OpenStack, Palo Alto Networks, REST, REST API, RESTful API, STT, tunneling protocols, ultivendor hypervisor environment, vCloud Automation Center, VDS, virtual distributed switch, virtualization, vMotion, vmware, VMware network virtualization platform, VMware NSX, VMware NSX platform, VMware SDDC Architects, VMware Virtual SAN, VMworld, VMworld 2013, vSphere Distributed Switch, vSwitch, VTEP, VXLAN, VXLAN Termination End Point | Leave a comment

Dell Networking Extends Multipathing Capabilities with VLT Routing

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Humair

Dell Networking recently released enhancements to their VLT multipathing technology in FTOS 9.2 now available on S4810, S4820T, and Z9000. For a quick primer on Dell’s VLT technology read my prior blog post here. The most noticeable enhancement is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Dell, Dell Force10, Labs, Network Architecture, Networking, Protocols, Technology | Tagged Dell Force10, Dell MXL, Dell Networking, Dell S4810, Dell S4820T, Dell Z9000, FTOS, FTOS 9.2, layer 3 multipathing, layer 3 routing, layer 3 VLT, multicast routing multipathing support, multicast routing over VLT, multipathing, multipathing technology, MXL, OSPF, OSPF over VLT, peer-routing, peer-routing timeout, routed VLT, Routing over VLT, routing over VLT using OSPF, S4810, S4820T, Virtual Trunk Link, VLT, vlt domain, VLT interconnect, VLT Routing, VLT technology, vlt-peer-lag, vlt-peer-lag port-channel, VLTi, Z9000 | 3 Comments

Dell Networking S5000 – FCoE Configuration [Video]

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Humair

In my prior blog posts, I discussed Dell’s new converged switch, the Dell S5000, and provided links to two Dell S5000 whitepapers I recently published. Now you can see the Dell S5000 converged switch in action within a converged infrastructure … Continue reading →

Posted in Dell, Dell Compellent, Fibre Channel, Labs, Network Architecture, Networking, Protocols, Technology | Tagged Brocade, Compellent, Compellent SC220, Compellent SC8000, converged infrastructure, converged network, converged networks, Dell Compellent SC220, Dell Compellent SC8000, Dell Force10 S5000, Dell Networking S5000, Dell S5000, Dell S5000 configuration, Dell S5000 converged switch, Ethernet-FC bridge, FC, FC Switch, FCF, FCoE, FCoE configuration, FCoE-FC Bridge, Fibre Channel Forwarder, Fibre Channel over Ethernet, Fibre Channel switch, Froce10 S5000, N_Port_ID Virtualization, NPIV, NPIV Proxy Gateway, S5000, S5000 configuration, S5000 converged switch, SC220, SC8000 | Leave a comment

Dell Networking S5000: Deployment of a Converged Infrastructure with FCoE

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Humair

Checkout my latest Dell Networking document and learn how to deploy FCoE using the Dell S5000 converged switch: “Dell Networking S5000: Deployment of a Converged Infrastructure with FCoE“.

Posted in Brocade, Dell, Dell Compellent, Fibre Channel, Labs, Network Architecture, Networking, Protocols, Storage, Technology | Tagged Brocade, Compellent, Compellent SC220, Compellent SC8000, converged infrastructure, converged network, converged networks, Dell Compellent SC220, Dell Compellent SC8000, Dell Force10 S5000, Dell Networking S5000, Dell S5000, Dell S5000 configuration, Dell S5000 converged switch, Ethernet-FC bridge, FC, FC Switch, FCF, FCoE, FCoE-FC Bridge, Fibre Channel Forwarder, Fibre Channel over Ethernet, Fibre Channel switch, Froce10 S5000, N_Port_ID Virtualization, NPIV, NPIV Proxy Gateway, S5000, S5000 configuration, S5000 converged switch, SC220, SC8000 | 6 Comments

Dell Networking S5000: The Building Blocks of Unified Fabric and LAN/SAN Convergence

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Humair

Check out my latest Dell Networking whitepaper: Dell Networking S5000: The Building Blocks of Unified Fabric and LAN/SAN Convergence. The whitepaper demonstrates and explains the movement from a traditional non-converged LAN/SAN network to a converged LAN/SAN infrastructure and how the … Continue reading →

Posted in Brocade, Dell, Dell Compellent, Fibre Channel, Labs, Network Architecture, Networking, Protocols, Storage, Technology | Tagged _Port_ID Virtualization, Brocade, Compellent, Compellent SC220, Compellent SC8000, converged infrastructure, converged network, converged networks, Dell Compellent, Dell Compellent SC220, Dell Compellent SC8000, Dell Force10 S5000, Dell Networking S5000, Dell S5000, Dell S5000 converged switch, Ethernet-FC bridge, FC, FC Switch, FCF, FCoE, FCoE-FC Bridge, Fibre Channel Forwarder, Fibre Channel over Ethernet, Fibre Channel switch, Froce10 S5000, NPIV, NPIV Proxy Gateway, S5000, S5000 converged switch, SC220, SC8000 | Leave a comment

Buying a Converged/FCoE Switch?

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Humair

I felt the urge to write this article after receiving several inquiries about buying used Cisco Nexus 5010 and Nexus 5020 switches because they are available on some third-party site at large discounts – at least compared to the new … Continue reading →

Posted in Brocade, Cisco, Dell, Juniper, Network Architecture, Networking, Protocols, Technology | Tagged Adapter-FEX, Brocade, Brocade 6720, Brocade 6730, Brocade converged switch, Brocade FCoE switch, Brocade VDX 6720, Brocade VDX 6730, Cisco, Cisco 5010, Cisco 5020, Cisco 5548UP, Cisco 5596UP, Cisco converged switch, Cisco FCoE switch, Cisco Nexus, Cisco Nexus 5010, Cisco Nexus 5020, Cisco Nexus 5548UP, Cisco Nexus 5596UP, Cisco Nexus switches, Converged switch, Data Center Bridging, DCB, Dell, Dell converged switch, Dell FCoE switch, Dell Force10, Dell S5000, Dell S5000 converged switch, Dell S5000 FCoE switch, Dell S5000 switch, FabricPath, FC, FCoE, FCoE-FC bridging, FCoE-FC bridging capabilities, Fibre Channel, Fibre Channel over Ethernet, Juniper, Juniper converged switch, Juniper FCoE switch, Juniper QFX3500, Nexus 5010, Nexus 5020, Nexus 5548UP, Nexus 5596UP, QFX3500, S5000 converged switch, S5000 FCoE switch, TRILL, VDX 6720, VDX 6730, VM-FEX | 1 Comment

Multi-Area OSPF in a Mixed Cisco and Dell Force10 Environment

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Humair

In this lab I use one Cisco 2621XM [IOS 12.4(2)T], one Cisco 2621 [IOS 12.3(18)], one Cisco 3660 [IOS 12.1(1)T], one Cisco 3640 [IOS 12.1(2)T], one Cisco 3550-24PWR-SMI [IOS 12.2(44)SE6], one Dell Force10 S60 [FTOS 8.3.3.7], and one Dell Force10 … Continue reading →

Posted in Cisco, Dell Force10, Force10 Networks, Labs, Networking, Protocols, Technology | Tagged 2621, 2621XM, 3550-24PWR-SMI, 3640, 3660, ABR, Area Border Router, Area Border Routers, Cisco, Cisco 2621, Cisco 2621XM, Cisco 3550-24PWR-SMI, Cisco 3640, Cisco 3660, Dell, Dell Force10, Dell Force10 S50N, Dell Force10 S60, Force10, Force10 Networks, Force10 S50N, Force10 S60, multiarea ospf, Open Shortest Path First, OSPF, ospf neighbor, OSPF Neighbors, S50N, S60, Type 3 LSAs | Leave a comment