Category Archives: Labs

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

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

Cisco vPC with Dell S4810 at ToR

Posted on September 21, 2013 by Humair

Cisco’s vPC technology is similar to Dell’s VLT; it enables an access/leaf switch or server to have single LAG connecting up to two separate switches. This allows for an non-blocking, multipathing scenario. You can read more about Dell’s VLT technology … Continue reading →

Posted in Cisco, Dell, Dell Force10, Labs, Network Architecture, Networking, Technology | Tagged 5548, Cisco, Cisco 5548UP, Cisco Nexus, Cisco Nexus 5548UP, Dell, Dell Force10 S4810, Dell S4810, Force10 S4810, mlag, Nexus, Nexus 5548UP, Nexus switch, port channel, S4810, S4810 switch, switch, Virtual Port Channel, vPC | 3 Comments

FCoE with Dell S5000 Converged Switch and Dell MXL Blade Switch [Video]

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Humair

Check out the latest Dell S5000 converged switch video which demonstrates FCoE with the Dell S5000 converged switch and the Dell PowerEdge M1000e chassis w/ MXL blade switch. The Dell S5000 switch is configured in NPIV Proxy Gateway mode and … Continue reading →

Posted in Brocade, Dell, Dell Compellent, Dell Force10, Fibre Channel, Labs, Microsoft, Networking, 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 MXL, Dell MXL Blade Switch, Dell Networking S5000, Dell S5000, Dell S5000 configuration, Dell S5000 converged switch, dual fabrics, Ethernet-FC bridge, FC, FC Switch, FCF, FCoE, FCoE configuration, FCoE Transit, FCoE-FC Bridge, Fibre Channel Forwarder, Fibre Channel over Ethernet, Fibre Channel switch, FIP-snooping bridge, Froce10 S5000, FSB, multipathing, MXL, MXL blade, MXL Blade Switch, N_Port_ID Virtualization, NPIV, NPIV Proxy Gateway, S5000, S5000 configuration, S5000 converged switch, SAN, SAN multipathing, SC220, SC8000 | Leave a comment

Understanding Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Humair

Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders (FEX) behave and can be considered as remote line cards for Cisco Nexus switches. The fabric extender acts as an extension to the parent Cisco Nexus switch fabric; the fabric extender and the parent … Continue reading →

Posted in Cisco, Labs, Network Architecture, Networking, Technology | Tagged Cisco, Cisco distributed modular system, Cisco FEX architecture, Cisco Nexus, Cisco Nexus 2000, Cisco Nexus 2000 Fabric Extender, Cisco Nexus 2000 Fabric Extenders, Cisco Nexus 2000 FEX, Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders, Cisco Nexus 2248PQ, Cisco Nexus 2248PQ Fabric Extender, Cisco Nexus 2248PQ FEX, Cisco Nexus 5548UP, Cisco Nexus Fabric Extender, Cisco Nexus FEX, Cisco Nexus switch, distributed modular system, east-west traffic, edge ports, etherchannel, EtherChannel Fabric Interface Connection, EtherChannel interface, Fabric Extender, FEX, FEX architecture, fex associate, Nexus 2248PQ, Nexus 2248PQ Fabric Extender, Nexus 2248PQ FEX, Nexus 5548UP, spanning tree edge ports, Static Pinning Fabric Interface Connection, switchport mode fex-fabric | 3 Comments

Configuring a Syslog Server on CentOS 6.3 for Dell Force10 Switches

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Humair

In this lab I’m going to demonstrate how to configure a syslog server to use with Dell Force10 switches. A syslog server can be used to store log files remotely on an external server. Syslog servers can be invaluable when … Continue reading →

Posted in CentOS, Dell, Dell Force10, Labs, Linux, Network Architecture, Networking, Operating Systems, Troubleshooting | Tagged CentOS, CentOS 6.3, Configure FTOS syslog, Configure FTOS syslog server, configure rsyslog, configure syslog, Configure syslog for Dell, Configure syslog for Dell Force10, Configure syslog for Force10, Configure syslog for FTOS, Configure syslog on CentOS, Configure syslog on CentOS 6, Configure syslog on CentOS 6.3, configuring rsyslog server, configuring syslog server, Dell, Dell Force10 S4810. Force10 S4810, Dell Networking, Dell PowerEdge, Dell PowerEdge R620, Dell PowerEdge Server, Dell S4810, Dell S50N, Dell Server, FTOS, iptables, linux, linux iptables, linux syslog, linux syslog server, log to linux syslog, log to linux syslog server, PowerEdge R620, PowerEdge R620 server, PowerEdge server, rsyslog, rsyslog server, S4810, S50N, syslog, syslog server | Leave a comment

Cisco Nexus 5548UP – Configuring the Management Interface

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Humair

This is a relatively simple blog on configuring the Cisco Nexus 5548UP management interface. When Cisco moved away from IOS to NX-OS for the operating system on their new Nexus datacenter switches, some of the commands and syntax for even … Continue reading →

Posted in Cisco, Dell, Labs, Networking, Technology | Tagged Cisco, Cisco 5548UP, Cisco Nexus, Cisco Nexus 5548UP, Cisco Nexus default route, Cisco Virtual Routing and Forwarding, Cisco VRF, configure Cisco management interface, configure management interface, configure Nexus 5548UP management interface, configure Nexus management interface, Dell, Dell Force10 S4810, Dell PowerEdge, Dell PowerEdge R710, Dell PowerEdge R710 server, Dell S4810, Force10 S4810, Nexus 5548UP, Nexus default route, Nexus management interface, NX-OS, S4810, VDC, virtual device context, Virtual Routing and Forwarding, VRF, vrf context management | 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