How Do Cisco Nexus Series Switches Bridge Network Gap?

Network transport has traditionally been divided between Fiber Channel (FC) and Ethernet technologies. These technologies were once incompatible, Cisco Nexus Series Switches like two different railroads with distinct track gauges. While unifying networks could offer financial and administrative benefits, options were limited and costly. Customers faced the dilemma of either dismantling their FC investments or extending the FC network to cover every server and application, which was both daunting and expensive.

To address these challenges, Cisco introduced Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and launched the Nexus 5000 Series switches, which support this technology.

Overview of Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches

Cisco Nexus 5000 series switches offer a solution for consolidating both FC and Ethernet traffic. They support Ethernet connections at various speeds, making them versatile and efficient for modern data centers.

Key Features

• Low Latency and High Performance: These switches provide high-performance 10 Gigabit Ethernet with extremely low latency.
• IEEE Data Center Bridging (DCB): Incorporates Ethernet enhancements for data centers, including congestion management and flow control.
• FCoE Support: Enables I/O consolidation at the rack level, supporting both SAN and LAN traffic.
• Virtual Machine Optimization: Enhances scalability, security, and performance of virtual Layer 2 networks.

Benefits of Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches

The Cisco Nexus 5000 series offers several advantages for data centers, especially for access layer and rack-level applications:

• Wire-Speed Performance: Delivers high port density and extremely low latency, suitable for 10 Gigabit Ethernet needs.
• Port Density and Layout: Supports single or multiple fully-populated racks of servers with rear-facing data ports to minimize cable length.
• Flexibility: Uses SPF+ ports for a range of interconnect solutions, including fiber for long runs and copper for short runs.
• FCoE Integration: Supports FCoE on every 10 Gbe port, ideal for consolidating SAN, LAN, and server clustering traffic.

Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Models

The Cisco Nexus 5000 series is divided into two main series:

1. Cisco Nexus 5600 Series

• Low Latency: Offers minimal latency and supports virtual extensible LAN technology.
• Connectivity Options: Provides a wide range of options suitable for end-of-rack, top-of-rack access, and Cisco Fabric Extender aggregation.
• Deployment Flexibility: Suitable for virtualized, converged, traditional, and cloud environments.

2. Cisco Nexus 5500 Series

• Connectivity and Convergence: Supports various connectivity options and streamlines convergence processes.
• Access Layer Applications: Ideal for end-of-row (EOR), middle-of-row (MOR), and top-of-rack (TOR) applications.
• Scalability and Efficiency: Offers a flexible architecture with excellent scalability.

Configuring Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches

For optimal performance, follow these configuration steps:

1. Connecting to the Switch:
   • Use a console cable to connect your laptop or computer to the switch’s console port.
2. Basic Network Settings:
   • Enter the setup command to configure hostname, IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway.
3. Configuring Interfaces:
   • Use the interface command to configure physical and logical interfaces. Specify speed, and duplex mode, enable flow control, and configure port channels.
4. VLAN Configuration:
   • Use the VLAN command to create VLANs, assign ports, and enable Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) to prevent network loops.
5. Quality of Service (QoS):
   • Configure QoS with the class-map, policy-map, and service-policy commands. Assign priority and bandwidth to different traffic types, such as voice, video, and data.
6. Jumbo Frames:
   • Enable jumbo frames with the system jumbo MTU command to increase the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) size to up to 9216 bytes.
7. Spanning Tree Protocol (STP):
   • Use the spanning-tree command to configure STP parameters like bridge priority, port cost, and port priority.
8. Multicast Configuration:
   • Configure multicast routing with the IP multicast-routing command, set up multicast groups, and assign ports.
9. Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP):
   • Use lace system-priority and port-channel load-balance commands to configure LACP, allowing multiple physical links to be grouped into a single logical link.
10. Saving Configuration:
    • Use copy running-config startup-config to save the configuration to non-volatile memory, ensuring it persists after a reboot.

Conclusion

The Cisco Nexus 5000 series switches bridge the gap between traditional Fiber Channel and Ethernet technologies, offering a versatile solution for modern data centers. With their high performance, low latency, and support for FCoE, they provide significant benefits for network consolidation and optimization. Proper configuration ensures that these switches deliver optimal performance and reliability for your network infrastructure.