Configuring Brocade ICX-Series Ethernet Switches

Alteeve Wiki :: How To :: Configuring Brocade ICX-Series Ethernet Switches

Brocade ICX6450-24 ethernet switch. Photo by brocade.

Purpose of This Tutorial

The Brocade-brand ICX-series switches, with a focus on the ICX6450 and ICX6610 switches, are great ethernet switches for use in an Anvil! system.

This mini-tutorial covers how to set them up to provide a stacked, hitless failover configuration with appropriate VLANs to isolate and protect the three networks.

Serial Access

Antaira UTS-1110A single-port USB to RS-232] serial adapter. Photo by Antaira.

By default, the APC AP7900 does not have an IP address assigned.

The easiest way to configure an IP address is to log into the PDU over a serial port. Most servers still come with a built-in 9-pin serial port, but most desktops and laptops do not. If you don't have one, many vendors sell USB to serial adapters. The one we've used quite successfully is the Antaira UTS-1110A, but almost any adapter you can find at your local computer store will work.

Note: The m2 Anvil! installs screen on both nodes and Striker dashboards.

We're going to use a program called screen to talk to the PDU over the serial port.

To do this, you need to know what device the PDU's serial cable is plugged into. Some common ones:

Type	Device path
Serial port 1	/dev/ttyS0
Serial port 2	/dev/ttyS1
USB-Connected port 1	/dev/ttyUSB0
USB-Connected port 2	/dev/ttyUSB1

... and so on.

In my case, I'm using the port on a USB to Serial adapter, so I will use '/dev/ttyUSB0'.

Knowing this, we're ready to go!

Open a terminal window and run:

screen /dev/ttyUSB0

Note: When you are done, to exit screen, press '<ctrl>' + 'a', release, then press 'k'. You will be prompted to kill the session, type 'y'.

Port Assignment

Note: You could use a 48-port switch to host five Anvil! pairs, but it is NOT recommended. An important part of Intelligent Availability is to distribute risk. Multiple two-pair foundation packs serves that purpose best.

We will cover the port assignments for two scenarios;

1. . Both ICX6540 and ICX6610 switches with 24x 1 Gbps ports configured for two Anvil! pairs.
2. . Using the 10 Gbps ports on the ICX6610 to support one Anvil! node pair operating at 10 Gbps.

ICX6450-24 (Applies to all 24-port switches)

In this example, we're showing how to cable up a pair of ICX6450-24 switches in a very typical configuration. It can drive two Anvil! systems along with the usual foundation pack.

The table below represents a pair of these stacked together.

an-switch01
Stack			Back-Channel Network]]					Storage Network			Internet-Facing Network
X1 (1/2/1)	X3 (1/2/3)		1 (1/1/1)	3 (1/1/3)	5 (1/1/5)	7 (1/1/7)	9 (1/1/9)	11 (1/1/11)		13 (1/1/13)	15 (1/1/15)	17 (1/1/17)	19 (1/1/19)	21 (1/1/21)	23 (1/1/23)
To an-switch02 X3	To an-switch02 X1		an-a01n01 BCN - Link 1	an-a01n01 IPMI / Fencing	an-a02n01 BCN - Link 1	an-a02n01 IPMI / Fencing	an-striker01 BCN - Link 2	an-a01n01 SN - Link 1		an-a02n01 SN - Link 1	an-a01n01 IFN - Link 1	an-a02n01 IFN - Link 1	an-striker01 IFN - Link 1	--	--
--	--		an-a01n02 BCN - Link 1	an-a01n02 IPMI / Fencing	an-a02n02 BCN - Link 1	an-a02n02 BCN - Link 1	--	an-a01n02 SN - Link 1		an-a02n02 SN - Link 1	an-a01n02 IFN - Link 1	an-a02n02 IFN - Link 1	--	--	Uplink 1
X2 (1/2/2)	X4 (1/2/4)		2 (1/1/2)	4 (1/1/4)	6 (1/1/6)	8 (1/1/8)	10 (1/1/10)	12 (1/1/12)		14 (1/1/14)	16 (1/1/16)	18 (1/1/18)	20 (1/1/20)	22 (1/1/22)	24 (1/1/24)
Unused			VID 100					VID 200			VID 300
an-switch02
Stack			Back-Channel Network]]					Storage Network			Internet-Facing Network
X1 (2/2/1)	X3 (2/2/3)		1 (2/1/1)	3 (2/1/3)	5 (2/1/5)	7 (2/1/7)	9 (2/1/9)	11 (2/1/11)		13 (2/1/13)	15 (2/1/15)	17 (2/1/17)	19 (2/1/19)	21 (2/1/21)	23 (2/1/23)
To an-switch01 X3	To an-switch01 X1		an-a01n01 BCN - Link 2	an-pdu01	an-a02n01 BCN - Link 2	an-ups01	an-striker02 BCN - Link 1	an-a01n01 SN - Link 2		an-a02n01 SN - Link 2	an-a01n01 IFN - Link 2	an-a02n01 IFN - Link 2	an-striker01 IFN - Link 2	--	--
--	--		an-a01n02 BCN - Link 2	an-pdu02	an-a02n02 BCN - Link 2	an-ups02	--	an-a01n02 SN - Link 2		an-a02n02 SN - Link 2	an-a01n02 IFN - Link 2	an-a02n02 IFN - Link 2	--	--	Uplink 2
X2 (2/2/2)	X4 (2/2/4)		2 (2/1/2)	4 (2/1/4)	6 (2/1/6)	8 (2/1/8)	10 (2/1/10)	12 (2/1/12)		14 (2/1/14)	16 (2/1/16)	18 (2/1/18)	20 (2/1/20)	22 (2/1/22)	24 (2/1/24)
Unused			VID 100					VID 200			VID 300

ICX6610-24 (8x 10 Gbps, 24x 1 Gbps)

In this example, we're showing how to cable up a pair of ICX6610-48 switches in a rather unusual configuration. It is driving three Anvil! pairs. However, only the first is running at 10 Gbps while the second and third pair are running at 1 Gbps.

Note: This is the only case where a foundation pack will support three Anvil! pairs. In all other cases, only two pairs should be used for any given foundation pack in order to maximise isolation in large installations.

The Brocade ICX 6610-24. Picture by Brocade.

an-switch01
Stack			BCN	SN	IFN			BCN	SN	IFN			Back-Channel Network							Storage Network		Internet-Facing Network
XL1 (1/3/1)	XL2-5 (1/3/2~5)												1 (1/1/1)	3 (1/1/3)	5 (1/1/5)	7 (1/1/7)	9 (1/1/9)	11 (1/1/11)		13 (1/1/13)	15 (1/1/15)	17 (1/1/17)	19 (1/1/19)	21 (1/1/21)	23 (1/1/23)
To an-switch02 XL6	To an-switch02 XL7~10												an-a01n01 IPMI	an-a02n01 BCN - Link 1	an-a02n01 IPMI	an-a03n01 BCN - Link 1	an-a03n01 IPMI	an-striker01 BCN - Link 1		an-a02n01 SN - Link 1	an-a03n01 SN - Link 1	an-a02n01 IFN - Link 1	an-a03n01 IFN - Link 1	an-striker01 IFN - Link 1	--
XL6 (1/3/6)	XL7~10 (1/3/7~10)		X1 (1/2/1)	X2 (1/2/2)	X3 (1/2/3)	X4 (1/2/4)		X5 (1/2/5)	X6 (1/2/6)	X7 (1/2/7)	X8 (1/2/8)		2 (1/1/2)	4 (1/1/4)	6 (1/1/6)	8 (1/1/8)	10 (1/1/10)	12 (1/1/12)		14 (1/1/14)	16 (1/1/16)	18 (1/1/18)	20 (1/1/20)	22 (1/1/22)	24 (1/1/24)
To an-switch02 XL1	To an-switch02 XL2~5		an-a01n01 BCN - Link 1	an-a01n01 SN - Link 1	an-a01n01 IFN - Link 1	--		an-a01n02 BCN - Link 1	an-a01n02 SN - Link 1	an-a01n02 IFN - Link 1	--		an-a01n02 IPMI	an-a02n02 BCN - Link 1	an-a02n02 IPMI	an-a03n01 BCN - Link 1	an-a03n02 IPMI	an-striker01 BCN - Link 1		an-a02n02 SN - Link 1	an-a03n02 SN - Link 1	an-a02n02 IFN - Link 1	an-a03n02 IFN - Link 1	an-striker02 IFN - Link 1	Uplink 1
Stack			VID 100	VID 200	VID 300			VID 100	VID 200	VID 300			VID 100							VID 200		VID 300
an-switch02
Stack			BCN	SN	IFN			BCN	SN	IFN			Back-Channel Network							Storage Network		Internet-Facing Network
XL1 (2/3/1)	XL2-5 (2/3/2~5)												1 (2/1/1)	3 (2/1/3)	5 (2/1/5)	7 (2/1/7)	9 (2/1/9)	11 (2/1/11)		13 (2/1/13)	15 (2/1/15)	17 (2/1/17)	19 (2/1/19)	21 (2/1/21)	23 (2/1/23)
To an-switch01 XL6	To an-switch01 XL7~10												an-pdu01	an-a02n01 BCN - Link 2	an-ups01	an-a03n01 BCN - Link 2	Maintenance	an-striker01 BCN - Link 2		an-a02n01 SN - Link 2	an-a03n01 SN - Link 2	an-a02n01 IFN - Link 2	an-a03n01 IFN - Link 2	an-striker01 IFN - Link 2	Maintenance
XL6 (2/3/6)	XL7~10 (2/3/7~10)		X1 (2/2/1)	X2 (2/2/2)	X3 (2/2/3)	X4 (2/2/4)		X5 (2/2/5)	X6 (2/2/6)	X7 (2/2/7)	X8 (2/2/8)		2 (2/1/2)	4 (2/1/4)	6 (2/1/6)	8 (2/1/8)	10 (2/1/10)	12 (2/1/12)		14 (2/1/14)	16 (2/1/16)	18 (2/1/18)	20 (2/1/20)	22 (2/1/22)	24 (2/1/24)
To an-switch01 XL1	To an-switch01 XL2~5		an-a01n01 BCN - Link 2	an-a01n01 SN - Link 2	an-a01n01 IFN - Link 2	--		an-a01n02 BCN - Link 2	an-a01n02 SN - Link 2	an-a01n02 IFN - Link 2	--		an-pdu02	an-a02n02 BCN - Link 2	an-ups02	an-a03n01 BCN - Link 2	--	an-striker01 BCN - Link 2		an-a02n02 SN - Link 2	an-a03n02 SN - Link 2	an-a02n02 IFN - Link 2	an-a03n02 IFN - Link 2	an-striker02 IFN - Link 2	Uplink 1
Stack			VID 100	VID 200	VID 300			VID 100	VID 200	VID 300			VID 100							VID 200		VID 300

Understanding Brocade Logical Port Numbers

Brocade uses the follow scheme for naming their ports:

• stack ID/module/port

The Stack ID is simply the integer representing the ID number shown when you run 'show stack'.

The module number is static across all switches. They are:

• 1: Standard RJ-45 1 Gbps copper ports.
• 2: Ports used for stacking. Typically these are only used for stacking.
• 3: The SFP+ fiber or copper ports that normally run at 1 Gbps but can be licensed to run at 10 Gbps.

The port number is the simple integer representing the port. This is the number found above or below the physical port on the switch.

You see these x/y/z numbers in the table above, and they will be the method used below to identify ports and port ranges.

Here is an example of how ports are represented:

ICX6610-24 Switch(config)#show interfaces brief

Port    Link    State   Dupl Speed Trunk Tag Pvid Pri MAC            Name      
1/1/1   Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b74          
1/1/2   Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b75          
1/1/3   Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b76          
1/1/4   Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b77          
1/1/5   Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b78          
1/1/6   Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b79          
1/1/7   Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b7a          
1/1/8   Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b7b          
1/1/9   Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b7c          
1/1/10  Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b7d          
1/1/11  Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b7e          
1/1/12  Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b7f          
1/1/13  Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b80          
1/1/14  Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b81          
1/1/15  Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b82          
1/1/16  Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b83          
1/1/17  Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b84          
1/1/18  Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b85          
1/1/19  Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b86          
1/1/20  Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b87          
1/1/21  Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b88          
1/1/22  Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b89          
1/1/23  Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b8a          
1/1/24  Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4b8b          
1/2/1   Up      Forward Full 40G   None  No  N/A  0   cc4e.24b9.4ba5          
1/2/2   Up      Forward Full 10G   None  No  N/A  0   cc4e.24b9.4ba6          
1/2/6   Up      Forward Full 40G   None  No  N/A  0   cc4e.24b9.4ba7          
1/2/7   Up      Forward Full 10G   None  No  N/A  0   cc4e.24b9.4ba8          
1/3/1   Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4ba9          
1/3/2   Up      Forward Full 10G   None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4baa          
1/3/3   Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4bab          
1/3/4   Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4bac          
1/3/5   Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4bad          
1/3/6   Up      Forward Full 10G   None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4bae          
1/3/7   Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4baf          
1/3/8   Down    None    None None  None  No  1    0   cc4e.24b9.4bb0          
mgmt1   Down    None    None None  None  No  None 0   cc4e.24b9.4b74

Connecting

Note: The prompt will reflect the specific switch's model number. In the examples below, we will be working on an ICX6610.

Using the serial port, connect to the switch.

ICX6610-24 Switch>

Resetting To Factory Defaults

Warning: This will erase any loaded licenses. If you have loaded licenses, be sure you have them backed up before proceeding!

This tutorial assumes the switches are starting with a fresh configuration. To assist with that, lets start with the process of resetting the switches to their factory defaults.

ICX6610-24 Switch> erase startup-config

Erase startup-config Done.
dhcp server lease database is also removed

Note: Do not write memory! This will reload the running configuration back onto the system.

Now reboot.

ICX6610-24 Switch> reload

Are you sure? (enter 'y' or 'n'): 
Sent SIGKILL to all processes
Requesting system reboot
Restarting syste

Once it comes back up, your switch will be as-new.

Update the firmware

Warning: Be sure to have your switches on UPSes before flashing them! As with all devices, a power loss during the flash process may cause the switch to become unusable.

Selecting the Firmware Version

TODO: This is an old firmware example, update with newer versions.

Before we start, we need to decide what version of the firmware we want to install. To do this, start by logging in to your switch(es) and check their current firmware version.

ICX6610-48 Switch#show flash

Stack unit 1:
  Compressed Pri Code size = 5370497, Version:07.3.00fT7f1 (/foundry/FGS/os/FCXS07300f.bin)
  Compressed Sec Code size = 6905002, Version:07.3.00fT7f3 (/foundry/FGS/os/FCXR07300f.bin)
  Compressed Boot-Monitor Image size = 370555, Version:07.3.02T7f5
  Code Flash Free Space = 52822016
Stack unit 2:
  Compressed Pri Code size = 5370497, Version 07.3.00fT7f1 (/foundry/FGS/os/FCXS07300f.bin)
  Compressed Sec Code size = 6905002, Version 07.3.00fT7f3 (/foundry/FGS/os/FCXR07300f.bin)
  Compressed Boot-Monitor Image size = 370555, Version 07.3.02T7f5
  Code Flash Free Space = 52822016

Note that both switches are running the major version 07.3.00f. Being that we're interested in High Availability, we are going to be conservative and upgrade to the latest subversion available. Both switches are 7.3, so that is what we will use. If one had been 7.4, for example, then we would have upgraded both to the latest 7.4 version.

Layer 2 vs Layer 3

These switches have two firmwares;

• Layer 2 (S); This is seen in the above output in the current version's flash file "/foundry/FGS/os/FCXS07300f.bin".
• Layer 3 (R); This is seen in the above output in the current version's flash file "/foundry/FGS/os/FCXR07300f.bin".

We're only going to update the layer 2 "S" firmware. We don't use the layer 3 features for HA so we won't update them. If you want to updated them, that is fine. The upgrade process below is easily ported to the layer 3 firmware update process.

Downloading the Firmware

To get the firmware:

• Create or log into your My Brocade account.
• Click on 'Downloads'.
• In the Download by select box, select Ethernet Switches.
• Scroll down and click to expand the arrow to the left of "ICX6610" (or your switch model).
• Click to expand the version of firmware you want to use. For this tutorial, we're going to be conservative and stay in the same "7.3" release, so we will expand 07300.
• Click to expand the most recent subversion for your selected firmware major number. In my case, that is "07300j".
• This takes you to a note about export restrictions. Ensure you meet the criteria and then click to acknowledge compliance, the click on "Submit".
• You will see the EULA. Read it, understand it and then agree to it by clicking on "I Accept".
• Save the file on your computer.

Extracting the Image

Navigate to the downloaded file. It will be a .zip file. Expand it. This will create several directories.

To upload the firmware, we need to copy the image to the root of our TFTP server (/var/lib/tftpboot/ on EL6).

Browse into the extracted 07300j/ICX/Images/ directory (or the matching directory for your firmware). You will see two file:

cd 07300j/ICX/Images/
ls -lah

total 12M
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4.0K May  8  2014 .
drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4.0K May  9  2014 ..
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 6.7M May  8  2014 FCXR07300j.bin
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 5.2M May  8  2014 FCXS07300j.bin

As discussed above, we will be upgrading the layer 2 "S" image. So this is the file we will copy to the TFTP root directory.

cp FCXS07300j.bin /var/lib/tftpboot/

ls -lah /var/lib/tftpboot/FCXS07300j.bin

Performing the Flash

Note: We will be flashing both switches at once as they are stacked.

We're ready to flash! So it's time to log into the switch.

ICX6610-48 Switch#copy tftp flash 10.20.255.254 FCXS07300j.bin primary

Flash Memory Write (8192 bytes per dot) 
Automatic copy to member units:  2
....<lots of dots>....
TFTP to Flash Done.

ICX6610-48 Switch#show flash

Stack unit 1:
  Compressed Pri Code size = 5430491, Version:07.3.00jT7f1 (FCXS07300j.bin)
  Compressed Sec Code size = 6905002, Version:07.3.00fT7f3 (/foundry/FGS/os/FCXR07300f.bin)
  Compressed Boot-Monitor Image size = 370555, Version:07.3.02T7f5
  Code Flash Free Space = 52690944
Stack unit 2:
  Compressed Pri Code size = 5430491, Version 07.3.00jT7f1 (FCXS07300j.bin)
  Compressed Sec Code size = 6905002, Version 07.3.00fT7f3 (/foundry/FGS/os/FCXR07300f.bin)
  Compressed Boot-Monitor Image size = 370555, Version 07.3.02T7f5
  Code Flash Free Space = 52690944

Reboot to load the new firmware.

ICX6610-48 Switch#write memory
ICX6610-48 Switch#reload

Are you sure? (enter 'y' or 'n'): y

Note: It takes a while to reboot because it will update the firmware of the second node. Please be patient.

ICX6610-48 Switch#show flash

Stack unit 1:
  Compressed Pri Code size = 5430491, Version:07.3.00jT7f1 (FCXS07300j.bin)
  Compressed Sec Code size = 6905002, Version:07.3.00fT7f3 (/foundry/FGS/os/FCXR07300f.bin)
  Compressed Boot-Monitor Image size = 370555, Version:07.3.02T7f5
  Code Flash Free Space = 52690944
Stack unit 2:
  Compressed Pri Code size = 5430491, Version 07.3.00jT7f1 (FCXS07300j.bin)
  Compressed Sec Code size = 6905002, Version 07.3.00fT7f3 (/foundry/FGS/os/FCXR07300f.bin)
  Compressed Boot-Monitor Image size = 370555, Version 07.3.02T7f5
  Code Flash Free Space = 52690944

Done!

 

Any questions, feedback, advice, complaints or meanderings are welcome.
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