Cisco Nexus 1000V User manual

Cisco Nexus 1000V for VMware vSphere Interface Configuration
Guide, Release 5.x
First Published: August 22, 2014
Last Modified: November 05, 2015
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 New and Changed Information 1
New and Changed Information 1
CHAPTER 2 Overview 7
Information About Interfaces 7
Ethernet Interfaces 7
Virtual Ethernet Interfaces 8
Management Interface 8
Port Channel Interfaces 8
VEM Management of LACP 8
Simplifying the Interface Configuration with Port Profiles 8
High Availability for Interfaces 9
CHAPTER 3 Configuring Interface Parameters 11
Information About the Basic Interface Parameters 11
Description 11
Speed and Duplex Modes 11
Port MTU Size 12
Administrative Status 12
Cisco Discovery Protocol 12
Port Channel 12
Guidelines and Limitations 12
Configuring the Basic Interface Parameters 13
Specifying an Interface to Configure 13
Configuring a Description 14
Configuring the Interface Speed and Duplex Modes 15
Configuring the MTU Size for an Ethernet Interface 16
Shutting Down and Activating an Interface 17
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Enabling or Disabling CDP 18
Clearing the Interface Counters 19
Verifying the Basic Interface Parameters 20
Feature History for Basic Interface Parameters 20
CHAPTER 4 Configuring Layer 2 Interfaces 23
Information About Access and Trunk Interfaces 23
Access and Trunk Interfaces 23
IEEE 802.1Q Encapsulation 24
High Availability 25
Prerequisites for VLAN Trunking 25
Guidelines and Limitations 25
Default Settings 26
Configuring Access and Trunk Interfaces 26
Configuring a LAN Interface as a Layer 2 Access Port 26
Configuring Trunk Ports 27
Configuring the Native VLAN for 802.1Q Trunking Ports 28
Configuring the Allowed VLANs for Trunking Ports 29
Tagging Native VLAN Traffic 30
Verifying the Interface Configuration 31
Monitoring the Interface Configuration 32
Configuration Examples for Access and Trunk Port Mode 32
Feature History for Layer 2 Interface Parameters 33
CHAPTER 5 Configuring Virtual Ethernet Interfaces 35
Information About vEthernet Interfaces 35
Guidelines and Limitations 36
Default Settings 36
Configuring vEthernet Interfaces 36
Configuring Global vEthernet Properties 36
Configuring a vEthernet Access Interface 38
Configuring a Private VLAN on a vEthernet Interface 39
Enabling or Disabling a vEthernet Interface 40
Verifying the vEthernet Interface Configuration 41
Monitoring the vEthernet Interface Configuration 43
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Contents

Configuration Examples for vEthernet Interfaces 44
Feature History for vEthernet Interfaces 44
CHAPTER 6 Configuring Port Channels 45
Information About Port Channels 46
Port Channels 46
Compatibility Checks 46
Load Balancing Using Port Channels 48
LACP 49
VEM Management of LACP 50
Port Channel Modes 50
LACP ID Parameters 51
LACP Marker Responders 52
LACP-Enabled and Static Port Channels Differences 52
vPC Host Mode 53
Subgroup Creation 54
Static Pinning 54
MAC Pinning 54
MAC Pinning Relative 55
Network State Tracking for vPC-HM 56
High Availability 57
Prerequisites for Port Channels 57
Guidelines and Limitations 57
Default Settings 58
Configuring Port Channels 59
Creating a Port Profile for a Port Channel 59
Connecting to a Single Upstream Switch 60
Connecting to Multiple Upstream Switches 61
Manually Configuring Interface Subgroups 65
Pinning a vEthernet Interface to a Subgroup 66
Pinning a Control or Packet VLAN to a Subgroup 67
Migrating a Channel Group to a Port Profile 69
Migrating Port Profile Types in a Port Profile 70
Configuring Network State Tracking for vPC-HM 71
Configuring Static Pinning for an Interface 72
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Removing a Port Channel Group from a Port Profile 73
Shutting Down and Restarting a Port Channel Interface 74
Adding a Description to a Port Channel Interface 75
Configuring Port Channel Load Balancing 76
Configuring the Speed and Duplex Settings for a Port Channel Interface 77
Restoring the Default Load-Balancing Method 78
Configuring an LACP Port Channel 78
Configuring VEM Management of LACP 80
Verifying the Port Channel Configuration 82
Monitoring Port Channels 83
Configuration Examples for Port Channels 84
Feature History for Port Channels 84
APPENDIX A Supported RFCs 87
Supported RFCs 87
APPENDIX B Interface Configuration Limits 89
Interface Configuration Limits 89
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Contents

CHAPTER 1
New and Changed Information
This chapter contains the following sections:
•New and Changed Information, page 1
New and Changed Information
This section lists new and changed content in this document by software release.
To find additional information about new features or command changes, see the Cisco Nexus 1000V Release
Notes and Cisco Nexus 1000V Command Reference.
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Table 1: New and Changed Features for the Cisco Nexus 1000V Interface Configuration Guide
Where DocumentedChanged in ReleaseDescriptionFeature
Configuring Port Channels,
on page 45
4.2(1)SV2(1.1)The interface
level
configuration
mode does
not support
sub-group
cdp and
manual
options for
port-channel
vPC-HM
configuration.
Sub-group
cdp and
manual
options for
port-channel
vPC-HM
configuration
are supported
on the
port-profile
level
configuration.
Port channel vPC-HM
Configuring Port Channels,
on page 45
4.2(1)SV1(4a)You can
assign up to
seven backup
subgroups
when pinning
the primary
subgroup.
Backup subgroups
Configuring Port Channels,
on page 45
4.2(1)SV1(4a)The subgroup
numbering
begins at zero
and is not tied
to the vmnic
number.
Port channel relative
numbering
Configuring Port Channels,
on page 45
4.2(1)SV1(4)Pinpoints link
failures on a
port channel
configured
for vPC-HM.
Network state tracking for
vPC-HM
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New and Changed Information
New and Changed Information

Where DocumentedChanged in ReleaseDescriptionFeature
Configuring Port Channels,
on page 45
4.2(1)SV1(4)You can
offload
operation of
the LACP
protocol from
the VSM to
the VEMs.
VEM management of LACP
Configuring Port Channels,
on page 45
4.2(1)SV1(4)You can
enable the
LACP port
channel
function by
turning on the
feature using
the feature
lacp
command.
LACP
Configuring Interface
Parameters, on page 11
4.2(1)SV1(4)The system
jumbo MTU
value is fixed
at 9000 and
cannot be
changed.
System Jumbo MTU
Configuring Interface
Parameters, on page 11
4.2(1)SV1(4)You can
configure an
interface
MTU
between 1500
and 9000.
Interface MTU
Configuring Virtual Ethernet
Interfaces, on page 35
4.2(1)SV1(4)vEthernet
interfaces are
now mapped
to connected
ports by
MAC
addresses as
well as the
DVPort
number.
Mapping vEthernet interfaces
to connected ports
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New and Changed Information
New and Changed Information

Where DocumentedChanged in ReleaseDescriptionFeature
Configuring Virtual Ethernet
Interfaces, on page 35
4.2(1)SV1(4)You can
enable or
disable the
automatic
vEthernet
interface
controls by
deleting
unused
vEthernet
interfaces,
purging
manual
vEthernet
configurations,
and creating
vEthernet
interfaces.
Global vEthernet interface
controls
Interface Configuration
Limits, on page 89
4.0(4)SV1(2)Configuration
limits for
vEthernet
interfaces,
vEthernet
trunks, and
port profiles
were added.
Configuration limits
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New and Changed Information
New and Changed Information

Where DocumentedChanged in ReleaseDescriptionFeature
Configuring Virtual Ethernet
Interfaces, on page 35
4.0(4)SV1(2)The show
interface
vethernet
command
now displays
5-minute
input and
output
packet/bit rate
statistics for
the interfaces
that you
specify. The
configuration
example
showing this
command
output was
updated to
reflect this
change.
The show
interface
ethernet
command
output also
provides
these new
statistics.
show interface vethernet
command
Configuring Port Channels,
on page 45
4.0(4)SV1(2)Support for
manual
creation of
subgroups.
vPC-Host Mode
Configuring Port Channels,
on page 45
4.0(4)SV1(2)Support for
attaching (or
pinning) a
vEthernet
interface to a
specific port
channel
subgroup.
Static Pinning
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New and Changed Information
New and Changed Information

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New and Changed Information
New and Changed Information

CHAPTER 2
Overview
This chapter contains the following sections:
•Information About Interfaces, page 7
•VEM Management of LACP, page 8
•Simplifying the Interface Configuration with Port Profiles, page 8
•High Availability for Interfaces, page 9
Information About Interfaces
Ethernet Interfaces
All interfaces on the Cisco Nexus 1000V are Layer 2 Ethernet interfaces, which include access ports, trunk
ports, private VLAN ports, and promiscuous ports.
Access Ports
An access port carries traffic for one VLAN. This type of port is a Layer 2 interface only.
Private VLAN Ports
Private VLANs (PVLANs) are used to segregate Layer 2 ISP traffic and convey it to a single router interface.
PVLANs achieve device isolation by applying Layer 2 forwarding constraints that allow end devices to share
the same IP subnet while being isolated by Layer 2. The use of larger subnets reduces address management
overhead. Three separate port designations are used. Each has its own unique set of rules that regulate the
ability of each connected endpoint to communicate with other connected endpoints within the same PVLAN
domain.
For more information about PVLANs, see the Cisco Nexus 1000V Layer 2 Switching Configuration Guide.
Promiscuous Ports
A promiscuous port can talk to all other types of ports. A promiscuous port can talk to isolated ports as well
as community ports, and those ports can also talk to promiscuous ports.
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For more information about promiscuous ports, see the Cisco Nexus 1000V Layer 2 Switching Configuration
Guide
Trunk Ports
A trunk port carries traffic for two or more VLANs. This port type is a Layer 2 interface only.
Virtual Ethernet Interfaces
Virtual Ethernet (vEthernet or vEth) interfaces are logical interfaces. Each vEthernet interface corresponds
to a switch interface that is connected to a virtual port. The interface types are as follows:
•VM (interfaces connected to VM NICs)
•Service console
•vmkernel
vEthernet interfaces are created on the Cisco Nexus 1000V to represent virtual ports in use on the distributed
virtual switch.
Management Interface
You can use the management Ethernet interface to connect the device to a network for remote management
using a Telnet client, the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), or other management agents.
Port Channel Interfaces
A port channel is a logical interface that aggregates multiple physical interfaces. You can bundle up to eight
individual links to physical ports into a port channel to improve bandwidth and redundancy. You can also use
port channeling to load balance traffic across these channeled physical interfaces.
VEM Management of LACP
You can offload operation of the Line Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) from the VSM to the VEMs to
prevent a situation where LACP cannot be negotiated with the upstream switch when the VEM is disconnected
from the VSM (referred to as headless mode). VEM management of LACP allows port channels to be
reestablished after the reboot of a headless VEM.
Simplifying the Interface Configuration with Port Profiles
You can use a port profile to simplify the interface configuration. You can configure a port profile and then
assign it to multiple interfaces to give them all the same configuration. Changes to the port profile are propagated
to the configuration of any interface that is assigned to it.
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Overview
Virtual Ethernet Interfaces

We do not recommend that you override port profile configurations by making changes to the assigned
interface configurations. You should make configuration changes to interfaces only to quickly test a change
or to disable a port.
Note
High Availability for Interfaces
Interfaces support stateful and stateless restarts. A stateful restart occurs during a supervisor switchover. After
the switchover, the Cisco Nexus 1000V applies the run-time configuration.
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Overview
High Availability for Interfaces

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Overview
High Availability for Interfaces

CHAPTER 3
Configuring Interface Parameters
This chapter contains the following sections:
•Information About the Basic Interface Parameters, page 11
•Guidelines and Limitations, page 12
•Configuring the Basic Interface Parameters, page 13
•Verifying the Basic Interface Parameters, page 20
•Feature History for Basic Interface Parameters, page 20
Information About the Basic Interface Parameters
Description
For the vEthernet, Ethernet, and management interfaces, you can configure the description parameter to
provide a name for the interface. Using a unique name for each interface allows you to quickly identify the
interface when you are looking at a listing of multiple interfaces.
By default, the description for vEthernet interfaces is automatically formatted to contain information about
the connected device. The description for a virtual Network Interface Card (vNIC), for example, contains the
VM name and network adapter number. You keep this default description or you can override it with a
description of your choosing.
Speed and Duplex Modes
The speed and duplex modes are interrelated for each Ethernet and management interface. By default, each
interface autonegotiates its speed and duplex modes with the other interface, but you can change these settings.
If you change the settings, be sure to use the same speed and duplex mode settings on both interfaces or use
autonegotiation for at least one of the interfaces.
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Port MTU Size
The maximum transmission unit (MTU) size specifies the maximum frame size that an Ethernet port can
process. For transmissions to occur between two ports, you must configure the same MTU size for both ports.
A port drops any frames that exceed its MTU size.
By default, the MTU size for each port is 1500 bytes, which is the IEEE 802.3 standard for Ethernet frames.
Larger MTU sizes are possible for more efficient processing of data with less overhead. The larger frames,
called jumbo frames, can be up to 9000 bytes in size, which is also the fixed system jumbo MTU size in the
Cisco Nexus 1000V.
For a Layer 2 port, you can configure an MTU size as the system default of 1500 bytes or the system default
jumbo MTU size of 9000 bytes.
Administrative Status
The administrative-status parameter determines whether an interface is up or down. When an interface is
administratively down, it is disabled and unable to transmit data. When an interface is administratively up, it
is enabled and able to transmit data.
Cisco Discovery Protocol
The Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) is a Layer 2 protocol that enables two devices that run CDP to learn
about each other. You can use CDP to troubleshoot the network by displaying information about the neighboring
devices that are linked through each interface. By default, CDP is enabled.
Port Channel
A port channel is an aggregation of multiple physical interfaces that comprise a logical interface. You can
bundle up to eight individual interfaces into a port channel to provide increased bandwidth and redundancy.
Port channeling also load balances traffic across these physical interfaces. The port channel stays operational
if at least one physical interface within the port channel is operational.
Any configuration changes that you apply to the port channel are applied to each interface member of that
port channel.
Guidelines and Limitations
Interface parameters have the following configuration guidelines and limitations:
•You usually configure Ethernet port speed and duplex mode parameters to auto to allow negotiation of
the speed and duplex modes between ports. If you decide to configure the port speed and duplex modes
manually for these ports, consider the following:
◦If you set the Ethernet port speed to auto, the device automatically sets the duplex mode to auto.
◦If you enter the no speed command, the device automatically sets both the speed and duplex
parameters to auto (the no speed command produces the same results as the speed auto command).
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Configuring Interface Parameters
Port MTU Size

◦If you configure an Ethernet port speed to a value other than auto (for example, 10, 100, or 1000
Mbps), you must configure the connecting port to match. Do not configure the connecting port to
negotiate the speed.
The device cannot automatically negotiate the Ethernet port speed and duplex modes if
the connecting port is configured to a value other than auto.
Note
Changing the Ethernet port speed and duplex mode configuration might shut down and
reenable the interface.
Note
•To specify an interface in the CLI, use the following guidelines:
◦For an Ethernet port, use the ethernet slot/port command, where slot is the module slot number
and port is the port number.
◦For a vEthernet port, use the vethernet number command, where number is a number from 1 to
1048575.
◦A space is not required between the interface type and the slot/port or interface number. For
example, for the Ethernet slot 4, port 5 interface, you can specify either the ethernet 4/5 command
or the ethernet4/5 command.
•Jumbo frames are only supported on the vmxnet3 driver. Attempts to change the MTU appear to succeed
but the adapter always drops frames larger than 1500 bytes. For more information, see the VMware KB
article http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_
US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1015556.
Configuring the Basic Interface Parameters
Specifying an Interface to Configure
You can specify an interface to configure.
Before You Begin
Log in to the CLI in EXEC mode.
Procedure
PurposeCommand or Action
Enters global configuration mode.switch# configure terminal
Step 1
Enters interface configuration mode for the specified interface.switch(config)# interface
interface
Step 2
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Configuring Interface Parameters
Configuring the Basic Interface Parameters

PurposeCommand or Action
(Optional)
Displays the current configuration of interfaces.
switch( config-if)# show
interface interface
Step 3
The interface argument is defined as follows:
•For an Ethernet port, use the ethernet slot/port command,
where slot is the module slot number and port is the port
number.
•For the management interface, use the mgmt 0 or mgmt0
command.
•For a vEthernet port, use the vethernet number command,
where number is a number from 1 to 1048575.
This example shows how to specify an interface to configure:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# interface ethernet 3/1
switch(config-if)# show interface ethernet 3/1
switch(config-if)#
Configuring a Description
You can add a description to an Ethernet, vEthernet, or management interface.
Before You Begin
•Log in to the CLI in EXEC mode.
Procedure
PurposeCommand or Action
Enters global configuration mode.switch# configure terminal
Step 1
Enters interface configuration mode for the specified
interface.
switch(config)# interface interface
Step 2
Adds a description of up to 80 alphanumeric characters
for the interface and saves it in the running
configuration.
switch(config-if)# description string
Step 3
(Optional)
Displays the interface status, which includes the
description.
switch(config-if)# show interface
interface
Step 4
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Configuring Interface Parameters
Configuring a Description