Dell Force10 MXL Blade User manual

Dell Force10 MXL 10/40GbE
Switch IO Module
Getting Started Guide
June 2012
Regulatory Model: DF10MXL

Notes, Cautions, and Warnings
NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of
your device.
CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates potential damage to hardware or loss of data if
instructions are not followed.
WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal
injury, or death.
____________________
Information in this publication is subject to change without notice.
© 2012 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of these materials in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc.
is strictly forbidden.
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Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this publication to refer to either the entities claiming
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trade names other than its own.
Regulatory Model DF10MXL
June 2012 P/N WMDP6 Rev. A00

Contents 3
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2 Product Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3 Hardware Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Internal Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Base Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
FlexIOTM Plug-in Modules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Port Numbering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
USB Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
System and Port LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Unpacking the Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4 Installing and Configuring the Switch. . . 14
Installing the Switch Blade in a PowerEdge M1000e . 16
Connecting a Console Terminal . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

4Contents
Invoking the X-Loader and U-Boot CLIs . . . . . . . . . 19
Performing the Initial Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . 19
5 Assembling a Switch Stack . . . . . . . . . . 25
Configuring and Bringing Up a Stack . . . . . . . . . . 26
Managing a Stack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6 Splitting 40GbE QSFP+ Ports into 10GbE SFP+
Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
7 Switch Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
DCB Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
FCoE Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
iSCSI Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
8 Next Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
9 Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Chassis Physical Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Environmental Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Power Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
IEEE Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Introduction 5
Introduction
This document provides basic information about the Dell Force10 MXL
10/40GbE Switch IO Module, including how to install the switch in the Dell
PowerEdge M1000e Enclosure and perform the initial configuration.
For more detailed information about any
of the basic installation steps , refer to
the
Dell PowerEdge M1000e Enclosure Owner's Manual on the Dell Support
website at http://support.dell.com/manuals.
Product Description
The MXL 10/40GbE Switch is a layer 2/3 blade switch with two fixed 40GbE
ports on the base module and support for two optional plug-in modules. The
switch operates in a PowerEdge M1000e Enclosure, which can support up to
32 servers and six MXL 10/40GbE Switches.
The MXL 10/40GbE Switch runs the Force10 Operating System (FTOS),
providing switching, bridging, and routing functionality for transmitting data,
storage, and server traffic as follows:
• GbE/10GbE connections through the midplane to up to 32 server ports in
the chassis
• GbE, 10GbE or 40GbE connections through uplink ports to top-of-rack
(ToR) switches
• 40GbE stacking connections to other
MXL 10/40GbE Switche s in a
switch stack
In a data center network, the MXL 10/40GbE Switch provides converged
network support and interoperates with Dell and third-party ToR devices.
The switch supports
data center bridging (DCB) features, and optimizes
connectivity between servers and storage devices over Fiber Channel over
Ethernet (FCoE) and iSCSI links.
By providing increased 40GbE bandwidth for device interconnection in a
shared network storage environment, with the possibility of splitting 40GbE
QSFP+ uplinks into 10GbE SFP+ connections, the MXL 10/40GbE Switch
is perfectly positioned to help transition a data center with multiple speed
requirements.

6Hardware Overview
Hardware Overview
This section contains information about device characteristics and modular
hardware configurations for the MXL 10/40GbE Switch.
Internal Ports
The MXL 10/40GbE Switch provides 32 1/10-Gigabit Ethernet internal ports.
The internal ports are connected to server blades through the M1000e chassis
midplane. Each port can operate in either 1GbE or 10GbE mode. Internal
ports are numbered 1 to 32.
The MXL 10/40GbE Switch also provides an internal Ethernet interface—the
out-of-band (OOB) interface—which is dedicated to switch management.
The OOB interface is connected to the chassis management controller
(CMC) through the chassis midplane. Traffic on this port is segregated from
operational network traffic on the switch ports and cannot be switched or
routed to the operational network.
Front Panel
Figure 1-1 shows the MXL 10/40GbE Switch front panel:
Figure 1-1. MXL 10/40GbE Switch: Front Panel l
Expansion Slot 1
40GbE QSFP+ Ports
USB Console Port
Expansion Slot 0

Hardware Overview 7
Base Module
The MXL 10/40GbE Switch provides two native 40-Gigabit Ethernet fixed ports
on the base module for uplink connections. You can use these ports with 4x10G
breakout cables to operate as 10GbE uplink ports.
In addition, you can configure the native 40GbE ports as stacking ports. You
can connect up to six MXL 10/40GbE Switches (in the same or different
chassis) in a single stack. For more information, refer to "Assembling a Switch
Stack" on page 25.
FlexIOTM Plug-in Modules
The MXL 10/40GbE Switch (Figure 1-2) provides 10/40GbE external
connectivity by using the following FlexIO plug-in modules in the two
expansion slots:
• 4-Port 10-Gigabit Ethernet module using SFP+ optics (SR or LR) or
direct-attach cables (1m, 3m, or 5m DAC)
• 4-Port 10GBASE-T module using RJ-45 connector (copper) cables
NOTE: The 10Mb speed is not supported on the 4-Port 10GBASE-T module.
Only 100Mb, 1GbE, and 10GbE speeds are supported.
• 2-Port 40-Gigabit Ethernet quad form-factor pluggable plus (QSFP+)
module which you can use for 40GbE connections or 10GbE small form-
factor pluggable plus (SFP+) connections using 4x10G breakout cables.
By default, the 40GbE ports on a 2-Port 40GbE QSFP+ module come up
in 4x10GbE (quad) mode as eight 10GbE ports. To change a port from
4x10GbE to 40GbE mode of operation, enter the
no stack-unit port
portmode quad
command.
FTOS(conf)# no stack-unit unit-number port port-number
portmode quad
stack-unit unit-number : Enter the number of the stack unit to be
reset. Range: 0-5.
To display the stack-unit number, enter the show
system brief
command.
port port-number : Enter the port number of the 40GbE QSFP+ port
to be split. Valid values for slot 0: 41 or 45; for slot 1: 49 or 53 (see
"Port Numbering" on page 9).
portmode quad : Identifies the port as a split 10GbE SFP+ port.

8Hardware Overview
Then save the configuration and reload the switch.
FTOS# write memory
FTOS# reload
Figure 1-2. MXL 10/40GbE Switch: Plug-in Modules
NOTE: You can only hot-swap plug-in modules of the same type without requiring a
reboot. For example, you can replace a 2-Port 40GbE QSFP+ module only with
another 2-Port 40GbE QSFP+ module.
On the MXL 10/40GbE Switch, you can configure uplink ports of the same
speed on different modules in the same link aggregation group (LAG). You
can also use individual ports for uplink connections.
NOTE: A maximum of 16 ports are supported in a LAG.
For switch stacking, you must use a 40GbE port on the base module or on a
2-Port 40GbE QSFP+ plug-in module. Stacking is not supported on 10GbE
ports.
All FlexIO plug-in modules, transceivers, and attach cables are sold separately.
4-Port 10GbE SFP+ Module
4-Port 10GBASE-T Module (100Mb/1GbE/10GbE)
2-Port 40GbE QSFP+ Module

Hardware Overview 9
Port Numbering
When installed in a PowerEdge M1000e Enclosure, the MXL 10/40GbE
Switch ports are numbered 33 to 56 from the bottom to the top of the switch:
• 40GbE base-module ports:
• In 40GbE mode of operation, the ports are numbered 33 and 37.
•
In 4x10GbE mode of operation, the ports are numbered 33 to 36
and 37 to 40.
For information about how to change a 40GbE port to 4x10GbE mode,
refer to "Splitting 40GbE QSFP+ Ports into 10GbE SFP+ Ports" on
page 30.
• 2-Port 40-GbE QSFP+ module operating in the default 4x10GbE mode:
• In expansion slot 0, the ports are numbered 41 to 44 and 45 to 48.
• In expansion slot 1, the ports are numbered 49 to 52 and 53 to 56.
For information about how to change a port from 4x10GbE to 40GbE
mode of operation, refer to "FlexIOTM Plug-in Modules" on page 7.
• 2-Port 40-GbE QSFP+ module operating in 40GbE mode:
• In expansion slot 0, the ports are numbered 41 and 45.
• In expansion slot 1, the ports are numbered 49 and 53.
• 4-Port 10-GbE SFP+ or 10GBASE-T module:
• In expansion slot 0, the ports are numbered 41 to 44.
•
I n expansion slot 1 , the ports are numbered 49 to 52.

10 Hardware Overview
USB Ports
Figure 1-3. USB Ports on Front Panel
Use the lower USB console port to configure the switch through an RS-232
serial interface (Figure 1-3). This port provides a direct connection to the
switch and allows you to access the command line interface (CLI) from a
console terminal connected to the port through the provided serial cable
(with USB type-A to female DB-9 connectors).
The console port supports asynchronous data of eight data bits, one stop bit,
no parity bit, and no flow control. The default baud rate is 9600 bps.
The upper USB port functions as an external flash drive that you can use to
store configuration files and scripts.
USB Console Port
USB Storage Port

Hardware Overview 11
System and Port LEDs
The front panel of the MXL 10/40GbE Switch contains light emitting diodes
(LEDs) that provide information about the status of the switch (Figure 1-4).
Figure 1-4. System LEDs on Front Panel
Table 1-1 describes system LED conditions.
Table 1-1. System LEDs
System LED Color Meaning
Power Green Power is being supplied to the switch.
Off The switch does not have power.
Status
Blue The switch is operating normally as a standalone
switch or as a stack master.
Off The switch is not the stack master.
Amber A fault has occurred or the switch is booting.
System Status LED
System Power LED
40GbE Ports

12 Hardware Overview
Each plug-in module also contains LEDs that provide information about the
link status and traffic activity on a port (Figure 1-5).
Figure 1-5. Port LEDs on Modules
Table 1-2 describes the LED status of the 10GbE BASE-T, 10GbE SFP+, and
40GbE QSFP+ ports.
Table 1-2. Port LED Status
Port LED Color Meaning
Link Status
Off The port is down.
Green The port is up and can transmit traffic at maximum
speed:
A QSFP+ port can transmit at 40G.
An SFP+ port can transmit at 10G.
A BASE-T port can transmit at 10G.
Yellow The port is up and is transmitting traffic at lower than
maximum speed:
A 40GbE QSFP+ port is transmitting at 10G.
A 10GbE SFP+ or 10GBASE-T port is transmitting at
1G or 100Mb.
Activity
Off No traffic is being transmitted or received on the port.
Blinking
Green
Traffic is being transmitted or received on the port.
Link Status
Activity
Link Status
Activity
Link Status
Activity

Hardware Overview 13
Table 1-3 describes the LED status of a 40GbE QSFP+ port that is split into
four 10GbE SFP+ ports using a
4x10G breakout cable .
Installation
Site Preparation
Before installing the switch or switches, make sure that the chosen
installation location meets the following site requirements:
• Clearance — There is adequate front and rear clearance for operator
access. Allow clearance for cabling, power connections, and ventilation.
• Cabling — The cabling is routed to avoid sources of electrical noise such
as radio transmitters, broadcast amplifiers, power lines, and fluorescent
lighting fixtures.
• Ambient Temperature — The ambient switch operating temperature
range is 10° to 35ºC (50° to 95ºF).
NOTE: Decrease the maximum temperature by 1°C (1.8°F) per 300 m (985 ft.)
above 900 m (2955 ft.).
• Relative Humidity — The operating relative humidity is 8% to 85%
(non-condensing) with a maximum humidity gradation of 10% per hour.
Table 1-3. LED Status of a 40GbE QSFP+ Port with Breakout
Cable
Port LED Color Meaning
Link Status
Off All four 10GbE ports on a breakout cable are down.
Yellow At least one of the four 10GbE ports on a breakout
cable is up.
Activity
Off No traffic is being transmitted on any 10GbE port on
the breakout cable.
Blinking
Green
Traffic is being transmitted or received on at least one
of the 10GbE ports on the breakout cable.

14 Installing and Configuring the Switch
Unpacking the Switch
Package Contents
When unpacking each switch, make sure that the following items are
included:
• One Dell Force10 MXL 10/40GbE Switch IO Module
• One USB type A-to-DB-9 female cable
• Getting Started Guide
• Safety and Regulatory Information
• Warranty and Support Information
• Software License Agreement
Unpacking Steps
NOTE: Before unpacking the switch, inspect the container and immediately report any
evidence of damage.
1 Place the container on a clean, flat surface and cut all straps securing the
container.
2 Open the container or remove the container top.
3 Carefully remove the switch from the container and place it on a secure
and clean surface.
4 Remove all packing material.
5 Inspect the product and accessories for damage.
Installing and Configuring the
Switch
After you unpack the MXL 10/40GbE Switch, refer to the flow chart in
Figure 1-6 for an overview of the steps you must follow to install the blade
and perform the initial configuration.
You can check to see that a switch is running the latest FTOS version by entering
the show version command. To download an FTOS version, go to http://support.dell.com.

Installing and Configuring the Switch 15
Figure 1-6. MXL 10/40GbE Switch: Installation and Configuration Flow Chart
Insert Switch Blade
and
Power On
Connect Console
Load Image
from Flash to RAM
X-Loader CLI
Run Memory Tests/
Configure Switch
Settings
Reboot
Yes
Enter
Wizard? Yes
No
No Do not press a key
Jumpstart waits for
DHCP Offer with
FTOS Image and
Configuration
Easy Setup Wizard
Configuration
Switch
Configuration
Assemble a
Switch Stack
To exit Jumpstart:
From the console, enter
FTOS> enable
FTOS# stop jumpstart
FTOS# reload-type normal
Manual Initial
Configuration
Press
any key to
enter X-Loader
or U-Boot
menu?
U-Boot CLI
No Do not press a key
Yes

16 Installing and Configuring the Switch
Installing the Switch Blade in a PowerEdge
M1000e
After you unpack the switch blade, slide it into one of the open I/O module
slots in the back of a PowerEdge M1000e.
The M1000e is a 10U rack-mountable blade chassis that holds:
• Server blades: Eight full-height or 16 half-height, or 32 quarter-height
blades
• Switch blades: Six I/O modules and two integrated chassis management
controllers
Server blades are installed in the front of the chassis (Figure 1-7); switch
blades are installed in the back of the chassis (Figure 1-8).
Figure 1-7. PowerEdge M1000e: Front View with Server Blades
16 half-height
server blades

Installing and Configuring the Switch 17
Figure 1-8. PowerEdge M1000e: Back View with Six MXL 10/40GbE Switch Blades
After you slide the MXL 10/40GbE Switch in so that the connectors on the
back of the blade touch the chassis midplane, the switch receives power from
the chassis and automatically powers on. The chassis management controller
(CMC) in the chassis validates that the switch blade is a supported I/O
module before powering it on.
When the switch powers on, the Boot loader loads the image from the local
flash. The image initializes the hardware and brings the switch up in
operational mode.

18 Installing and Configuring the Switch
Connecting a Console Terminal
After the MXL 10/40GbE Switch powers on, complete all external cabling
connections and connect a terminal to the blade to configure the switch.
NOTE: If you are installing a stack of MXL 10/40GbE Switches , connect the terminal
to the console port on the Master Switch. If you connect the terminal to a member
(non-Master) switch, you will not be able to use the CLI. For more information, refer
to "Assembling a Switch Stack" on page 25.
Read the release notes for this product before proceeding. You can download the
release notes from the Dell Support website at support.dell.com/manuals.
To monitor and configure the switch via the serial console, use the USB
console port on the front panel of the switch (Figure 1-3) to connect it to a
VT100 terminal or to a computer running VT100 terminal emulation
software. The console port is implemented as a data terminal equipment
(DTE) connector.
The following equipment is required to use the console port:
• VT100-compatible terminal or a desktop or a portable computer with a
serial port running VT100 terminal emulation software, such as Microsoft
HyperTerminal.
• A serial cable (provided) with a USB type-A connector for the console port
and DB-9 connector for the terminal.
To connect a terminal to the switch console port, perform the following tasks:
1
Connect the DB-9 connector on the serial cable to the terminal or
computer running VT100 terminal emulation software.
2 Configure the terminal emulation software as follows:
a Select the appropriate serial port (for example, COM 1) to connect to
the console.
b Set the data rate to 9600 baud.
c Set the data format to 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, and no parity.
d Set the flow control to none .
e Set the terminal emulation mode to VT100 .
f Select Terminal keys for Function, Arrow, and Ctrl keys. Ensure that
the setting is for Terminal keys (not Microsoft Windows keys).

Installing and Configuring the Switch 19
Connect the USB connector on the cable directly to the switch console port.
The console port on the MXL 10/40GbE Switch is located below the fixed
40GbE ports (Figure 1-3).
Invoking the X-Loader and U-Boot CLIs
During the boot process, you can perform various configuration tasks by
accessing the X-Loader and U-Boot CLIs, such as running memory tests
(X-Loader) and activating the backup image or recovering a password
(U-Boot).
You are first prompted to enter the X-Loader CLI by pressing any key when
the following message is displayed: Hit any key to stop autoboot.
If you do not press a key, the boot process continues and you are prompted to
enter the U-Boot CLI by pressing any key.
After performing any of the X-Loader or U-Boot tasks, the switch
automatically reboots when you exit a CLI. To continue with the boot process
without entering either CLI, do not press a key.
Performing the Initial Configuration
Prerequisites: Before you perform the initial switch configuration , make sure
that
:
•The MXL 10/40GbE Switch was never configured before and is in the
same state as when you received it.
•The
MXL 10/40GbE Switch booted successfully when it powered on.
• The console connection was established and the
Dell Easy Setup Wizard
prompt appears on the screen of a VT100 terminal or terminal equivalent.
Perform the initial switch configuration through the console port. After the
initial configuration, you can manage the switch from the already connected
console port or through a remote connection.

20 Installing and Configuring the Switch
Before you start, to perform the initial switch configuration, you must obtain
the following information from your network administrator:
• The IP address to be assigned to the out-of-band (OOB) interface for
device management.
• The IP subnet mask for the OOB interface.
• The IP address of the OOB interface default gateway.
These settings are necessary to allow remote management of the switch
through a Telnet (Telnet client) or HTTP (Web browser) connection.
NOTE: The switch is configured with a default user name (root) and password
(calvin).
Initial Configuration Procedure
Perform the initial configuration from the connected console by using the
Dell Easy Setup Wizard or by using the CLI.
The wizard automatically starts when there is no startup configuration file on
the switch. You can exit the wizard at any point by entering [Ctrl+c], but all
configured settings will be discarded and the switch will use the default values
displayed in parentheses in the wizard; for example, [public].
NOTE: If you do not run the Easy Setup Wizard or do not respond to the initial Easy
Setup Wizard prompt within 60 seconds, the switch enters CLI mode and the default
configuration values are applied.
For more information about how to perform the initial configuration using
the CLI, refer to the Dell Force10 FTOS Configuration Guide for the Dell
Force10 MXL 10/40GbE Switch IO Module.
This Getting Started Guide describes how to use the Easy Setup Wizard for
initial switch configuration. The wizard sets up the following configuration
on the switch:
• Establishes the initial privileged user account with a valid password. The
wizard configures one privileged user account during the setup.
• Sets up the IP address for the OOB interface.
• Sets up the SNMP community string to be used by the SNMP manager at
a given IP address. You may choose to skip this step if SNMP management
is not used for this switch.