Brocade ICX Series (cheap & powerful 10gbE/40gbE switching)

[RoachedCoach]

Could you post some pics?

Also, where did you source these from? I found the Mechatronics only at digikey and the Sunon at Mouser - not both at one. Then again, I do have some parts I have to get some Mouser anyways...

I've got it racked up so don't want to pull it back out for pics, but to the rest of your questions:

I purchased the Sunon from Mouser and the Mechatronics from Digikey - just as you said. Agreed - it's lame they aren't both at one...but it beats getting knock-offs.

So far as mounting the Sunon, just place it on top of the existing heat sink and put some screws in the pre-drilled holes on the Sunon wide enough to grab onto the heatsink. There's probably cleaner ways to do it but it's very secure. For the 48P you may need to angle the fan slightly to avoid the Molex on the PoE board, but it'll fit.

 

[Fallen Kell]

no, and it shouldn't be that loud, I can't hear mine over an R720. do the fan spins way down after boot, and what revision are the power supplies?

Both power supplies are rev A.

On another note, anyone know where I can find compatible rack mount ears for this switch?

 

[fohdeesha]

@fohdeesha - Licensing question. I see "Premium", "Advanced", and "Premium to Advanced", but after searching this forum ("premium AND advanced") and some modestly-enthusiastic googling, all I've been able to figure as the *potential* difference between licensing levels is
"
• BGP4, BGP4+(IPv6)
• GRE
• IPv6 over IPv4 tunnels
• VRF (IPv4 and IPv6)
" which seem to be in the 'advanced' but not(?) the premium.

Can you confirm my understanding, or expand on what functionality your free licenses do/not enable?

several years ago the premium and advanced license were merged into one - either license fully unlocks ALL the layer 3 features. It doesn't even matter though, as the OP says PM me for full licenses

 

[Bjorn Smith]

Just did a FAN mod on my new Brocade ICX 6450-24P - at what point should I revert the mod and put the original fans back?

I put in Noctua NF A4x20 Flex (12v)

What is a realistic "good enough" temperature to be running at 24/7?

This is output from "sh chassis" - after having been idle for around 2 hours at my desk (temperatur seems to have stabilized here)

SSH@brocade>show chassis
The stack unit 1 chassis info:

Power supply 1 (NA - AC - PoE) present, status ok
Power supply 2 not present

Fan 1 ok, speed (auto): [[1]]<->2
Fan 2 ok, speed (auto): [[1]]<->2

Fan controlled temperature: 55.0 deg-C

Fan speed switching temperature thresholds:
                Speed 1: NM<----->64       deg-C
                Speed 2:       59<-----> 88 deg-C (shutdown)

Sensor B Temperature Readings:
        Current temperature : 49.0 deg-C
Sensor A Temperature Readings:
        Current temperature : 55.0 deg-C
        Warning level.......: 78.0 deg-C
        Shutdown level......: 88.0 deg-C

BTW:

Will this console cable work with the switch?

USB TO RJ45 Serial Console Cable Express Net USB Cable for Cisco Routers FTDI UK 602168380156 | eBay

 

[umass1966]

can you help with this issue.

Thanks to serve the home and this thread in particular i have moved from a Netgear R78oo router and a bunch of netgear unmanaged switches to a Juniper SRX300 firewall, Ruckus ICX7150-c12p Switch and Ruckus R710 AP.

My current physical configuration is cable modem ( Cisco DCP3008. It is in bridge mode. ) to SRX300 via ethernet cable. then srx300 to Ruckus switch via another ethernet cable. Then all devices ( wired ) including Ruckus AP attached to Ruckus Switch . DHCP is done by SRX300.

From a best practices and security point of view is there a better way of physical configuration ? All advice much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[kapone]

can you help with this issue.

Thanks to serve the home and this thread in particular i have moved from a Netgear R78oo router and a bunch of netgear unmanaged switches to a Juniper SRX300 firewall, Ruckus ICX7150-c12p Switch and Ruckus R710 AP.

My current physical configuration is cable modem ( Cisco DCP3008. It is in bridge mode. ) to SRX300 via ethernet cable. then srx300 to Ruckus switch via another ethernet cable. Then all devices ( wired ) including Ruckus AP attached to Ruckus Switch . DHCP is done by SRX300.

From a best practices and security point of view is there a better way of physical configuration ? All advice much appreciated. Thanks.

Best practice for what? Home networking? Self hosting? High availability? Ease of maintenance?

Security from which perspective? The average script kiddie or a state actor? Internal security? External security? Device isolation?

Just hooking up a few parts together is child's play. What comes before (planning and design) and after (automation/monitoring/alerts) is what differentiates a well-designed network from a poorly designed one. The equipment is a very small part of that.

 

[GhettoSuperstar]

Replace all 3 rear fans with the Mechatronics MR4020X12B1-RSR fan. They will read just fine in CLI. Then add a Sunon MF60101V3-1000U-A99 fan to the ASIC heat sink (you'll still have around 1/3" to spare in the case, plenty). Wire it in with Fan 3. All the fans are reduced load vs stock so they won't draw too much and the Sunon only has power and ground, so doesn't affect the read on Fan 3.

Thanks for providing an update. I am like you with the exception that I have to sleep next to my rack. Quick Question: How did you get the MR4020X12B1-RSR and Digikey shows them out of stock. I understand I need three wire, but I only see the two wire in stock.

 

[umass1966]

Best practice for what? Home networking? Self hosting? High availability? Ease of maintenance?

Security from which perspective? The average script kiddie or a state actor? Internal security? External security? Device isolation?

Just hooking up a few parts together is child's play. What comes before (planning and design) and after (automation/monitoring/alerts) is what differentiates a well-designed network from a poorly designed one. The equipment is a very small part of that.

Thanks for your response. To answer some of the questions.
Best practice for home networking. Will not self host. High availability and ease of maintenance are not important to me.
Security perspective average script kiddie. only external security. no device isolation

 

[OKGolombRuler]

several years ago the premium and advanced license were merged into one - either license fully unlocks ALL the layer 3 features. It doesn't even matter though, as the OP says PM me for full licenses

Yep, and I will; just thought you offered premium not advanced and wanted to make sure I knew what I was buying. Thanks for the quick response! Look for me in your inbox in a couple weeks, my 6610 order is placed!

 

[RoachedCoach]

Thanks for providing an update. I am like you with the exception that I have to sleep next to my rack. Quick Question: How did you get the MR4020X12B1-RSR and Digikey shows them out of stock. I understand I need three wire, but I only see the two wire in stock.

Ah, they were in stock when I purchased a few weeks ago. Ugh. Yes, you def want the 3 wire.

Hopefully they come back in stock again soon.

You would be able to sleep next to this

 

[kapone]

Thanks for your response. To answer some of the questions.
Best practice for home networking. Will not self host. High availability and ease of maintenance are not important to me.
Security perspective average script kiddie. only external security. no device isolation

There's more than one way to setup a good home network with the equipment you've mentioned, but there's nothing wrong with how you've done it.

As long as you have good firewall rules, you should be fine.

 

[umass1966]

There's more than one way to setup a good home network with the equipment you've mentioned, but there's nothing wrong with how you've done it.

As long as you have good firewall rules, you should be fine.

In my configuration i attached the AP to the Ruckus Switch ( Because of POE ). Does it make more sense to attach to the SRX300 firewall directly ( i have a POE injector )

Is it better to do DHCP in the SRX300 then the Ruckus switch.

Thanks

 

[kapone]

In my configuration i attached the AP to the Ruckus Switch ( Because of POE ). Does it make more sense to attach to the SRX300 firewall directly ( i have a POE injector )

Is it better to do DHCP in the SRX300 then the Ruckus switch.

Thanks

And hence my point about "planning and design". There's no better or worse. It's a question of what works for you.

- Do you need to do firewalling between internal networks?
- Are you comfortable with the brocade command line?
- Do you have devices that may not play nice with the Brocade's DHCP?
- etc etc.

That's the planning and design phase.

 

[umass1966]

And hence my point about "planning and design". There's no better or worse. It's a question of what works for you.

- Do you need to do firewalling between internal networks?
- Are you comfortable with the brocade command line?
- Do you have devices that may not play nice with the Brocade's DHCP?
- etc etc.

That's the planning and design phase.

Thanks. I have got some thinking to do

 

[fohdeesha]

Just did a FAN mod on my new Brocade ICX 6450-24P - at what point should I revert the mod and put the original fans back?

I put in Noctua NF A4x20 Flex (12v)

What is a realistic "good enough" temperature to be running at 24/7?

This is output from "sh chassis" - after having been idle for around 2 hours at my desk (temperatur seems to have stabilized here)

SSH@brocade>show chassis
The stack unit 1 chassis info:

Power supply 1 (NA - AC - PoE) present, status ok
Power supply 2 not present

Fan 1 ok, speed (auto): [[1]]<->2
Fan 2 ok, speed (auto): [[1]]<->2

Fan controlled temperature: 55.0 deg-C

Fan speed switching temperature thresholds:
                Speed 1: NM<----->64       deg-C
                Speed 2:       59<-----> 88 deg-C (shutdown)

Sensor B Temperature Readings:
        Current temperature : 49.0 deg-C
Sensor A Temperature Readings:
        Current temperature : 55.0 deg-C
        Warning level.......: 78.0 deg-C
        Shutdown level......: 88.0 deg-C

BTW:

Will this console cable work with the switch?

USB TO RJ45 Serial Console Cable Express Net USB Cable for Cisco Routers FTDI UK 602168380156 | eBay

that cable will work and that is running plenty cool, if it heats up it will just spin the fans up to speed 2 to compensate, but it's not even near that temp yet

 

[fohdeesha]

Both power supplies are rev A.

On another note, anyone know where I can find compatible rack mount ears for this switch?

But it does spin down after boot right? Rev A's are definitely louder, if you can source a couple of rev B's or C's it will be noticeably quieter

 

[Bjorn Smith]

that cable will work and that is running plenty cool, if it heats up it will just spin the fans up to speed 2 to compensate, but it's not even near that temp yet

Cool thanks a lot - after having run in "production" around 18 hours now temps are:

Power supply 1 (NA - AC - PoE) present, status ok
Power supply 2 not present

Fan 1 ok, speed (auto): [[1]]<->2
Fan 2 ok, speed (auto): [[1]]<->2

Fan controlled temperature: 58.5 deg-C

Fan speed switching temperature thresholds:
                Speed 1: NM<----->64       deg-C
                Speed 2:       59<-----> 88 deg-C (shutdown)

Sensor B Temperature Readings:
        Current temperature : 55.0 deg-C
Sensor A Temperature Readings:
        Current temperature : 58.5 deg-C
        Warning level.......: 78.0 deg-C
        Shutdown level......: 88.0 deg-C

So it only crept up a few degrees since that, but its kind of annoying that it borders on the speed 2 threshold - I hope when it gets hotter in the weather that it will not just go from fan 1 speed to fan 2 speed and back constantly, that would be a little annoying with the changing fan speed.

Now I just have to figure out how to configure my VLAN's properly

I have never done VLAN's before, but I want to separate my LAN/DMZ/GUEST before I even consider opening up anything to the outside

Any good guides on the internet which will help me understand VLAN's better, i.e. the difference betwwen Tagged/Untagged ports, Trunk/Access/Hybrid ports etc.

Would be awesome with a virtual "lab" with multiple switches, computers where you could change the configuration and see traffic flow/not flow depending on how stuff was configured.

 

[Fallen Kell]

But it does spin down after boot right? Rev A's are definitely louder, if you can source a couple of rev B's or C's it will be noticeably quieter

The fans were not spinning down, but I figured out why. I only had one power supply plugged into an outlet. Once I plugged the second one in, they finally went into a more reasonable quiet mode (it's still louder than my 4U server, but I did a lot of mods to that to quiet it). It is finally on the order of magnitude as my old 24 port switch (just without the failing fan bearing drone noise that the old one has and the main reason for me finally upgrading).

 

[Tobolaski]

I just acquired an ICX7250-48p. I've been trying to get connected to the console but I've run into an issue. I've assembled a couple of the serial cables for these and using the settings that it should be (9600 8N1), all I get is gibberish. The way the output is produced seems like it is a boot up sequence and if I let it go, it will echo back what I type like it has gotten to the shell but the output is unreadable. Any ideas on how I can get it working?

 

[fohdeesha]

sounds like the previous owner reconfigured the serial baudrate (can be set with a u-boot env variable). try 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, etc until the output makes sense