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

[ViciousXUSMC]

Picked up two more ICX 6450's
Has anybody found the "perfect fan" yet for these?

Back in the day I used Noctua NF-A4x20 FLX fans and that worked for me. That switch is silent and still running strong.
However I dont use much PoE on it (and I found out I have a bad PoE module in that switch), thinking maybe something with a bit more CFM for the next mod because it may be running a PoE Camera array.

 

[tozmo]

I have a 7450 with broken 2.5gb ports, 2psu, no fans. Before I start hacking cisco usb cables to set this up, does connecting the 2 psu offset the OS requirement for a fan? Or do I need to hack in a fan like dodgy route ? Or just buy a 6610 fan?

 

[NateS]

Thats pretty interesting - I am a bit more confused -

MPT/MPO seems like a great option - I am not sure if I can use it in my conduit - it goes under my driveway & is fairly old - I think there is some water in it - can the MPT/MPO be used outdoors (in a conduit that could be wet?)

Well, no fiber connector is going to be very happy being dragged through muddy water, but once it's installed the connectors will be hanging out the ends of the conduit, and you could clean them and keep them dry at that point. The fiber itself should be fine (but double check that the jacket is rated for water contact; probably most are).

If I were you, I'd leave the dust caps on the connectors and then tape the whole thing up well with something water-resistant like electrical tape before you actually pull it through the conduit. That should keep most of the water out while you're installing it, but I'd also recommend picking up a cleaning kit for whatever connecter type you ultimately decide on to clean out any water that does find its way in.

What's the difference between a preterminated fiber 12 strand OM3 & a 12 strand OM3 MTP/MPO? Seems like it is the same thing?

The former is just preterminated with some unspecified connector(s), which could be 12xLC, 1xMPO, 12xSC, etc. The latter specifies that it's terminated with MPT/MPO connectors specifically.

This near switch #1:

MTP Fiber Assembly - 12 Strand OM3 Plenum, MTP Male to Generic LC Duplex

Save time & money with MTP/MPO installations. Pull one cable rather than 12+. Discount Low Voltage has the MTP/MPO cable you need now at wholesale prices. With MTP cables, it's possible to run a single cable that automatically terminates up to 72 sepa

www.discount-low-voltage.com

This through the conduit:

Pre-Terminated Fiber Cables – Discount Low Voltage

Save time during on-site optical fiber cable installations by ordering custom pre-terminated fiber cable assemblies from Discount-Low-Voltage.com. We can pre-terminate a variety of single mode and multimode fiber cables along with video snake cables for your networking applications.

www.discount-low-voltage.com

This near switch #2:

MTP Fiber Assembly - 12 Strand OM3 Plenum, MTP Male to Generic LC Duplex

Save time & money with MTP/MPO installations. Pull one cable rather than 12+. Discount Low Voltage has the MTP/MPO cable you need now at wholesale prices. With MTP cables, it's possible to run a single cable that automatically terminates up to 72 sepa

www.discount-low-voltage.com

I guess the only downside might be damaging the cable when plugging it in?

I suppose you do have two more connectors in the chain, but I don't think the added potential for damage from that is worth worrying about. The biggest downside is just that it costs a bit more, and planning it out is a little more complex.

One thing you do have to keep in mind is that there are multiple ways to split out the 12 fibers into send and receive pairs, and reverse each pair such that a send port always hits a receive port. In this case, I'd recommend keeping your main underground fiber a straight-through, type A cable, and then use the fanouts on each end to split off the pairs, but there are other valid methods too. See here for more info: Understanding Polarity in MTP-12 Fiber Cable System

Also, if you want either end to have a patch panel, rather than a fanout, check out the MTP/MPO cassettes from fs: FHD MTP to LC Fiber Cassettes

 

[infoMatt]

Picked up two more ICX 6450's
Has anybody found the "perfect fan" yet for these?

I've used two Sunon MagLev KDE1204PKVX with two small capacitors between +12V and GND to smooth out the PWM noise... it's not silent by any means but it's bearable when you sit beside it and basically silent when closed inside a rack.

 

[3nodeproblem]

I currently have a fanmodded ICX6450-48P ("ICX1") running as my home prod switch. Apart from VLANs I'm not making use of much fancy functionality. Haven't looked into STP etc. I have not stacked before.

Now I am moving to a new physical location and want to do the migration with minimal downtime. I have just received and prepared a secondary ICX6450-48P ("ICX2") - not fanmodded but otherwise identical. I want ICX1 to be in the new location and not make use of ICX2 except as having on hand as a cold spare. Can someone tell me if the following plan makes sense or if I'm missing something:

1. Stack ICX1 and ICX2 both in the old physical location, with ICX1 as master. Linear traditional stack. ICX1 as active controller, ICX2 as standby.
2. Configure VLAN ports on ICX2 to be identical to ICX1.
3. Migrate over all ports/links one by one from ICX1 to ICX2 until ICX1 is unpopulated.
4. Power off ICX1 (thereby breaking the stack)
5. Move ICX1 to new physical location.
6. Connect ICX1 to internet, add a wireguard VPN host on the "server" subnet and VLAN so the servers can span across the two physical locations
7. Move hosts to new physical location until ICX2 is unpopulated.
8. Power off ICX2 and put it in storage

Also, is anyone aware of if it's possible to stack using RJ45 Cat6 transceivers in the stacking ports or if I need to get a "proper" cable like this one? Brocade XBR-TWX-01.5 10G SFP+ DAC Twinax Cable

 

[LodeRunner]

I currently have a fanmodded ICX6450-48P ("ICX1") running as my home prod switch. Apart from VLANs I'm not making use of much fancy functionality. Haven't looked into STP etc. I have not stacked before.

Now I am moving to a new physical location and want to do the migration with minimal downtime. I have just received and prepared a secondary ICX6450-48P ("ICX2") - not fanmodded but otherwise identical. I want ICX1 to be in the new location and not make use of ICX2 except as having on hand as a cold spare. Can someone tell me if the following plan makes sense or if I'm missing something:

1. Stack ICX1 and ICX2 both in the old physical location, with ICX1 as master. Linear traditional stack. ICX1 as active controller, ICX2 as standby.
2. Configure VLAN ports on ICX2 to be identical to ICX1.
3. Migrate over all ports/links one by one from ICX1 to ICX2 until ICX1 is unpopulated.
4. Power off ICX1 (thereby breaking the stack)
5. Move ICX1 to new physical location.
6. Connect ICX1 to internet, add a wireguard VPN host on the "server" subnet and VLAN so the servers can span across the two physical locations
7. Move hosts to new physical location until ICX2 is unpopulated.
8. Power off ICX2

Also, is anyone aware of if it's possible to stack using RJ45 Cat6 transceivers in the stacking ports or if I need to get a "proper" cable like this one? Brocade XBR-TWX-01.5 10G SFP+ DAC Twinax Cable

If desired use is only as a cold spare, use TFTP to dump the running config, and load it on the second switch as the startup config, then power it off.

Stacking will probably not do what you want for this use case, it normally adds the second switch as a ‘module’ to the first switch.

 

[3nodeproblem]

If desired use is only as a cold spare, use TFTP to dump the running config, and load it on the second switch as the startup config, then power it off.

Stacking will probably not do what you want for this use case, it normally adds the second switch as a ‘module’ to the first switch.

Thanks for replying. The reason for stacking is so I can reuse ICX1 in the new location without having to take the whole network offline during the migration - so it would be stacked only so I can replace ICX1 with ICX2 in the old location.

 

[dennisp]

I currently have a fanmodded ICX6450-48P ("ICX1") running as my home prod switch. Apart from VLANs I'm not making use of much fancy functionality. Haven't looked into STP etc. I have not stacked before.

Now I am moving to a new physical location and want to do the migration with minimal downtime. I have just received and prepared a secondary ICX6450-48P ("ICX2") - not fanmodded but otherwise identical. I want ICX1 to be in the new location and not make use of ICX2 except as having on hand as a cold spare. Can someone tell me if the following plan makes sense or if I'm missing something:

1. Stack ICX1 and ICX2 both in the old physical location, with ICX1 as master. Linear traditional stack. ICX1 as active controller, ICX2 as standby.
2. Configure VLAN ports on ICX2 to be identical to ICX1.
3. Migrate over all ports/links one by one from ICX1 to ICX2 until ICX1 is unpopulated.
4. Power off ICX1 (thereby breaking the stack)
5. Move ICX1 to new physical location.
6. Connect ICX1 to internet, add a wireguard VPN host on the "server" subnet and VLAN so the servers can span across the two physical locations
7. Move hosts to new physical location until ICX2 is unpopulated.
8. Power off ICX2 and put it in storage

Also, is anyone aware of if it's possible to stack using RJ45 Cat6 transceivers in the stacking ports or if I need to get a "proper" cable like this one? Brocade XBR-TWX-01.5 10G SFP+ DAC Twinax Cable

Your process looks good, but I'd use a regular uplink between the switches instead of stacking. Stacking adds unnecessary complexity

 

[3nodeproblem]

Your process looks good, but I'd use a regular uplink between the switches instead of stacking. Stacking adds unnecessary complexity

That's a good point actually. So just connect the two over trunk ports right?

 

[dennisp]

Exactly. You could even use a regular 1G port

 

[BecauseScience]

I apologize for what sounds like the dumbest noob question ever.

What's the command to cleanly power down a 6450? I'm connected via serial admin port.

I searched the manuals then googled for an additional 20 minutes with no luck.

----

This USB to serial cable works great on my 6450 and it uses a FTDI chip to boot:
Asunflower 12 Ft FTDI USB to RJ45 Router Console Cable - RS232

 

[fohdeesha]

I apologize for what sounds like the dumbest noob question ever.

What's the command to cleanly power down a 6450? I'm connected via serial admin port.

I searched the manuals then googled for an additional 20 minutes with no luck.

----

This USB to serial cable works great on my 6450 and it uses a FTDI chip to boot:
Asunflower 12 Ft FTDI USB to RJ45 Router Console Cable - RS232

There isn't one, it's a read only filesystem designed to have the power yanked unless it's in the middle of a firmware upgrade or something

 

[ccie4526]

So right now these guys are at $90, and I was able to get one at best offer of $80. They countered my $70 offer.

Brocade ICX6450-24P 24-Port PoE+ Gigabit Enterprise Class Stackable Switch | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Brocade ICX6450-24P 24-Port PoE+ Gigabit Enterprise Class Stackable Switch at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[dennisp]

So right now these guys are at $90, and I was able to get one at best offer of $80. They countered my $70 offer.

Brocade ICX6450-24P 24-Port PoE+ Gigabit Enterprise Class Stackable Switch | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Brocade ICX6450-24P 24-Port PoE+ Gigabit Enterprise Class Stackable Switch at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

I have a stack of three of them from this seller in front of me right now, no issues with them. They came wiped with an old version of the OS, 7-something, no "bonus" licenses other than the 2 default stacking ports. This seller has been moving down from about 150, I got mine 2 weeks ago for 100/ea.

 

[NV43]

So right now these guys are at $90, and I was able to get one at best offer of $80. They countered my $70 offer.

Brocade ICX6450-24P 24-Port PoE+ Gigabit Enterprise Class Stackable Switch | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Brocade ICX6450-24P 24-Port PoE+ Gigabit Enterprise Class Stackable Switch at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

I also have one of these on the way that I got for $80. Should be here Monday. It'll be my first real switch so I'm pretty excited to tinker with it.

I'm also interested in what fans others are using for a fan mod.

 

[dreamsin]

Could you use the 6450-24P as a simple L2 switch as well?

 

[i386]

Yes. I use it with the router firmware and without special configuration (except for poe).

 

[BecauseScience]

Could you use the 6450-24P as a simple L2 switch as well?

You should buy an unmanaged L2 switch if that's you're use case. Some (most?) are fanless and there's no complex setup.

The 6450 has non-silent fans. I consider them fairly loud.

It takes time and effort to update the firmware and get them into a known state. Getting and keeping a TFTP server working is a pain in the butt on both Windows and Linux and that's only part of it.

You have to buy a special console cable for the setup also.

 

[i386]

You have to buy a special console cable for the setup also.

What? Did I miss something?
I used a standard console cable (db9 to rj45) that came with my arista switch and it worked...

 

[dreamsin]

Well yes, managed L2 was of my interest.
L3 is just unneccesary for me at the current moment.
If a serial cable is special, then you must be quite young