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

[itronin]

Any DAC (direct attach copper) cable recommendations for the Brocade switch or works with anything? I went with AOC earlier however same parts are now more expensive (2 x $20 for each end of the transceiver + cable itself). I was hoping that DAC for short distance (<5 feet) works and looking for any recommendations. thank you

what I already have connected is Brocade 10G-SFPP-SR Compatible 10GBASE-SR SFP+ 850nm 300m DOM LC MMF Transceiver Module and ' LC UPC to LC UPC Duplex OM3 Multimode PVC ' for fiber cable. this works without any issues..

I know long thread - covered repeatedly in there , even at the beginning by many folks but I'll give you my experience/opinion, pricing US based.

10Gb sfp+

I've yet to find an SFP+ DAC that didn't work. I tend to go with the Cisco CUxM's where x=1,2,3 because they are still between $7-$12 per used and often with free ship. I have seen that new ones from FS.COM have been coming down in price, so maybe worth a look(?). I purchased some "shorties" to try out - just haven't gotten to that bit yet.

I have the AOC 40Gb QSFP to 10Gb SFP+ breakout, whatever was cheapest in the appropriate length when I purchased them is what I have. one package said cisco, another was just really generic mfg, I think corning/3m.

40Gb QSFP

I tend to use NETapp QSFP storage cables for copper. they seem to just work. they're cheap. they're short, they're long. Did I mention they just seem to work?

I also use AOC 40Gb QSFP to 40Gb QSFP, again whatever cheapest I could find in the appropriate length.

DAC's are definitely lowest power. Nothing wrong with using the brocade transceivers though esp since the brocade SFP+ 10Gb ones tend to be REALLY cheap on the bay as well as lots of deals on f/o patch and you can look at the signal strength in the CLI too.

Possibly most forgiving DAC/AOC switch platform I've used (esp. compared to HPE)

 

[OKGolombRuler]

how long are your copper cables? there's a distance limitation when using copper.

Commscope Technical Content Portal

docs.commscope.com

Maybe 15 feet? Just long enough to get from the coax wallplate/MOCA bridge to the SFP.

 

[OKGolombRuler]

Incidentally I was just figuring 6450 -> 7150 connection today and surface OM3 cable was the easiest. It takes a beating and is dirt cheap. Pics:View attachment 20115View attachment 20116

Hm. I will have to think it over, it might well be a 150' run across a fair number of foot-traffic areas. Not sure if it would work (OK it'd work, but unhappy spouse -> unhappy house). But if I can't find a more graceful way to get it there I may have to try my luck... tucking it along the baseboard or adding this sort of fake transitions. To.. cover the carpet tack strips. That's definitely why we need them... Thanks!

 

[Surfarn_]

I have a 6610 at the moment. Was thinking about changeing to 6450 to lower the power consumtion.

Is there any way to disconnect 24 of the 48 ports to save even more energy? Most of the cheap switches have 48 ports.

 

[EngChiSTH]

I have a 6610 at the moment. Was thinking about changeing to 6450 to lower the power consumtion.

Is there any way to disconnect 24 of the 48 ports to save even more energy? Most of the cheap switches have 48 ports.

where are you? I am upgrading from 6450 (which I have two, one primary and one spare) to 7250 for more 10G ports and would have a 6450 i am not going to use - if interested ping me directly.

regarding your question, I do not know of the way to disconnects 24 of 48 ports

 

[richtj99]

So I am trying the librenms & I added:

snmp-server community public ro

onto the switch - I know very little about snmp - is that command 'risky' in the event of someone on my network being able to access the switch based on it being a public community (common) and read only?

If you want any sort of metrics over time, yes. The switch command you're using shows what is happening at that instant. You could also possibly fuss about with a NetFlow collector. But SNMP is pretty straightforward and lots of tools using it Just Work.

 

[fohdeesha]

I have an ICX7150-24, with a 10g brocade optic 1/3/1 connected to an ICX7150-c12p via another 10g brocade optic and some glass. Stacking immediately worked a treat.

I'd now like to extend the stack to another C12P in another part of the house by way of a couple copper SFPs and a 2.5gbps MOCA point-to-point link. (1/3/3 > Brocade 1G copper SFP > 2.5gbps MOCA bridge isolated (point to point, using it like a media converter > Brocade 1G copper SFP > 1/3/1). Can't get stack interactive to pick up the second c12p. Copper SFP will happily move traffic when moved to 1/3/4 on the -24 but won't 'talk stack' on 1/3/3 over the same rest of the path. Ideas? Here's what the Stupid Idea Fairy has brought me so far:

• Bad 1/3/3 on my -24. Sucks to be me. Wondering if I can flip this from stacking to regular mode to test the SFP slot.
• Something in fastiron says, can only stack if link speed 10gbps full duplex - sucks to be me.
• Something in FastIron says, can stack if SFPs identify at 10gbps regardless of whether the link itself will sustain that speed (would never run in prod this way but it could work fine for the house, this is probably best-case for me).
  • What SFP would you recommend for this application?
  • Would a pair of Mikrotik S+RJ10 6-speed RJ-45 module for up to 10 Gbpss.....
    • a) 'link' at 10gbps full duplex even though they would effectively be rate-limited at 2.5gbps, or
    • b) autonegotiate to 2.5gbps?
    • In the latter case will the 7150 agree to stack with this port? I like accumulating toys but don't need $280 of unusable SFPs at the moment.

Ideally I'd bracket every MOCA bridge PTP link with SRJ10s, the 7150-24 on one end and a C12P on the other, stack everything into one logical switch and be informed, fat, and happy. Experienced Brocade Brigade-- how far am I from the Dream?

I guess, failing all that, anybody got any good tips for pulling fiber through lots of EDIT: OLD construction? Anything rated to cheat through HVAC duct?

you have to ensure that 1/3/3 on the 7150-24 and 1/3/1 on the C12P are defined as stacking ports in their respective configs, and *not* part of a stack trunk. can you post the output of show run, the top bit with all the stuff under "stack unit 1"? on top of that make sure the ports are manually set to 1gbps:

enable
conf t
int e 1/3/3
speed-duplex 1000-full

##C12P:
enable
conf t
int e 1/3/1
speed-duplex 1000-full

you should see a valid link up before even running any stacking commands, ensure that's happening by looking at "show int e 1/3/3" for example

 

[fohdeesha]

So I am trying the librenms & I added:

snmp-server community public ro

onto the switch - I know very little about snmp - is that command 'risky' in the event of someone on my network being able to access the switch based on it being a public community (common) and read only?

if someone breaks into your network and guesses your community strng ("public" is default typically and probably most people's first guess) they'd be able to query your switch for interface stats/usage, chassis temperature, IPs/arp table contents etc. meh. if you want you can pick a more secure community string like:

enable
conf t
no snmp-server community public ro
snmp-server community XxsuperSecretXx ro
write mem

then when adding to librenms you'll obviously have t put whatever pass you came up with in the community box instead of "public"

 

[fohdeesha]

Still have one ICX7250-48 left for sale, cheapest one I see for sale on ebay without port damage is around 260+40 shipping, I could do $240 including a couple optics or 10gbase-T modules. pickup only tho in northern indianapolis, NO SHIP

 

[fohdeesha]

updated the guide, changed the ICX7xxx upgrade instructions slightly so a new/known uboot version is flashed first - this avoids the cases where switches coming with ancient 8030 bootloaders would error with "Wrong image format for bootm command" when trying to flash 8090m

also changed the "reset" instruction when coming out of uboot to "boot_primary" instead - even though a factory reset/default has been issued, configs don't get wiped until the OS fully boots. So if a user gets a switch where the previous owner had set/configured the switch to boot from the secondary OS slot, when following the guide and issuing factory set default and all the updates, then issued "reset", it would boot into the old #2 OS slot running god knows what. specifically requesting a "boot_primary" out of u-boot avoids that. thanks foot-gloves on github for the pull request

 

[tinfoil3d]

Hey guys!
Can I go wrong with 7150-24? I don't need POE but need as many SFP+ as possible with passive cooling. From specs this seems like the right choice. I would love 8 10g ports ideally but that likely means lot of noise. This is for use right in my office/home, 2 m away from me, facing front. I hate 1U units but they are so space-efficient. Yeah mikrotik 305 is extremely space-efficient but they are not as reliable as I would love them to be so looking to replace those with some proper switches. 308 failed me. Now I need a quiet replacement.

 

[fohdeesha]

Hey guys!
Can I go wrong with 7150-24? I don't need POE but need as many SFP+ as possible with passive cooling. From specs this seems like the right choice. I would love 8 10g ports ideally but that likely means lot of noise. This is for use right in my office/home, 2 m away from me, facing front. I hate 1U units but they are so space-efficient. Yeah mikrotik 305 is extremely space-efficient but they are not as reliable as I would love them to be so looking to replace those with some proper switches. 308 failed me. Now I need a quiet replacement.

They're good switches for the use case, the downside is finding one for a sane price. I think they still go for like 500 bucks on eBay which to me is crazy for four ports of 10gbe, but I suppose the silence can be priceless for some people

 

[tinfoil3d]

Thank you sir!

 

[richtj99]

if someone breaks into your network and guesses your community strng ("public" is default typically and probably most people's first guess) they'd be able to query your switch for interface stats/usage, chassis temperature, IPs/arp table contents etc. meh. if you want you can pick a more secure community string like:

enable
conf t
no snmp-server community public ro
snmp-server community XxsuperSecretXx ro
write mem

then when adding to librenms you'll obviously have t put whatever pass you came up with in the community box instead of "public"

Thanks - I didnt realize that 'public' was the password vs the name of the community.

snmp-server community XxsuperSecretXx ro

So for future reference to SNMP novices like me -

snmp-server -community = enables the SNMP process
XxsuperSecretXx = the password for SNMP
ro = read only

can a packet sniffer on the network sniff the password of the snmp?

Could a potential hacker do anything with the snmp info that could be helpful in access? Might be overthinking due to past issues on my network.

 

[itronin]

can a packet sniffer on the network sniff the password of the snmp?

snmp v1, and v2 : yes.
snmp v3 : no.

Could a potential hacker do anything with the snmp info that could be helpful in access? Might be overthinking due to past issues on my network.

yes even for just snmp read. basically anything exposed via the device's MIB (std. and mfg specific) can be pulled. think about whether having your network's topology (from the snmp device's perspective) would be useful! Not just switches and routers, also think access points, WLC's etc. etc.

 

[RoachedCoach]

my 7250-24 power consumption on idle 46-50W , don't know 48 port

My 7250-48P pulls around 55W with a few PoE cams attached.

I'm still convinced the 7250 is THE best L3-10G switch for homelab use - considering low power draw, fairly low noise (moddable even moreso) and switching power, plus it's a fairly recent/supported design.

 

[dswartz]

My 7250-48P pulls around 55W with a few PoE cams attached.

I'm still convinced the 7250 is THE best L3-10G switch for homelab use - considering low power draw, fairly low noise (moddable even moreso) and switching power, plus it's a fairly recent/supported design.

I have 2 stacked 7250-24 (not poe since I have no need for that.) But I agree, low power draw, and super-quiet!

 

[noduck]

I'm looking to replace a 7150-c12p; I need more ports, both 1G and 10G.

For my needs, 6450-24p seems to match. Should I be concerned that firmware is limited to 8.0.30 while 7x50 is 8.0.90 and up? 8.0.30 revisions have still been released since EOL.

• I already have a 7250-24p, and it is generally nice (mostly quiet after fan mod), but a bit higher power draw and heat than I would like (48W idle).
• 7150-24p would be ideal, but (as mentioned above) there are none available for a reasonable price (one sold for $335 recently, which would have been okay; but most are $500 and up; idle power 32W).
• 6450-24p has and idle power comparable to 7150-c12p (21W).

 

[LodeRunner]

I'm looking to replace a 7150-c12p; I need more ports, both 1G and 10G.

For my needs, 6450-24p seems to match. Should I be concerned that firmware is limited to 8.0.30 while 7x50 is 8.0.90 and up? 8.0.30 revisions have still been released since EOL.

• I already have a 7250-24p, and it is generally nice (mostly quiet after fan mod), but a bit higher power draw and heat than I would like (48W idle).
• 7150-24p would be ideal, but (as mentioned above) there are none available for a reasonable price (one sold for $335 recently, which would have been okay; but most are $500 and up; idle power 32W).
• 6450-24p has and idle power comparable to 7150-c12p (21W).

Edit: I remembered wrongly, per post below.
I may be remembering wrongly, but the 7250 may also have a command for a silent mode which restricts the PoE max output and turns off the fans?

If you think you might go beyond 4x10G, then the 7250 is the correct answer.

 

[Freebsd1976]

I may be remembering wrongly, but the 7250 may also have a command for a silent mode which restricts the PoE max output and turns off the fans? If you think you might go beyond 4x10G, then the 7250 is the correct answer.

that is 7150