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

[kpfleming]

You can stack any units from the same family (71xx, 72xx, etc.)

I went the other direction: rather than getting a single large switch, I got multiple 7150-C12Ps, and stacked them. This provides power supply redundancy (among others), and they are also fanless. I have a few devices using two-port LAGs and those are split across switch units so they'll continue to operate even if one of those units fails.

I've also got a unit in the garage, which is stacked with the ones in the house, since I didn't feel like managing it as a separate unit.

 

[Wolfcastle]

I was wondering how the price/performance ratio looks like in 2022 ? I was looking to buy 7250/7450/6450/6610 24P models, however prices seems to be high. I'll need a pair of 24P in Q3/22 - Q1/22 shall I wait for good price of 7250/7450 (price and noise are in consideration) or I can go with 6610/6450 (8080vs8030) ?

I bought both a 6610-24P ($180) and a 7450-24P ($260). The 7450 came in a bundle that included a 4x10G module and 2 40G modules making it about equivalent to the 6610 performance wise. My 7450 is almost as loud as my 6610 but I just got it on Friday and haven’t spent too much time on it yet. The 7450 has some higher power PoE ports and is still supported hardware which is pretty nice IMO

 

[RobstarUSA]

I just picked up a 6610 48 port with POE, dual power supply for about $150 shipped...I though that was pretty good. Both my 6610 not poe with one power supply were about $90 or so.

Anyone know where to pick up spare fan parts? not the fans themself but the entire assembly. When I look on the 'bay they are $40-$50 each which is crazy when the whole switch can be picked up for the price of 2 fans.

 

[Rain]

Has anyone tried stacking ICX switches with SFP+ 10GBASE-T transceivers? If not, can someone with an existing stack and some spare 10GBASE-T transceivers give it a try?

... snip ...

As soon as stacking is enabled, the ports refuse to come up, regardless if a stack is created or not. If the 10GBASE-T transceivers are plugged into the stacking ports on either switch and communicating perfectly, simply running "stack enable" causes them to flap and then drop out.

I've still been playing around and trying to get stacking working with 10GBASE-T transceivers between two 7250-48p switches. Nothing I've tried seems to work.

Just to test, I created a stack with DACs and after everything was running normally I swapped them with the 10GBASE-T transceivers. The link lights turn on for both ports, flicker a few times, and then turn off; after a bit of time, this repeats. If optics or DACs are swapped back in everything links back up.

Again, if the switches are not setup in a stack, a 10GBASE-T connection between the switches works perfectly (without dropped packets or anything); it's only stacking that causes issues.

I've tried both "sets" of stacking ports (1/2/1, 1/2/3 vs 1/2/5, 1/2/7) and enabled various items in the debugging menu. Nothing seems to indicate an error. That said, there are a ton of things in the debugging menu (and sub-menus) so I may not have found the correct option...

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[kpfleming]

Which version of the ICX software are you using? Also, have you considered asking about this on the Ruckus Wireless support forum? The tech team here is pretty responsive.

 

[Rain]

Which version of the ICX software are you using?

Currently, 08.0.95f.

Also, have you considered asking about this on the Ruckus Wireless support forum? The tech team here is pretty responsive.

I have not. I figured since this is likely far from a supported mode of operation (stacking with BASE-T adapters) they wouldn't provide much help. There's also this thread (link) where they indicate stacking on their own 10G RJ45 transceivers isn't even supported. I may give it a shot though, I suppose.

 

[brb78]

how do sth members get the licensing to upgrade from sfp to sfp+ as mentioned in post#6?

 

[Vesalius]

how do sth members get the licensing to upgrade from sfp to sfp+ as mentioned in post#6?

By reading post#1 more carefully.

 

[Rain]

how do sth members get the licensing to upgrade from sfp to sfp+ as mentioned in post#6?

See @fohdeesha's documentation site, specifically the "Brocade Fun > ... Licensing" section relevant to your switch. Fohdeesha Docs

 

[brb78]

See @fohdeesha's documentation site, specifically the "Brocade Fun > ... Licensing" section relevant to your switch. Fohdeesha Docs

missed that hyperlink, thanks!

 

[Drewy]

Currently, 08.0.95f.

I have not. I figured since this is likely far from a supported mode of operation (stacking with BASE-T adapters) they wouldn't provide much help. There's also this thread (link) where they indicate stacking on their own 10G RJ45 transceivers isn't even supported. I may give it a shot though, I suppose.

i’d forget it and save being laughed at. If they don’t support their own transceivers they are not going to support someone else’s. They actually say in that post fibre or dacs.

 

[Wolfcastle]

Update: received a scavenged PoE board for my ICX 6610 from the eBay seller. PoE is now up and running though RJ45 ports 1-4 are still dead (as expected).

 

[linuxsrc]

have just picked up a couple of icx6610s and I am trying to get the console serial port set to 115200, and what I did for the 6650 does not work.

Setting this in the u-boot on the 6650 I used

setenv baudrate 115200

On the 6610s there is nothing. I read that others just used buadrate, as they are not u-boot

Where does one change the baud rate for the serial console on these?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Phlesh]

Having some trouble now that I've introduced a VLAN into my 6610 switch and hoping somebody can help me figure out what I've done wrong.

I have a VLAN 8 and a VLAN 1 (default). The VLAN 1 I've given an IP of 10.200.1.5/30 (so, just two IP's usable, intentionally so). The VLAN 8 I've given an IP of 10.111.8.1/24.

I have two devices on untagged ports, one on each VLAN:

• Device 1 on VLAN 1: 10.200.1.6 (gateway 10.200.1.5)
• Device 2 on VLAN 8: 10.111.8.10 (gateway 10.111.8.1)

Each device can ping the switch at any of its IP's (10.111.8.1, 10.200.1.5, etc.). But neither device can ping the other.

My understanding is that routes were default "on" for all VLAN's on the switch, unless ACL's are created to prevent cross-talk. I have no ACL's or really any other configuration in place that I know about that would be preventing this from working. What should I check?

 

[kapone]

Having some trouble now that I've introduced a VLAN into my 6610 switch and hoping somebody can help me figure out what I've done wrong.

I have a VLAN 8 and a VLAN 1 (default). The VLAN 1 I've given an IP of 10.200.1.5/30 (so, just two IP's usable, intentionally so). The VLAN 8 I've given an IP of 10.111.8.1/24.

I have two devices on untagged ports, one on each VLAN:

• Device 1 on VLAN 1: 10.200.1.6 (gateway 10.200.1.5)
• Device 2 on VLAN 8: 10.111.8.10 (gateway 10.111.8.1)

Each device can ping the switch at any of its IP's (10.111.8.1, 10.200.1.5, etc.). But neither device can ping the other.

My understanding is that routes were default "on" for all VLAN's on the switch, unless ACL's are created to prevent cross-talk. I have no ACL's or really any other configuration in place that I know about that would be preventing this from working. What should I check?

Check if your devices (I'm looking at you....Windows....) have firewall/policy/rules preventing a ping response?

 

[Phlesh]

@kapone Fairly certain that is not the case. One of these devices is my OSX laptop that I've used for a ton of debugging and pinging from, and the other is a OPNsense machine that is definitely responsive to pings because I've gotten it to respond to pings in the past. Also, the switch itself can ping all of these devices using the built-in ping tool.

 

[kapone]

@kapone Fairly certain that is not the case. One of these devices is my OSX laptop that I've used for a ton of debugging and pinging from, and the other is a OPNsense machine that is definitely responsive to pings because I've gotten it to respond to pings in the past. Also, the switch itself can ping all of these devices using the built-in ping tool.

That's...weird.

Routes ARE default ON for VLANs in the 6610, I've never seen it not be on by default. A few suggestions/things to try, possibly?

- Instead of VLAN1, move that device to a different VLAN, eliminating any "default VLAN" issues. Test
- Factory reset the 6610 and try again?
- Instead of a /30 on that VLAN, try /24 just for shits and giggles.

 

[Phlesh]

@kapone I'll try anything at this point!

I've got a VLAN 16 and a VLAN 32 now. Same setup -- x.x.[32/16].10 IP's for two different devices, one on each subnet. Neither can ping the other at this moment.

Anything else I can check? Is there a way I could have inadvertently disabled inter-VLAN routing?

 

[Phlesh]

Another question, might help me debug: is there any way from the serial port to watch some of the packets going to/from a given IP, and provide some info on what switching decisions are being made for each packet?

 

[kapone]

Do a "sh run" and paste the output.