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

[pinkypie]

hey Lode. When I went through the setup using fohdeesha's guide, I set up the switch IP as 192.168.1.250. I am running router code.

I changed default VLAN to 999 so I can use VLAN 1.

vlan 1 by port
untagged ethe 1/1/1
router-interface ve 1

interface ve 1
ip address 192.168.1.250 255.255.255.0

I can access CLI over ssh using this config from my wifi connected laptop with no problem.

Problem arises when I want to ping other VLANs. I can't ping in to VLAN 1 or out to other VLANs from VLAN 1.

After two days reading and testing, I can't figure out how to be able to access the CLI and ping other VLANs from VLAN 1.

Here is my network. What ip should "int ve 1" be assigned?

 

[LodeRunner]

Inter VLAN routing requires each VLAN to have a VE with IP, particularly since I doubt your Nighthawk supports multiple subnets on different interfaces or VLAN interfaces, but I don't own one and could be wrong about that.

In this case, if you do not desire your cameras to reach the internet and only be reachable from VLAN 1, then you would put a VE with IP on VLAN 3, then put a static route on your computer that uses the VLAN 1 IP as the next hop for the VLAN 3 network (on Windows that would be "route -p add 192.168.3.0 mask 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.250").

 

[pinkypie]

Thanks Lode. That is helpful and exactly what I am trying to do. I am trying to isolate cameras fom the internet but at the same time be able to connect and config the cameras from my home network, 192.168.1.1. I was going to use ACLs for this.

for OSX should be this I believe

sudo route -n add -net 192.168.3.0/24 192.168.1.250

I will test this when I get home tonight. ty

Is it a problem having two L3 devices connected together and both doing routing (ICX 6450 and Nighthawk)?

 

[LodeRunner]

Thanks Lode. That is helpful and exactly what I am trying to do. I am trying to isolate cameras fom the internet but at the same time be able to connect and config the cameras from my home network, 192.168.1.1. I was going to use ACLs for this.

for OSX should be this I believe

sudo route -n add -net 192.168.3.0/24 192.168.1.250

I will test this when I get home tonight. ty

Is it a problem having two L3 devices connected together and both doing routing (ICX 6450 and Nighthawk)?

Multiple routers might be an issue if they both have the same routes and your client sends out on one route and gets a reply from the other (asymmetric routing). Otherwise, no. If a client (in this case your OSX machine) doesn't have a given router set as a gateway for anything, then it won't use it, at least not in IPv4. From a very generalized technical standpoint, the internet is just a series of very large L3 devices connected together.

So having your Nighthawk as the default gateway, and a static route to cameras using the 6450 as the gateway is fine in an operational and technical sense. If your 6450 has the Nighthawk set as it's default gateway, then you'll probably need to setup some ACLs for VLAN 3 to block egress to the internet.

As far as the route command on OSX, check if there's a flag for marking it as persistent so it survives reboot. In the Windows example I gave, the "-p" flag tells Windows to make it persistent, otherwise it would get flushed on reboot.

 

[pinkypie]

As far as the route command on OSX, check if there's a flag for marking it as persistent so it survives reboot. In the Windows example I gave, the "-p" flag tells Windows to make it persistent, otherwise it would get flushed on reboot.

Excellent point! Did not think of this. The Nighthawk is set as default gateway per the guide:

ip dns server-address 192.168.1.1
ip route 0.0.0.0/0 192.168.1.1

Looking forward to trying this out as soon as I get home tonight. Thank you vm for the help and great advice!

 

[dasbooter]

Very new to switches here. I've found what I believe is a brocade 6450-48p switch from an online seller. He mentioned that the switch is not gigabit and said he also has a Cisco switch that he could sell that was. When I asked him about it (I thought all 6450 switches are 24 or 48 port 1 gig connections and 4 10 gig sfp+) he didnt really answer. He said the brocade 6450 switch was used for the VoIP phone system where it came from. It's just a really poor picture and I haven't been able to get better so far.

Is there any variant of this switch that does Not have 24/48 10/100/1000 connections in the front and 4 10 gbe sfp+ in the back?

 

[LodeRunner]

Very new to switches here. I've found what I believe is a brocade 6450-48p switch from an online seller. He mentioned that the switch is not gigabit and said he also has a Cisco switch that he could sell that was. When I asked him about it (I thought all 6450 switches are 24 or 48 port 1 gig connections and 4 10 gig sfp+) he didnt really answer. He said the brocade 6450 switch was used for the VoIP phone system where it came from. It's just a really poor picture and I haven't been able to get better so far.

Is there any variant of this switch that does Not have 24/48 10/100/1000 connections in the front and 4 10 gbe sfp+ in the back?

The ICX-6450 has no rear ports. The 6610 has 4x QSFP ports on the rear. And every variant of the 6450 is gigabit.

I would demand better pictures + output of "sh ver" before buying anything from this seller.

 

[dasbooter]

The ICX-6450 has no rear ports. The 6610 has 4x QSFP ports on the rear. And every variant of the 6450 is gigabit.

I would demand better pictures + output of "sh ver" before buying anything from this seller.

Definitely. Thanks for the clarification. It's not easy to source these switches where I'm at, and I'm left with some questionable situations. I might have to bite the bullet and pay the premium and (gulp) shipping/import fees from ebay

 

[Chow]

I have a little Question to the License. I have bought an Brocade VDX6740-24.

I don´t know the exactly meaning of the output of "show license" and "show dpod".

Here is the output.

# show license

switch-id: 2
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
       10G Port Upgrade license
       Feature name:PORT_10G_UPGRADE
       License is valid
       Capacity: 16
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
       40G Port Upgrade license
       Feature name:PORT_40G_UPGRADE
       License is valid
       Capacity: 4

show dpod
switch-id: 2
   48 10G ports are available in this switch
    4 40G ports are available in this switch
   10G Port Upgrade license is installed
   40G Port Upgrade license is installed
     Dynamic POD method is in use

  40 10G port assignments are provisioned for use in this switch:
        24 10G port assignments are provisioned by the base switch license
        16 10G port assignments are provisioned by the 10G Port Upgrade license
  14 10G ports are assigned to installed licenses:
        14 10G ports are assigned to the base switch license
         0 10G ports are assigned to the 10G Port Upgrade license
  10G ports assigned to the base switch license:
     2/0/1, 2/0/2, 2/0/3, 2/0/4, 2/0/5, 2/0/17, 2/0/18, 2/0/19, 2/0/20, 2/0/21
     2/0/45, 2/0/46, 2/0/47, 2/0/48
  10G ports assigned to the 10G Port Upgrade license:
     None
  10G ports not assigned to a license:
     2/0/6, 2/0/7, 2/0/8, 2/0/9, 2/0/10, 2/0/11, 2/0/12, 2/0/13, 2/0/14, 2/0/15
     2/0/16, 2/0/22, 2/0/23, 2/0/24, 2/0/25, 2/0/26, 2/0/27, 2/0/28, 2/0/29, 2/0/30
     2/0/31, 2/0/32, 2/0/33, 2/0/34, 2/0/35, 2/0/36, 2/0/37, 2/0/38, 2/0/39, 2/0/40
     2/0/41, 2/0/42, 2/0/43, 2/0/44
  26 license reservations are still available for use by unassigned ports

   4 40G port assignments are provisioned for use in this switch:
         0 40G port assignments are provisioned by the base switch license
         4 40G port assignments are provisioned by the 40G Port Upgrade license
   4 40G ports are assigned to installed licenses:
         0 40G ports are assigned to the base switch license
         4 40G ports are assigned to the 40G Port Upgrade license
  40G ports assigned to the base switch license:
     None
  40G ports assigned to the 40G Port Upgrade license:
     2/0/49, 2/0/50, 2/0/51, 2/0/52
  40G ports not assigned to a license:
     None
   0 license reservations are still available for use by unassigned ports

Does this mean, from 24 Ports are 16 for 10Gbit and also all 4 QSFTP Ports are licensed for 40 Gbit, yes?

Or does this mean 16 Ports @ 10 Gbit and 24 Ports @ 1Gbit too?

Why does a VDX6740-24 with normaly 24 Ports show 48 / 40 Ports? Can i license this 24 Port one to full 48 Ports? The Hardware is in the switch?

Thanks for your help I'am new at Brocade - sorry for the i think stupid question

 

[Seba]

Hi guys,

thanks for this great and for the amazing guides fohdeesha.

I am looking for a stable switch for my new „old“ house.

I am not sure if the ICX 6610 or an ICX 7450 would the right choice.

With POE they both cost the same here in germany. The noise and the power conjunction from the 6610 are no problems for me and a commandline based config is also okay.

Do you have any suggestions for me guys?

 

[pinkypie]

Hello LR, trying to understand something. I put the static route in my laptop and can now ping devices on VLAN 2, VLAN 3 and those VLANs can ping VLAN 1. Also, VLAN 2 and VLAN 3 can ping between themselves, however, they could do this before the static route was added.

What I am trying to figure out is why the static route would go on the source device and not the device doing the routing, i.e. Nighthawk or the ICX 6450?

 

[DavidRa]

Hi guys,

I am looking for a stable switch for my new „old“ house.

I am not sure if the ICX 6610 or an ICX 7450 would the right choice.

Speaking as a 6450 owner, for me, it'd be the 7450. Newer tech, still updated I think where the 6610 is done. Likely lower power too.

 

[Serhan]

Hi guys,

thanks for this great and for the amazing guides fohdeesha.

I am looking for a stable switch for my new „old“ house.

I am not sure if the ICX 6610 or an ICX 7450 would the right choice.

With POE they both cost the same here in germany. The noise and the power conjunction from the 6610 are no problems for me and a commandline based config is also okay.

Do you have any suggestions for me guys?

I have them both. My 6610 was manufactured in 2012 and 7450 was manufactured in 2018. While I don't know how long these switches can operate, I would consider 7450 being a newer unit. Noise is the same on both units and they both have the a version of the psu.

 

[Serhan]

I am trying to stack two 7450's that are 70 feet apart. What is the cheapest way of doing this? Any suggestions?

 

[kpfleming]

I am trying to stack two 7450's that are 70 feet apart. What is the cheapest way of doing this? Any suggestions?

Can you run new cables between them, or do you have existing cables that you must use?

 

[Serhan]

Can you run new cables between them, or do you have existing cables that you must use?

I have 5 runs of OM4 LC/LC fiber between these two locations. Those were for 5 servers connected to one of the 7450s which was the previous set-up. I had. I wish there could be a way to repurpose those pre-terminated lc/lc cables to stack the 7450s

 

[kpfleming]

That should be fine, OM4 can handle 40GbE. QSFP+ transceivers like this could be used, and they can be purchased with Brocade coding.

 

[Jamy]

I bought an ICX6650. Has anyone put quieter fans in? What was used?

Thanks

 

[Ruchira]

I bought an ICX 7250-24P too I unplugged one fan out of two but It is significantly louder than my dell R630 at 20% fan load. I'm going to replace the fans and I'm torn between these 2 options

109P0412B3013 Sanyo Denki America Inc. | Fans, Thermal Management | DigiKey

Order today, ships today. 109P0412B3013 – Fan Tubeaxial 12VDC Square - 40mm L x 40mm H Ball 13.4 CFM (0.375m³/min) 3 Wire Leads from Sanyo Denki America Inc.. Pricing and Availability on millions of electronic components from Digi-Key Electronics.

www.digikey.com.au

MR4020X12B1-RSR Mechatronics Fan Group | Fans, Thermal Management | DigiKey

Order today, ships today. MR4020X12B1-RSR – Fan Tubeaxial 12VDC Square - 40mm L x 40mm H Ball 17.3 CFM (0.484m³/min) 3 Wire Leads from Mechatronics Fan Group. Pricing and Availability on millions of electronic components from Digi-Key Electronics.

www.digikey.com.au

Can anyone help to select the best fit between these?

Thanks

 

[LodeRunner]

I have a little Question to the License. I have bought an Brocade VDX6740-24.

I don´t know the exactly meaning of the output of "show license" and "show dpod".

Here is the output.

<snipped console output>

Does this mean, from 24 Ports are 16 for 10Gbit and also all 4 QSFTP Ports are licensed for 40 Gbit, yes?

Or does this mean 16 Ports @ 10 Gbit and 24 Ports @ 1Gbit too?

Why does a VDX6740-24 with normaly 24 Ports show 48 / 40 Ports? Can i license this 24 Port one to full 48 Ports? The Hardware is in the switch?

Thanks for your help I'am new at Brocade - sorry for the i think stupid question

As I understand the output you provided, the switch natively comes with 24 of the ports licensed for 10G operation and the remaining 24 require POD licensing. So 24 port base license, plus 16 port POD license means you have 40 ports that can be brought online in at 10G, plus the 4x40 G port license. It looks like as ports are brought up, the licenses are first assigned from the base pool; once that is consumed, it will start issuing licenses from the POD pool.

To get all 48 ports active at 10G you'd need to find an additional 8 port POD license.

There was a dedicated thread: Brocade VDX 6740 | ServeTheHome Forums Posters in that thread might have additional help/guidance for you in terms of firmware and licensing issues and how they might be resolved.