Quanta LB6M (10GbE) -- Discussion

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Toby

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May 6, 2016
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Got my switch earlier this week. So far I'm really enjoying it. Got LAG/LACP setup with 4 1GB connections to my Extreme Networks switch (don't laugh - it's not a bad switch!)
Got my IPv4 VLAN's all setup with routing, the only thing I haven't moved to it from my Extreme switch is IPv6. - Edit: Just realized this thing doesn't have the IPv6 routing module it appears, as there are no commands for setting IPv6 addresses, routing, etc. Darn!

I'm looking for some good (and cheap) SFP+ Fiber adapters. Has anyone tried these, from Solarflare?
NEW! Solarflare SFM10G-SR 10Gb SFP+ Optical Transceiver - IBM 90Y7324

Those are about the cheapest I can find on eBay.

Right now I'm just using some Cisco 3M DAC cables and they work, but I would prefer fiber and need fiber for some longer distances.
 
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thisisnotdave

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May 9, 2016
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Got my switch earlier this week. So far I'm really enjoying it. Got LAG/LACP setup with 4 1GB connections to my Extreme Networks switch (don't laugh - it's not a bad switch!)
Got my IPv4 VLAN's all setup with routing, the only thing I haven't moved to it from my Extreme switch is IPv6. - Edit: Just realized this thing doesn't have the IPv6 routing module it appears, as there are no commands for setting IPv6 addresses, routing, etc. Darn!

I'm looking for some good (and cheap) SFP+ Fiber adapters. Has anyone tried these, from Solarflare?
NEW! Solarflare SFM10G-SR 10Gb SFP+ Optical Transceiver - IBM 90Y7324

Those are about the cheapest I can find on eBay.

Right now I'm just using some Cisco 3M DAC cables and they work, but I would prefer fiber and need fiber for some longer distances.
Can you go over the steps you took to get LACP working?
 

Toby

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Can you go over the steps you took to get LACP working?
On my LB6M I did this:
Code:
interface 0/25
addport 1/1
exit
interface 0/26
addport 1/1
exit
interface 0/27
addport 1/1
exit
interface 0/28
addport 1/1
exit
interface 0/25
description 'LAG to Extreme Switch'
exit
interface 0/26
description 'LAG to Extreme Switch'
exit
interface 0/27
description 'LAG to Extreme Switch'
exit
interface 0/28
description 'LAG to Extreme Switch'
exit
interface 1/1
description 'LAG to Extreme Switch'
no port-channel static
vlan acceptframe vlanonly
vlan participation include 50,150,198-200,255,400,500,600
vlan tagging 50,150,198-200,255,400,500,600
exit
The "key" here was the "no port-channel static". Without that it's a LAG but doesn't do LACP.

On my Extreme Networks switch, I just ran this:
Code:
enable sharing 1:41 grouping 1:41-44 algorithm address-based L2 lacp
I also had to add port 1:41 to every VLAN.

On my LB6M it looks like this:
Code:
(LB6M 10GB) #show port-channel 1/1


Local Interface................................ 1/1
Channel Name................................... ch1
Link State..................................... Up
Admin Mode..................................... Enabled
Type........................................... Dynamic
Port-channel Min-links......................... 1
Load Balance Option............................ 3
(Src/Dest MAC, VLAN, EType, incoming port)

Mbr    Device/       Port      Port
Ports  Timeout       Speed     Active
------ ------------- --------- -------
0/25   actor/long    Auto      True
       partner/long
0/26   actor/long    Auto      True
       partner/long
0/27   actor/long    Auto      True
       partner/long
0/28   actor/long    Auto      True
       partner/long
Note the "Type... Dynamic"


On my Extreme Networks switch, it looks like this:
Code:
Slot-1 Stack.9 # show lacp lag 1:41

Lag   Actor    Actor  Partner           Partner  Partner Agg   Actor
      Sys-Pri  Key    MAC               Sys-Pri  Key     Count MAC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1:41        0  0x0411 e8:9a:8f:92:13:79   32768  0x001e      4 02:04:96:37:3e:56

Port list:

Member     Port      Rx           Sel          Mux            Actor     Partner
Port       Priority  State        Logic        State          Flags     Port
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1:41       0         Current      Selected     Collect-Dist   A-GSCD--  25
1:42       0         Current      Selected     Collect-Dist   A-GSCD--  26
1:43       0         Current      Selected     Collect-Dist   A-GSCD--  27
1:44       0         Current      Selected     Collect-Dist   A-GSCD--  28
================================================================================
Actor Flags: A-Activity, T-Timeout, G-Aggregation, S-Synchronization
             C-Collecting, D-Distributing, F-Defaulted, E-Expired

I also had it all working as a static LAG, just change the LB6M back to static and on the Extreme just take off the 'lacp' part.
 
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Toby

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It also looks like this switch somewhat works with Cisco CDP. It gives me the port it's plugged into, that's the main thing I always like to have.

LB6M CDP.PNG
 

thisisnotdave

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On my LB6M I did this:
Code:
interface 0/25
addport 1/1
exit
interface 0/26
addport 1/1
exit
interface 0/27
addport 1/1
exit
interface 0/28
addport 1/1
exit
interface 0/25
description 'LAG to Extreme Switch'
exit
interface 0/26
description 'LAG to Extreme Switch'
exit
interface 0/27
description 'LAG to Extreme Switch'
exit
interface 0/28
description 'LAG to Extreme Switch'
exit
interface 1/1
description 'LAG to Extreme Switch'
no port-channel static
vlan acceptframe vlanonly
vlan participation include 50,150,198-200,255,400,500,600
vlan tagging 50,150,198-200,255,400,500,600
exit
The "key" here was the "no port-channel static". Without that it's a LAG but doesn't do LACP.

On my Extreme Networks switch, I just ran this:
Code:
enable sharing 1:41 grouping 1:41-44 algorithm address-based L2 lacp
I also had to add port 1:41 to every VLAN.

On my LB6M it looks like this:
Code:
(LB6M 10GB) #show port-channel 1/1


Local Interface................................ 1/1
Channel Name................................... ch1
Link State..................................... Up
Admin Mode..................................... Enabled
Type........................................... Dynamic
Port-channel Min-links......................... 1
Load Balance Option............................ 3
(Src/Dest MAC, VLAN, EType, incoming port)

Mbr    Device/       Port      Port
Ports  Timeout       Speed     Active
------ ------------- --------- -------
0/25   actor/long    Auto      True
       partner/long
0/26   actor/long    Auto      True
       partner/long
0/27   actor/long    Auto      True
       partner/long
0/28   actor/long    Auto      True
       partner/long
Note the "Type... Dynamic"


On my Extreme Networks switch, it looks like this:
Code:
Slot-1 Stack.9 # show lacp lag 1:41

Lag   Actor    Actor  Partner           Partner  Partner Agg   Actor
      Sys-Pri  Key    MAC               Sys-Pri  Key     Count MAC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1:41        0  0x0411 e8:9a:8f:92:13:79   32768  0x001e      4 02:04:96:37:3e:56

Port list:

Member     Port      Rx           Sel          Mux            Actor     Partner
Port       Priority  State        Logic        State          Flags     Port
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1:41       0         Current      Selected     Collect-Dist   A-GSCD--  25
1:42       0         Current      Selected     Collect-Dist   A-GSCD--  26
1:43       0         Current      Selected     Collect-Dist   A-GSCD--  27
1:44       0         Current      Selected     Collect-Dist   A-GSCD--  28
================================================================================
Actor Flags: A-Activity, T-Timeout, G-Aggregation, S-Synchronization
             C-Collecting, D-Distributing, F-Defaulted, E-Expired

I also had it all working as a static LAG, just change the LB6M back to static and on the Extreme just take off the 'lacp' part.
Awesome thanks! I'm going to try to this tonight.
 

thisisnotdave

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So I just tried this with my Nexenta host, and the portchannel is showing up, but the hosts can't talk to each other.

Code:
(FASTPATH Routing) #show port-channel 1/1


Local Interface................................ 1/1
Channel Name................................... ch1
Link State..................................... Up
Admin Mode..................................... Enabled
Type........................................... Dynamic
Port-channel Min-links......................... 1
Load Balance Option............................ 3
(Src/Dest MAC, VLAN, EType, incoming port)

Mbr    Device/       Port      Port
Ports  Timeout       Speed     Active
------ ------------- --------- -------
0/1    actor/long    10G Full  True
       partner/long
0/2    actor/long    10G Full  True
       partner/long
Could this be a VLAN issue? Everything was talking fine until I set this up.
 

Jerry Renwick

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Aug 7, 2014
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I am thinking about moving to 10GbE recently !
The HP Quanta LB6M Switch seems to be a nice one. I will think about it, but besides the Switch, I will also need 10G SFP+ and cables (Twinax or fiber optic) for my network. So where can I get these devices with a low price?
 
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Toby

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May 6, 2016
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So I just tried this with my Nexenta host, and the portchannel is showing up, but the hosts can't talk to each other.

Code:
(FASTPATH Routing) #show port-channel 1/1


Local Interface................................ 1/1
Channel Name................................... ch1
Link State..................................... Up
Admin Mode..................................... Enabled
Type........................................... Dynamic
Port-channel Min-links......................... 1
Load Balance Option............................ 3
(Src/Dest MAC, VLAN, EType, incoming port)

Mbr    Device/       Port      Port
Ports  Timeout       Speed     Active
------ ------------- --------- -------
0/1    actor/long    10G Full  True
       partner/long
0/2    actor/long    10G Full  True
       partner/long
Could this be a VLAN issue? Everything was talking fine until I set this up.
Could be a VLAN issue. Could be an LACP issue. I don't know anything about Nexenta.
I did a quick google and found this:
Nexentastor/ESXi5/3750G/LACP/VDS/NFS/iSCSI - Part 1 - EverythingShouldBeVirtual
Looks like the Nexenta defaults to L3/L4 for LACP. I'm guessing the LB6M is L2, which is what is working with my Extreme Networks switch (I don't see a way to change to L2/L3/L4 on the LB6M).

Try looking at that article and see about changing your Nexenta to L2.
 

qamaro

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Apr 9, 2016
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Hey guys is everyone using DAC's with their LB6M's? Or do we have folks using SFP+ Transceivers and if so what brands of transceivers seem to be compatible? Haven't bought any interconnects yet and thought I'd ask before I bought anything? Thanks in advance!
 
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PigLover

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If you are deploying in a rack or servers are close you can also use passive DAC cables. Usually cheaper than a pair of SFP+ and fiber - definitely less trouble with no need to worry about bend radius issues, etc.

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk
 
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thisisnotdave

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Could be a VLAN issue. Could be an LACP issue. I don't know anything about Nexenta.
I did a quick google and found this:
Nexentastor/ESXi5/3750G/LACP/VDS/NFS/iSCSI - Part 1 - EverythingShouldBeVirtual
Looks like the Nexenta defaults to L3/L4 for LACP. I'm guessing the LB6M is L2, which is what is working with my Extreme Networks switch (I don't see a way to change to L2/L3/L4 on the LB6M).

Try looking at that article and see about changing your Nexenta to L2.
Thanks, the article you linked is very informative. Unforunately I've been running into a lot of documentation issues with Nexenta especially for the community edition. I might give up on LACP because I'm already seeing some pretty amazing speeds and it might not be worth the headache and extra $40 DAC.
 

thisisnotdave

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I hate to keep spamming this post with my noob questions, but I can't seem to get vlan routing to work. I followed the instructions and I can't ping the vlan or a host from the other vlan I created. Can anyone help me sort this out?

Here's my running config -

Code:
(FASTPATH Routing) #show running-config
!Current Configuration:
!
!System Description "Quanta LB6M, 1.2.0.11, Linux 2.6.21.7"
!System Software Version "1.2.0.11"
!System Up Time          "2 days 14 hrs 38 mins 55 secs"
!Additional Packages     FASTPATH QOS
!Current SNTP Synchronized Time: Not Synchronized
!
vlan database
vlan 10,20
vlan routing 10 10
vlan routing 20 20
exit
ip ssh server enable
configure
ip routing
aaa authentication enable "enableList" enable
line console
exit
line telnet
exit
line ssh
exit
spanning-tree configuration name "E8-9A-8F-13-B5-52"

--More-- or (q)uit

!
interface 0/1
no port lacpmode
description 'LAG to Nexenta'
mtu 9216
vlan pvid 10
vlan participation include 10
exit
interface 0/2
description 'LAG to Nexenta'
mtu 9216
vlan pvid 10
vlan participation include 10
exit
interface 0/3
mtu 9216
vlan pvid 10
vlan participation include 10
exit
interface 0/4
mtu 9216
vlan pvid 10
vlan participation include 10
exit

--More-- or (q)uit

interface 0/5
mtu 9216
vlan pvid 10
vlan participation include 10
exit
interface 0/6
mtu 9216
vlan pvid 10
vlan participation include 10
exit
interface 0/7
mtu 9216
vlan pvid 20
vlan participation include 10,20
exit
interface 0/8
mtu 9216
vlan pvid 20
vlan participation include 10,20
exit
interface 0/26
vlan pvid 10
vlan participation include 10,20
exit

--More-- or (q)uit

interface 1/1
mtu 9216
vlan participation include 10
exit
interface 2/10
routing
ip address 192.168.5.1 255.255.255.0
exit
interface 2/20
routing
ip address 192.168.6.1 255.255.255.0
exit
router rip
exit
router ospf
exit
exit
My vlans

Code:
VLAN ID VLAN Name                        VLAN Type
------- -------------------------------- -------------------
1       default                           Default
10      VLAN0010                          Static
20      VLAN0020                          Static
And my routes
Code:
(FASTPATH Routing) #show ip route

Route Codes: R - RIP Derived, O - OSPF Derived, C - Connected, S - Static
       B - BGP Derived, IA - OSPF Inter Area
       E1 - OSPF External Type 1, E2 - OSPF External Type 2
       N1 - OSPF NSSA External Type 1, N2 - OSPF NSSA External Type 2

C      192.168.5.0/24 [0/1] directly connected,   2/10
C      192.168.6.0/24 [0/1] directly connected,   2/20
 

Toby

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I saw Patrick mention this switch in a different thread in this same forum this morning:
Dell B-TI24X Brocade TI-24X-AC with 24x Dual-Speed 10G SFP+ Ports
To me this switch looks almost identical to the LB6M. The only difference is 1 extra management port on the LB6M.

Does anyone have the firmware for the Dell B-TI24X or Brocade TI-24X-AC?

Dell has no firmware published for their B-TI24X version.
Product Support | Dell US

Edit: oh and if this listing is accurate, this switch actually maybe started its life as a Foundry.
Brocade TurboIron 24X HD-TI-24X-AC 24-Port Managed Switch

Brocade acquired Foundry.
So this Dell/Brocade/Foundry/Quanta switch I think are all pretty much the same switch.
 
Last edited:

PigLover

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It is effectively identical. This Dell switch, the LB6M, and many others (the Juniper EX-2500 or Pica8, for example) are all "Broadcom reference design" switches. They start with the merchant-silicon switch chips from Broadcom and add the appropriate CPU, memory and packaging. In many cases they just take Broadcom's design docs and send them off to a foundry (Foxconn, etc) and paint the chassis the right color.

Broadcom even delivers the reference software. The OEMs are supposed to add their own value somewhere (hardware design mods, software tweaks, etc) but some of them just change the logos on the web-gui and call that a value add.
 

Toby

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May 6, 2016
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It is effectively identical. This Dell switch, the LB6M, and many others (the Juniper EX-2500 or Pica8, for example) are all "Broadcom reference design" switches. They start with the merchant-silicon switch chips from Broadcom and add the appropriate CPU, memory and packaging. In many cases they just take Broadcom's design docs and send them off to a foundry (Foxconn, etc) and paint the chassis the right color.

Broadcom even delivers the reference software. The OEMs are supposed to add their own value somewhere (hardware design mods, software tweaks, etc) but some of them just change the logos on the web-gui and call that a value add.
Yeah I know this stuff happens a lot. But I'm trying to figure out if there is any better software we could run on this LB6M. Specifically, something that supports IPv6. I really don't care about a GUI or anything.

It's working well for me as is, but I'd love to be able to move IPv6 over to it instead of my Extreme Networks switch.
 

PigLover

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Jan 26, 2011
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AFAIK the LB6M it supports v6 out of the box. At least at layer-2. Might not do layer-3 routing of v6 but it works perfectly with v6 otherwise.

At least mine does...my whole network runs v6 and it all works.
 

Toby

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May 6, 2016
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AFAIK the LB6M it supports v6 out of the box. At least at layer-2. Might not do layer-3 routing of v6 but it works perfectly with v6 otherwise.

At least mine does...my whole network runs v6 and it all works.
Yes it's Layer 3 I'm looking for. This switch lacks it. It doesn't have the IPv6 module from what I can see.
 

Sorin

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Yes it's Layer 3 I'm looking for. This switch lacks it. It doesn't have the IPv6 module from what I can see.
I am working in getting ipv6, dos-control, http and all the rest working (including bgp, switch stacking).... have a little patience.

Thus far I managed to start https on a switch that did not have the option ( actually I have all available commands (including ipv6) ) but they need to be tested and I still need to do some more work. At the moment I still need to fix http's issue as it always returns 404 now.
 
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Toby

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I am working in getting ipv6, dos-control, http and all the rest working (including bgp, switch stacking).... have a little patience.

Thus far I managed to start https on a switch that did not have the option ( actually I have all available commands (including ipv6) ) but they need to be tested and I still need to do some more work. At the moment I still need to fix http's issue as it always returns 404 now.
How are you managing this? Do you have the code from a different switch that you're trying to merge into this one?