SmartFabric Services: Onboarding Devices Using the Import From Fabric Method
Wed, 14 Sep 2022 21:47:22 -0000
|Read Time: 0 minutes
SmartFabric Services (SFS) automates the configuration of a leaf-spine topology in your data center and provides a web-based user interface for SmartFabric configuration. If you have not built a SmartFabric, see Getting started with SmartFabric Services.
This article is intended to help you quickly onboard devices such as servers and storage arrays to your SmartFabric using the Import from Fabric method. To use this method, the NIC connected to the leaf switches must have LLDP enabled. If your NIC does not support LLDP, you can use the static onboarding method that is covered in SmartFabric Services: Static Onboarding.
Usually, LLDP is enabled by default on NICs that support it. It is possible to disable LLDP in the server BIOS, so be sure to check your settings and documentation if SFS does not see the NIC. As an alternative, you can use the static onboarding method even if your NIC supports LLDP. However, the Import from Fabric method is easier.
Connect the device to the leaf switches
With SFS, two leaf switches are used in each rack. Each server or storage device in the rack should have at least one NIC port connected to each leaf for redundancy and performance. The NICs may be configured for LACP or a switch independent teaming method.
For the example in this article, a two-leaf SmartFabric has been deployed using a pair of Dell PowerSwitch S5248F-ON switches. A PowerEdge server is connected to port 1/1/11 on each switch, and two 25GbE NIC ports on the server are configured for LACP in the server’s operating system.
SFS default networks
SFS has two default virtual networks: 4091 and 3939. Leaf switch ports connected to servers with LLDP-enabled NICs are automatically untagged in virtual network 4091 by SFS. Virtual network 4091 is named “Client Management Network” in SFS. If you are using VxRail, SFS also automatically tags ports that are connected to VxRail nodes in virtual network 3939 for node discovery.
You can run the show virtual-network command at the leaf switch CLI to view the existing networks and port assignments.
Create additional networks
As devices are onboarded to the SmartFabric using the Import from Fabric method, their network assignments can be changed.
To create one or more networks before onboarding devices:
- From a workstation with access to the OOB management network, use a browser to connect to the management IP address of the SmartFabric leader switch.
- Log in as admin.
- In the SFS UI, select Network > Networks and expand General Purpose Networks.
- Click +CREATE.
- Enter a Network ID, a Network Name, and a VLAN number for the network. The VLAN number can be in the range 1 through 3999, excluding 3939. The VLAN number is also configured as the virtual network number by SFS.
- Click CREATE.
When complete, a green Success message is displayed and the newly created virtual network appears in the General Purpose Networks list.
To create additional networks as needed, repeat the steps above.
Onboard devices
Ensure the devices being onboarded are connected to the SmartFabric leaf switches and powered on. In this example, the server shown in Figure 1 is onboarded to the SmartFabric.
- In the SFS UI, select the Server Interface tab.
The Server Interface Profile page displays.
- Under Server Interface Profile, click +IMPORT FROM FABRIC.
The Discovered Server Interface page displays.
Connected LLDP-enabled devices that are not yet onboarded appear in the list of discovered interfaces.
Identify the server by the ports that it is connected to (ethernet1/1/11 on both leafs in this example). The ports are shown in the Interface Name column. You can also identify the server by the MAC addresses of the connected NICs if they are known. The addresses are shown in the Server Interface ID column.
The ports are untagged in the Client_Management_Network, virtual network 4091, by default. The Server Type is Unknown. (Known server types are VxRail, PowerScale, and PowerMax devices. All other devices are classified as Unknown.)
- Check the boxes next to both server interfaces and click +ADD TO SERVER PROFILE.
- In the Server Profile dialog box:
- Select New Server Profile.
- Next to Server Profile ID, enter a profile name, such as lacp-profile.
- The Bonding Type is set to LACP for this example.
The page appears as shown:
- Click ASSOCIATE. The new server profile, named lacp-profile, is associated with the two server interfaces.
- To change the networks that the interfaces are in, check the boxes next to both interfaces and click +ADD NETWORKS.
For this example, the untagged network is changed from the Client_Management_Network to the new network, 1811, as follows:
- In the Add Server Interface Networks window, next to Untagged Network, select network 1811. (One or more networks can also be selected from the Tagged Networks as needed. This is not done in this example.)
- Click ADD.
The Discovered Server Interface page appears as shown. The interfaces are now untagged in network 1811.
- Click the box next to both interfaces and click CREATE to apply the configuration.
- In the Importing Server Interface Profiles window, a success message is displayed for each interface.
- Click OK.
The onboarded interfaces appear in the Server Interface Profile list.
Because LACP is used in this example, NIC bonding must be enabled.
- Select the first interface and click EDIT PORTS.
- In the Edit Server Interface Profile window, set NIC Bonding to Enable. Leave the Static Onboarding Option set to No.
- Click EDIT to apply the change.
- Repeat steps 12 through 14 for the second interface.
When complete, the screen appears as shown. Click the icon on the Server Interface Profile page to see the changes as needed.
Because this example uses LACP, the interface name has automatically changed from ethernet1/1/11 to port-channel1. (In SFS, port channels are automatically numbered and start with 1). If it has not changed, LACP also needs to be configured on the server for the port channel to appear in the list. NIC Bonded is set to true for both interfaces.
The server is now onboarded to the SmartFabric.
Resources
Dell EMC Networking SmartFabric Services Deployment with VxRail 7.0.240
Related Blog Posts
SmartFabric Services: Static Onboarding
Wed, 14 Sep 2022 21:47:22 -0000
|Read Time: 0 minutes
SmartFabric Services (SFS) automates the configuration of a leaf-spine topology in your data center and provides a web-based user interface for SmartFabric configuration. If you have not built a SmartFabric, see Getting started with SmartFabric Services.
This article is intended to help you quickly onboard devices such as servers and storage arrays to your SmartFabric using the static onboarding method. This method is used if the NICs in the device being onboarded do not support LLDP. If your NICs support LLDP, see SmartFabric Services: Onboarding devices using the Import from Fabric Method.
Connect the device to the leaf switches
With SFS, two leaf switches are used in each rack. Each server or storage device in the rack should have at least one NIC port that is connected to each leaf for redundancy and performance. The NICs may be configured for LACP or a switch independent teaming method.
For the example in this article, a two-leaf SmartFabric has been deployed using a pair of Dell PowerSwitch S5248F-ON switches. A PowerEdge server is connected to port 1/1/11 on each switch, and two 25GbE NIC ports on the server are configured for LACP in the server’s operating system.
Dell Technologies recommends connecting dedicated device management ports, such as the PowerEdge server iDRAC, to the OOB management network. The OOB management network uses a separate switch and is required for SFS. See Getting started with SmartFabric Services for more information about the OOB management network.
SFS default networks
SFS has two default virtual networks, numbered 4091 and 3939. Virtual network 4091 is the “Client Management Network” in SFS and is available for general use. Virtual network 3939 is the “Client Control Network” and is used for VxRail node discovery.
You can run the show virtual-network command at the leaf switch CLI to view the existing networks and port assignments.
Create additional networks
As devices are statically onboarded to the SmartFabric, their network assignments are made.
To create one or more networks before onboarding devices:
- From a workstation with access to the OOB management network, use a browser to connect to the management IP address of the SmartFabric leader switch.
- Log in as admin.
- In the SFS UI, select Network > Networks and expand General Purpose Networks.
- Click +CREATE.
- Enter a Network ID, a Network Name, and a VLAN number for the network. The VLAN number can be in the range 1 through 3999, excluding 3939. The VLAN number is also configured as the virtual network number by SFS.
- Click CREATE.
When complete, a green Success message is displayed and the newly created virtual network appears in the General Purpose Networks list.
To create additional networks as needed, repeat the steps above.
Onboard devices
If you will use OMNI vCenter integration with SFS, you will need the MAC address of each ESXi host NIC that is connected to the leaf switches. OMNI vCenter integration is a feature where ESXi hosts connected to the SmartFabric are automatically added to the correct networks as port groups are created in vCenter. See the OpenManage Network Integration User Guide Release 3.1 for more information. On PowerEdge servers, MAC addresses can be determined using the iDRAC.
If the device you are onboarding is running an operating system other than ESXi, or you will not be using OMNI vCenter integration, the MAC addresses are not required.
Ensure the device being onboarded is connected to the SmartFabric leaf switches and powered on. In this example, the server shown in Figure 1 is onboarded to the SmartFabric.
- In the SFS UI, select the Server Interface tab.
The Server Interface Profilepage displays. - Under Server Interface Profile, click +CREATE.
The Create Server Interface Profile page displays. - Enter a Server Interface ID.
This ID can be a string that you create such as “Server1-NIC1” or the MAC address of the connected NIC. If the MAC address is used, enter it without colons or dashes, as shown in Figure 6. The MAC address is required if you are using OMNI vCenter integration. - Select New Server Profile.
- Next to Server Profile ID, enter a profile name, such as lacp-profile.
- Next to Server Profile Bonding Type, LACP is selected for this example.
- Next to Untagged Network, select the network created earlier, 1811.
You can also select one or more networks from the Tagged Networks as needed. This is not done in this example. - Next to Static Onboarding Option, select Yes.
- Next to NIC Bonding, select Enable since LACP is used in this example.
- Select the Leaf Node and the Interface that the NIC is connected to.
- Leave Routing Protocol set to None.
The page for the first interface appears as shown:
- Click CREATE.
The Server Interface Profilepage lists the interface.
Because this example uses LACP, port-channel1 is automatically added to the interface name by SFS. (In SFS, port channels are automatically numbered and start with 1.) If the Server Interface Profile page still shows the interface name as ethernet1/1/port-number, allow a few seconds for the port channel to come up. Also ensure that LACP has also been configured on the server. Click the icon to refresh as needed.
The second interface is onboarded as follows:
- Under Server Interface Profile, click +CREATE. The Create Server Interface Profile page displays.
- Enter a Server Interface ID.
- Select Existing Server Profile.
- Next to Server Profile ID, select the existing profile from the drop-down list (in this example, lacp-profile).
- Next to Untagged Network, select the network created earlier: 1811.
- Next to Static Onboarding Option, select Yes.
- Next to NIC Bonding, select Enable since LACP is used in this example.
- Select the Leaf Node and the Interface that the NIC is connected to.
- Leave Routing Protocol set to None.
The page for the second interface appears as shown:
- Click CREATE.
When complete, the Server Interface Profile page lists both interfaces. Click the icon to refresh the page if needed.
The server is now onboarded to the SmartFabric.
Resources
Dell EMC Networking SmartFabric Services Deployment with VxRail 7.0.240
What are the Dell SmartFabric™ Products?
Mon, 26 Jun 2023 14:09:10 -0000
|Read Time: 0 minutes
This blog aims to clarify the range of Dell Technologies’ SmartFabric branded products available today. We are always innovating here at Dell, so look out for more to come!
Here are four solutions that use the SmartFabric brand:
The following table provides links to further documentation, products that are interoperable with the solution, and how an administrator can access the product.
| Product | What does it do? | Related products | User Interface |
1 | SmartFabric OS10 | Operates Dell PowerSwitch switches as the network operating system. OS10 can run in “Full switch mode” or “SmartFabric mode.” | Dell PowerSwitch switches listed in the SmartFabric OS10 Hardware Compatibility List. |
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2 | SmartFabric Services (SFS) for Leaf and Spine | Automates configuration of Dell PowerSwitch switches that run SmartFabric OS10 in SmartFabric mode. Applies to SFS on Spine/Leaf and Top of Rack (ToR) switches. | Dell PowerSwitch switches Visit the Networking Support & Interoperability Matrix, and then select this icon: |
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3 | SmartFabric Services (SFS) for PowerEdge MX | Automates configuration of SmartFabric OS10 operating system on the Ethernet switches (IOMs) in the PowerEdge MX Platform. | Dell PowerEdge MX |
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4 | SmartFabric Storage Software (SFSS) | Provides zoning and autodiscovery of hosts and storage in NVMe over TCP SANs. | Server and Storage Operating Systems Visit the Networking Support & Interoperability Matrix, and then select this icon: |
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OpenManage Network Integration (OMNI)
OMNI is a vCenter plug-in that brings the user interface of the SmartFabric product into your vCenter UI, making vCenter a single pane of glass.
Here is an example of the OMNI vCenter plug-in facilitating access to a SmartFabric Services instance, and two SmartFabric Storage Software instances:
If you are interested in exploring any of the SmartFabric products further, browse the links above or reach out to Dell Technologies sales team.