Michael McNamara

technology, networking, virtualization and IP telephony

Upgrading DPC FPGA firmware – Part 2

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I recently upgraded a number of Ethernet Routing Switch 8600s to v5.1.5.1 software and had to upgrade the DPC FPGA firmware on the R modules (8630GBR, 8683XLR) within the chassis. I previously covered how to upgrade the DPC FPGA firmware but in the last few upgrades I noticed a recurring error message while the upgrade was in progress. I noticed this problem when upgrading both the 8630GBR and 8683XLR modules when the switch at had dual 8692SF w/SuperMezz daughter cards. I don’t previously recall this error message but I believe it started with 5.1.3.1 software or later. The error message can be safely ignored… although they are annoying as they constantly fill the console screen output.

sw-8600.acme.org:5# config diag fpga dpc update 1 /pcmcia/dpc194.xsvf
Found /pcmcia/dpc194.xsvf

WARNING: Starting the FPGA update process. DO NOT reset the card or  box during
this process. Please wait for FPGA UPDATE SUCCESS message. (Command prompt will
be returned but update process will take several minutes)
This Message will get appended to the log file upon completion of the update.
The command prompt will return after the upgrade is complete.                                                                       -

sw-8600.acme.org:5# CPU5 [04/27/11 05:59:15] COP-SW ERROR SyncTransportLayer: msgState=1, ltrStatus=LTR_SYNC_MSG_SLOT_INUSE, Slot=1

sw-8600.acme.org:5# CPU5 [04/27/11 05:59:15] COP-SW ERROR SyncTransportLayer: msgState=1, ltrStatus=LTR_SYNC_MSG_SLOT_INUSE, Slot=1

sw-8600.acme.org:5# CPU5 [04/27/11 05:59:15] COP-SW ERROR SyncTransportLayer: msgState=1, ltrStatus=LTR_SYNC_MSG_SLOT_INUSE, Slot=1

sw-8600.acme.mlhs.org:5# CPU5 [04/27/11 05:59:15] COP-SW ERROR SyncTransportLayer: msgState=1, ltrStatus=LTR_SYNC_MSG_SLOT_INUSE, Slot=1

sw-8600.acme.mlhs.org:5# CPU5 [04/27/11 05:59:15] COP-SW ERROR SyncTransportLayer: msgState=1, ltrStatus=LTR_SYNC_MSG_SLOT_INUSE, Slot=1

sw-8600.acme.mlhs.org:5# CPU5 [04/27/11 05:59:31] COP-SW INFO Slot 1: FPGA UPDATE SUCCESS - You will need to reboot the switch or re-insert/reset the slot for FPGA to take effect.

There’s reference to this issue in the 7.0 and 7.1 release notes.

wi00518565 - When upgrading FPGA firmware on R or RS modules, the following message can appear: Router-C:5#/CPU5 [03/08/10 15:04:15] COP-SW ERROR 27894800: LtrId = 152,LtrPrio=0,ltrStatus = 15 LTR_SYNC_MSG_SLOT_INUSE),msgId=53,msgState=1,Slot=3 This message has no negative effect on the FPGAupgrade. There are no specific FPGA upgrades required with release 7.0.

Cheers!

Ethernet Routing Switch 8600 Software Release v5.1.5.1

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Avaya has released software v5.1.5.1 for the Ethernet Routing Switch 8600. It should be noted that Avaya has pulled software release 5.1.5.0 from their website. The release notes indicate that the reason for this was “a datapath issue has been identified that may impact the ability to learn MAC addresses and forward packets for which the source MAC address is unknown. This will only happen if the traffic enters the same LANE as the IST is located on and if the IST occupies the first port in the LANE. Also, this is only seen on card types 8630GBR, 8648GBRS, 8634XGRS and 8612XLRS. (wi00866354)”.

Cheers!

Ethernet Routing Switch 5000 Software Release v6.1.6

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Avaya has released software 6.1.6 for the Ethernet Routing Switch 5500/5600 series switches.

The following issues have been resolved with this software release;

  • The dhcp-relay agent changed the MAC destination address of acknowledgments from a unicast address to a multicast address (wi00835598).
  • After a reboot, some client ports with active connections would autonegotiate to a lower speed (10/100) than expected (1000).This issue affected some Intel 82556 and Broadcom NICs (wi00555121).

I’ve personally seen issue wi00555121 above while working with a large HP MAS (Medical Archive Solution) implementation. I also believe that someone (either on this blog or in the discussion forums) also brought up issue wi00835598.

The new feature includes VLACP enhancements with support for DOWN and HOLD subtypes which were introduced in 5.1.4.0 software for the Ethernet Routing Switch 8600. The goal of the new VLACP subtypes it to provide a means to allow the core ample time to get up to speed before the edge starts forwarding traffic. I’ve personally seen many an occasion where one Ethernet Routing Switch 8600 in a cluster goes down with minimal packet loss but upon recovery there are all sorts of packet loss and network interruption. This new feature is designed to mitigate that problem by allowing link to come up… VLACP to come active but hold the actual network traffic back until the core is ready to start bridging/routing packets.

VLACP Enhancements – support for DOWN and HOLD subtypes

The VLACP implementation prior to this release did not detect a unidirectional communication outage. A VLACP partner will now send VLACP PDUs with the subtype DOWN (value of 2) when no PDUs are received from its link partner. These PDUs indicate the remote VLACP partner is down and the link partner should logically bring down its port. Shortly after reboot, a VLACP partner will send PDUs with the subtype HOLD (value of 3) to its link partner. In this case, receiving a PDU with subtype HOLD indicates the VLACP partner should logically bring down its port for a VLACP hold time. When receiving VLACP PDUs with HOLD or DOWN subtypes, the VLACP partner will respond with normal PDUs (LACP subtype). The interval between PDUs is configurable by the user. The VLACP support for HOLD subtype is disabled by default, it will be enabled only when a positive value for VLACP HOLD Time is configured. VLACP is an Avaya proprietary protocol and hence this enhancement will not work when connecting to devices from other vendors.

You’ll recall from the Ethernet Routing Switch 8600 5.1.4.0 release notes that Avaya introduce a new VLACP subtype on the core side;

VLACP HOLD Enhancement

During SMLT node failure scenarios, traffic loss may be observed in certain scaled SMLT configurations with hundreds of SLTs, hundreds of ports and tens of VLANs. The root cause for the traffic loss was that the ERS8600 ports would come up prematurely at the physical layer causing the remote end to start sending traffic toward the ERS8600 that just came up. On the ERS8600 that just rebooted, the communication between the line cards and the CP may take several seconds in such scaled configurations. This resulted in black-holing the traffic arriving on such ports which were physically up but all operational configuration was not yet performed on those ports by the CP. The VLACP SUBTYPE HOLD feature introduces a new VLACP PDU with a new subtype HOLD to help reduce traffic loss in such scenarios.
The goal of this new implementation is to “hold down” all VLACP enabled links for a specific period of time after a reboot. This prevents remote VLACP enabled devices that understand the new VLACP HOLD PDU from sending data to the ERS8600. This will ensure that all VLACP enabled ports on the ERS8600 have had sufficient time to come up with all operational configuration and are ready to receive and forward the ingress traffic.
ERS8600 switches with 5.1.4.0 release are capable of both sending and receiving VLACP HOLD PDUs. Future code revisions of the Baystack switch family will support receipt and processing of VLACP HOLD PDUs, but will not generate them. Please refer to the applicable product release notes for information regarding product specific software levels required for support of this VLACP enhancement. VLACP is an Avaya proprietary protocol and hence this enhancement in not applicable when connecting to switches from other vendors.
By default, the VLACP HOLD feature will be disabled. The feature is enabled by configuring a positive value for VLACP HOLD Time. The VLACP Hold Time value configured should be selected based on the specific recovery implementation requirements, size and recovery characteristics for your network implementation.

You can find the release notes here. (I’m going to try linking to Avaya’s support website instead of hosting the files myself).

Cheers!

Ethernet Routing Switch 8600/8800 Software Release v7.1

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Avaya has released software v7.1 for the Ethernet Routing Switch 8600/8800.

The most notable feature in this software release is the inclusion of Shortest Path Bridging  (SPB).

“Release 7.1 of the Ethernet Routing Switch 8800/8600 supports the IEEE 802.1aq standard of Shortest Path Bridging MACinMAC (SPBM). SPBM makes network virtualization much easier to deploy within the Enterprise environment, reducing the complexity of the network while at the same time providing greater scalability.

SPBM eliminates the need for multiple overlay protocols in the core of the network by reducing the core control plane to a single protocol which can provide virtualization services for both layer 2 and layer 3, on a common Ethernet infrastructure using a pure Ethernet technology base. SPBM allows for layering the Ethernet network into edge and core domains with complete isolation between their MAC addresses. This technology provides all the features and benefits required by Carrier-grade deployments to the Enterprise market without the complexity of alternative technologies traditionally used in Carrier deployments (typically MPLS). SPBM integrates into a single control plane all the functions that MPLS requires multiple layers and protocols to support.

SPBM provides any-to-any connectivity in a network in an optimized, loop-free manner. It employs shortest-path trees to each destination, without the long convergence delays experienced with Spanning Tree Protocol. To do that, SPBM uses Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS) link state routing protocol to learn and distribute network information. IS-IS dynamically learns the topology of a network and uses its inherent knowledge to construct shortest path unicast and multicast trees from every node to every other node in the network. Also, unlike Spanning Tree Protocol, IS-IS does not block ports to provide a loop free topology, so bandwidth is not wasted.

The SPBM components introduced in this release are:

  1. Shortest Path Bridging (IEEE 802.1aq) for simple and safe VLAN extensions across a network. SPBM does not use spanning tree, and all its links are active.
  2. SMLT for dual-homing of non-SPBM switches to a pair of SPB/IST switches.
  3. SPBM/IP for simple and safe VRF extensions across a network infrastructure without OSPF or BGP.
  4. InterISID routing for routing of L2 VPNs in the SPB domain“

You can review the configuration guide around SPBM here.

You fine the release notes here along with an upgrade document here.

Cheers!

RIP on an Ethernet Routing Switch

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In this post I’m going to continue to explore the stackable Avaya Ethernet Routing Switches.  I’m going to demonstrate how to configure RIP between an Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4548GT-PWR and an Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 5520-48T-PWR. There’s really not a whole lot to it but there seems to be some demand for these quick little guides so I’m happy to accommodate.

In the diagram to the right you can see that I have both switches connected over VLAN 1 by a MultiLink Trunk. I’m going to create VLAN 25 and VLAN 75 on the ERS 4548 while I create VLAN 100 and VLAN 200 on the ERS 5520. I’ll also announce a default route from the ERS 4548 to the ERS 5520 via RIP.

Ethernet Routing Switch 4548

Let’s start by enabling RIP globally and specify the IP interfaces we’ll want to participate in RIP;

router rip
router rip enable
network 192.168.1.25
network 192.168.25.1
network 192.168.75.1

Next we’ll configure RIP on VLAN 1 and enable default-supply since this switch will be advertising a default route for the network. We’ll also set the RIP interface to only utilize RIP v2. This will be the interface that will communicate with the ERS 5520 switch.

interface vlan 1
ip rip enable
ip rip default-supply enable
ip rip receive version rip2
ip rip send version rip2
exit

Next we’ll configure RIP on VLAN 25 only since we don’t expect to connect any switches or routers to this VLAN we’ll essentially place RIP in a passive mode by disabling listen and supply. In the mindset of being consistent we’ll set the interface to only utilize RIP v2 even though it won’t be transmitting or listening.

interface vlan 25
ip rip enable
no ip rip listen enable
no ip rip supply enable
ip rip receive version rip2
ip rip send version rip2
exit

We need to repeat the same configuration above but for VLAN 75 since we don’t expect to share any routing information with any switches or routers on VLAN 75.

interface vlan 75
ip rip enable
no ip rip listen enable
no ip rip supply enable
ip rip receive version rip2
ip rip send version rip2
exit

As I mentioned earlier, we’re going to advertise a default route from the ERS 4548 to the rest of the network. In order to accomplish that task we need a route policy (it’s called a route map on the stackable switches but a route policy on the chassis switches). We need to make sure that we match 0.0.0.0/0 and not just inject 0.0.0.0/0. This approach will allow RIP to stop advertising 0.0.0.0/0 if the route disappears from the routing table on our originating switch. In the examples below there will be a static default route to 0.0.0.0/0 via 192.168.1.1.

ip prefix-list default_route 0.0.0.0/0
route-map rip_pol_1 1
route-map rip_pol_1 1 enable
route-map rip_pol_1 permit 1 enable
route-map rip_pol_1 permit 1 match network default_route

Now that we have the route-map we need to apply it to the RIP interface on VLAN 1 since that’s the interface that will be communicating with the ERS 5520.

interface vlan 1
ip rip out-policy rip_pol_1
exit

Ethernet Routing Switch 5520

Let’s start by enabling RIP globally and specify the IP interfaces we’ll want to participate in RIP;

router rip
router rip enable
network 192.168.1.50
network 192.168.100.1
network 192.168.200.1

Next we’ll configure RIP on VLAN 1 and enable default-listen since this switch will be learning a default route from the ERS 4548 on this interface. We’ll also set the RIP interface to only utilize RIP v2.

interface vlan 1
ip rip enable
ip rip default-listen enable
ip rip receive version rip2
ip rip send version rip2
exit

Next we’ll configure RIP on VLAN 100 only since we don’t expect to connect any switches or routers to this VLAN we’ll essentially place RIP in a passive mode by disabling listen and supply. In the mindset of being consistent we’ll set the interface to only utilize RIP v2 even though it won’t be transmitting or listening.

interface vlan 100
ip rip enable
ip rip receive version rip2
ip rip send version rip2
no ip rip listen enable
no ip rip supply enable
exit

We need to repeat the same configuration above but for VLAN 200 since we don’t expect to share any routing information with any switches or routers on VLAN 200.

interface vlan 200
ip rip enable
ip rip receive version rip2
ip rip send version rip2
no ip rip listen enable
no ip rip supply enable
exit

Those are the commands that you’ll need to get both switches exchanging dynamic routing information via RIP v2.

Ethernet Routing Switch 4548 (show commands)

Here are some operational commands that can be used to check the status of RIP and the routing table.

4548GT-PWR#show ip rip
Default Import Metric:  8
Domain:
HoldDown Time:  120
Queries:  1
Rip:  Enabled
Route Changes:  8
Timeout Interval:  180
Update Time:  30

You can see below the status of the RIP interface on VLAN 1, notice the status of Dflt Supply is set to true and the policy ‘RIP Out Policy’ is applied that we previously configured.

4548GT-PWR(config)#show ip rip interface vlan 1
IP Address      Enable Send           Receive      Advertise When Down
--------------- ------ -------------- ------------ -------------------
192.168.1.25    true   ripVersion2    rip2         false

RIP  Dflt   Dflt   Trigger AutoAgg
IP Address      Cost Supply Listen Update  Enable  Supply Listen Poison Proxy
--------------- ---- ------ ------ ------- ------- ------ ------ ------ -----
192.168.1.25    1    true   false  false   false   true   false  false  false

IP Address      RIP In Policy
--------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------
192.168.1.25

IP Address      RIP Out Policy
--------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------
192.168.1.25    rip_pol_1

IP Address      Holddown Timeout
--------------- -------- -------
192.168.1.25    120      180

Finally the routing table for the ERS 4548, you can see the static default route (notice the S for static) and you can see the two RIP routes (notice the R for RIP).

4548GT-PWR#show ip route
===============================================================================
Ip Route
===============================================================================
DST             MASK            NEXT            COST    VLAN PORT PROT TYPE PRF
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.0.0.0         0.0.0.0         192.168.1.1     1        1    1     S  IB     5
192.168.1.0     255.255.255.0   192.168.1.25    1        1    ----  C  DB     0
192.168.25.0    255.255.255.0   192.168.25.1    1        25   ----  C  DB     0
192.168.75.0    255.255.255.0   192.168.75.1    1        75   ----  C  DB     0
192.168.100.0   255.255.255.0   192.168.1.50    2        1    T#1   R  IB   100
192.168.200.0   255.255.255.0   192.168.1.50    2        1    T#1   R  IB   100
Total Routes: 6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TYPE Legend:
I=Indirect Route, D=Direct Route, A=Alternative Route, B=Best Route, U=Unresolv
ed Route, N=Not in HW

Here’s the configuration we used on the ERS 4548 in this post.

4548GT-PWR#show running-config module l3-protocols
! Embedded ASCII Configuration Generator Script
! Model = Ethernet Routing Switch 4548GT-PWR
! Software version = v5.4.1.012
!
! Displaying only parameters different to default
!================================================
enable
configure terminal
!
! *** L3 Protocols ***
!

! --- Proxy ARP ---

! --- UDP Broadcast Forwarding ---

! --- Route Policies ---

ip prefix-list "default_route" 0.0.0.0/0
route-map "rip_pol_1" 1
route-map "rip_pol_1" 1 enable
route-map "rip_pol_1" 1 match network "default_route"

! --- OSPF ---

! --- RIP ---

router rip
router rip enable
exit
enable
configure terminal
interface vlan 1
ip rip default-supply enable
ip rip out-policy "rip_pol_1"
ip rip enable
exit
interface vlan 25
no ip rip listen enable
ip rip receive version rip2
ip rip send version rip2
no ip rip supply enable
ip rip enable
exit
interface vlan 75
no ip rip listen enable
ip rip receive version rip2
ip rip send version rip2
no ip rip supply enable
ip rip enable
exit

Ethernet Routing Switch 5520 (show commands)

Here are some operational commands that can be used to check the status of RIP and the routing table.

5520-48T-PWR#show ip rip
Default Import Metric:  8
Domain:
HoldDown Time:  120
Queries:  1
Rip:  Enabled
Route Changes:  6
Timeout Interval:  180
Update Time:  30

You can see below the status of the RIP interface on VLAN 1, notice the status of Dflt Listen is set to true.

5520-48T-PWR#show ip rip interface vlan 1
IP Address      Enable Send           Receive      Advertise When Down
--------------- ------ -------------- ------------ -------------------
192.168.1.50    true   ripVersion2    rip2         false

RIP  Dflt   Dflt   Trigger AutoAgg
IP Address      Cost Supply Listen Update  Enable  Supply Listen Poison Proxy
--------------- ---- ------ ------ ------- ------- ------ ------ ------ -----
192.168.1.50    1    false  true   false   false   true   true   false  false

IP Address      RIP In Policy
--------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------
192.168.1.50

IP Address      RIP Out Policy
--------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------
192.168.1.50

IP Address      Holddown Timeout
--------------- -------- -------
192.168.1.50    120      180

Finally the routing table for the ERS 4548, you can see the two RIP routes (notice the R for RIP).

5520-48T-PWR#show ip route
===============================================================================
Ip Route
===============================================================================
DST             MASK            NEXT            COST    VLAN PORT PROT TYPE PRF
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.0.0.0         0.0.0.0         192.168.1.25    2        1    T#1   R  IB   100
192.168.1.0     255.255.255.0   192.168.1.50    1        1    ----  C  DB     0
192.168.25.0    255.255.255.0   192.168.1.25    2        1    T#1   R  IB   100
192.168.75.0    255.255.255.0   192.168.1.25    2        1    T#1   R  IB   100
192.168.100.0   255.255.255.0   192.168.100.1   1        100  ----  C  DB     0
192.168.200.0   255.255.255.0   192.168.200.1   1        200  ----  C  DB     0
Total Routes: 6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TYPE Legend:
I=Indirect Route, D=Direct Route, A=Alternative Route, B=Best Route, E=Ecmp Route, U=Unresolved Route, N=Not in HW

Here’s the configuration we used on the ERS 5520 in this post.

5520-48T-PWR#show running-config module l3-protocols
! Embedded ASCII Configuration Generator Script
! Model = Ethernet Routing Switch 5520-48T-PWR
! Software version = v6.2.1.002
!
! Displaying only parameters different to default
!================================================
enable
configure terminal
!
! *** L3 Protocols ***
!

! --- Proxy ARP ---

! --- UDP Broadcast Forwarding ---

! --- VRRP ---

! --- Route Policies ---

! --- OSPF ---

! --- RIP ---

router rip
router rip enable
exit
enable
configure terminal
interface vlan 1
ip rip default-listen enable
ip rip receive version rip2
ip rip send version rip2
ip rip enable
exit
interface vlan 100
no ip rip listen enable
ip rip receive version rip2
ip rip send version rip2
no ip rip supply enable
ip rip enable
exit
interface vlan 200
no ip rip listen enable
ip rip receive version rip2
ip rip send version rip2
no ip rip supply enable
ip rip enable
exit

Cheers!

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