802.1Br Terms And Definitions; Enabling The Port Extender Feature - Dell C9000 Series Networking Configuration Manual

802.1BR Terms and Definitions

The 802.1BR protocol uses the following terms to describe the operation of a controlling bridge and attached
port extenders.
802.1BR Term Definition
Cascade port A port on a controlling bridge or bridge port extender that connects to an upstream
port. In the case of the connection between two bridge port extenders, the cascade
port is the port closest to the controlling bridge.
Controlling bridge A bridge that supports one or more bridge port extenders.
Port extender (PE) A bridge port extender that is not physically part of a controlling bridge, but is
controlled by the controlling bridge.
Upstream port A port on a bridge port extender that connects to a cascade port. In the case of the
connection between two bridge port extenders, the upstream port is the port furthest
from the controlling bridge.

Enabling the Port Extender Feature

To use and configure a PE attached to a controlling bridge, such as the C9010, you must first enable the port-
extender feature by entering the feature extended-bridge command. You only need to enter this
command once to enable PE support on a controlling bridge.
Before you enable the PE feature, ensure that LLDP is enabled on the controlling bridge. LLDP is enabled by
default. If LLDP is disabled when you enter the feature extended-bridge command, the following error
message is displayed: % Error: Port-extender feature cannot be enabled when LLDP is
disabled.
• Turn on support for PE configuration on a controlling bridge.
CONFIGURATION mode
feature extended-bridge
NOTE: The port-extender command (pe pe-id) and other PE configuration commands are only
available after you enable the extended-bridge feature.
NOTE: You can disable the port extender feature by entering the no feature extended-bridge
command. Dell Networking does not recommend that you use this command because it may result in
traffic loss. It brings down the all port extenders that are online and deletes their configurations. For
example:
Dell(conf)# no feature extended-bridge
This command will disable the Extended-Bridge feature which will bring down all
the PEs and remove all the PE configs.
Proceed with Extended-Bridge feature disable? [yes/no]:
Port Extenders (PEs) 820