4X10 Gbe Breakout Mode Support; Brocade Trunking Support - Brocade Communications Systems VDX 6940 Series Hardware Installation Manual

4x10 GbE breakout mode support

Each 40 GbE port on the Brocade VDX 6940 can be configured for breakout mode to provide four 10 GbE interfaces. You can
administer and operate the 10 GbE interfaces as any other SFP port.
Optical and twinaxial copper 4x10 GbE QSFP breakout cables provide a connection from the 40 GbE port to four 10 GbE SFP ports on
other devices. The 10 GbE breakout connections are primarily used for edge port connectivity, but can also support ISL trunking with
VDX 8770 and VDX 6740 platforms.
The 40 GbE ports support dynamic QSFP breakout mode as there is no need to reboot the system to enable breakout mode after
breakout mode is configured. For more information on configuring breakout mode, refer to the
Configuration Guide .
NOTE
Breakout mode is not supported on Brocade VDX 6940-144S 100 GbE ports.
For a information on 4x10 GbE QSFP to 4 SFP optical and copper cable that support 4x10 GbE breakout mode, refer to the online
matrices referenced in Supported transceivers

Brocade trunking support

Network OS supports Brocade trunks (hardware-based link aggregation groups, or LAGs). These trunks are dynamically formed
between two adjacent devices with connected interswitch link (ISL) ports unless trunking is disabled on connecting ports. Traffic is evenly
distributed along all links in a trunk.
Brocade trunking is supported on the following port types:
∙
10 GbE ports
∙
40 GbE ports in 40 GbE mode
∙
10 GbE interfaces when 4x10 GbE breakout mode is configured on 40 GbE ports.
NOTE
Trunking is not supported on 100 GbE ports.
Following are general limitations and considerations of this feature:
∙
Ports forming a trunk must be configured at the same speed as follows:
– 40 GbE ports configured in 40 GbE mode - 40 Gbps
– 10 GbE interfaces on 40 GbE ports configured in 4x10 GbE breakout mode - 10 Gbps.
– 10 GbE ports - 10 Gbps
∙
Ports forming a trunk must be in the same trunk group. Trunk groups are different for the Brocade VDX 6940-36Q and
Brocade VDX 6940-144S.
∙
Any port in a trunk group can belong to a specific trunk, but ports do not need to be contiguous. For example, port 1, 2, and 7
can form a trunk with a remote device. If ports 3 and 4 are connected later, they will form a separate trunk.
∙
The maximum number of ports that can form a trunk are as follows:
– 12 fixed 10 GbE ports
– 12 10 GbE interfaces on 40 GbE ports in 4 x 10 GbE breakout mode.
– Three 40 GbE ports (40 GbE mode)
∙
Trunking is supported between Brocade VDX 6940 40 GbE ports and Brocade VDX 8770 ports only when all ports are
configured in 4x10 GbE breakout mode. Trunking is not supported between these devices when the 40 GbE ports are
configured in 40 GbE mode.
∙
40 GbE and 10 GbE trunking is supported between Brocade Brocade VDX 6940 and Brocade VDX 6740 devices.
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on page 17.
Device Overview
Network OS Layer 2 Switching
Brocade VDX 6940 Hardware Installation Guide
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