Failover with 2610 switches using STP with multiple links

[g18c]

Hi, I have 3 x HP-2610-24 switches and would like to expand the configuration so they connect like a triangle, so if one link goes down, traffic will automatically flow the other way.

An overview of connections is below.

HP-2610-CORE (port 27) -> HP-2610-SW1 (port 27)
HP-2610-CORE (port 28) -> HP-2610-SW2 (port 27)
HP-2610-SW1 (port 28) -> HP-2610-SW2 (port 28)

My basic configuration is below, could you please advise how I can achieve the above with spanning tree or other technique.

Do i need to enable port-fast or anything similair?

Many thanks in advance

hostname "HP-2610-CORE"
qos dscp-map 101110 priority 6
ip default-gateway 192.168.0.1
ip routing
snmp-server community "public" Unrestricted
vlan 1
name "DEFAULT_VLAN"
untagged 1-25
ip address 192.168.0.32 255.255.255.0
tagged 27-28
no untagged 26
exit
vlan 43
name "VOICE_VLAN"
untagged 26
ip address 192.168.43.1 255.255.255.0
qos priority 6
tagged 1-25,27-28
exit
qos device-priority 192.168.43.2 priority 6
spanning-tree
spanning-tree priority 1


hostname "HP-2610-SW1"
qos dscp-map 101110 priority 6
ip default-gateway 192.168.0.1
snmp-server community "public" Unrestricted
vlan 1
name "DEFAULT_VLAN"
untagged 1-24
ip address 192.168.0.33 255.255.255.0
tagged 25-28
exit
vlan 43
name "VOICE_VLAN"
tagged 1-28
exit
spanning-tree


hostname "HP-2610-SW2"
qos dscp-map 101110 priority 6
ip default-gateway 192.168.0.1
snmp-server community "public" Unrestricted
vlan 1
name "DEFAULT_VLAN"
untagged 1-24
ip address 192.168.0.34 255.255.255.0
tagged 25-28
exit
vlan 43
name "VOICE_VLAN"
tagged 1-28
exit
spanning-tree

 

[unclerico]

you have rstp enabled with your core switch designated as the root. all you need to do is plug your switches together. the uplink between core and sw1 and core and sw2 will be root ports. the ports between sw2 and sw1 will negotiate which port is the designated port and which one is blocking. you can force this as well by designating the priority of the switch in the STP configuration.

I hate all Uppercase... I don't want my groups to seem angry at me all the time! =)
- ColdFlame (vbscript forum)

 

[VinceWhirlwind]

Newer Procurve switches use RSTP by default when you enable STP. I don't know about 2610s, so enable it and then do a show spanning-tree and it will tell you.

 

[mlgmartin]

What is better, mesh or spanning tree?

"It is an equal failing to trust everybody, and to trust nobody.

 

[VinceWhirlwind]

What do you mean by mesh?

He has a mesh topology.

If he had all 3 switches routing, I think he would encounter unnecessary complications.

 

[cajuntank]

Mesh is just another method of providing layer 2 redundancy and since the ports come out of a blocked state if there is meshing protocol enabled on the corresponding switch's port, forwarding capacity can be increased. Meshing is enabled on a per port basis (unlike STP which is box-wide) and can be made up of any combination of speeds or media types. In your example, unless you are making a connection for each switch to each other switch (you would end of with a star config instead of a triangle config), then meshing is not what you're going to do.
Doing this via routing would be at the layer3 level which could be done, but like Vince mentioned, is more effort. Multiple VLANs would have to be created, multiple small subnets defined, RIP enabled and configured as that switch does not support OSPF and trying to do the static routing would be a little tedious.

Stick with the RSTP like metioned and you'll be good.

 

[VinceWhirlwind]

What you're talking about sounds like what you get when you can join your 3 switches togather as one virtual chassis. This is ideal.

The 2610s don't support this (2610 is a 10-year-old 1U 48-port switch, isn't it?). They do some sort of "stacking" but it's useless. I think they call it "mesh". It's just some sort of way of managing the three switches using a single IP address. Not useful.

 

[cajuntank]

2610 series is only two years old or so. They have only been replaced by the 2620 series here within the past few months. HP Meshing is its own technology and is not the same as stacking. It's in the same family of layer 2 redundancy features like STP and RSTP. Not all of HP Procurve switches support the HP Meshing feature.

 

[VinceWhirlwind]

Ah, I was thinking of the "2600" series (2650, etc..). Not the same thing at all apparently.

I never bothered looking into it because my impression was it doesn't change anything to how Spanning-tree works, so it seemed a bit pointless.

I just tried to find it in the 2610 manuals, but it doesn't seem to be described in them anywhere (it is mentioned in the Spanning-tree chapter, though, and it doesn't seem to imply there's no blocking of ports going on).

In one of them, in the chapter on UDLD, it says:
"When a port is blocked by UDLD, the event is recorded in the switch log or via an SNMP trap (if configured); and other port blocking protocols, like spanning tree or meshing"

So meshing blocks ports.

So the question would have to be: in what way is meshing useful, what actually does it do?

 

[VinceWhirlwind]

Ah, here we go - this makes Meshing look useful:

http://www.hp.com/rnd/pdfs/Switch_Meshing_Paper_Tech_Brief.pdf

However, as one of these 3 switches is doing the routing, I don't think meshing will do anything for you - you might as well just have an aggregated link from each of switch 2 & switch 3 back to the core. No real benefit in linking switches 2 & 3 anyway.

 

[mlgmartin]

Very nice documentation! The conclusion is very informative.

CONCLUSION
With switch meshing, your company can make every switch, every port, and every cable count. You can provide high availability while improving network performance. Although STP provides
failover capabilities, it does not improve network performance. Instead, redundant links remain idle even when active links become saturated. With switch meshing, on the other hand, switches can use redundant links to offload traffic from overused ports and saturated links, speeding up the transfer of data across the network.
Keeping redundant links open has an additional benefit: failovers are quick. If a switch or a link becomes unavailable, switch meshing can rapidly reroute traffic.

"It is an equal failing to trust everybody, and to trust nobody.

 

[VinceWhirlwind]

...except it seems to say you can't use it on Layer-3 switches.

And why you would want to "mesh" your Access-layer all together isn't entirely clear - the bit where STP wastes interfaces is between Distribution and Access where, if I understood this doco correctly, "Meshing" cann't help you.

No. What you need is each Access switch linked to two Distribution switches. Therefore, what you want are Distribution switches that can give you "Split Multilink Trunks", to use Nortel terminology, or VSS, from Cisco, or VRFs, from HP (3COM).
Procurve don't have anything that helps in this space.
Which is probably why HP ar4 discontinuing Procurve.