Second Switch Fabric / SMLT

[HelpTheWestie]

Hello

Please can anyone help with the below problem...

We are run 2 Passport 8010 with two Switch Fabric Model 8691SF with 256 MB. We are running an SMLT network with 5510/5520 and 450 Switch stacks.

Here is the problem...
When both passports are running on one Switch Fabric the network is fine, we get <1ms respones to all interfaces and VRRP.
When we introduce the second Switch Fabric's on both passports, we get blocks of slow network respones, but only for about 20 - 30 seconds and then it fine for 8 - 10 minutes... untill it starts again.
We are running on Software Version 3.7.7 and second switch fabric and NOT running in HA mode...

Can anyone throw any light on why i'm getting these large blocks of slow traffic?

Ta

Westie

 

[Alainv]

The only thing that comes to my mind...you are running vrrp and you are using 450's.

How many vlan's do you have? If you have eg. 2 vlan's with vrrp configured and those have the same instances (VRID = eq) then you could have problems with your 450's since they are not independent vlan learning....and you ip connectivity will bounce around.

 

[HelpTheWestie]

In total we have 3 * 450's stacks. We have 5 Vlan's and our VRRP VRID are 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.
But why does it only happen when both Second Switch Fabrics are installed?

 

[djpeterson]

I have 42 VLAN's on a pair of 8610's with SMLT and VRRP and I have never had a problem. Check that code is same on all Proc's, same copy of Config and bootconfig. L2/L3 HA has to be OFF verify this. VRRP Id's have to match from box to box, I match VRRP, and VLAN id's on each box.

 

[Alainv]

you are using SMLT, with HA? There is a bulletin going around advising you not to use HA in a SMLT combination.

If you are not using HA, can you switch the cpu blades and see if the performance with it is ok?

 

[HelpTheWestie]

Hi

We are not running L2/L3 HA Mode. I have switched the CPU blades and we still get the packet incresses.

 

[anthonyanderberg]

What does your CPU utilization ("show sys perf") look like in both situations? Does it matter if the single CPU is in slot 5 or 6? Since the backplane is split between slots 5 and 6 you'll want to make sure the issue is really that you've got two CPUs and not just that you're using slot 6.

 

[HelpTheWestie]

We are now running software version 3.7.8.
For a week i ran an SMLT network with two Passport 8610 with one Switch Fabric installed in both chassic. We have 9 SMLT Switch Stacks 3*450's, 6*5510/5520's. The SMLT network was fine all week. When pinging the interfaces/VRRP addresses of the Passports i was get sub second respones all week.

On Saturday i install the second switch fabrics into both Passports as warm stand-by's NOT HA. Then i started seeing large chunk of large packets across the passport interfaces/VRRP address, then it would go back to sub second.

I ran the show sys perf and the cpu was not going over 15 percent, that is no higher when the passport is running on one switch fabric...

I still have an SMLT network with Stand-by CPU cards in each chassic, but what is causing these large chunk of large packets??? i need to explain to the powers above!!

Thanks in advance

Russ

 

[londonpoet]

do your log files show any change to the vrrp state ?