Administrator Guide

NOTE: When you split a 40G port (such as fo 0/4) into four 10G ports, the 40G interface
configuration is available in the startup configuration when you save the running configuration by
using the write memory command. When a reload of the system occurs, the 40G interface
configuration is not applicable because the 40G ports are split into four 10G ports after the reload
operation. While the reload is in progress, you might see error messages when the configuration file
is being loaded. You can ignore these error messages. Similarly, such error messages are displayed
during a reload after you configure the four individual 10G ports to be stacked as a single 40G port.
To split a single 40G port into four 10G ports, use the following command.
• Split a single 40G port into 4-10G ports.
CONFIGURATION mode
stack-unit stack-unit port number portmode quad
– stack-unit: enter the stack member unit identifier of the stack member to reset. The range is
from 0 to 11.
– number: enter the port number of the 40G port to be split. The Z9000 range is from 0 to 31.
Important Points to Remember
• Splitting a 40G port into four 10G ports is supported on standalone and stacked units.
• You cannot use split ports as stack-link to stack a system.
• The unit number with the split ports must be the default (stack-unit 0).
To verify port splitting, use the show system brief command. If the unit ID is different than 0, it must
be renumbered to 0 before ports are split by using the stackunit id renumber 0 command in EXEC
mode.
• The quad port must be in a default configuration before you can split it into 4x10G ports. The 40G
port is lost in the configuration when the port is split; be sure that the port is also removed from other
L2/L3 feature configurations.
• The system must be reloaded after issuing the CLI for the change to take effect.
Converting a QSFP or QSFP+ Port to an SFP or SFP+ Port
You can convert a QSFP or QSFP+ port to an SFP or SFP+ port using the Quad to Small Form Factor
Pluggable Adapter (QSA).
QSA provides smooth connectivity between devices that use Quad Lane Ports (such as the 40 Gigabit
Ethernet adapters) and 10 Gigabit hardware that uses SFP+ based cabling. Using this adapter, you can
effectively use a QSFP or QSFP+ module to connect to a lower-end switch or server that uses an SFP or
SFP+ based module.
When connected to a QSFP or QSFP+ port on a 40 Gigabit adapter, QSA acts as an interface for the SFP
or SFP+ cables. This interface enables you to directly plug in an SFP or SFP+ cable originating at a 10
Gigabit Ethernet port on a switch or server.
You can use QSFP optical cables (without a QSA) to split a 40 Gigabit port on a switch or a server into
four 10 Gigabit ports. You must enable the fan-out mode in order for this mechanism to work.
Similarly, you can enable the fan-out mode to configure the QSFP port on a device to act as an SFP or
SFP+ port. As the QSA enables a QSFP or QSFP+ port to be used as an SFP or SFP+ port, Dell Networking
OS does not immediately detect the QSA after you insert it into a QSFP port cage.
Interfaces
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