Administrator Guide

If you use any of the transceivers in the preceding list that is not Dell-qualified, Dell Networking OS places the interface in error-disabled
(operationally down) state. The system displays a syslog message similar to the following:
Apr 29 05:09:16: %S4048-ON:1 %IFAGT-2-TRANSCEIVER_UNSUPPORTED_ERROR: Transceiver in slot 1
port 50 unrecognized, putting interface in operational-down state
The following command output displays that the interface is in error-disabled state:
Dell#show interfaces fortyGigE 1/50
fortyGigE 1/50 is up, line protocol is down(error-disabled[Transceiver Unsupported])
Hardware is DellEth, address is 34:17:eb:f2:25:c6
Current address is 34:17:eb:f2:25:c6
Non-qualified pluggable media present, QSFP type is 40GBASE-SR4
Wavelength is 850nm
No power
Interface index is 2103813
Internet address is not set
Mode of IPv4 Address Assignment : NONE
DHCP Client-ID :3417ebf225c6
MTU 1554 bytes, IP MTU 1500 bytes
LineSpeed 40000 Mbit
<output truncated for brevity>
Splitting QSFP Ports to SFP+ Ports
The switch supports splitting a single 40G QSFP port into four 10G SFP+ ports using a supported breakout cable. (For the link to a list of
supported cables, refer to the C9000 Installation Guide or the C9000 Release Notes).
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
linecard {0–11} port {0–20} portmode quad
• The range of switch line-card numbers is 0 to 11.
• The range of port numbers on a 40G port to be split is 0 to 20.
To verify port splitting, use the show system linecard {0–11} fanout {count | configure} command.
• 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.
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. To split the
ports, enable the fan-out mode.
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.
After you insert an SFP or SFP+ cable into a QSA connected to a 40 Gigabit port, Dell Networking OS assumes that all the four fanned-
out 10 Gigabit ports have plugged-in SFP or SFP+ optical cables. However, the link UP event happens only for the first 10 Gigabit port and
you can use only that port for data transfer. As a result, only the first fanned-out port is identified as the active 10 Gigabit port with a
speed of 10G or 1G depending on whether you insert an SFP+ or SFP cable respectively.
NOTE:
Although it is possible to configure the remaining three 10 Gigabit ports, the Link UP event does not occur for
these ports leaving the lanes unusable. Dell Networking OS perceives these ports to be in a Link Down state. You must
not try to use these remaining three 10 Gigabit ports for actual data transfer or for any other related configurations.
420 Interfaces