Users Guide
network administrator must then recongure the peer device so that it advertises a compatible DCB 
conguration.
• The internally propagated conguration is not stored in the switch's running conguration.
• On a DCBx port in an auto-downstream role, all PFC, application priority, ETS recommend, and ETS 
conguration TLVs are enabled.
Conguration source The port is congured to serve as a source of conguration information on the switch. Peer DCB congurations 
received on the port are propagated to other DCBx auto-congured ports. If the peer conguration is compatible 
with a port conguration, DCBx is enabled on the port.
On a conguration-source port, the link with a DCBx peer is enabled when the port receives a DCB conguration 
that can be internally propagated to other auto-congured ports. The conguration received from a DCBx peer is 
not stored in the switch’s running conguration. On a DCBx port that is the conguration source, all PFC and 
application priority TLVs are enabled. ETS recommend TLVs are disabled and ETS conguration TLVs are enabled.
Manual The port is congured to operate only with administrator-congured settings and does not auto-congure with 
DCB settings received from a DCBx peer or from an internally propagated conguration from the conguration 
source. If you enable DCBx, ports in Manual mode advertise their congurations to peer devices but do not accept 
or propagate internal or external congurations. Unlike other user-congured ports, the conguration of DCBx 
ports in Manual mode is saved in the running conguration.
On a DCBx port in a manual role, all PFC, application priority, ETS recommend, and ETS conguration TLVs are 
enabled.
When making a conguration change to a DCBx port in a Manual role, Dell Networking recommends shutting down 
the interface using the shutdown command, change the conguration, then re-activate the interface using the 
no shutdown command.
The default for the DCBx port role is manual.
NOTE
: On a DCBx port, application priority TLV advertisements are handled as follows:
• The application priority TLV is transmitted only if the priorities in the advertisement match the congured PFC priorities on the 
port.
• On auto-upstream and auto-downstream ports:
• If a conguration source is elected, the ports send an application priority TLV based on the application priority TLV received on 
the conguration-source port. When an application priority TLV is received on the conguration-source port, the auto-upstream 
and auto-downstream ports use the internally propagated PFC priorities to match against the received application priority. 
Otherwise, these ports use their locally congured PFC priorities in application priority TLVs.
• If no conguration source is congured, auto-upstream and auto-downstream ports check to see that the locally congured 
PFC priorities match the priorities in a received application priority TLV.
• On manual ports, an application priority TLV is advertised only if the priorities in the TLV match the PFC priorities congured on the 
port.
DCB Conguration Exchange
The DCBx protocol supports the exchange and propagation of conguration information for the enhanced transmission selection (ETS) and 
priority-based ow control (PFC) DCB features.
DCBx uses the following methods to exchange DCB conguration parameters:
Asymmetric
DCB parameters are exchanged between a DCBx-enabled port and a peer port without requiring that a peer port 
and the local port use the same congured values for the congurations to be compatible. For example, ETS uses 
an asymmetric exchange of parameters between DCBx peers.
Symmetric DCB parameters are exchanged between a DCBx-enabled port and a peer port but requires that each congured 
parameter value be the same for the congurations in order to be compatible. For example, PFC uses an 
symmetric exchange of parameters between DCBx peers.
244 Data Center Bridging (DCB)










