Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch Fabric Manager Software Configuration Guide, NX-OS 4.0 (OL-16598-01, June 2008)

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7-2
Nexus 5000 Series Switch Fabric Manager Software Configuration Guide
OL-16598-01
Chapter 7 Using Cisco Fabric Services
CFS Distribution
– Coordinated distributions: Only one distribution is allowed in the network at any given time.
– Uncoordinated distributions: Multiple parallel distributions are allowed in the network except
when a coordinated distribution is in progress.
– Unrestricted uncoordinated distributions: Multiple parallel distributions are allowed in the
network in the presence of an existing coordinated distribution. Unrestricted uncoordinated
distributions are allowed to run in parallel with all other types of distributions.
The following features are supported for CFS distribution over IP:
• One scope of distribution over an IP network:
– Physical scope: The distribution spans the entire IP network.
The following features are supported for CFS distribution over Fibre Channel SANs:
• Three scopes of distribution over SAN fabrics.
– Logical scope: The distribution occurs within the scope of a VSAN.
– Physical scope: The distribution spans the entire physical topology.
– Over a selected set of VSANs: Some features require configuration distribution over some
specific VSANs. These features can specify to CFS the set of VSANs over which to restrict the
distribution.
• Supports a merge protocol that facilitates the merge of feature configuration during a fabric merge
event (when two independent SAN fabrics merge).
CFS Distribution
The CFS distribution functionality is independent of the lower layer transport. Nexus 5000 Series
switches support CFS distribution over IP and CFS distribution over Fibre Channel. Features that use
CFS are unaware of the lower layer transport.
Additional details are provided in the following sections:
• CFS Distribution Modes, page 7-2
• Enabling/Disabling CFS Distribution on a Switch, page 7-3
• CFS Distribution over IP, page 7-4
• CFS Distribution over Fibre Channel, page 7-5
• CFS Distribution Scopes, page 7-5
• CFS Merge Support, page 7-6
CFS Distribution Modes
CFS supports three distribution modes to accommodate different feature requirements. Only one mode
is allowed at any given time. CFS distribution modes are described in the following sections:
• Uncoordinated Distribution, page 7-3
• Coordinated Distribution, page 7-3
• Unrestricted Uncoordinated Distributions, page 7-3