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Manual Chapter : Network Settings

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  • 1.2.0
Manual Chapter

Network Settings

Network settings overview

An administrator can configure L2 network settings for the
rSeries
 system, such as port groups, LAGs, interfaces, VLANs, LACP, LLDP, and STP. You can configure these network settings from the webUI, the CLI, or REST APIs.

Port groups overview

The front-panel ports on
F5 r2000/r4000 and F5 r5000/r10000 platforms
 support port group functionality. Port groups enable you to configure the mode of the physical port, which controls the port speed and whether the port is bundled or unbundled. Until configured, the
rSeries
 system uses port speeds of
100G, 25G, or 10G, depending on the port and the platform
. You can change them based on what optical transceiver module type you are using.
F5 r2000/r4000 platforms have pre-defined configuration modes. These port group options are 4x25GbE, 8x10GbE, and 4x10GbE+2x25GbE.
Before configuring any interfaces, VLANs, or LAGs, you can set up port groups so that physical interfaces on the
platform
 are configured for the proper speed and bundling. Depending on the port group mode, a different FPGA version is loaded, and the speed of the port is adjusted accordingly. The system creates the port group components.
Changing the mode for a port group reboots the
system
, removes stale interfaces from your configuration, and removes any references to stale interfaces from your configuration. You will then need to reconfigure any previously-configured protocols to use the modified port group.

Configure port groups from the webUI

You can configure port groups to use a specific mode depending on how you are connecting your system.
Changing the port group mode impacts the view of physical interfaces published by the system. The previous interfaces that corresponded to the previous port group mode are deleted, and new ones are created. All configuration associated with the deleted interfaces is also lost.
  1. Log in to the webUI using an account with admin access.
  2. On the left, click
    NETWORK SETTINGS
    Port Groups
    .
  3. For a specific port group, select a
    Mode
     from the list.
    For F5 r5000/r10000, you can choose one of these modes:
    Option
    Description
    100GbE
    Create one interface at 100G speed.
    40GbE
    Create one interface at 40G speed.
    10GbE
    Create one interface at 10G speed.
    For F5 r2000/r4000, you can choose a pre-defined configuration as a mode:
    Option
    Description
    4x25GbE
    Creates four interfaces at 25G speed.
    4x10GbE+2x25GbE
    Creates four interfaces at 10G speed and two interfaces at 25G speed.
    8x10GbE
    Creates eight interfaces at 10G speed.
  4. Click
    Save
    .
When you change the port group mode on ports for a specific group, the system resets. The previous interfaces that corresponded to the previous port group mode are deleted, and the associated (underlying) configuration is also lost.

Configure the mode of a port group from the CLI

You can configure a port group for the interfaces on the system at either 100GbE or 40GbE speeds from the CLI. .
  1. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  2. Change to config mode.
    config
    The CLI prompt changes to include
    (config)
    .
  3. Configure port groups for a specific interface.
    portgroups portgroup <
    interface-number
    > config mode {
    MODE_100GB
     |
    MODE_40GB
     }
    In this example, you configure the port group mode on interface 2 to use the 100GB mode: 
    appliance-1(config)# portgroups portgroup 2 config mode MODE_100GB
  4. Commit the configuration changes.
    commit

Show the state of port groups from the CLI

You can show the state for port groups on the system from the CLI.
  1. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  2. Show the current state for the port groups configuration.
    show portgroups portgroup
    A summary similar to this example displays: 
    appliance-1# show portgroups portgroup
portgroups portgroup 1
 state vendor-name      "F5 INC."
 state vendor-oui       009065
 state vendor-partnum   "OPT-0031        "
 state vendor-revision  A0
 state vendor-serialnum "A1B2C3D40         "
 state transmitter-technology "850 nm VCSEL"
 state media            100GBASE-SR4
 state optic-state      QUALIFIED
 state ddm rx-pwr low-threshold alarm -14.0
 state ddm rx-pwr low-threshold warn -11.0
 state ddm rx-pwr instant val-lane1 -1.96
 state ddm rx-pwr instant val-lane2 -0.95
 state ddm rx-pwr instant val-lane3 -1.06
 state ddm rx-pwr instant val-lane4 -1.98
 state ddm rx-pwr high-threshold alarm 3.4
 state ddm rx-pwr high-threshold warn 2.4
 state ddm tx-pwr low-threshold alarm -10.0
 state ddm tx-pwr low-threshold warn -8.0
 state ddm tx-pwr instant val-lane1 0.07
 state ddm tx-pwr instant val-lane2 0.67
 state ddm tx-pwr instant val-lane3 0.32
 state ddm tx-pwr instant val-lane4 0.45
 state ddm tx-pwr high-threshold alarm 5.0
 state ddm tx-pwr high-threshold warn 3.0
 state ddm temp low-threshold alarm -5.0
 state ddm temp low-threshold warn 0.0
 state ddm temp instant val 40.8046
 state ddm temp high-threshold alarm 75.0
 state ddm temp high-threshold warn 70.0
 state ddm bias low-threshold alarm 0.003
 state ddm bias low-threshold warn 0.005
 state ddm bias instant val-lane1 0.00753
 state ddm bias instant val-lane2 0.007448
 state ddm bias instant val-lane3 0.007536
 state ddm bias instant val-lane4 0.007504
 state ddm bias high-threshold alarm 0.013
 state ddm bias high-threshold warn 0.011
 state ddm vcc low-threshold alarm 2.97
 state ddm vcc low-threshold warn 3.135
 state ddm vcc instant val 3.3027
 state ddm vcc high-threshold alarm 3.63
 state ddm vcc high-threshold warn 3.465
...

Port mappings overview

Port mappings show how the front-panel interfaces on F5 r5000/r10000 systems are configured for capacity bandwidth and allocated bandwidth using
pipelines
 and
pipeline groups
.
pipeline
Corresponds to a traffic-processing pipeline. There are eight virtual ports per pipeline. Each pipeline has 100Gb of throughput.
pipeline group
Contains two pipelines and corresponds to FPGA sockets. The system FPGAs are configured in the bitstream to support the different ports. No bitstream supports all ports simultaneously.

Display port mappings from the webUI

You can view how port mappings are configured from the webUI.
  1. Log in to the webUI using an account with admin access.
  2. On the left, click
    NETWORK SETTINGS
    Port Mappings
    .
    The current configuration for port mappings displays.

Port profiles overview

The front-panel ports on F5 r2000/r4000 systems support port profile functionality. Port profiles enable you to change which mode, or port speed, that port uses. SFP28 ports operate at 25GbE by default, and SFP+ ports operate at 10GbE by default. Only these configurations are available:
8x10G
All eight 10G (SFP+) ports run at 10G speed. This is the default configuration.
​2x25G​ - 4x10G
Two 25G (SFP28) ports run at 25G speed, and four 10G (SFP+) ports run at 10G.
4​x25G​
All four 25G (SFP28) ports run at 25G speed.
Changing the mode for a port profile reboots the system, and then removes stale interfaces and any references to stale interfaces from your configuration. You must reconfigure any previously-configured protocols to use your modified port group.
All tenants must be in “configured” state before you can change the port profile. You cannot change the profile while a tenant is in “deployed” state.

Configure a port profile from the CLI

You can configure port profiles for the interfaces on the system from the CLI.
  1. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  2. Change to config mode.
    config
    The CLI prompt changes to include
    (config)
    .
  3. Change the port profile configuration.
    port-profiles config mode [
    2x25G-4x10G
     |
    4x25G
     |
    8x10G
     }
    In this example, you configure the port profile to use the 4x25G mode: 
    appliance-1(config)# port-profiles config mode 4x25G
  4. Commit the configuration changes.
    commit
Changing the mode for a port profile reboots the system, and then removes stale interfaces and any references to stale interfaces from your configuration. You must reconfigure any previously-configured protocols to use your modified port profile.

Interfaces overview

rSeries
 systems include a set number of front-panel interfaces (or ports). The number of available interfaces varies depending on hardware model.

Configure interfaces from the webUI

Before you begin, you must already have created the VLANs that you want to associate with the interface.
If you intend to create LAGs, you should wait to associate VLANs with interfaces, because an interface cannot be used as a LAG member if it is associated with an interface.
You can configure interfaces from the webUI.
  1. Log in to the webUI using an account with admin access.
  2. On the left, click
    NETWORK SETTINGS
    Interfaces
    .
    A table showing all interfaces displays.
  3. Click an interface name.
  4. For
    State
    , select whether the interface is
    Enabled
     or
    Disabled
    .
  5. These settings are informational, set values and cannot be changed: Operational Status, Speed, MAC Address, and Interface Type.
  6. For
    MTU
    , the maximum transmissions unit is set to the default value of 9600 (read only).
    This is the largest size that the system allows for an IP datagram passing through a physical interface.
  7. Forward Error Correction
     is set to the default value of
    Auto
     (read only) and detects and corrects a limited number of errors in transmitted data.
    Since this setting is enabled automatically, your upstream switch must also support Forward Error Correction (FEC).
  8. RX Flow Control
     is set to
    Off
    , and it is not supported on any of the interfaces.
  9. For
    Native VLAN
    , select the VLAN ID to use for untagged frames received on an interface: either a single interface or LAG.
    An interface or LAG can have only one Native VLAN assigned to it. You can use a Native VLAN with multiple LAGs or interfaces. You cannot use a VLAN, however, as both a Native and Trunk VLAN for the same interface.
  10. For
    Trunk VLANs
    , select one or more VLAN IDs, if available, and not a member of another LAG; this is used for tagged traffic.
    You can use the same VLAN ID as the Trunk VLAN across all interfaces or LAGs. You cannot use a VLAN, however, as both a Native and Trunk VLAN for the same interface.
    A trunk VLAN or a Native VLAN is required to pass traffic. If you do not select either a Native VLAN or a Trunk VLAN, the port will not carry any traffic.
  11. Click
    Save & Close
    .

Display and reset interface statistics from the webUI

You can view statistics for physical interfaces configured on the system from the webUI. The table shows, for each interface, the amount of data that was input and output in multiple forms. You can also see in/out errors and frame check sequence (FCS) errors that occurred on each of the interfaces, and you can reset to clear the data.
  1. Log in to the webUI using an account with admin access.
  2. On the left, click
    SYSTEM SETTINGS
    Management Interface
    .
  3. Under Interface Statistics, change the way the statistics are displayed in the
    Data Format
     by selecting
    Normalized
     or
    Unformatted
    .
    Selecting
    Normalized
     converts the byte representation to kilobytes, megabytes, or terabytes, depending on the size. This provides better data readability especially when there are massive amounts of traffic passing through the interfaces.
  4. Set the
    Auto Refresh
     interval for refreshing the data displayed or click the refresh icon to update the data immediately.
  5. Select one or more interfaces, then click
    Reset
     to clear the data.

Configure an interface from the CLI

You can configure front-panel interfaces from the CLI.
  1. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  2. Change to config mode.
    config
    The CLI prompt changes to include
    (config)
    .
  3. Configure settings for the specified interface.
    interfaces interface <
    interface
    > config {
    disabled
     |
    enabled
     } description <
    interface-description
    > type <
    interface-type
    >
    In this example, you enable and configure interface 1.0 with a custom description: 
    appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface 1.0 config enabled description 
  "Interface 1.0"
  4. Commit the configuration changes.
    commit

Show the state of a specific interface from the CLI

You can show the state of a specific interface on a platform from the CLI.
  1. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  2. Display the current status of a specific interface.
    show interface interface <
    interface-number
    >
    When you specify a specific interface, a summary similar to this example displays: 
    appliance-1# show interfaces interface 5.0
interfaces interface 5.0
 state name               5.0
 state type               ethernetCsmacd
 state mtu                9600
 state enabled            true
 state ifindex            26
 state oper-status        DOWN
 state counters in-octets 0
 state counters in-unicast-pkts 0
 state counters in-broadcast-pkts 0
 state counters in-multicast-pkts 0
 state counters in-discards 0
 state counters in-errors 0
 state counters in-fcs-errors 0
 state counters out-octets 0
 state counters out-unicast-pkts 0
 state counters out-broadcast-pkts 0
 state counters out-multicast-pkts 0
 state counters out-discards 0
 state counters out-errors 0
 state forward-error-correction auto
 state lacp_state         LACP_DEFAULTED
 ethernet state port-speed SPEED_25GB
 ethernet state hw-mac-address 00:12:a1:34:56:78
 ethernet state counters in-mac-control-frames 0
 ethernet state counters in-mac-pause-frames 0
 ethernet state counters in-oversize-frames 0
 ethernet state counters in-jabber-frames 0
 ethernet state counters in-fragment-frames 0
 ethernet state counters in-8021q-frames 0
 ethernet state counters in-crc-errors 0
 ethernet state counters out-mac-control-frames 0
 ethernet state counters out-mac-pause-frames 0
 ethernet state counters out-8021q-frames 0
 ethernet state flow-control rx on
    appliance-1# show interfaces interface 1.0
interfaces interface 1.0
 state name               1.0
 state type               ethernetCsmacd
 state mtu                9600
 state enabled            true
 state ifindex            19
 state oper-status        DOWN
 state counters in-octets 0
 state counters in-unicast-pkts 0
 state counters in-broadcast-pkts 0
 state counters in-multicast-pkts 0
 state counters in-discards 0
 state counters in-errors 0
 state counters in-fcs-errors 0
 state counters out-octets 0
 state counters out-unicast-pkts 0
 state counters out-broadcast-pkts 0
 state counters out-multicast-pkts 0
 state counters out-discards 0
 state counters out-errors 0
 state forward-error-correction auto
 state lacp_state         LACP_DEFAULTED
 ethernet state port-speed SPEED_100GB
 ethernet state hw-mac-address 00:98:a1:76:54:0d
 ethernet state counters in-mac-control-frames 0
 ethernet state counters in-mac-pause-frames 0
 ethernet state counters in-oversize-frames 0
 ethernet state counters in-jabber-frames 0
 ethernet state counters in-fragment-frames 0
 ethernet state counters in-8021q-frames 0
 ethernet state counters in-crc-errors 0
 ethernet state counters out-mac-control-frames 0
 ethernet state counters out-mac-pause-frames 0
 ethernet state counters out-8021q-frames 0
 ethernet state flow-control rx on

Link aggregation group (LAG) overview

A link aggregation group (LAG) is a logical group of interfaces that function as a single interface. The LAG (like a trunk on tenant systems) distributes traffic across multiple links, which increases the bandwidth by adding the bandwidth of multiple links together. For example, four fast Ethernet (100 Mbps) links, if aggregated, create a single 400 Mbps link. LAGs also enhance connection reliability by providing link failover if a member link becomes unavailable.
There are two types of LAGs:
Static
Ports in the LAG are manually configured, and the group of ports assigned to a static LAG is always made up of active members. This is the default type of LAG.
Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)
When LACP is enabled on a LAG, the ports configure automatically into groups without manual configuration. The LACP protocol detects error conditions on member links and redistributes traffic to other member links, thus preventing any loss of traffic on a failed link.

Display LACP details from the webUI

You can view the LACP details on the webUI to troubleshoot. For example, you can determine why an interface member of an LACP LAG on the system is not working as expected.
  1. Log in to the webUI using an account with admin access.
  2. On the left, click
    NETWORK SETTINGS
    LACP Details
    .
    The screen shows state information about whether LACP is Up, Down, or Defaulted for LACP interfaces. The lower portion of the screen shows details that can be used for troubleshooting LACP issues.
  3. Set the
    Auto Refresh
     interval for refreshing the data displayed or click the refresh icon to update the data immediately.

Static LAG configuration from the CLI

To configure a static LAG, you first configure the status LAG interface, then add interfaces to LAG members, and then associate VLANs with the LAG interfaces.

Configure a static LAG interface from the CLI

You can configure a LAG interface type as
static
 from the CLI.
  1. Connect using SSH to the management IP address.
  2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  3. Change to config mode.
    config
    The CLI prompt changes to include
    (config)
    .
  4. Create a LAG interface.
    interfaces interface <
    lag-name
    > config type ieee8023adLag description <
    lag-description
    >
    This example creates a LAG named lag-test with a description:
    appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface lag-test config type ieee8023adLag 
  description "HA LAG"
    The system prompt updates to show that you are in configuration mode for the interface:
    appliance-1(config-interface-lag-test)#
  5. Set the type of LAG interface to STATIC (this is the default setting).
    aggregation config lag-type STATIC
    This example shows the interface named lag-test in configuration mode and configures it as a static LAG:
    appliance-1(config-interface-lag-test)# aggregation config lag-type STATIC
  6. Commit the configuration changes.
    commit

Add interfaces to LAG members from the CLI

You can add interfaces, or member ports, to a LAG interface from the CLI.
  1. Connect using SSH to the management IP address.
  2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  3. Change to config mode.
    config
    The CLI prompt changes to include
    (config)
    .
  4. Add interfaces to a LAG.
    interfaces interface <
    interface
    > ethernet config aggregate-id <
    lag-name
    >
    This example adds interface 1.0 to a LAG named lag-test:
    appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface 1.0 ethernet config aggregate-id lag-test
  5. Commit the configuration changes.
    commit

Associate VLANs with LAG interfaces from the CLI

Before you can pass user traffic, you need to associate VLANs with LAG interfaces from the CLI.
  1. Connect using SSH to the management IP address.
  2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  3. Change to config mode.
    config
    The CLI prompt changes to include
    (config)
    .
  4. Associate VLANs with the LAG interface.
    interfaces interface <
    lag-name
    > aggregation switched-vlan config trunk-vlans { <
    vlan-IDs
    >
     }
    This example associates VLANs 1037 and 1038 with a LAG named lag-test:
    appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface lag-test aggregation switched-vlan 
  config trunk-vlans [ 1037 1038 ]
  5. Commit the configuration changes.
    commit

LACP configuration from the CLI

Create a LAG interface from the CLI

You can create a LAG interface from the CLI.
  1. Connect using SSH to the management IP address.
  2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  3. Change to config mode.
    config
    The CLI prompt changes to include
    (config)
    .
  4. Create a LAG interface.
    interfaces interface <
    lag-name
    > config type ieee8023adLag
    This example creates a LAG named lag-test:
    appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface lag-test config type ieee8023adLag
  5. Commit the configuration changes.
    commit

Create an LACP interface from the CLI

Before LACP can manage a LAG interface, you need to create a LAG interface of type LACP from the CLI.
  1. Connect using SSH to the management IP address.
  2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  3. Change to config mode.
    config
    The CLI prompt changes to include
    (config)
    .
  4. Create a LAG interface of type LACP.
    interfaces interface <
    lag-name
    > aggregation config lag-type LACP
    This example creates a LAG of type LACP named lag-test:
    appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface lag-test aggregation config lag-type LACP
  5. Commit the configuration changes.
    commit
  6. Return to user (operational) mode.
    end
  7. Verify that LACP is enabled on the interface.
    show interfaces interface lag-test
    A summary similar to this example displays:
    appliance-1# show interfaces interface lag-test
interfaces interface lag-test
 state type               ieee8023adLag
 state mtu                9600
 state oper-status        UP
 state forward-error-correction auto
 ethernet state flow-control rx on
 aggregation state lag-type LACP
 aggregation state lag-speed 100
 aggregation state distribution-hash src-dst-ipport
 aggregation state mac-address 00:94:a1:69:61:14
 aggregation state lagid 1

Enable LACP on a LAG interface from the CLI

By default, a LAG interface is in a
static
 mode, which means that the member links do not initiate or process any of the LACP packets received. You can enable LACP on the LAG interface from the CLI.
  1. Connect using SSH to the management IP address.
  2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  3. Change to config mode.
    config
    The CLI prompt changes to include
    (config)
    .
  4. Enable LACP on a LAG interface.
    interfaces interface <
    lag-name
    > aggregation config lag-type LACP
    This example enables LACP on a LAG interface named lag-test:
    appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface lag-test aggregation config lag-type LACP
  5. Commit the configuration changes.
    commit
  6. Return to user (operational) mode.
    end
  7. Verify that LACP is enabled on a specified LAG interface.
    A summary similar to this example displays:
    appliance-1# show interfaces interface lag-test
 state name               lag-test
 state type               ieee8023adLag
 state mtu                9600
 state oper-status        UP
 state forward-error-correction auto
 ethernet state flow-control rx on
 aggregation state lag-type LACP
 aggregation state lag-speed 100
 aggregation state distribution-hash src-dst-ipport
 aggregation state mac-address 00:94:a1:69:61:14
 aggregation state lagid 1

Display LACP state from the CLI

You can check the LACP state from the CLI.
  1. Connect using SSH to the management IP address.
  2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  3. Display the LACP state.
    show lacp
    A summary similar to this example displays:
    appliance-1# show lacp
lacp state system-id-mac 00:94:a1:69:34:23
lacp interfaces interface lag-test
 state name    lag-test
 state interval SLOW
 state lacp-mode ACTIVE
 state system-id-mac 00:94:a1:69:34:23
 members member 1.0
  state interface  1.0
  state activity   ACTIVE
  state timeout    LONG
  state synchronization IN_SYNC
  state aggregatable true
  state collecting true
  state distributing true
  state system-id  00:94:a1:69:34:23
  state oper-key   2
  state partner-id 2c:dd:e9:41:87:61
  state partner-key 4
  state port-num   1024
  state partner-port-num 266
  state counters lacp-in-pkts 2456
  state counters lacp-out-pkts 2458
  state counters lacp-rx-errors 0

Display LACP interface state from the CLI

You can view the state of LACP interfaces from the CLI.
  1. Connect using SSH to the management IP address.
  2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  3. Display the state of LACP interfaces.
    show interfaces interface state lacp_state
    A summary similar to this example displays:
    appliance-1# show interfaces interface state lacp_state
NAME  LACP STATE
----------------------
1.0   LACP_UP
2.0   LACP_DEFAULTED
3.0   LACP_DEFAULTED
4.0   LACP_DEFAULTED
5.0   LACP_DEFAULTED
6.0   LACP_DEFAULTED
7.0   LACP_DEFAULTED
8.0   LACP_DEFAULTED
9.0   LACP_DEFAULTED
10.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
11.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
12.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
13.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
14.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
15.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
16.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
17.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
18.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
19.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
20.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
    These are the available LACP states:
    Option
    Description
    LACP_DEFAULTED
    Initial lacp_state value.
    LACP_UP
    LACPD has determined that this interface is a working member of an LACP LAG.
    LACP_DOWN
    LACPD has determined that this interface is not a working member of an LACP LAG, and it should not receive or transmit user traffic.

Configure LACP logging level from the CLI

LACP errors are collected into the standard
/var/F5/system/log/platform.log
 file. LACP errors run at the log level INFORMATIONAL by default. If you want to change the severity level for logged information, you can enable a different log level from the CLI.
  1. Connect using SSH to the management IP address.
  2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  3. Change to config mode.
    config
    The CLI prompt changes to include
    (config)
    .
  4. Configure the logging level for LACP.
    system logging sw-components sw-component lacpd config severity {
    ALERT
     |
    CRITICAL
     |
    DEBUG
     |
    EMERGENCY
     |
    ERROR
     |
    INFORMATIONAL
     |
    NOTICE
     |
    WARNING
     }
    This example enables DEBUG level logging for LACP:
    appliance-1(config)# system logging sw-components sw-component lacpd config 
  severity DEBUG
  5. Commit the configuration changes.
    commit

Display configuration members from the CLI

Configured members are interfaces in an LACP LAG that listen for and/or send LACPDUs that are attempting to establish that the peer is configured. You can check each physical interface's aggregated ID from the CLI.
  1. Connect using SSH to the management IP address.
  2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  3. Show the configuration members.
    show running-config interfaces interface ethernet config aggregate-id <
    lag-name
    >
    This example shows information about three members for a LAG named lag-test:
    appliance-1# show running-config interfaces interface ethernet config aggregate-id lag-test
interfaces interface 1.0
 config type ethernetCsmacd
 config enabled
 ethernet config aggregate-id lag-test
!

Display working members from the CLI

Working members are a subset of configuration members. These members are added and removed dynamically by LACPD. You can see information about working members in a LAG from the CLI.
  1. Connect using SSH to the management IP address.
  2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  3. Show the working members, including port statistics.
    show lacp interfaces interface members member state counters
    A summary similar to this example displays:
    appliance-1# show lacp interfaces interface members member state counters
                    LACP  LACP  LACP    LACP    LACP
                    IN    OUT   RX      TX      UNKNOWN  LACP
NAME     INTERFACE  PKTS  PKTS  ERRORS  ERRORS  ERRORS   ERRORS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
lag-test 1.0        952   384   0       -       -        -
         2.0        844   384   0       -       -        -

VLAN overview

A VLAN is a logical subset of hosts on a local area network (LAN) that operates in the same IP address space. Grouping hosts together in a VLAN has distinct advantages. For example, with VLANs, you can:
  • Reduce the size of broadcast domains, thereby enhancing overall network performance.
  • Reduce system and network maintenance tasks substantially. Functionally related hosts do not need to physically reside together to achieve optimal network performance.
  • Enhance security on your network by segmenting hosts that must transmit sensitive data.
For the most basic
rSeries
 system configurations, you might create multiple VLANs. That is, you create a VLAN for each of the internal and external networks, as well as a VLAN for high availability communications. You then associate each VLAN with the relevant interfaces or LAGs.

Create VLANs from the webUI

You can create a VLAN and associate physical interfaces or LAGs with that VLAN. In this way, any host that sends traffic to an interface is logically a member of the VLAN or VLANs to which that interface or LAG belongs.
  1. Log in to the webUI using an account with admin access.
  2. On the left, click
    NETWORK SETTINGS
    VLANs
    .
    The screen shows VLANs that are configured for the system.
  3. Click
    Add
    .
  4. For
    Name
    , type a name for the VLAN.
    VLAN names must follow these rules:
    • Start with an alphabetic character (Aa-Zz).
    • Can be up to 56 characters in length.
    • After the first character, can contain alphanumeric characters, periods (.), hyphens (-) and underscores (_).
    • VLAN names must be unique.
  5. For
    VLAN ID
    , type a number between 1-4094 for the VLAN.
    The VLAN ID identifies the traffic from hosts in the associated VLAN for an associated interface or LAG.
  6. Click
    Add VLAN
     to create the VLAN.
The VLAN is created and displayed in the VLAN list. You can use the VLANs when configuring interfaces, creating LAGs, and deploying tenants (one VLAN can be shared by more than one tenant).

VLAN listeners overview

VLAN listeners are created and deleted by the system at runtime. They are used to program the destination for broadcast packets and L2 destination lookup failures (DLFs).
The system creates a listener when you configure a VLAN for a tenant.
VLAN Listener (listener)
Created when a VLAN is used by a single tenant or when a VLAN is not shared among tenants. VLAN listeners that are created for tenant VLANs that do not include any members are indicated with the value
0.host
 for interface.

Display VLAN listeners from the webUI

You can view VLAN listeners when you need to troubleshoot data path issues and check whether the correct VLANs are assigned to the tenants from the webUI.
  1. Log in to the webUI using an account with admin access.
  2. On the left, click
    NETWORK SETTINGS
    VLAN Listeners
    .
    The screen shows VLAN listeners that are active on the system.
  3. Set the
    Auto Refresh
     interval for refreshing the data displayed or click the refresh icon to update the data immediately.
You can see the VLAN listeners that are associated with specific interfaces, VLANs, and other related information. If something does not look correct, review the configuration for that object.

Display VLAN listeners from the CLI

Viewing the VLAN listeners is primarily used for troubleshooting data path issues. You can check whether the correct VLANs are assigned to the tenants from the CLI.
  1. Connect using SSH to the management IP address.
  2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  3. View configured VLAN listeners.
    show vlan-listeners
    A summary similar to this example displays: 
    appliance-1# show vlan-listeners
  NDI                                                                      
  INTERFACE  VLAN  ENTRY TYPE       OWNER    ID    SVC  VTC  SEP  DMS  DID  CMDS  MIRRORING  SERVICE IDS              
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  0.host     100   RBCAST-LISTENER  rbcast   4095  5    32   15   -    -    -     disabled   [ 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 ]  
  0.host     101   VLAN-LISTENER    t101100  4095  19   -    15   -    -    -     disabled   -
You can see the VLAN listeners that are associated with specific interfaces, VLANs, and other related information. If something does not look correct, review the configuration for that object.

Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) overview

The
rSeries
 system supports Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP), which is a Layer 2 industry-standard protocol (IEEE 802.1AB) that enables a network device to advertise its identity and capabilities to multi-vendor neighbor devices on a network. The protocol also enables a network device to receive information from neighbor devices. LLDP transmits device information in LLDP frames using the TLV (Type-Length-Value) format.
In general, this protocol:
  • Advertises connectivity and management information about the local
    rSeries
     device to neighbor devices on the same IEEE 802 LAN.
  • Receives network management information from neighbor devices on the same IEEE 802 LAN.
  • Operates with all IEEE 802 access protocols and network media.

Configure LLDP from the webUI

Before you can configure LLDP, make sure that the interfaces you will use are up and running with VLANs configured.
You can configure LLDP from the webUI.
  1. Log in to the webUI using an account with admin access.
  2. On the left, click
    NETWORK SETTINGS
    LLDP Configuration
    .
  3. Set
    Enable LLDP
     to
    Enabled
    .
  4. Type a
    System Name
     and optionally, a
    System Description
    .
  5. For
    TX Interval
    , type a number (0-65535) for the interval (in seconds) at which LLDP packets are sent to neighbors. The default value is 30 seconds.
  6. For
    TX Hold
    , type a number (0-65535).
    The default value is 4 seconds.
  7. For
    Reinitiate Delay
    , type a number (0-65535) to specify the minimum time interval, in seconds, an LLDP port waits before re-initializing an LLDP transmission.
    The default value is 2 seconds.
  8. For
    TX Delay
    , type a number (0-65535) to specify the minimum time delay, in seconds, between successive LLDP frame transmissions.
    The default value is 2 seconds.
  9. For
    Max Neighbors Per Port
    , type a number to specify the maximum number of LLDP neighbors for which LLDP data is retained.
    The default value is 10.
  10. In the
    Interfaces
     table, select the interfaces and LAGs (if any) for which you want to enable LLDP. For each one selected:
    1. Select
      Enabled
      .
    2. For
      TLV Advertisement State
      , select
      TX
       (Transmit only),
      RX
       (Receive only), or
      TXRX
       (Transmit and Receive).
    3. For
      TLV Map
      , select the TLV device information that you want to transmit and/or receive, such as MAC Phy configuration, management address, MFS (maximum frame size), port description, port ID, and power MDI.
  11. Click
    Save
    .
LLDP is configured on the system for the specified interfaces and LAGs.

Display LLDP details from the webUI

LLDP enables a network device to advertise information about itself to other devices on the network and enables network devices to receive information from neighboring devices. If using LLDP, you can display state information for the LLDP-enabled interfaces and LAGs on the system. When LLDP is enabled to receive data in a working network, any device information received from neighbors is included in a table.
  1. Log in to the webUI using an account with admin access.
  2. On the left, click
    NETWORK SETTINGS
    LLDP Details
    .
    The screen shows LLDP state information for interfaces in the system (similar to info shown at the CLI using
    show lldp
    ).
  3. In the Neighbors table, examine the identification, configuration, and capabilities of neighboring devices.
    This information provides details useful for troubleshooting many configuration problems.
  4. Set the
    Auto Refresh
     interval for refreshing the data displayed or click the refresh icon to update the data immediately.

Spanning tree protocol (STP) overview

The
rSeries
 system supports a set of industry-standard, Layer 2 protocols known as
spanning tree protocols
. A spanning tree is a logical tree-like depiction of the bridges on a network and the paths that connect them. Spanning tree protocols block redundant paths on a network, preventing bridging loops. If a blocked, redundant path is needed later because another path has failed, the spanning tree protocols clear the path again for traffic.
Spanning tree protocols are supported only on F5 r5000/r10000 platforms.
The spanning tree protocols that the
rSeries
 system supports are:
  • Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - 802.1d
  • Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) - 802.1w
  • Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP) - 802.1s
You can configure spanning tree protocols on
the system
 from the webUI, CLI, or REST API. Only one spanning tree protocol can be configured at a time.
Central to the way that spanning tree protocols work is the use of bridge protocol data units (BPDUs). When you enable spanning tree protocols on Layer 2 devices on a network, the devices send BPDUs to each other, for the purpose of learning the redundant paths and updating their L2 forwarding tables accordingly, electing a root bridge, building a spanning tree, and notifying each other about changes in interface status.
The term
bridge
 refers to a Layer 2 device such as a switch, bridge, or hub.
When you configure spanning tree on the
rSeries
 system, you must first decide which protocol, or mode, you want to enable. Because MSTP recognizes VLANs, using MSTP is preferable. All bridges in a network environment that you want to use spanning tree must run the same spanning tree protocol. If a legacy bridge running RSTP or STP is added to the network, the
rSeries
 system must switch and also use that same protocol.
STP cannot be enabled on individual LAG members. Live upgrades will not work if STP is not configured correctly; resolve any configuration issues before upgrading.

STP/RSTP/MSTP configuration from the CLI

Change STP modes from the CLI

If you want to change STP modes, you must first remove the existing STP configuration by deleting the existing mode and configuration from the CLI.
  1. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  2. Change to config mode.
    config
    The CLI prompt changes to include
    (config)
    .
  3. Disable the current STP mode
    no stp global config enabled-protocol STP
  4. Commit the configuration changes.
    commit
  5. Remove the existing interface configuration for STP mode.
    no stp stp interfaces interface
  6. Remove the edge port and link type configuration.
    no stp interfaces interface
  7. Commit the configuration changes.
    commit
  8. Enable another STP mode.
    stp global config enabled-protocol {
    MSTP
     |
    RAPID_PVST
     |
    RSTP
     |
    STP
     }
    In this example, you enable RSTP: 
    appliance-1(config)# stp global config enabled-protocol RSTP
  9. Commit the configuration changes.
    commit

Configure STP from the CLI

STP is the original spanning tree protocol, but it is not recommended in VLAN-rich environments due to poor performance unless required by your configuration. STP can create only one spanning tree (instance 0) for the entire network, and therefore cannot take VLANs into account when managing redundant paths. You can configure STP from the CLI.
  1. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  2. Change to config mode.
    config
    The CLI prompt changes to include
    (config)
    .
  3. Enable STP.
    stp global config enabled-protocol {
    MSTP
     |
    RAPID_PVST
     |
    RSTP
     |
    STP
     ]
    In this example, you enable STP mode:
    appliance-1(config)# stp global config enabled-protocol STP
  4. Configure the bridge-priority so that it is not selected as the root bridge.
    stp stp config bridge-priority <
    priority
    >
    The priority is used together with the address as a bridge identifier. The range is from 0 (highest) to 61440 (lowest), in increments of 4096. The default value is 32768.
    In this example, you set the bridge priority to 32768:
    appliance-1(config)# stp stp config bridge-priority 32768
  5. Configure interface cost and port priority.
    stp {
    global
     |
    interfaces
     |
    mstp
     |
    rstp
     |
    stp
     } interfaces interface <
    interface
    > config cost <
    cost
    > port-priority <
    priority
    >
    You must configure all interfaces that will be included in STP.
    The priority is used as the port identifier together with the port number. The port priority range is from 0 (highest) to 240 (lowest) in increments of 16. The default value is 128. The port path cost range is from 0 (lowest) to 20,000,000,000 in increments of 1. The default port path cost is assigned dynamically (cost = 20,000,000,000 / port speed in kbits).
    In this example, you configure the RSTP to use port 1.0, with an interface cost of 200 and a port priority of 128:
    appliance-1(config)# stp stp interfaces interface 1.0 config cost 200 
  port-priority 128
  6. Commit the configuration changes.
    commit

Configure RSTP from the CLI

RSTP is an enhancement to STP that improves spanning tree performance. RSTP can create only one spanning tree (instance 0) for the entire network, and therefore cannot take VLANs into account when managing redundant paths. You can configure RSTP from the CLI.
  1. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  2. Change to config mode.
    config
    The CLI prompt changes to include
    (config)
    .
  3. Enable RSTP.
    stp global config enabled-protocol {
    MSTP
     |
    RAPID_PVST
     |
    RSTP
     |
    STP
     ]
    The bridge-priority, forwarding-delay, hello-time, hold-count, and max-age have default values, which are recommended for use.
    In this example, you enable RSTP mode:
    appliance-1(config)# stp global config enabled-protocol RSTP
  4. Configure the bridge-priority so that it is not selected as the root bridge.
    stp {
    global
     |
    interfaces
     |
    mstp
     |
    rstp
     |
    stp
     } config bridge-priority <
    priority
    >
    The priority is used together with the address as a bridge identifier. The range is from 0 (highest) to 61440 (lowest), in increments of 4096. The default value is 32768.
    appliance-1(config)# stp rstp config bridge-priority 32768
  5. Configure interface cost and port priority.
    stp {
    global
     |
    interfaces
     |
    mstp
     |
    rstp
     |
    stp
     } interfaces interface <
    interface
    > config cost <
    cost
    > port-priority <
    priority
    >
    You must configure all interfaces that will be included in STP.
    The priority is used as the port identifier together with the port number. The port priority range is from 0 (highest) to 240 (lowest) in increments of 16. The default value is 128. The port path cost range is from 0 (lowest) to 20,000,000,000 in increments of 1. The default port path cost is assigned dynamically (cost = 20,000,000,000 / port speed in kbits).
    In this example, you configure the RSTP to use port 1.0, with an interface cost of 200 and a port priority of 128:
    appliance-1(config)# stp rstp interfaces interface 1.0 config cost 200 
  port-priority 128
  6. Configure interface edge-port and link-type.
    stp interfaces interface <
    interface
    > config edge-port {
    EDGE_AUTO
     |
    EDGE_DISABLE
     |
    EDGE_ENABLE
     } link-type {
    P2P
     |
    SHARED
     }
    You must configure all interfaces that will be included in STP.
    In this example, you configure port 2.0 to set the interface as an EDGE_AUTO port that uses point-to-point spanning tree links:
    appliance-1(config)# stp interfaces interface 2.0 config 
  edge-port EDGE_AUTO link-type P2P
  7. Commit the configuration changes.
    commit

Configure MSTP from the CLI

MSTP is an enhancement to RSTP and is the preferred spanning tree protocol (STP) for the
rSeries
 system. MSTP is specifically designed to understand VLANs and VLAN tagging (specified in IEEE 802.1q). MSTP allows for multiple spanning tree instances. Each instance corresponds to a spanning tree and can control one or more VLANs that you specify when you create the instance. Thus, for any
rSeries
 system interface that you assigned to multiple VLANs, MSTP can block a path on one VLAN, while still keeping a path in another VLAN open for traffic.
You can configure MSTP from the CLI. The spanning tree algorithm automatically groups bridges into regions, based on the values you assign to the MSTP configuration name, revision number, instance numbers, and instance members.
  1. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.
    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.
  2. Change to config mode.
    config
    The CLI prompt changes to include
    (config)
    .
  3. Enable MSTP.
    stp mstp config name <region-name> revision [0-65535]
    The
    name
     option is a string <= 32 characters, and the default value is the bridge MAC address. The
    revision
     option is a range from 0 to 65535, and the default value is 0. The
    forwarding-delay
    ,
    hello-time
    ,
    hold-count
    ,
    max-age
    , and
    max-hop
     options have default values, which are recommended for use.
    The
    name
     and
    revision
     options together form the common identifier of the BPDUs within the region. They must be identical on all bridges in the region.
  4. Create an MSTP instance.
    stp mstp mst-instances mst-instance <
    integer
    > config mst-id <
    integer
    >
    In this example, you create an instance named test with the default revision level (0): 
    appliance-1(config)# stp mstp config name test revision 0
  5. Configure VLANs for the MSTP instance.
    vlans vlan <
    vlan-id
    >
    The VLANs must already exist.
    In this example, you create VLANs 300 and 301:
    appliance-1(config)# vlans vlan 300
appliance-1(config-vlan-300)# vlans vlan 301
    In this example, you assign VLANs 300 and 301 to MSTP instance 1:
    appliance-1(config)# stp mstp mst-instances mst-instance 1 
  config vlan [ 300 301 ]
  6. Exit to the top level of the configuration hierarchy.
    top
  7. Configure bridge priority for the MSTP instance.
    stp mstp mst-instances mst-instance <
    instance
    > config bridge-priority <
    priority
    >
    Each MSTP instance can have its own priority. The priority is used together with the address as a bridge identifier. The default value is 32768, and the range is from 0 (highest) to 61440 (lowest) in multiples of 4096.
    In this example, you configure MTSP instance 1 with a bridge priority of 32768:
    appliance-1(config)# stp mstp mst-instances mst-instance 1 config 
  bridge-priority 32768
  8. Exit to the top level of the configuration hierarchy.
    top
  9. Configure interface cost and port priority.
    stp mstp mst-instances mst-instance <
    instance
    > interface interface <
    interface
    > config cost <
    cost
    > port-priority <
    priority
    >
    You must configure all interfaces that will be included in STP.
    The priority is used as the port identifier together with the port number. The port priority range is from 0 (highest) to 240 (lowest) in increments of 16. The default value is 128. The port path cost range is from 0 (lowest) to 20,000,000,000 in increments of 1. The default port path cost is assigned dynamically (cost = 20,000,000,000 / port speed in kbits).
    In this example, you configure MSTP instance 1 to use port 1.0, with an interface cost of 200 and a port priority of 128:
    appliance-1(config)# stp mstp mst-instances mst-instance 1 interfaces 
  interface 1.0 config cost 200 port-priority 128
  10. Exit to the top level of the configuration hierarchy.
    top
  11. Configure interface edge-port and link-type.
    stp interfaces interface <
    interface
    > config edge-port {
    EDGE_AUTO
     |
    EDGE_DISABLE
     |
    EDGE_ENABLE
     } link-type {
    P2P
     |
    SHARED
     }
    You must configure all interfaces that will be included in STP.
    In this example, you configure port 2.0 to set the interface as an EDGE_AUTO port that uses point-to-point spanning tree links:
    appliance-1(config)# stp interfaces interface 2.0 config   
  edge-port EDGE_AUTO link-type P2P
    These settings speed up convergence time by eliminating the learning state on ports that do not receive BPDUs. This configuration is cancelled automatically upon reception of a BPDU.
  12. Commit the configuration changes.
    commit

STP/RSTP/MSTP configuration from the webUI

You can configure Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP), and Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP) from the webUI by selecting the desired protocol from the STP Configuration page under Network Settings. You can also disable STP functionality by selecting
Disabled
.

Configure STP from the webUI

You can configure Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) from the webUI. To disable the use of STP Modes, select
Disabled
.
Spanning tree protocols are only supported on F5 r5000/r10000 platforms.
  1. Log in to the webUI using an account with admin access.
  2. On the left, click
    NETWORK SETTINGS
    STP Configuration
    .
  3. For
    STP Mode
    , select:
    STP
     (single instance, best on networks with legacy systems).
    A message warns you that changing modes deletes any existing STP configuration settings. When you click
    OK
    , the selected mode is enabled, and additional options for that mode display (with default values set).
  4. For
    Hello Time
    , specify the time interval, in seconds, that the system transmits spanning tree information (through BPDUs) to adjacent bridges in the network.
    The default value is 2.
  5. For
    Max Age
    , specify the length of time, in seconds, that spanning tree information received from other bridges is considered valid.
    The default value is 20, and the valid range is from 6 to 40.
  6. For
    Forwarding Delay
    , specify the amount of time, in seconds, that the system blocks an interface from forwarding network traffic when the spanning tree algorithm reconfigures a spanning tree.
    The default value is 15, and the valid range is from 4 to 30. This has no effect when running in RSTP or MSTP unless using an added legacy STP bridge.
  7. For
    Hold Count
    , specify the maximum number of spanning tree frames (BPDUs) that the system can transmit on a port within the Hello Time interval.
    This ensures that spanning tree frames do not overload the network. The default value is 6, and the valid range is from 1 to 10.
  8. For
    Bridge Priority
    , specify the bridge in the spanning tree with the lowest relative priority becomes the root bridge, which is responsible for managing loop resolution on the network.
    Configure this setting so that the system never becomes the root bridge. The default value is 32768. The valid range is from 0 to 61440 in multiples of 4096.
  9. For
    Interfaces
    , select the interfaces (and/or LAGs) for which you want to configure STP and specify these fields:
    Option
    Description
    Cost
    Used to calculate the cost of sending spanning tree traffic through the interface to an adjacent bridge or spanning tree region, based on the speed of the interface. The default value is 0, and the valid range is from 0 (lowest) to 200,000,000 (highest).
    Port Priority
    Used as the port identifier together with the port number. The default value is 128 (when an interface is selected), and the valid range is from 0 (highest) to 240 (lowest) in multiples of 16.
    Edge Port
    Needed only for RSTP or MSTP. When enabled, indicates the interface or LAG is an edge port that does not receive any BPDU frames. Set to EDGE-AUTO, EDGE-ENABLE, or EDGE-DISABLE.
    If you enable EDGE-ENABLE, and the interface later receives BPDUs, the system disables the setting automatically, because only non-edge interfaces can receive BPDUs.
    Link Type
    Specifies the type of optimization:
    • P2P
      : Optimizes for point-to-point spanning tree links (connects two spanning tree bridges only). Note that P2P is the only valid STP link type for a LAG.
    • Shared
      : Optimizes for shared spanning tree links (connecting two or more spanning tree bridges).
    For more information on the available interfaces and LAGs, see the
    NETWORK SETTINGS
    Interfaces
     or
    LAGs
     screens.
  10. Click
    Save
    .
    The system displays a confirmation dialog confirming whether to change the STP mode.
STP is now set up for use on the system.

Configure RSTP from the webUI

You can configure Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) from the webUI. To disable the use of STP Modes, select
Disabled
.
Spanning tree protocols are only supported on F5 r5000/r10000 platforms.
  1. Log in to the webUI using an account with admin access.
  2. On the left, click
    NETWORK SETTINGS
    STP Configuration
    .
  3. For
    STP Mode
    , select
    RSTP
     (single instance, fast convergence).
    A message warns you that changing modes deletes any existing STP configuration settings. When you click
    OK
    , the selected mode is enabled, and additional options for that mode are displayed (with default values set).
  4. For
    Hello Time
    , specify the time interval, in seconds, that the
    rSeries
     system transmits spanning tree information (through BPDUs) to adjacent bridges in the network.
    The default value is 2. For RSTP, maintain this relationship between the Maximum Age and Hello Time options:
    Max Age >= 2 * (Hello Time + 1)
  5. For
    Max Age
    , specify the length of time, in seconds, that spanning tree information received from other bridges is considered valid.
    The default value is 20, and the valid range is from 6 to 40. For RSTP, maintain these relationships between the Maximum Age and the Hello Time and Forward Delay options:
    Max Age >= 2 * (Hello Time + 1)
    Max Age <= 2 * (Forward Delay - 1)
  6. For
    Forwarding Delay
    , specify the amount of time, in seconds, that the system blocks an interface from forwarding network traffic when the spanning tree algorithm reconfigures a spanning tree.
    The default value is 15, and the valid range is from 4 to 30. This has no effect when running in RSTP or MSTP unless using an added legacy STP bridge. For RSTP, maintain these relationships between the Maximum Age and Forward Delay options:
    Max Age <= 2 * (Forward Delay - 1)
  7. For
    Hold Count
    , specify the maximum number of spanning tree frames (BPDUs) that the system can transmit on a port within the Hello Time interval.
    This ensures that spanning tree frames do not overload the network. The default value is 6, and the valid range is from 1 to 10.
  8. For
    Bridge Priority
    , specify the bridge in the spanning tree with the lowest relative priority becomes the root bridge, which is responsible for managing loop resolution on the network.
    Configure this setting so that the system never becomes the root bridge. The default value is 32768. The valid range is from 0 to 61440 in multiples of 4096.
  9. For
    Interfaces
    , select the interfaces (and/or LAGs) for which you want to configure RSTP and specify these fields:
    Option
    Description
    Cost
    Used to calculate the cost of sending spanning tree traffic through the interface to an adjacent bridge or spanning tree region, based on the speed of the interface. The default value is 0, and the valid range is from 0 (lowest) to 200,000,000 (highest).
    Port Priority
    Used as the port identifier together with the port number. The default value is 128 (when an interface is selected), and the valid range is from 0 (highest) to 240 (lowest) in multiples of 16.
    Edge Port
    Needed only for RSTP or MSTP. When enabled, indicates the interface or LAG is an edge port that does not receive any BPDU frames. Set to EDGE-AUTO, EDGE-ENABLE, or EDGE-DISABLE.
    If you enable EDGE-ENABLE, and the interface later receives BPDUs, the system disables the setting automatically, because only non-edge interfaces can receive BPDUs.
    Link Type
    Specifies the type of optimization:
    • P2P
      : Optimizes for point-to-point spanning tree links (connects two spanning tree bridges only). Note that P2P is the only valid STP link type for a LAG.
    • Shared
      : Optimizes for shared spanning tree links (connecting two or more spanning tree bridges).
    For more information on the available interfaces and LAGs, see the
    NETWORK SETTINGS
    Interfaces
     or
    LAGs
     screens.
  10. Click
    Save
    .
    The system displays a confirmation dialog confirming whether to change the STP mode.
RSTP is now set up for use on the system.

Configure MSTP from the webUI

If you want to use Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP) to define a region, you can configure it from the webUI. To disable the use of STP Modes, select
Disabled
.
Spanning tree protocols are only supported on F5 r5000/r10000 platforms.
  1. Log in to the webUI using an account with admin access.
  2. On the left, click
    NETWORK SETTINGS
    STP Configuration
    .
  3. For
    STP Mode
    , select
    MSTP
     (multiple instances, fast convergence).
  4. For
    Region Name
    , type a name (string with 1 to 32 characters) that you assign to all bridges in a spanning tree region.
    A spanning tree region is a group of bridges with identical region names and MSTP revision numbers, as well as identical assignment of VLANs to spanning tree instances. The default value is the bridge MAC address. A region can have multiple members with the same MSTP configuration.
  5. For
    Revision
    , specify a global revision number that you assign to all bridges in a spanning tree region.
    The default value is 0, and the valid range is 0 to 65535. All bridges in the same region must have this same configuration revision number.
  6. For
    Max Hop
    , specify The maximum number of hops that a spanning tree frame (BPDU) can traverse before it is discarded.
    The default value is 20, and the valid range is from 1 to 255.
  7. For
    Hello Time
    , specify the time interval, in seconds, that the system transmits spanning tree information (through BPDUs) to adjacent bridges in the network.
    The default value is 2.
  8. For
    Max Age
    , specify the length of time, in seconds, that spanning tree information received from other bridges is considered valid.
    The default value is 20, and the valid range is from 1 to 255.
  9. For
    Forwarding Delay
    , specify the amount of time, in seconds, that the system blocks an interface from forwarding network traffic when the spanning tree algorithm reconfigures a spanning tree.
    The default value is 15, and the valid range is from 4 to 30. This has no effect when running in RSTP or MSTP unless using an added legacy STP bridge.
  10. For
    Hold Count
    , specify the maximum number of spanning tree frames (BPDUs) that the system can transmit on a port within the Hello Time interval.
    This ensures that spanning tree frames do not overload the network. The default value is 6, and the valid range is from 1 to 10.
  11. To configure multiple instances for a region, adjust these settings for
    MSTP Instances
    :
    1. Under
      Instances
      , click
      +
      .
    2. In the Add MSTP Instance popup, for
      Instance ID
      , type a positive integer and click
      Add
      .
    3. Under
      Instances
      , select one of the instances.
      Available interfaces are listed below.
    4. Under
      VLANs
      , select the VLANs to map to this instance.
    5. For
      Bridge Priority
      , configure this setting so that the
      rSeries
       system never becomes the root bridge.
      The default value is 32768, and the valid range is from 0 to 61440 in multiples of 4096. Each MSTP instance can have its own bridge priority.
    6. For
      Interfaces
      , select the interfaces that traffic for this instance can use and specify these fields:
    Option
    Description
    Cost
    Used to calculate the cost of sending spanning tree traffic through the interface to an adjacent bridge or spanning tree region, based on the speed of the interface. The default value is 0, and the valid range is from 0 (lowest) to 200,000,000 (highest).
    Port Priority
    Used as the port identifier together with the port number. The default value is 128 (when an interface is selected), and the valid range is from 0 (highest) to 240 (lowest) in multiples of 16.
    Edge Port
    Needed only for RSTP or MSTP. When enabled, indicates the interface or LAG is an edge port that does not receive any BPDU frames. Set to EDGE-AUTO, EDGE-ENABLE, or EDGE-DISABLE.
    If you enable EDGE-ENABLE, and the interface later receives BPDUs, the system disables the setting automatically, because only non-edge interfaces can receive BPDUs.
    Link Type
    Specifies the type of optimization:
    • P2P
      : Optimizes for point-to-point spanning tree links (connects two spanning tree bridges only). Note that P2P is the only valid STP link type for a LAG.
    • Shared
      : Optimizes for shared spanning tree links (connecting two or more spanning tree bridges).
  12. Continue to configure any other instances that you might need.
  13. Click
    Save
    .
    The system displays a confirmation dialog confirming whether to change the STP mode.
MSTP is set up for use on the system.
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