Platform Overview

Platform Overview

Platform overview

The VELOS CX Series platform is a chassis and blade form factor, designed to meet the needs of large enterprise networking environments that require the ability to process a large volume of application workloads. The hot-swappable blades provide you with the ability to add, remove, or change the platform’s configuration to best fit your network. Many other components are available for you to add, remove, or change including the system controllers, power supply controller, fan tray, LCD bezel, and more. This configuration allows for an extremely robust and flexible system that can manage large amounts of application traffic, and remain operational even if one of its components goes offline.

The VELOS chassis supports either AC or DC power as a pre-installed factory option. The power supply units (PSUs) are hot swappable, but you can use only AC PSUs in an AC-powered chassis and DC PSUs in a DC-powered chassis. You cannot mix AC and DC PSU types in a chassis.

Important: The chassis and blades ship in separate boxes. The system controllers ship inside the chassis. The blades are not designed to be shipped inside a chassis.

VELOS hardware components

VELOS platforms include three main types of hardware components:

• Chassis, which houses the blades, system controllers, and other components.
• System controllers, which provide a unified point for external management and connectivity to the platform and applications running in the chassis. The system controllers also provide a command-line interface (CLI), a webUI, and a REST API.
• Blades, which handle traffic management capabilities, including disaggregation, packet classification, traffic-steering, and more.

VELOS software components

VELOS platforms include a new platform layer known as F5OS, which is a combination of the system controllers and chassis partitions.

For more information about installing and upgrading F5OS on your VELOS system, see VELOS Systems: Software Installation and Upgrade at Documentation - F5OS-C and VELOS.

For more information about administering and configuring your VELOS system, see VELOS Systems: Administration and Configuration at Documentation - F5OS-C and VELOS.

Chassis overview

The chassis is the housing unit that contains all of the components necessary for the VELOS CX Series platform to operate effectively.

VELOS CX410 and CX1610 chassis are available in DC-powered Network Equipment-Building System (NEBS) compliant versions. For a system to be completely NEBS-compliant, you must use all NEBS-compliant blades in your chassis.

1. LCD module LEDs (Status and Alarm)
2. LCD touchscreen
3. Blades (or Blanks) 1-4
4. System controller 1
5. System controller 2
6. Blades (or Blanks) 4-8

The back of the AC-powered VELOS CX410 chassis includes four AC power receptacles.

1. Power supply controller 1
2. Power supply controller 2
3. Power supply receptacles (1-4)
4. Chassis ground terminals
5. Fan tray

The back of the DC-powered VELOS CX410 chassis includes four DC power block terminals.

1. Power supply controller 1
2. Power supply controller 2
3. DC power block terminals (1-4)
4. Chassis ground terminals
5. Fan tray

1. LCD module LEDs (Status and Alarm)
2. LCD touchscreen
3. Blade positions (or blanks) 1-16
4. System controller 1
5. System controller 2
6. Blade positions (or blanks) 17-32
7. Lower bezel

The back of the AC-powered VELOS CX1610 chassis includes 12 AC power receptacles.

1. Power supply controller 1
2. Power supply controller 2
3. Upper power supply receptacles (1-6)
4. Upper chassis ground terminals
5. Fan trays (1-4)
6. Power supply controller 3
7. Power supply controller 4
8. Lower power supply receptacles (7-12)
9. Lower chassis ground terminals

The back of the VELOS CX1610 DC-powered chassis includes 12 DC power block terminals.

1. Power supply controller 1
2. Power supply controller 2
3. Upper power supply receptacles (1-6)
4. Upper chassis ground terminals
5. Fan trays (1-4)
6. Power supply controller 3
7. Power supply controller 4
8. Lower power supply receptacles (7-12)
9. Lower chassis ground terminals

System controllers overview

The system controllers provide a high bandwidth interconnect between blades, as well as external management connectivity.

A system controller must be installed in each system controller slot to provide maximum system bandwidth and to provide redundancy. You can use only SX410 Series system controllers in a VELOS CX410 Series chassis, and you can use only SX1610 Series system controllers in a VELOSCX1610 Series chassis.

A jack screw, a type of captive screw, is used to secure the system controller in to the chassis and remove it from the chassis.

Note: Use a 5mm hex driver to remove and install system controller with the jack screw, torque 4 Newton-meter

1. System controller indicator LEDs
2. Management port
3. Console port
4. USB port
5. Jack screw

1. System controller indicator LEDs
2. Management port
3. Console port
4. USB port
5. Jack screw

Blades overview

A blade is the primary component that handles the traffic management within the VELOS platform. You can install up to eight BX110 blades in a VELOS CX410 Series chassis, and up to 16 BX520 blades in a VELOS CX1610 Series chassis. The chassis includes blanks in the slots where blades are not installed.

Important: Blanks must be installed in all unused slots, as they help ensure proper airflow within the chassis and EMI compliance of the unit.

VELOS chassis is available in DC-powered Network Equipment-Building System (NEBS) compliant versions. For a system to be completely NEBS-compliant, you must use all NEBS-compliant components in your chassis.

During initial setup of the chassis, an administrator can group blades into chassis partitions (this is different from TMOS admin partitions). Chassis partitions are a grouping of blades that are completely isolated from other blades/chassis partitions in the system. A blade can belong only to one chassis partition at a time. For the VELOS CX410 Series chassis, a chassis partition can contain up to eight BX110 Series blades. For the VELOS CX1610 Series chassis, a chassis partition can contain up to 16 BX520 Series blades. The system comes preconfigured so that all blades are assigned to a default chassis partition.

1. Latch release
2. Ejector handle
3. Blade indicator LEDs
4. USB port (disabled by default)
5. QSFP28 ports (2)

1. Latch release
2. Ejector handle
3. Blade indicator LEDs
4. USB port (disabled by default)
5. QSFP28 (1.0) (1) and QSFP-DD(2.0) (1)

Chassis terminal service overview

With VELOS chassis, blades do not have physical console ports. Each system controller has a physical console port. The system controllers in the chassis provide a terminal service that enables authorized users to access blade consoles over SSH using the chassis floating IP address.At a high level, these user roles have terminal service access:

Admin

Users with this role can access any terminals in the chassis.

Resource admin

Users with this role can access any terminals in the chassis.

Terminal server admin

Users with this role have terminal server access to all consoles on the system regardless of partition restrictions.

Operator

Users with this role can access any terminals in the chassis.

Partition

Users with this role are not given access to any terminals in the chassis. Since the chassis terminal service uses SSHD, clients can connect using SSH. The terminal service uses a range of network port numbers to differentiate between connections being requested to the various consoles in the chassis.You can also access any blade console by selecting the desired blade using the Always-On Management (AOM) Command Menu after you connect a serial cable to either of the system controllers’ console ports. For more information about AOM, see the section entitled About Always-On Management.

Console port numbers

The VELOS chassis terminal service uses a range of network port numbers to differentiate between connections being requested to either the blade or system controller consoles in a chassis.

Connect to a blade or system controller using the chassis terminal service

If you are an authorized user, you can connect to a blade or system controller using the chassis terminal service.

1. Connect using SSH to the blade or system controller that you want to access.

ssh <blade-or-sys-controller-ip-address> -l admin -p <port-number>

This example opens an SSH session to an IPv4 address as an admin user to the blade in slot 1:

ssh 192.0.2.10 -l admin -p 7001

This example opens an SSH session to an IPv4 address as an admin user to the system controller in slot 2:

ssh 192.0.2.10 -l admin -p 7200

This example opens an SSH session to an IPv6 address as an admin user to the blade in slot 4:

ssh 2001:db8:ffff:100::1 -l admin -p 7004

If there is not already an active terminal session attached to the specified console, you are connected immediately. If there is already an active terminal session attached, you can choose to terminate the existing terminal session and replace it.

When you complete your terminal session to a blade or a system controller, you can terminate your session by typing the Enter ~. (tilde period) command sequence.

LCD menus overview

The LCD touchscreen includes a Health menu, which enables you to run LCD tests.

Health menu

You can use the Health menu to run LCD tests.

Platform LEDs overview

The behavior of the various LEDs on the platform indicate the status of the system or component.

System controller Status LED

The Status LED indicates the operating state of the system controller.

System controller Alarm LED

The Alarm LED indicates the current alert status for a system controller.

There are five levels of messages.

System controller Active LED

The Active LED indicates the activity state of the system controller.

Blade Status LED

The Status LED indicates the operating state of a blade.

Blade Alarm LED

The Alarm LED indicates the current alert status for a blade.

There are five levels of messages.

LCD module Status LED

The Status LED indicates the operating state of the chassis infrastructure.

LCD Module Alarm LED

The Alarm LED indicates the current alert status for the system. There are five levels of messages.

Logo ball LED

The F5 logo ball LED indicates whether the system is powered on and if the chassis locator function is enabled.

There are three status levels.

Fan Controller Status LED

The Status LED indicates the operating state of the fan tray.

Power supply unit (PSU) controller LEDs

The LEDs on the power supply unit (PSU) controller indicate the status of the controller..

AC power supply unit LEDs

The LEDs located on the AC power supply units (PSUs) indicate the operating state of the supplies.

DC power supply LEDs

The LEDs located on the DC power supplies indicate the operating state of the power supplies

OV - Over Voltage; OTP - Over Temperature Protection; UV - Under Voltage; OC - Over Current; VSB - Standby Voltage

Platform interfaces overview

VELOS Series platforms include multiple interfaces on the system controllers and the blades. You can enable or disable front panel management interfaces on the system controllers. You can also configure settings or properties on 100GbE interfaces on blades, such as enabling or disabling the interface, configuring port speed, Ethernet flow control, and more.

System controller front-panel management port overview

VELOS system controllers include a 10GbE front-panel management port. You refer to the front-panel management port using the name /mgmt0, where is the designated slot number of the system controller within the chassis. The front-panel management ports are enabled by default. Both system controller management ports are capable of functioning in either Redundant or Aggregated mode:

Redundant Mode

Only the Active system controller’s management port forwards traffic. The management port on the standby will show an Admin state and operational state of UP, but will not forward management traffic; it remains a standby. Redundant Mode is the default.

Aggregated Mode

The management ports of both system controllers function as a single 802.3ad aggregated port. The system controller supports two modes of aggregation: STATIC and LACP.

You should use LACP aggregation whenever possible, as LACP aggregation management is superior to STATIC aggregation management.

Enable/disable the management port via the serial console only to prevent potential SSH inaccessibility to the system controller.

Enable the management port from the CLI

You can enable a specified management port from the system controller CLI.

Important: The system controller management ports are enabled by default. If the management ports are disabled, it may not be possible to connect to the system controller CLI using SSH and the floating IP address. In this situation, the management ports may be enabled by connecting to the Active system controller through the active system controllers serial console.

1. Connect using SSH to the system controller floating management IP address.

2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system controller using an account with admin access.

   When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.

3. Change to config mode.configThe CLI prompt changes to include (config).

4. Enable the specified management port.

   interfaces interface <system-controller-slot>/mgmt0 config enabled

   In this example, you enabled the management port on system controller 2:

   syscon-1-active(config)# interfaces interface 2/mgmt0 config enabled

   The system controller management port shows an operational state of UP.

Disable the management port from the CLI

You can disable a specified management port from the system controller CLI.

1. Connect using SSH to the system controller floating management IP address.

2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system controller 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. Disable the specified management port.

   interfaces interface <system-controller-slot>/mgmt0 config disabled

   In this example, you disabled the management port on system controller 2:

   Copy

   syscon-1-active(config)# interfaces interface 2/mgmt0 config disabled

   The system controller management port shows an operational state of DOWN.

Create management port aggregation from the CLI

Each system controller has one 10GB management port. You can aggregate the management ports on both system controllers in your chassis so that they operate as a single 20Gbps 802.3ad aggregated port from the chassis partition CLI. The system controller supports two aggregation modes: STATIC and LACP (recommended). You can define only one management port aggregation.

1. Connect to the system using a management console or console server.

   The default baud rate and serial port configuration is 19200/8-N-1.

2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system controller 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 an aggregated interface.

   Copy

   syscon-1-active(config)# interfaces interface <aggregation-name> config type ieee8023adLag name <aggregation-name>

   In this example, you create an aggregation named “lag-test”:

   Copy

   syscon-1-active(config)# interfaces interface lag-test config type ieee8023adLag lag-test

5. Configure a type or mode for the aggregation.

   Copy

   syscon-1-active(config)# interfaces interface <aggregation-name> aggregation config lag-type [LACP | STATIC]

   In this example, you configure an aggregation named “lag-test” to use LACP as the aggregation type:

   Copy

   syscon-1-active(config)# interfaces interface lag-test aggregation config lag-type LACP

6. Add both of the management ports to the aggregation.

   Copy

   syscon-1-active(config)# interfaces interface 1/mgmt0 ethernet config aggregate-id <aggregation-name>
   
   syscon-1-active(config)# interfaces interface 2/mgmt0 ethernet config aggregate-id <aggregation-name>

   In this example, you add both management ports to an aggregation named “lag-test”:

   Copy

   syscon-1-active(config)# interfaces interface 1/mgmt0 ethernet config aggregate-id lag-test
   
   syscon-1-active(config)# interfaces interface 2/mgmt0 ethernet config aggregate-id lag-test

7. Configure a type or mode for interface.

   Copy

   syscon-1-active(config)# lag-type [LACP | STATIC] interfaces
   interface <aggregation-name> config name <aggregation-name>

   In this example, you configure an aggregation named “lag-test” to use LACP as the aggregation type:

   Copy

   syscon-1-active(config)# lacp interfaces interface lag-test config name lag-test

Disable an aggregated interface from the CLI

You can disable an aggregated interface by removing the management ports from the aggregation from the chassis partition CLI.

1. Connect using SSH to the system controller floating management IP address.

2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the chassis partition 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. Disable an aggregated interface by removing the management ports from a specified aggregation.

   Copy

   syscon-1-active(config)# no interfaces interface 1/mgmt0 ethernet config aggregate-id
   
   syscon-1-active(config)# no interfaces interface 2/mgmt0 ethernet config aggregate-id

   In this example, you delete an aggregation named “lag-test”:

   Copy

   syscon-1-active(config)# no interfaces interface lag-test

5. Disable a type or mode for the aggregation.

   Copy

   syscon-1-active(config)# no [LACP | STATIC]interfaces interface aggregate-id

   In this example, you delete an aggregation named “lag-test”:

   Copy

   syscon-1-active(config)# no lacp interfaces interface lag-test

Delete an aggregated interface from the CLI

You can delete an aggregated interface from the chassis partition CLI.

Connect using SSH to the system controller floating management IP address. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the chassis partition using an account with admin access.When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode. Change to config mode.configThe CLI prompt changes to include (config).

Delete an aggregated interface. syscon-1-active(config)# no interfaces interface In this example, you delete an aggregation named “lag-test”:

syscon-1-active(config)# no interfaces interface lag-test

Blade front-panel ports overview

You can use only F5-branded transceiver modules. On BX110, both ports default to 100GbE. On BX520, port 1 defaults to 100GbE mode, and port 2 defaults to 400GbE mode. For more information about supported transceiver modules and cable requirements, see Transceiver Modules at techdocs.f5.com/en-us/hw-platforms/f5-plat-hw-essentials.html. On BX110, you can break out the 100GbE or 40GbE bundle and use them as individual 10GbE ports using a QSFP+ breakout cable. This cable has a female MPO/MTP connector at one end, which connects to the QSFP+ port, and four LC duplex connectors at the other end, which connect to SFP+ modules on an upstream switch. If you are using a breakout cable for 10GbE connectivity, you should use the supported distance as detailed in the Specifications for fiber QSFP+ modules section and not the Specifications for fiber SFP+ modules section of the F5 Platforms: Accessories guide at techdocs.f5.com/en-us/hw-platforms/f5-plat-accessories.html.

Show the state of a specified interface from the CLI

You can show the state of a specified front-panel interface from the chassis partition CLI.

1. Connect using SSH to the system controller floating management IP address.

2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the chassis partition using an account with admin access.

   When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.

3. Show the state of a specified interface.

   Copy

   show interfaces interface <blade-number>/<interface-number> state

   In this example, you show information about blade 1/interface 1:

   Copy

   default-1# show interfaces interface 1/1.0 state
   state type ethernetCsmacd
   state mtu 9600
   state enabled true
   state oper-status UP
   state forward-error-correction auto
   state lacp_state LACP_DEFAULTED

Show the state of all interfaces from the CLI

You can show the state of all interfaces from the chassis partition CLI.

1. Connect using SSH to the system controller floating management IP address.

2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the chassis partition using an account with admin access.

   When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.

3. Show the state of all interfaces.

   Copy

   show interfaces interface state

   Possible completions include:

   Copy

   counters
   disabled
   enabled
   ifindex
   name
   oper-status
   type
   forward-error-correction
   mtu

   In this example, you show information about blade 1/interface 1:

   Copy

   default-1# show interfaces interface 1/1.0 state
   state type ethernetCsmacd
   state mtu 9600
   state enabled true
   state oper-status UP
   state forward-error-correction auto
   state lacp_state LACP_DEFAULTED

   In this example, you show the FEC state of all interfaces:

   Copy

   default-1# show interfaces interface state forward-error-correction

Show statistics for all interfaces from the CLI

You can show statistics for all interfaces from the chassis partition CLI.

1. Connect using SSH to the system controller floating management IP address.

2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the chassis partition using an account with admin access.

   When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.

3. Show statistics for all interfaces.

   Copy

   show interfaces interface state counters

   Possible completions include:

   Copy

   in-broadcast-pkts
   in-discards
   in-errors
   in-fcs-errors
   in-multicast-pkts
   in-octets
   in-unicast-pkts
   out-broadcast-pkts
   out-discards
   out-errors
   out-multicast-pkts
   out-octets
   out-unicast-pkts

   In this example, you show statistics for all interfaces:

   Copy

   default-1# show interfaces interface state counters

Show the current running configuration for all interfaces from the CLI

You can show the current running configuration for all interfaces from the chassis partition CLI.

1. Connect using SSH to the system controller floating management IP address.

2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the chassis partition using an account with admin access.

   When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.

3. Show the current running configuration for all interfaces.

   Copy

   show running-config interfaces interface

Show the current running configuration of VLAN interface members from the CLI

You can show the current running configuration of VLAN interface members from the chassis partition CLI.

1. Connect using SSH to the system controller floating management IP address.

2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the chassis partition using an account with admin access.

   When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.

3. Show the current running configuration of VLAN interface members.

   Copy

   show running-config interfaces interface ethernet switched-vlan

Reset counters for specified interfaces from the CLI

You can reset counters for specified interfaces from the chassis partition CLI.

1. Connect using SSH to the system controller floating management IP address.

2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the chassis partition 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. Reset counters for specified interfaces.

   Copy

   reset counters interfaces [<blade-number/interface-number>]

   In this example, you reset counters for blade 1/interface 1 and blade 1/interface 2:

   Copy

   default-1(config)# reset counters interfaces 1/1.0 1/2.0

5. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Create a LAG interface from the CLI

You can create a LAG interface from the chassis partition CLI.

1. Connect using SSH to the system controller floating management IP address.

2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the chassis partition 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

   Possible completions include:

   Copy

   aggregation
   config
   hold-time

   In this example, you create an IEEE 802ad LAG interface named “new-lag”:

   Copy

   interfaces interface new-lag config type ieee802adLag

5. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Create a static or LACP LAG interface from the CLI

You can create either a static or LACP LAG interface from the chassis partition CLI.

1. Connect using SSH to the system controller floating management IP address.

2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the chassis partition 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 with a specified type.

   interfaces interface <lag-type> config

   Possible completions include:

   Copy

   LACP
   static

   In this example, you create a static LAG interface:

   Copy

   default-1(config)# aggregation config lag-type STATIC

5. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Show the current running configuration for LAG interfaces from the CLI

You can show the current running configuration for LAG interfaces from the chassis partition CLI.

1. Connect using SSH to the system controller floating management IP address.

2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the chassis partition using an account with admin access.

   When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.

3. Show the current running configuration for LAG interfaces.

   show running-config interface <lag-name> aggregation

Associate an interface with a specified LAG from the CLI

You can associate an interface with a specified LAG from the chassis partition CLI.

1. Connect using SSH to the system controller floating management IP address.

2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the chassis partition 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 an interface with a specified LAG.

   Copy

   interfaces interface <blade-number/interface-number> ethernet config aggregate-id <lag-name>

   In this example, you associate blade 1/interface 1.0 with a LAG named “new-lag”:

   Copy

   default-1(config)# interfaces interface 1/1.0 ethernet config aggregate-id new-lag

5. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Network interface LED behavior overview

The appearance and behavior of the network interface LEDs on the platform indicate network traffic activity and interface speed.

System controller management port LED behavior

The system controller management port supports 10GbE/1GbE/100MbE connectivity. The appearance and behavior of the system controller management port LEDs indicate the link and activity status.

BX110 port LED behavior

The appearance and behavior of the port LEDs indicate the link and activity status.

BX520 port LED behavior

BX520 port LED behavior The appearance and behavior of the QSFP-DD port LEDs indicate the link and activity status.

Port groups overview

VELOS BX110 Blade

The front-panel ports on a VELOS BX110 Series Series blade support port group functionality. Port groups enable you to change which mode, or port speed, that port uses. QSFP28 ports operate at 100GbE by default, but depending on the optical transceiver module that you have installed in the port, you can configure the port group to use one of these modes:

100GbE mode

Creates one interface at 100G speed. This is the default mode for 100G ports.

​40GbE​ mode

Creates one interface at 40G speed. This is the default mode for 40G ports.

4x25GbE breakout mode

Creates four interfaces at 25G speed.

​4x10Gb breakout mode

Creates four interfaces at 10G speed.

VELOS BX110 Series blades support homogeneous port groups per blade, which means that if you want to change the speed of a port group, you must change the mode for both port groups on a blade.

Changing the mode for a port group reboots the blade, 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.

If you are going from QSFP28/QSFP+ ports to SFP ports where the SFP ports are individual 10G/25G optical transceiver modules, you must use a breakout cable to split the single interface into multiple interfaces, and then configure your blade to use one of the breakout modes.

VELOS BX520 Blade

The VELOS BX520 blade supports homogeneous and limited mixed portgroup mode combinations per blade. You can configure the port groups using the specific port group combination. Available port groups combination for the interfaces on BX520:

Breakout mode cable requirements

If you are using QSFP28/QSFP+ optical transceivers in your VELOS BX110 Series blade and connecting to other QSFP28/QSFP+ ports, you don’t need to use a breakout cable to use one of the breakout modes. If you are connecting to SFP/SFP+ ports where the ports are individual 10G/25G optical transceiver modules, you must use a breakout cable to split the single interface into multiple interfaces, and then configure your blade to use one of the breakout modes.

Available interfaces for port groups on BX110

The system creates and breaks down interfaces based on how you have configured port groups.

Available interfaces for port groups on BX520

The system creates and breaks down interfaces based on how you have configured port groups.

4x100G

Configure port group mode from the CLI

For BX110 blades, you can configure a port group for the interfaces on the blade at either 100GbE or 40GbE speeds from the chassis partition CLI. You can also break out the ports to either 4x25GbE or 4x10GbE.

VELOS BX520 blades support homogeneous port groups per blade, which means that if you want to change the speed of a port group you must change the mode for both port groups on a blade.

1. Connect using SSH to the chassis partition management IP address.

2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the chassis partition using an account with admin access. When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.

3. Change to config mode.configThe CLI prompt changes to include (config).

4. Configure port groups for a specific blade/interface pair.

• For BX110 Blades:

  Copy

  portgroups portgroup <blade-number>/<interface-number> config mode [MODE_100GB | MODE_4x25GB | MODE_40GB | MODE_4x10GB | MODE_400GB]

  In this example, you configure the port group mode on a BX110 blade, on blade 1/interface 2 to use the 40GB mode:

  Copy

  default-1(config)# portgroups portgroup 1/2 config mode MODE_40GB

• For BX520 Blades: You can configure the port groups using the specific port group combination.

  Copy

  portgroups portgroup <blade-number>/<interface-number> config mode [MODE_100GB | MODE_4x10GB]

  Copy

  portgroups portgroup <blade-number>/<interface-number> config mode [MODE_400GB |  MODE_4x10GB]

  In this example, with the default running configuration donot allow changing the mode of only one of the portgourps.

  Copy

  default-1# show running-config portgroups
  portgroups portgroup 5/1
  config mode MODE_100GB
  config ddm ddm-poll-frequency 30
  !
  portgroups portgroup 5/2
  config mode MODE_400GB
  config ddm ddm-poll-frequency 30
  !
  default-1# config
  Entering configuration mode terminal
  default-1(config)# portgroups portgroup 5/1 config mode MODE_4x100GB
  default-1(config-portgroup-5/1)# commit
  Aborted: 'portgroups portgroup': Homogeneous and limited mixed portgroup mode combinations are supported per blade. The portgroups from blade(s) 5 do not follow the constraint.
  default-1(config-portgroup-5/1)

Commit the configuration changes.commit

Verify the port groups configuration. show portgroups portgroup

Always-On Management overview

The Always-On Management (AOM) subsystem on the system controller enables you to manage the system remotely from the serial console, even if a blade is powered down. The AOM Command Menu operates independently of the VELOS host operating system.

When you run the AOM Command Menu, the serial connection to the blade CPU is interrupted for the duration of time that the Command Menu is active. You can use the command menu to reset the unit if the host has locked up or get access to a blade directly, so that you can configure it from the command-line interface (CLI).

When you access the AOM Command Menu, it displays the Active console, which blade’s console is currently connected, and the Physically connected console, which is how you are physically connected to the system (for example, serial port/console or the management port of one of the system controllers).

In this example, you are connected to the console of the blade in slot 1 and are connected to the serial port of the system controller in slot 1.

Active console : blade 1
Physically connected console : system controller 1 serial port

AOM Command Menu:
D --- Disconnect blade console
I --- Display blade information
P --- Power on/off blade
R --- Reset blade CPU
U --- Front panel USB port
Q --- Quit menu and return to console

Enter Command:

Access the AOM Command Menu from the serial console

You can access the AOM Command Menu after connecting to the system controller using the front panel serial console.

1. Connect to the system using the serial console.

2. Open the AOM Command Menu. Esc ( The system displays the AOM Command Menu, the active console, and physically-connected console:

   Copy

   [root@controller-1 ~]#
   Active console : system controller 1
   Physically connected console : system controller 1 serial port
   AOM Command Menu:
   B --- Set baud rate
   C --- Capture blade console
   CC -- Capture system controller console
   I --- Display chassis information
   P --- Power on/off blade
   PC -- Power on/off system controller
   R --- Reset blade CPU
   RC -- Reset system controller CPU
   U --- Front panel USB port
   Q --- Quit menu and return to console
   Enter Command:

AOM Command Menu options

The AOM Command Menu provides the AOM options for the platform. You can access the AOM Command Menu using either a serial console or SSH via the chassis terminal service.

The availability of menu options varies depending on the platform type.