topic RE: V400 Stacking with two X690 and 3rd party optic in ExtremeSwitching (EXOS/Switch Engine)

V400 Stacking with two X690 and 3rd party optic

Andreas_Prott — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 22:55:00 GMT

does someone ever try to build a V400 Stack with two X690 and 3rd party optics? I use OEM QSFP28 Transceiver - Extreme 10403 Kompatibel 100GBASE-LR4 QSFP28 1310nm 10km.
In a native 100G Port we got a link at any time, but on the V400 stacking ports 61 and 69 the optic stay dark, no link. Does someone have any experience with OEM optics and V400 stacking?

Best regards
Andreas

RE: V400 Stacking with two X690 and 3rd party optic

Axel_Reusch — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 20:06:00 GMT

Hello Andreas,

same issue with OEM optics and ExtremeNetworks (AVAGO) Q28-SR4 optics. Running standalone (no stacking) port 69 has link and edp neighbor information exchange - with enabled stacking-support link stays down. Working with TAC to resolve.

BR,
Axel

RE: V400 Stacking with two X690 and 3rd party optic

Andreas_Prott — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 22:18:00 GMT

I'm running another test with optics from FlexOptix next week. The support from FlwexOptix is aware of the problem, they believe they have a solution to make their optics working.

I'll post the result here

BR
Andreas

RE: V400 Stacking with two X690 and 3rd party optic

Axel_Reusch — Fri, 06 Apr 2018 14:23:00 GMT

Let me pls. share feedback from Extreme-TAC regarding 100G link down on ports 61,69 after enabling stacking-support.

1. Third party Q28-SR4: There is - of course - no support from TAC regarding 3rd party optics. But we found out that 3rd party Q28-SR4 behave exactly like the original Extreme Q28-SR4. They also fail to get a link on port 61,69 with enabled stacking-support.

2. Original Extreme Q28-SR4: Feedback from engineering: "This issue is same as CR xos0065398. The CR xos0065398 is fixed in the upcoming 22.5 release, however, please note that this is not a complete fix and is still under further investigation as the current fix might have some impact on the optical signal quality if AOC or other optics(QSFP28 – SR4) are used. So as of now the appropriate workaround would be to use a passive copper cable for 100G stacking as that is the only cable that is not affected. "

So as of now using EXOS <22.5 a X690 stack is limited to 5m (max. length of passive copper cables DAC) distance between stack members!

BR,
Axel

RE: V400 Stacking with two X690 and 3rd party optic

Steffi — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 18:43:00 GMT

Hi,

did you find any solution for this problem?

I have the same issue with 100Gb QSFP28 PSM4 Transcerivers (Extreme certified) over 100m singlemode. On 22.4 the switch showed out of range values for RxPower in transceiver information on 22.5 values are okay but the link stays down.

Did you find any other OEM GBICs for stacking or did you change your concept?

Any help is appreciated!

Regards,
Steffi

RE: V400 Stacking with two X690 and 3rd party optic

Andreas_Prott — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 18:43:00 GMT

Hi Steffi,
we used QSFP28 LR4 from Finisar. We immediately had a link, Stacking seems to work. But after a deeper look, we found a lot of RX error at the stack ports.

We also try to use the 22.5.... firmware. Same result.

GTAC :

As per logs, LR4 QSFP28 optics is not supported/qualified for stacking ports in X690 platform and we have confirmed the same with SQA as well. Hence we cannot guarantee proper functionality of these optics at this mode.

Only 5m DAC seems to work. In my case no solution

Regards
Andreas

RE: V400 Stacking with two X690 and 3rd party optic

M_Nees — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 21:41:00 GMT

We try that with a "100Gb CWDM4 QSFP28 SMF 2km" and EXOS 22.5
Port as a data port no link problems. Port as a Stack Port no connection.

RE: V400 Stacking with two X690 and 3rd party optic

Steffi — Thu, 12 Jul 2018 10:07:00 GMT

Thank you for your answers. What a bummer!

RE: V400 Stacking with two X690 and 3rd party optic

Axel_Reusch — Thu, 12 Jul 2018 13:10:00 GMT

Unfortunately, I can't provide any further technical input, as my end customer decided to use the original extreme networks DAC cable instead of QSFP28.

Any further information on the use of QSFP28 (including the exact type) when using the EXOS 22.5 and higher is very welcome.

BR,
Axel

RE: V400 Stacking with two X690 and 3rd party optic

ReneD_ — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 16:35:00 GMT

Hi,
are there any update to this topic? Is the "100Gbit Stacking via Fiber problem" solved? Does the stacking function probably via LR4 QSFP28?

BR,
Rene

RE: V400 Stacking with two X690 and 3rd party optic

Axel_Reusch — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 19:06:00 GMT

Hi Rene,

according to 22.6.1 Release Notes Nov. 2018 open issues in section "Optics":
xos0072483 - ExtremeSwitching X690, X870 and X590 series switches do not support 100G Optic/AOC cables on stacking ports.

Additionally Q&A last modified on 11/22/2018:
"Do X690, X870, X590 switches support AOC cable on stacking ports?
Answer:
"Currently, X690, X870, and X590 switches don't support AOC cable on stacking ports and the maximum supported length for DAC is 5 meter which is not sufficient for customers who prefer to keep stack nodes at a longer distance.
The feature is documented and will be implemented via CR xos0072483 in an upcoming EXOS releases."

I would also like to know if there is a patch/fix available for this. May be in 30.1.1? Release Notes of 30.1 do not answer this unfortunately.

BR,
Axel

RE: V400 Stacking with two X690 and 3rd party optic

ReneD_ — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 19:56:00 GMT

Hi Axel,
many thanks for your reply. I hope they fix the problem soon.

BR,
Rene

RE: V400 Stacking with two X690 and 3rd party optic

Volker_Kull — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 14:41:00 GMT

Hello all having the same important issue with X590/690 stacking !

Here the current status:

All QSFP+ optics are affected, doesn not matter if original or 3rd party
There is no solution in EXOS 30.1 !
A Patch 22.6.1.4p2-1 temporarily solving this issue is available
the plan is to have this in 30.2 GA

I heared about a swiss hack to manipulate the QSFP+ to run with >106GBit, but I could not test this yet.

br
Volker

RE: V400 Stacking with two X690 and 3rd party optic

LeoP1 — Sat, 30 Mar 2019 00:55:00 GMT

Hi Volker,

I'm curious about this "swiss hack to manipulate the QSFP+ to run with >106GBit"...

Can you provide some more info?

br
Leo

RE: V400 Stacking with two X690 and 3rd party optic

Stephane_Grosj1 — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 21:55:00 GMT

Hi,

Just to outline that this is QSFP28, not QSFP+. The 22.6p2-1 is indeed the solution at the moment.

Stephane

RE: V400 Stacking with two X690 and 3rd party optic

Stephane_Grosj1 — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 18:58:00 GMT

Just listing here, for future reference, the below CLI command, available with 22.6p1-1 and p2-1.

configure stacking-support stack-ports all selection native V400 alternative-configuration

Slot-1 Stack.2 # conf stacking-support stack-ports all selection native V400 alternative-configuration
This setting will take effect at the next reboot of this switch.

Slot-1 Stack.1 # conf stacking-support stack-ports all selection native V400 help
V400 is the default mode which sets the stack ports to 106G
V400 alternative-configuration is required when using specific fiber cables.
This mode sets the stack ports to 100G, enables pre-emphasis and FEC (clause_91).
Cables requiring alternative-configuration include:
QSFP28 SR4
QSFP28 LR4
QSFP28 CWDM4
QSFP28 PSM4
QxQ AOC cable - 5m
QxQ AOC cable - 7m
QxQ AOC cable - 10m
QxQ AOC cable - 20m
See the EXOS Hardware Installation Guide for a complete list of supported cables