Separate Paths for Cluster Control and Stack Traffic

There are two types of clustering: out-of-band and inband.

The nodes in a cluster are constantly communicating with one another, exchanging heartbeats to check on one another’s status, exchanging configuration information so that changes made on the master node are propagated to other nodes, and making changes to cluster roles based on changes in status.

GigaVUE-OS separates cluster control traffic from the actual flow of packets from ingress ports on one node to egress ports on another for the two types of clustering, as follows:

Out-of-Band Clustering on Mgmt Ports

With out-of-band clustering, cluster control traffic is carried out-of-band on its own network as follows:

• GigaVUE-HC3 nodes use the Mgmt port (eth0) or the two dedicated STACK ports (eth2).
• GigaVUE-HC2 nodes use the Mgmt port (eth0) or the dedicated cluster Mgmt port (eth2).
• GigaVUE‑HC1 nodes use the Mgmt port (eth0) or the dedicated cluster Mgmt port (eth2).
• GigaVUE-TA10 nodes use the Mgmt port (eth0).
• GigaVUE-TA25 nodes use the Mgmt port (eth0)
• GigaVUE-TA40 nodes use the Mgmt port (eth0).
• GigaVUE-TA100 nodes use the Mgmt port (eth0).
• GigaVUE-TA200 nodes use the Mgmt port (eth0).
• GigaVUE-OS on white box nodes use the Mgmt port (eth0).

Cluster Management port(s). Using the cluster management port(s) lets you route cluster control traffic over a separate network from the network used to access the Mgmt port. This prevents cluster control traffic from overloading the traffic used to access the Mgmt port.

Mgmt Port (eth0). You can also select to use the standard Mgmt port for cluster control traffic. In this implementation, cluster control traffic uses the Mgmt port’s Ethernet connection.

Inband Clustering on Stack-Links

Stack-links are used to create a stacking connection between two GigaVUE nodes in a cluster. Stack-links carry traffic from network ports on one node to tool (or GigaSMART) ports on a destination node.

With inband clustering, cluster control traffic is carried inband through the stack-link.

Stack-links can be constructed out of individual stack ports, for example, a 40Gb port on a PRT-HC0-Q06 or PRT-HC0-X24 for GigaVUE-HC2, or stack GigaStream. You decide which to use with the gigastream and ports arguments in the stack-link command. For example, the following command creates a stack-link between the q1 40Gb port on box 1/slot 1 and the q1 port on box 2/slot 7:

 

(config) #stack-link alias biglink between ports 1/1/q1 and 2/7/q1 comment “40Gb Stack”

 

Stack links are supported at speeds of 10Gb, 40Gb, and 100Gb. Refer to the Hardware Installation Guide for each GigaVUE node for information on stack link support.

Keep in mind that because of the 10Gb port density offered by GigaVUE-OS nodes, using only one 10Gb port for a stack-link could cause a serious bottleneck. A stack GigaStream dramatically increases the bandwidth available for stack-links, letting you connect GigaVUE-OS nodes in a cluster and still take advantage of the 10Gb port density. Alternatively, nodes with 40Gb or 100Gb ports can take advantage of their high bandwidth for stack-links.

When using stack GigaStream for stack-links, you must create a stack GigaStream on each side of the stack-link and each side must consist of the same number of ports running at the same speed.