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Configuring Active-Active vLAGs: a Step-by-Step Example

Note: As displayed in Figure 7-9, there must be a physical connection between PN-0 and PN-1 before you can configure a vLAG.

Figure 7-9 - Active-Active vLAGs Toward a Dual-Homed Host and a Spine Switch

The sample topology in Figure 7-9 above comprises three Arista switches that are part of the same fabric instance, fab-vLAG. The spine switch is set as RSTP root.

It’s important to note that ports 19-20 on PN-0 and ports 21-22 on PN-1 are connected to PN-2 (Spine). Ports 26, 27 interconnect PN-0 and PN-1 for the cluster link configuration required to set up a vLAG.

You can use the following steps to configure the above-pictured configuration with active-active vLAGs.

1) On the spine switch PN-2 use the following command:

CLI (network-admin@switch) > stp-modify bridge-priority 4096

2) Create the fabric and add the switches to it. On PN-2 use the fabric-create command:

CLI (network-admin@switch) > fabric-create name fab-VLAG

On PN-0 and PN-1 join the fabric:

CLI (network-admin@switch) > fabric-join name fab-VLAG

3) Create VLAN connectivity from the spine switch all the way to the host. On PN-2 create for example VLAN 25 with scope fabric:

CLI (network-admin@switch) > vlan-create id 25 scope fabric

On PN-0 and PN-1 add VLAN 25 and untag the port connected to the host:

CLI (network-admin@switch) > vlan-port-add vlan-id 25 untagged ports 9

On PN-0 and PN-1 make the port connected to the host be an edge port:

CLI (network-admin@switch) > stp-port-modify port 9 edge

4) Create a cluster configuration between PN-1 and PN-0. This creates the cluster link between ports 26, 27. On PN-0 enter the cluster-create command:

CLI (network-admin@switch) > cluster-create name VLAG cluster-node-1 PN-0 cluster-node-2 PN-1

5) In this example, for simplicity’s sake we will use static trunks toward the spine switch to create a vLAG. (LACP’s active mode can be used too, instead of off mode.) In this case you would first disable ports between PN-2 and PN-0 and then create a static trunk between them. Therefore, on PN-0 modify the ports facing PN-2 like so:

CLI (network-admin@switch) > port-config-modify port 19,20 disable

6) Create a two-port trunk between PN-0 and PN-2 with those ports:

CLI (network-admin@switch) > trunk-create name pn0-to-pn2 ports 19,20 lacp-mode off

CLI (network-admin@switch) > trunk-show format all layout vertical

switch: PN-0

trunk-id: 128

ports: none

speed: disable

egress-rate-limit: unlimited

autoneg: off

jumbo: on

enable: off

lacp-mode: off

lacp-priority: 0

lacp-timeout: slow

lacp-fallback: bundle

lacp-fallback-timeout: 50

lacp-individual: none

stp-port-cost: 2000

stp-port-priority: 128

reflect: off

edge-switch: no

pause: no

description:

loopback: off

receive-only: on

unknown-ucast-level: %

unknown-mcast-level: %

broadcast-level: %

lport: 0

rem-rswitch-port-mac: 00:00:00:00:00:00

rswitch-default-vlan: 0

status:

config:

trunk-hw-id: 0

send-port: 4294967295

routing: yes

host-enable: no

From the above output, you can verify the name and ID of the trunk configuration pn0-to-pn2. You need this information to create the vLAG.

7) On PN-1 repeat the same commands to create a static two-port trunk (LACP mode off) between PN-1 and PN-2. You would, therefore, disable ports between PN-2 and PN-1 and then create a static trunk between them. On PN-1 modify the ports facing PN-2 like so:

CLI (network-admin@switch) > port-config-modify port 21,22 disable

CLI (network-admin@switch) > trunk-create name pn1-to-pn2 ports 21,22 lacp-mode off

CLI (network-admin@switch) > trunk-show format all layout vertical

switch: PN-1

intf: 129

port: 21-22

speed: 10g

autoneg: off

jumbo: off

enable: off

lacp-mode: off

lacp-priority: 32768

lacp-timeout: slow

reflect: off

edge-switch: no

pause: no

description:

loopback: off

mirror-only: off

lport: 0

rswitch-default-vlan: 0

port-mac-address: 06:60:00:02:10:80

status:

config:

send-port: 0

8) Create the vLAG from the bottom switches going upstream. Keep one side of the vLAG disabled while you configure this step. On PN-0 use the vlag-create command:

CLI (network-admin@switch) > vlag-create name to-spine port 128 peer-port 129 peer-switch PN-1 lacp-mode off mode active-active

On PN-2 create a normal 4-way trunk with the name trunk-pn:

CLI (network-admin@switch) > trunk-create name trunk-pn ports 19,20,21,22 lacp-mode off

9) Enable ports on all switches. On PN-2, PN-0 and PN-1 enter the port-config-modify command:

CLI (network-admin@switch) > port-config-modify port 19,20,21,22 enable

CLI (network-admin@switch) > port-config-modify port 19,20 enable

CLI (network-admin@switch) > port-config-modify port 21,22 enable

10) As a final step, create the server-facing active-active vLAG. In this case we will make it dynamic (LACP mode active). On PN-0 enter the vlag-create command:

CLI (network-admin@switch) > vlag-create name to-host port 9 peer-port 9 peer-switch PN-1 lacp-mode active mode active-active

Display and verify the vLAG configuration information:

CLI (network-admin@switch) > vlag-show format all layout vertical

id: a000024:0

cluster: VLAG

mode: active-active

switch: PN-0

port: 9

peer-switch: PN-1

peer-port: 9

failover-move-L2: no

status: normal

local-state: enabled, up

lacp-mode: active

lacp-timeout: slow

lacp-key: 26460

lacp-system-id: 110013777969246