Over the past couple of weeks I’ve presented to several Cisco User Groups on Cisco Virtual Switching System 1440 (VSS). I’ve attached my presentation here (which can also be found on several Cisco User Group websites where I’ve presented).
This is (and is intended to be) a technical presentation, not a sales pitch or a high-level presentation. Not only are configuration snippets shown, but some example scenarios are given. Take a look at it and post your feedback!
Here’s an outline of the presentation:
- Introduction
- Overview
- Technical Deep-dive
- Requirements
- Best-Practices
- Technical Limitations and Restrictions
- Sample Scenarios
- Conclusion
Here’s a few questions that I’ve been asked which may be of help.
Q: Can three 6500s be configured in a VSS domain?
A: No — only two 6500s are supported in a single VSS domain
Q: Is the CSM supported within a VSS domain?
A: It looks like it might be — I have to do some additional research on this, as the SXI3 release notes indicate that CSM and CSM-SSL modules are supported with this release, however I haven’t found explicit information stating that this is within a VSS domain (again, I haven’t thoroughly researched this yet — SXI3 was just released on 11-4-2009).
Q: Which IOS do you recommend?
A: I haven’t worked with SXI3 yet, although I’d definitely recommend considering and testing this release. SXI2 had at least one very significant bug (which can cause the chassis to crash because of a memory leak bug). SXI has bugs with EIGRP tagging (amongst other things). I wouldn’t typically recommend the SXH train as there are a lot of features that can be gained by going to the SXI train. SXI2a offers a ton of features not found with SXI1, so if unicast IPv6, MPLS, etc. is needed, look at SXI2a and/or SXI3.
Having worked with almost every IOS release which supports VSS (SXH1, SXI, SXI1, SXI1a, SXI2, etc.), I can’t stress enough that the proper steps be followed when selecting an IOS image as should be taken without VSS. Look at the release notes, search the bug toolkit, etc. The decision to use modular/non-modular exists whether VSS is used or not.
Here are a few comments that aren’t shown on the slides.
- The 6503 (non-E-series) and 6509-NEB chassis are not supported with VSS.
- Different chassis’ can be mix-matched within a VSS domain
- For instance, a 6506-E and 6509 can be configured within the same VSS domain
- The 6704 4-port 10Gbps Ethernet line card cannot be used for the VSL
- This module lacks the ASICs required to support the encapsulation/decapsulation of VSL traffic within the VSH
I’ve worked with VSS in many environments and really like it. Hopefully this presentation will provide a lot of beneficial information.
Click here to download the presentation (PDF)
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Tags: 12.2(33)SXI, 12.2(33)SXI1, 12.2(33)SXI2, 12.2(33)SXI3, 1440, 6500, 6500-series, 6503, 6506, 6509, 6513, 6704, cisco, e-series, ios, modular, non-modular, presentation, sxh, sxi, virtual switch header, virtual switch link, virtual switching system, VSH, VSL, vss
[...] Cisco VSS presentation | CCIEZone.com — A good presentation covering the major features and functions of VSS on Cat6500. Good resource if you have to write a report on why you should choose VSS. [...]