Redundant Management Network Overview

Redundant Management Network provides fault tolerance for the management path. This is done using Linux bonding by pairing the physical management port of the chassis with any one of the physical front panel user ports.

Linux Bonding

The redundant-management enable command can be used to pair one of the front panel ports with the conventional Mgmt 0 port to form a Linux Bonding interface, bond0 at SLX Linux OS.

The Linux bond will be in Active/Standby mode. The Physical Management port is the primary and active port. The configured front panel port will be in Standby mode.
- mode 1 supported by Linux Bonding with Mgmt 0 (eth0) is the primary port.
- The front panel port allows traffic through it only if Mgmt 0 is down. Mgmt 0 takes over Active port as soon as it recovers.
If the active primary Mgmt 0 path experiences failure, SLX OS and TPVM OS can be reached through stand by path.

Supported Ports

Any SLX front panel port can be used at native speed and property for Linux Bonding.

Note

SLX 9640 and SLX 9150 - Preferred ports are 10G/1G port in 1G mode.
SLX 9640 - Avoid Insight port 0/24.
SLX 9250 - Breakout mode 4x1G ports are available to support the Mellanox adapter with 1G transceiver. Because the adapter occupies the whole cage, only the first member port (:1) can be used as redundant management interface.
8720 - It has a dual management port and does not need RME CLI.
Extreme 8820 - Redundant Management is supported on the Extreme 8820 devices.
Extreme 8520 - Preferred ports are 10G/1G port in 1G mode.

No Redundancy Period

Redundancy is not supported if the device is reloaded or in ZTP mode.

After reloading a device, use the redundant-management enable command or startup config replay to enable Linux Bonding or redundancy.
Upon factory arrival, across first power cycle, or due to write erase CLI, ZTP mode is set in with factory default configuration.
Breakout mode 1G ports are not supported in the factory default configuration.

Standby Port Rate Throughput

Since internal path for Standby traffic is Control Plane traffic on PCIe Channel between ASIC and CPU, its function of internal CPU load is independent of front panel physical port limit and capability.