Dynamic Nickname Assignment

Table 1. Dynamic Nickname Assignment product support

Feature

Product

Release introduced

Dynamic Nickname Assignment

5320 Series

Fabric Engine 8.6

5420 Series

VOSS 8.4

5520 Series

VOSS 8.2.5

5720 Series

Fabric Engine 8.7

7520 Series

Fabric Engine 8.10

7720 Series

Fabric Engine 8.10

VSP 4450 Series

VOSS 7.0

VSP 4900 Series

VOSS 8.1

VSP 7200 Series

VOSS 7.0

VSP 7400 Series

VOSS 8.0.5

VSP 8200 Series

VOSS 7.0

VSP 8400 Series

VOSS 7.0

VSP 8600 Series

Not Supported

XA1400 Series

Not Supported

Extends the assignment behavior with a prefix parameter

5320 Series

Fabric Engine 8.6

5420 Series

VOSS 8.4

5520 Series

VOSS 8.3

5720 Series

Fabric Engine 8.7

7520 Series

Fabric Engine 8.10

7720 Series

Fabric Engine 8.10

VSP 4450 Series

VOSS 8.3

VSP 4900 Series

VOSS 8.3

VSP 7200 Series

VOSS 8.3

VSP 7400 Series

VOSS 8.3

VSP 8200 Series

VOSS 8.3

VSP 8400 Series

VOSS 8.3

VSP 8600 Series

Not Supported

XA1400 Series

Not Supported

Dynamic Nickname Assignment

Dynamic Nickname Assignment is a service that provides unique nicknames to compatible switches across a Fabric Area Network (FAN).

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A nickname server connects to other nodes in a network. One node uses a static nickname of 0.00.03 while the others are dynamic nickname clients.

You can configure a node in a FAN as a nickname server. The nickname server cannot be started until you configure it with a static nickname. As a best practice, configure at least two nickname servers in a FAN to provide redundancy.

Note

Note

Configure the nickname server with a static nickname that is outside any configured dynamic nickname server range in the network, or you can configure the nickname server with a static nickname from the first 10 values of the configured dynamic nickname server range in the network.

Dynamic Nickname Assignment Considerations

Consider the following information when implementing this feature:

Static and Dynamic Nickname Servers

You can use static nickname assignment and Dynamic Nickname Assignment in the same FAN.

You can configure Dynamic Nickname Assignment using a range prefix that can use a range from 0.00.00 to F.FF.FF. This method provides 256 groups that cover the range of 0.00.00 to F.FF.FF.

Note

Note

You can configure the nickname server with a static nickname from the first 10 values of the configured dynamic nickname server range in the network.

Do not use nicknames from the dynamic nickname range when you assign nicknames statically to non-server nodes. However, if there are existing nodes in the network with static nicknames in the dynamic nickname range, it is not a requirement to change their nickname assignment. If a node is assigned a dynamic nickname that is being used in the network, duplicate nickname protection is initiated. If the node that has the dynamic nickname loses the nickname election, it requests a different nickname from the nickname server. If a node with a static nickname loses the nickname election, IS-IS is disabled on that node and you must manually re-assign the nickname and re-enable IS-IS.

You can configure nicknames from a dynamic range if the nickname server is not started.
Note

Note

You must disable Dynamic Nickname Assignment before you can change the nickname prefix.

Debugging

A node must be a member of a FAN to host Dynamic Nickname Assignment applications. FAN connectivity enables the exchange of information between nickname clients and servers, such as nickname requests or nickname assignments. You can use Connectivity Fault Management (CFM) to debug connectivity issues or isolate faults. For more information about CFM, see Connectivity Fault Management.

The following scenarios provide examples to help debug possible failure cases in single and multi-area configurations.

Example: Same SPB static nicknames in the same area

Configuration:

Result:

Log messages:

CP1 [08/29/22 10:09:20.543:EDT] 0x00004727 00000000 GlobalRouter SNMP INFO SPBM detected adj UP on Port1/5 , neighbor c8be.35db.6084
CP1 [08/29/22 10:09:20.596:EDT] 0x0000471b 00000000 GlobalRouter SNMP WARNING SPBM ISIS detected duplicate nick-name 7.44.65 from node c8be.35db.6084 (UNKNOWN), 2 nodes use this nick-name
CP1 [08/29/22 10:09:46.852:EDT] 0x00004726 00000000 GlobalRouter SNMP INFO SPBM detected adj DOWN on Port1/5 , neighbor c8be.35db.6084 (5420M-24W-4YE-VOSS)
CP1 [08/29/22 10:09:46.862:EDT] 0x001dc6f6 00000000 GlobalRouter ISIS WARNING FIB-used node bcad.ab77.4465 has the duplicate nick name 7.44.65 with Non-FIB-used node c8be.35db.6084

1 2022-08-29T10:09:19.947-04:00 ybr-sw-idf2-vsp7400-1 CP1 - 0x0000471b - 00000000 GlobalRouter SNMP WARNING SPBM ISIS detected duplicate nick-name 7.44.65 from node c8be.35db.6084 (UNKNOWN), 2 nodes use this nick-name
1 2022-08-29T10:09:23.291-04:00 ybr-sw-idf2-vsp7400-1 CP1 - 0x0000c5ec - 00300001.196 DYNAMIC CLEAR GlobalRouter HW INFO Link Up(1/5)
1 2022-08-29T10:09:46.178-04:00 ybr-sw-idf2-vsp7400-1 CP1 - 0x001dc6f6 - 00000000 GlobalRouter ISIS WARNING FIB-used node bcad.ab77.4465 has the duplicate nick name 7.44.65 with Non-FIB-used node c8be.35db.6084

Example: Same SPB nicknames (Switch1 static and Switch2 dynamic) in the same area

Configuration:

Result:

Log messages:

1 2022-08-29T14:50:33.624Z Ybr-Sw-IDF1-2-NA CP1 - 0x00000008 - 00000000 GlobalRouter SW WARNING Dynamic nick-name client: detected duplicate nick-name 0xa05fb. Requesting a new nick-name from the server
1 2022-08-29T14:51:43.744Z Ybr-Sw-IDF1-2-NA CP1 - 0x00004782 - 00000000 GlobalRouter SNMP INFO SPBM Nickname a.05.fc dynamically assigned by the nickname server 209e.f792.d884 (ybr-sw-mdf-vsp7400-3)

Example: Same SPB nicknames (Switch1 dynamic and Switch2 static) in the same area

Configuration:

Result:

Log messages:

1 2022-08-29T17:19:48.910Z Ybr-Sw-IDF1-2-NA CP1 - 0x001dc6de - 00000000 GlobalRouter ISIS WARNING Duplicate Nickname ID a.05.fc detected with our Node HostName:5420M-24W-4YE-VOSS Chassis AC:c8:be:35:db:60:00 and HostName:ybr-sw-idf1-1 Chassis MAC:bc:ad:ab:77:44:01.Election won locally.
1 2022-08-29T17:19:48.910Z Ybr-Sw-IDF1-2-NA CP1 - 0x0000471b - 00000000 GlobalRouter SNMP WARNING SPBM ISIS detected duplicate nick-name a.05.fc from node bcad.ab77.4465 (UNKNOWN), 2 nodes use this nick-name
1 2022-08-29T17:19:48.924Z Ybr-Sw-IDF1-2-NA CP1 - 0x001dc6de - 00000000 GlobalRouter ISIS WARNING Duplicate Nickname ID a.05.fc detected with our Node HostName:5420M-24W-4YE-VOSS Chassis MAC:c8:be:35:db:60:00 and HstName:ybr-sw-idf1-1 Chassis MAC:bc:ad:ab:77:44:01.Election won locally.
1 2022-08-29T17:19:48.925Z Ybr-Sw-IDF1-2-NA CP1 - 0x001dc6de - 00000000 GlobalRouter ISIS WARNING Duplicate Nickname ID a.05.fc detected with our Node HostName:5420M-24W-4YE-VOSS Chassis MAC:c8:be:35:db:60:00 and HstName:ybr-sw-idf1-1 Chassis MAC:bc:ad:ab:77:44:01.Election won locally.
1 2022-08-29T17:19:48.925Z Ybr-Sw-IDF1-2-NA CP1 - 0x001dc6de - 00000000 GlobalRouter ISIS WARNING Duplicate Nickname ID a.05.fc detected with our Node HostName:5420M-24W-4YE-VOSS Chassis MAC:c8:be:35:db:60:00 and HstName:ybr-sw-idf1-1 Chassis MAC:bc:ad:ab:77:44:01.Election won locally.
1 2022-08-29T17:21:09.027Z Ybr-Sw-IDF1-2-NA CP1 - 0x001dc6f6 - 00000000 GlobalRouter ISIS WARNING FIB-used node c8be.35db.6084 has the duplicate nick name a.05.fc with Non-FIB-used node bcad.ab77.4465

Example: Same SPB nickname in different areas

Configuration:

Result:

Example: Dynamic client in one area with the nickname server in another area

Configuration:

Result:

Auto nickname conflicts with existing static or dynamic nickname in the same area

Configuration:

Result:

Log message:

0x003dc00c – 00000000 GlobalRouter SNMP INFO SPBM Dynamic nick-name client: 
detected duplicate self-generated nick-name 0xff2c0. Discarding and trying a new one.