Extended Edge Switching is based on the IEEE 802.1BR specification, comprising one or two controlling bridges (CBs), and one or more bridge port extenders (BPEs). BPEs are V400 and V300 Virtual Port Extenders, and CBs are ExtremeXOS switches. In this architecture, ports on the CB or BPEs connecting to BPEs are termed cascade ports, while corresponding ports on BPEs connecting them to the CB or upstream BPEs are termed upstream ports. Ports from the BPEs connected to the rest of the network are termed extended ports.
Since the bridge port extenders (BPEs) are managed like slots in a chassis under a single management domain, multiple layers of a traditional network can be reduced from a configuration and management perspective, greatly simplifying the network operation.
Extended Edge Switching rings allow two Extended Edge Switching (VPEX) cascades to be joined together to form a control plane ring. If a link breaks or a bridge port extender (BPE) otherwise leaves, the remaining BPEs reform two data plane cascades, thus keeping both control and data plane connectivity to the controlling bridge (CB) alive.
ExtremeXOS 31.2 introduces support for the ExtremeSwitching 5520 series switches for Extended Edge Switching rings.
ExtremeSwitching X670-G2, X465, X590, X690, and 5520 series switches.
A maximum of 8 BPEs per ring is supported.