HA With switches
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So we will be getting some new hardware. Not sure what yet whether it's 3-2-1, HyperConverged, VSAN etc.
But i'm looking at the core and edge switch, since i've never done HA with switches
i thought i would check my thoughts 
So from the new stuff that will go into 2 new Core switches with Stacking Cable to give HA, these will handle our static routes for the MPLS and be 10G. From these they will spur off to two Edge Switches (possible Ubiquiti), but with a cable coming from each core, how do you configure the switches so they don't get loop backs? Is it STP i need to look into?
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So from the core switches there will be a cable going to one switch in the same room (i.e. next rack) so copper 10G, the other is in another building so will be 10G fibre. -
So a close up on the Edge switch there will be 2 cables coming in. 1 from Core1 and 1 from Core2.Do i need to configure something special on the switch or will modern switches just know they are coming from switches that are stacked in HA mode?
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STP should definitely be in place.
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@hobbit666 said in HA With switches:
Do i need to configure something special on the switch or will modern switches just know they are coming from switches that are stacked in HA mode?
They still need to be trunked properly.
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@scottalanmiller said in HA With switches:
STP should definitely be in place.
Thanks for clearing that up
been looking so long at the diagrams and different switches my head hurts and thought i was going mad. -
@scottalanmiller said in HA With switches:
@hobbit666 said in HA With switches:
Do i need to configure something special on the switch or will modern switches just know they are coming from switches that are stacked in HA mode?
They still need to be trunked properly.
OK more things to read up on to check both ends, once we decide what we are using both Core and Edge
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@hobbit666 MLAG the switches don't stack them. If stacked and coordinator goes offline the stack is done.
EDIT: Ubiquiti okay for SOHO/ROBO but not core and HA. BTDT not happy.
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@PhlipElder advice on core switches?
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@PhlipElder said in HA With switches:
EDIT: Ubiquiti okay for SOHO/ROBO but not core and HA. BTDT not happy.
Yeah the ubiquity are for edge building network (client PC) but will have 10g links to the core switches.
I'm thinking Dell or Cisco for Core
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@hobbit666 Ubiquiti has a 10GbE 16-Port switch as well. We would not use them for any kind of primary traffic whether server to server, aggregator, or TOR. Edge/Leaf(? not up on network terms) okay, but not really if VLANs are needed. Too much grief. BTDT
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@Francesco-Provino What's in place now? If it works well then run with their updated products.
We've run with NETGEAR and Mellanox for 10GbE and Mellanox for 25GbE+.
The NETGEAR XS716T and up are nice because they don't require any infrastructure upgrades other than CAT6 preferable to endpoints. RJ45 = simple plug & play for most applications with SFP connectors for switch to switch.
Mellanox for all of the SFP style connectors. A pair of MSX1012X 10GbE switches can be had for a very good price. Cost wise, a pair of NETGEAR XS716T switches + Intel X550T-2 NIC pair per server is about the same as a pair of MSX1012X 10GbE Mellanox switches with ConnectX-4 LX 10GbE NIC pairs per server. The benefit with the Mellanox setup is RoCE/RDMA while stepping up into Intel's iWARP capable NICs would push the cost up even further.
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@PhlipElder don't know why but never thought Netgear as "Enterprise" grade gear. Yeah fine for a office or shop but not backbone.
Since they are always mentioned I thought Ubiquiti but not sure they will give the required ports as they only have 2 10g SPF+ ports and I'll need 4 at the core.
Have looked at Dell N4000 series but they seem ££££
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@hobbit666 said in HA With switches:
@PhlipElder don't know why but never thought Netgear as "Enterprise" grade gear. Yeah fine for a office or shop but not backbone.
It's some seriously good stuff. Maybe not Juniper good, but way above what most SMBs consider using.
What are you considering enterprise that you feel is on par with Netgear?
Netgear used to be Nortel and Bay Networks, they were one of the big enterprise players with Cisco and Juniper in the old days. Obviously they've famously blown Cisco away in quality, but I think we mostly agree with you that Cisco isn't enterprise in the majority of cases.
Netgear always complains that because they made consumer gear too, that so many SMBs know them for that new product line and don't realize that they've been enterprise players for decades.
Netgear is, or was last that I knew, the worlds top networking maker by ports shipped.
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@PhlipElder said in HA With switches:
@Francesco-Provino What's in place now? If it works well then run with their updated products.
We've run with NETGEAR and Mellanox for 10GbE and Mellanox for 25GbE+.
Very good choices.
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@scottalanmiller said in HA With switches:
Netgear always complains that because they made consumer gear too, that so many SMBs know them for that new product line and don't realize that they've been enterprise players for decades.
.^^this
I've always used them in a SMB way and never really thought that way. My bad
Enterprise I've always considered Cisco,
HPeTo be honest I did look at some of the Netgear range and found some that I thought would fit the bill for Core.
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@scottalanmiller and others.
Where would you place Ubiquity stuff? In the SMB, Enterprise or somewhere in the middle?
As mentioned I was going to use them coming off the core switches, or should I just stick with what I know. Netgear -
@hobbit666 said in HA With switches:
Enterprise I've always considered Cisco,
The maker of Linksys (traditionally?) Cisco does make some enterprise stuff, but only at $10K and higher. Cisco is, in general, about the farthest from enterprise you can get in the real world (other than actual Linksys, D-Link, etc.) Netgear and Ubiquiti, for example, specifically go after Cisco as being "always below them." Cisco gear under their top end ranges is some of the worst: slow, buggy, not efficient to configure. And Cisco's consumer stuff has been some of the absolute worst of the consumer stuff.
If you think of Cisco as enterprise, wait till you work with the good stuff.
At the very first SpiceCorps NYC, we were hosted by a networking lab and all of their gear was Netgear because it was literally the best that they could buy and Cisco literally couldn't meet their network needs. They had evaluated both, in place, with serious testing and Netgear and Cisco were the two most divergent products that they had used.
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@hobbit666 said in HA With switches:
Where would you place Ubiquity stuff? In the SMB, Enterprise or somewhere in the middle?
Well better than Cisco, certainly!
UBNT's thing is really making enterprise gear with an SMB focus. Their stuff is designed heavily for SMB use, by way of just the physical features and sizes that they offer. But their quality and design is very enterprise.
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@hobbit666 said in HA With switches:
As mentioned I was going to use them coming off the core switches, or should I just stick with what I know. Netgear
As per their names, Ubiquiti really only focuses on Edge devices. Netgear makes amazing core stuff (and edge.) Netgear has a really broad line, too.
