Anybody running SPB?

[murrayfar]

I am trying to learn about SPB and see if it would be a good option on our network. We have several VLANs that need to be tagged all over our network and SPB seems like it could help streamline/optimize that and do a lot more. I just can't find much information with people actually using SPB with Alcatel equipment. Most of the post on here are of people trying to unconfigure SPB after auto-config has configured it for them. I have read and watched some presentations from Avaya about SPB and I am now setting up a lab to see how it works, I guess my questions so far are these:

1. Is anyone using this in production?
2. What problems have you had with it?
3. What problems did it solve?
4. Did you use auto-config or configure it manually? Why?
5. What's the learning curve and how hard is it to troubleshoot?

I guess that is a start. I'm going to let auto-config configure SPB between to 6900s first and play with it/break it, then see if I can set SPB up manually.

Any information is be welcome. Thanks

[cedric1]

Hello

We use it and implement more and more at our customer.

New L2 backbone, replace STP.
Fast convergence. robust based on IS-IS.
Multi Customer network as you can have bvlan,isid,and then 4094 vlans from customer.

Easy to configure, when do a setup you will understand and unleash the the protocol.

Im my opinion what is important to learn on SAP port :
-> In old vlan access port switch, you can have same mac in multiple vlan.

On SAP port, if you have same mac in different vlans, you need to configure a service isid for each vlan.
Ex :
vlan 1 mac a
vlan 2 mac b

this coming on sap port x/y.
we need to have

sap port x/y:1 -> isid 1001
sap port x/y:2 -> isid 1002


With SPB backbone you configure BEB switch SAP port , and nothing to do on BCB switch. BCB Just need to have BVLAN which need to be consistent on all SPB switch.

In Datacenter where we have VMs we configure on ESX ports SAP * to automate and simplify Vmware network traffic input, port group creation.

So yes SPB is a protocol where you can have added value.

One more thing to take care :

Ex :

CPE-input tag 10 ------ SAP PORT *---BEB-A-ISID 1000--------------BCB--------BCB--------BEB-B-ISID 1000-----SAP PORT *--------CPE-ouput tag 10

Now imagine on side A you inject on CPE tag 30 is ISIS 1000, on side B on CPE if you capture traffic you will get BUM ( Broadcast Unknow Multicast) traffic
from vlan 30.
This even if you configure on BEB-B SAP PORT 10 instead of SAP PORT *.
SPB BEB stop on ISIS level context for BUM outgoing traffic.

So in same ISIS you have to group same customer or be sure you will have same vlans config on CPE to be more efficient with BUM.

Next we can continue with L3 IPVPN, but out of this scope.

Regards

Cedric

[rekeds]

can you bridge tagged and untagged vlan?

Code: Select all

show service spb 1 ports
sap:1/1:300            Up   Up    N           Y:x           1/1         -
sap:1/19:0             Up   Up    N           Y:x           1/19        -

figured it out - vlan-xlation on both saps.

[rekeds]

any one has managed to terminate spbm from a 69 to 7750?

[benny]

What does "terminate" mean in your setup? Is the connection between OS6900 & 7750 still based on SPB-M or do you want to connect a VLAN on OS6900-side into SPB-M SAP on 7750 side? In a nut-shell: NNI or UNI?

Benny

[rekeds]

sorry for the late answer.

we tried to terminate spbm into 7750 (spb to spb), worked untill we got to double tags, then on wireshark we found out that some triple vs double tagging was going on.

the end setup is just vlans between the two units.