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Switch Profiles and Port Naming

Switch Profiles

All supported switches have a SwitchProfile that defines the switch model, supported features, and available ports with supported configurations such as port group and speeds as well as port breakouts. SwitchProfiles available in-cluster or generated documentation can be found in the Reference section.

Each switch used in the wiring diagram should have a SwitchProfile references in the spec.profile of the Switch object.

Switch profile defines what features and ports are available on the switch. Based on the ports data in the profile, it's possible to set port speeds (for non-breakout and non-group ports), port group speeds and port breakout modes in the Switch object in the Fabric API.

Port Naming

Each switch port is named using one of the the following formats:

  • M<management-port-number>

    • <management-port-number> is the management port number starting from 1 (usually only one named 1 for most switches)

  • E<asic-or-chassis-number>/<port-number>[/<breakout>][.<subinterface.]

    • <asic-or-chassis-number> is the ASIC or chassis number (usually only one named 1 for the most switches)
    • <port-number> is the port number on the ASIC or chassis, starting from 1
    • optional /<breakout> is the breakout number for the port, starting from 1, only for breakout ports and always consecutive numbers independent of the lanes allocation and other implementation details
    • optional .<subinterface> is the subinterface number for the port

Examples of port names:

  • M1 - management port
  • E1/1 - port 1 on the ASIC or chassis 1, usually a first port on the switch
  • E1/55/1 - first breakout port of the switch port 55 on the ASIC or chassis 1

Available Ports

Each switch profile defines a set of ports available on the switch. Ports could be divided into the following types.

Directly configurable ports

Non-breakout and non-group ports. Would have a reference to the port profile with default and available speeds. Could be configured by setting the speed in the Switch object in the Fabric API:

.spec:
  portSpeeds:
    E1/1: 25G

Port groups

Ports that belong to a port group, non-breakout and not directly configurable. Would have a reference to the port group which will have a reference to the port profile with default and available speeds. Port couldn't be configured directly, speed configuration is applied to the whole group in the Switch object in the Fabric API:

.spec:
  portGroupSpeeds:
    "1": 10G

It'll set the speed of all ports in the group 1 to 10G, e.g. if the group 1 contains ports E1/1, E1/2, E1/3 and E1/4, all of them will be set to 10G speed.

Breakout ports

Ports that are breakouts and non-group ports. Would have a reference to the port profile with default and available breakout modes. Could be configured by setting the breakout mode in the Switch object in the Fabric API:

.spec:
  portBreakouts:
    E1/55: 4x25G

Configuring a port breakout mode will make "breakout" ports available for use in the wiring diagram. The breakout ports are named as E<asic-or-chassis-number>/<port-number>/<breakout>, e.g. E1/55/1, E1/55/2, E1/55/3, E1/55/4 for the example above. Omitting the breakout number is allowed for the first breakout port, e.g. E1/55 is the same as E1/55/1. The breakout ports are always consecutive numbers independent of the lanes allocation and other implementation details.

Last update: October 23, 2024
Created: June 5, 2024