Upgrade from sup32 to sup2T

[smailbouabdallah]

We have a WS-C6506-E and We need to do an upgrade from SUP32 to SUP2T. Is there any documentation on how to do it and what are things that should be changed?

* We have 3 cards WS-X6148A-GE-TX

* We are adding 10 GIG card to the switch.

[Kelvin Willacey]

You will need to check and ensure that all your current line cards are supported by the SUP2T. Some cards are but they will need to already have a CFC or you will need a DFC4, some are just not supported. You can check the support on the data sheet.

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/interfaces-modules/catalyst-6500-series-supervisor-engine-2t/data_sheet_c78-648214.html

[Leo Laohoo]

I don't think 6148A is compatible with Sup2T.

Be aware that the venerable 6500E has been in the market a long, long time (hint, hint).

If you're going to replace your supervisor card.  You might as well replace the entire chassis.  There's still a healthy "after market" demand for the chassis and the supervisor card or you could ask Cisco if you can avail of the Technology Migration Program (TMP).

[Kelvin Willacey]

Leo makes a good point so you may want to look at a 6807-XL

[Jon Marshall]

According to the link in the above the sup2T does support the WS-6148A-GE-TX.

In terms of the chassis it may well be that the 6800 is the long term replacement for the 6500 but Cisco have not even announced EoS on the E chassis yet so it still has quite a bit of life in it yet.

As for the suggestion to replace the chassis with a 6807-XL then i just checked the specs and it doesn't look like the WS-X6148A-GE-TX is supported, although the others may know differently.  If they are not supproted you would need to replace those as well which would be in effect like buying a whole new switch.

Jon

[Joseph W. Doherty]

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The  Author of this posting offers the information contained within this  posting without consideration and with the reader's understanding that  there's no implied or expressed suitability or fitness for any purpose.  Information provided is for informational purposes only and should not  be construed as rendering professional advice of any kind. Usage of this  posting's information is solely at reader's own risk.

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Posting

In addition to what the other posters have noted, the 6148A line cards are "classic bus", they're ideal for a sup32.  The sup2T (or sup720), though, supports fabric line cards and placing any "classic bus" line cards in the chassis degrades the performance of the chassis.  (I.e., chassis won't run in "Compact Mode", it will run in "Truncated Mode".)  Also the 6148A line cards won't share a direct data path with fabric only line cards, so data transfer between them will have to hop between bus and fabric on sup.

In other words, if you're going to migrate to a sup2T and 10g line cards, you should consider upgrading the 6148A line cards too.

Depending on your 10g port needs, a sup32-10g might be ideal for you, although the card is discontinued.

[Jon Marshall]

Joseph

In other words, if you're going to migrate to a sup2T and 10g line cards, you should consider upgrading the 6148A line cards too.

I may be wrong but i'm not sure the above applies to 10Gbps linecards as they come with DFCs.

If i understand correctly the truncated vs compact mode affects fabric cards running in CFC mode only. If the linecard has a a DFC then it will make local forwarding decisions so it does not need to send any packets (or part of the packets) to the supervisor for a forwarding decision.

So if the only linecards are WS-X6148A-GE-TX which uses the classis bus anyway and a 10Gbps linecard with a DFC then it shouldn't make any difference.

Obviously the above only refers to the switching mode and i agree that transfer between the classic linecards and 10Gbps linecard would have to go via the supervisor so that is another consideration.

Jon

[Joseph W. Doherty]

Disclaimer

The Author of this posting offers the information contained within this posting without consideration and with the reader's understanding that there's no implied or expressed suitability or fitness for any purpose. Information provided is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as rendering professional advice of any kind. Usage of this posting's information is solely at reader's own risk.

Liability Disclaimer

In no event shall Author be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of use, data or profit) arising out of the use or inability to use the posting's information even if Author has been advised of the possibility of such damage.

Posting

Jon, you're correct, that forwarding mode applies to non-DFC cards.  However, not all 10g cards come with a DFC standard, e.g. 6704  (and the rare/discontinued 6702?). So, it's still a possible concern even with a 10g line card.  Additionally, if you add a 6748-GE-TX w/o DFC or 65xx w/o DFC, you're degrading the performance of those cards too.

For the OP, just to be clear, assuming the 6148A is supported with a sup2T and with additional 10g line cards, it's not that it won't work, you just might not obtain optimal performance.