Category Archives: IRF

HP VSR E0321 Release: IRF has arrived for NFV!

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Peter Debruyne

HP has released version E0321 for the Virtual Services Router (VSR) platform. This is a major new release, which includes some very cool new features, such as IRF for the virtual platform.

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Comware7: MAD BFD support on Management Ethernet port

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Peter Debruyne

Multiple-Active Detection (MAD) is used to detect a split brain in an IRF system. When the MAD BFD method is used, a dedicated Layer3 VLAN interface needs to be configured for the MAD BFD operation. This VLAN should be directly … Continue reading →

Posted in Comware7, IRF | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Provision support for IRF MAD LACP Split brain detection

Posted on November 8, 2014 by Peter Debruyne

When you use IRF to group multiple Comware switches into 1 logical device, it is generally recommended to enable some split brain detection (split brain happens when all the stacking links are down). For the MAD LACP method, only Comware … Continue reading →

Posted in Comware5, Comware7, IRF, Provision | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Comware IRF: L2 MAC Address roaming

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Peter Debruyne

IRF is used on Comware switches (and some routers as well now) to virtualize 2 or more devices as 1 virtual device. This is a very convenient way to simplify the network setup and management. Although IRF is very easy … Continue reading →

Posted in Comware5, Comware7, IRF | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Getting ready for next-gen IRF !

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Peter Debruyne

HP Comware switches have had IRF (Intelligent Resilient Framework) for years, and it was the basis of more simplified network topologies. Now it seems HP is preparing a next-generation of IRF !

Posted in Comware7, IRF | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Comware5 ISSU: Unknown (manual procedure)

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Peter Debruyne

Remember to read the basic ISSU article first: https://abouthpnetworking.com/2014/03/24/comware5-issu-basics/ In the previous post we have seen the: compatible ISSU: https://abouthpnetworking.com/2014/03/24/comware5-issu-compatible/ incompatible ISSU: https://abouthpnetworking.com/2014/03/24/comware5-issu-incompatible/ In this article, we will look at the detailed steps of the Unknown ISSU.

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Comware5 ISSU: Incompatible

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Peter Debruyne

Remember to read the basic ISSU article first: https://abouthpnetworking.com/2014/03/24/comware5-issu-basics/ In the previous post we have seen the compatible ISSU type. https://abouthpnetworking.com/2014/03/24/comware5-issu-compatible/ In this article, we will look at the detailed steps of the Incompatible ISSU.

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Comware5 ISSU: Compatible

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Peter Debruyne

In the previous post we have seen the overview of ISSU types. https://abouthpnetworking.com/2014/03/24/comware5-issu-basics/ In this article, we will look at the detailed steps of the Compatible ISSU.

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Comware5 ISSU: Basics

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Peter Debruyne

In this article we will review the ISSU options on Comware5 devices. ISSU stands for In Service Software Update and the goal is to minimize downtime during firmware updates. This article applies only to Comware5 devices (Comware7 has many more … Continue reading →

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Combining FCoE SAN A/B and IRF with BridgeAggregation

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Peter Debruyne

FCoE and BridgeAggregation Storage networks have a traditional setup of SAN A/B, which are totally separated, by a so called “air-gap”. When using FCoE, this airgap is nearly impossible to maintain (unless only storage would be passing the CNA adapter) … Continue reading →

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HP releases the 5900CP: Native FC and FCOE Gateway

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Peter Debruyne

5900CP: a 5900 with Converged Ports It took some time, but here it is : the 5900CP, a converged FC/FCoE datacenter switch.

Posted in Comware7, FCOE, IRF | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Comware7 IRF MAD LACP : New selection method !

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Peter Debruyne

Most people working with IRF will be aware of the MAD (Multiple Active (Master) Detection) process. In this article we will review the operation of MAD LACP on Comware5 and the changes in the implementation for Comware7 devices.

Posted in Comware5, Comware7, IRF | Tagged , , , , | 21 Comments