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Task 02: Configure Dell PowerSwitch

Runbook Platform

DOCUMENT CATEGORY: Runbook SCOPE: Top-of-Rack switch configuration PURPOSE: Configure Dell switches for RDMA, VLANs, and high availability MASTER REFERENCE: Dell PowerSwitch OS10 Documentation

Status: Active Estimated Time: 90 minutes Last Updated: 2026-01-31

Overview​

Configure Dell PowerSwitch TOR switches with Data Center Bridging (DCB) for RDMA (RoCE), Virtual Link Trunking (VLT) for redundancy, and VLANs for network segmentation.

Prerequisites​

RequirementDescription
OpenGear AccessStep 1 completed - console access available
Switch ConsoleAccess via OpenGear serial ports or SSH
Network DesignVLAN assignments documented
Storage VLANsVLANs 711-714 available (non-routable)
FirmwareDell-validated firmware version installed

Variables from variables.yml​

Variable PathTypeDescription
networking.network_devices.switch_primaryObjectPrimary ToR switch hostname, management IP, model
networking.network_devices.switch_secondaryObjectSecondary ToR switch hostname, management IP, model
networking.onprem.vlans.managementObjectManagement VLAN ID, CIDR, gateway
networking.onprem.storage.vlansObjectStorage VLAN IDs (711-714) for trunk port configuration
compute.nodes[].hostnameStringNode hostnames for port description labels

Configuration Areas Overview​

Configuration AreaPurposeKey Settings
System SettingsBasic switch identity and managementHostname, management IP, NTP, SSH
QoS/DCB for RDMAEnable lossless storage trafficDCBX, PFC on priority 3, ETS bandwidth allocation
VLT (Virtual Link Trunking)Switch redundancy and high availabilityVLT domain, discovery interfaces, backup destination
VLANsNetwork segmentationManagement, storage (711-714), tenant VLANs
Trunk PortsNode connectivityJumbo frames, QoS policies, allowed VLANs
UplinksCore/distribution connectivityPort-channels, trunk mode
MonitoringOperational visibilitySNMP, syslog forwarding

Section A: QoS/DCB Configuration for RoCE​

Azure Local requires Data Center Bridging (DCB) with Priority Flow Control (PFC) and Enhanced Transmission Selection (ETS) for reliable RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE).

Key Configuration Elements​

ElementPurposeConfiguration
DCBXDCB exchange protocolEnable globally
Trust MapMap 802.1p priorities to queuesPriority 3 → Queue 3 (SMB Storage)
PFC PolicyLossless traffic for SMBEnable pause on priority 3
ETS PolicyBandwidth allocation~50% storage, ~48% management/compute, ~2% heartbeat
Jumbo FramesLarge frame support for storageMTU 9216 on all storage paths

QoS Class Map Configuration (OS10)​

! Create queuing class maps
class-map type queuing Q0
 match queue 0
class-map type queuing Q3
 match queue 3
class-map type queuing Q5
 match queue 5

! Create network-qos class maps
class-map type network-qos SmbStorage
 match qos-group 3
class-map type network-qos NodeHeartBeat
 match qos-group 5

Trust Map Configuration (OS10)​

trust dot1p-map trust_map
 qos-group 0 dot1p 0-2,4,6-7
 qos-group 3 dot1p 3
 qos-group 5 dot1p 5

qos-map traffic-class queue-map
 queue 0 qos-group 0-2,4,6-7
 queue 3 qos-group 3
 queue 5 qos-group 5

ETS Policy Configuration (OS10)​

policy-map type queuing ets-policy
 ! class Q0 - Management and compute traffic
 class Q0
 bandwidth percent 48
 ! class Q3 - SMB Storage traffic (lossless)
 class Q3
 bandwidth percent 50
 ! class Q5 - Cluster heartbeat
 class Q5
 bandwidth percent 2

PFC Policy Configuration (OS10)​

policy-map type network-qos pfc-policy
 ! Enable pause on SMB Storage traffic
 class SmbStorage
 pause
 pfc-cos 3

Apply QoS System-Wide​

system qos
 trust-map dot1p trust_map

Section B: VLT Configuration for High Availability​

VLT (Virtual Link Trunking) provides switch redundancy with active-active uplinks.

VLT Components​

ComponentDescription
VLT DomainLogical grouping of two VLT peer switches
VLT Peer Link (VLTi)Inter-switch link for control and data sync
Backup DestinationOut-of-band heartbeat via management interface
VLT MACVirtual MAC address for the VLT domain
! Configure VLT peer link interfaces
interface range ethernet1/1/11-1/1/12
 description VLTi-PeerLink
 mtu 9216
 flowcontrol receive off
 flowcontrol transmit off
 priority-flow-control mode on
 service-policy input type network-qos pfc-policy
 service-policy output type queuing ets-policy
 ets mode on
 qos-map traffic-class queue-map
 no shutdown
 no switchport

! Configure VLT domain
vlt-domain 1
 backup destination 192.168.255.2
 discovery-interface ethernet1/1/11
 discovery-interface ethernet1/1/12
 vlt-mac 00:00:00:00:00:01
! Configure VLT peer link interfaces
interface range ethernet1/1/11-1/1/12
 description VLTi-PeerLink
 mtu 9216
 flowcontrol receive off
 flowcontrol transmit off
 priority-flow-control mode on
 service-policy input type network-qos pfc-policy
 service-policy output type queuing ets-policy
 ets mode on
 qos-map traffic-class queue-map
 no shutdown
 no switchport

! Configure VLT domain (note different backup destination)
vlt-domain 1
 backup destination 192.168.255.1
 discovery-interface ethernet1/1/11
 discovery-interface ethernet1/1/12
 vlt-mac 00:00:00:00:00:01

Management Interface Configuration​

! TOR1
interface mgmt1/1/1
 no shutdown
 no ip address dhcp
 ip address 192.168.255.1/30
 ipv6 address autoconfig

! TOR2
interface mgmt1/1/1
 no shutdown
 no ip address dhcp
 ip address 192.168.255.2/30
 ipv6 address autoconfig

Section C: VLAN Configuration​

VLAN Types​

VLAN TypePurposeLayer 3 Routing
Management VLANNode management, Windows Admin CenterYes (routable)
Storage VLANs 711-714SMB storage traffic between nodesNo (east/west only)
Tenant VLANsVM workload networksYes (typically routable)
iDRAC/BMC VLANOut-of-band managementYes (routable, isolated)
Storage VLAN Discovery Requirement

Storage VLANs 711-714 are non-routable and used exclusively for east/west traffic between Azure Local cluster nodes. These VLANs:

  • Are configured on ToR switch trunk ports connecting to cluster nodes
  • Are NOT configured on firewalls or any Layer 3 interfaces
  • Are managed automatically by Microsoft Network ATC during cluster deployment
  • MUST be verified as available in the customer's environment during discovery

VLAN Configuration (OS10)​

! Management VLAN
interface vlan 200
 description MANAGEMENT
 mtu 9216
 no shutdown

! Storage VLANs (non-routable - NO IP address assigned)
interface vlan 711
 description STORAGE-1
 no ip address
 mtu 9216
 no shutdown

interface vlan 712
 description STORAGE-2
 no ip address
 mtu 9216
 no shutdown

interface vlan 713
 description STORAGE-3
 no ip address
 mtu 9216
 no shutdown

interface vlan 714
 description STORAGE-4
 no ip address
 mtu 9216
 no shutdown

Section D: Trunk Port Configuration for Cluster Nodes​

Node-Facing Port Configuration​

interface ethernet1/1/1
 description AzureLocal-Node1-Port1
 no shutdown
 switchport mode trunk
 switchport access vlan 1
 switchport trunk allowed vlan 200,711-714
 mtu 9216
 flowcontrol receive off
 flowcontrol transmit off
 priority-flow-control mode on
 service-policy input type network-qos pfc-policy
 service-policy output type queuing ets-policy
 ets mode on
 qos-map traffic-class queue-map
 spanning-tree bpduguard enable
 spanning-tree port type edge

All Node Ports (Range Configuration)​

! TOR1 - Converged topology
interface range ethernet1/1/1-1/1/8
 description NodeDCB
 no shutdown
 switchport mode trunk
 switchport access vlan 1
 switchport trunk allowed vlan 200,711
 mtu 9216
 flowcontrol receive off
 flowcontrol transmit off
 priority-flow-control mode on
 service-policy input type network-qos pfc-policy
 service-policy output type queuing ets-policy
 ets mode on
 qos-map traffic-class queue-map
 spanning-tree bpduguard enable
 spanning-tree port type edge

! TOR2 - Converged topology (different storage VLAN)
interface range ethernet1/1/1-1/1/8
 description NodeDCB
 no shutdown
 switchport mode trunk
 switchport access vlan 1
 switchport trunk allowed vlan 200,712
 mtu 9216
 flowcontrol receive off
 flowcontrol transmit off
 priority-flow-control mode on
 service-policy input type network-qos pfc-policy
 service-policy output type queuing ets-policy
 ets mode on
 qos-map traffic-class queue-map
 spanning-tree bpduguard enable
 spanning-tree port type edge
! Configure uplink port-channel
interface port-channel10
 description DataCenterUplink
 no shutdown
 switchport mode trunk
 switchport access vlan 1
 switchport trunk allowed vlan 200
 vlt-port-channel 10

! Configure physical uplink ports
interface range ethernet1/1/9-1/1/10
 description CUSTOMER.UPLINK
 no shutdown
 channel-group 10 mode active
 no switchport
 flowcontrol receive on
 flowcontrol transmit off

Section F: Enable Services​

! Enable LLDP
lldp enable

! Enable SSH
ip ssh server enable

! Set clock
clock set <HH:MM:SS> <YYYY-MM-DD>

! Clear logs and save
clear logging log-file
write memory

Post-Configuration Verification​

1. Verify VLT Status​

show vlt 1

Expected output:

  • Both switches show VLT domain as "Up"
  • Peer link status: "Up"
  • Backup link status: "Up"

2. Verify QoS Configuration​

show running-configuration class-map
show running-configuration policy-map
show qos interface ethernet1/1/1
  • Confirm PFC enabled on priority 3
  • Confirm ETS bandwidth allocation correct
  • Confirm trust map applied

3. Verify VLANs​

show vlan
  • All required VLANs present and active (200, 711-714)

4. Verify Port Status​

show interface status
  • All node-facing ports up with correct speed

Validation Checklist​

  • VLT domain operational (both switches)
  • VLT peer link and backup link up
  • QoS/DCB configured (DCBX, PFC on priority 3, ETS)
  • Trust map applied system-wide
  • All VLANs active (management, storage 711-714)
  • Trunk ports configured with jumbo frames (MTU 9216)
  • All node-facing ports up with correct speed
  • Uplinks operational
  • LLDP enabled
  • SSH enabled
  • Configuration saved to startup

Troubleshooting​

IssuePossible CauseResolution
VLT peer link downIncorrect port-channel member assignment or cable faultVerify VLT configuration, check cables between switches, confirm port-channel membership
PFC not negotiatingDCBX mode mismatch between switch and NICSet DCBX to IEEE on both ends, verify NIC firmware supports RoCEv2
Storage VLAN unreachableVLAN not added to trunk port or VLAN not createdVerify VLAN exists (show vlan), confirm trunk port has VLAN tagged
Jumbo frames not workingMTU mismatch along pathConfirm MTU 9216 on all switch ports, VLANs, and host NICs in the storage path
SSH access deniedSSH service not enabled or management ACL blockingRun show ip ssh, verify SSH enabled, check management ACL entries

Next Steps​

Proceed to Task 3 - Verify Firewall Endpoints to verify firewall rules for required Azure and Dell endpoints.

← Task 01: OpenGear Configuration↑ Part 3: On-Premises ReadinessTask 03: Firewall Endpoint Verification →

Version Control​

VersionDateAuthorChanges
1.02026-01-31Azure Local Cloud CI/CD EngineeringInitial document
1.12026-03-03Azure Local Cloud CI/CD EngineeringStandardized runbook format

End of Task