An HP ProCurve Networking Configuration Note

How to configure Multiple Spanning-tree (MSTP) on HP ProCurve switches

Contents
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................. 2 2. Network diagram ......................................................................................................................................................... 2 3. VLANs and IP Routing configuration ........................................................................................................................ 3 4. MSTP and Load-Balancing ........................................................................................................................................ 5 5. Hardware failure recovery time .............................................................................................................................. 11 6. Firmware versions .................................................................................................................................................... 11 7. Reference documents............................................................................................................................................... 11

How to configure Multiple Spanning-Tree on HP ProCurve switches

1. Introduction
This application note explains configuration of VLANs, IP routing and Multiple-Spanning tree on ProCurve switches to obtain a fully redundant and load-balanced core and distribution Layer-2 network.

2. Network diagram
The platform which will be used in this document to detail the different steps of the configuration consists of: - 2 x ProCurve switch 8212zl, named Core-1 and Core-2 connected by a 10G- SR link. Each one contains 2 x 24-port gigabit modules and a 4-slot 10G module with SR transceivers. - A ProCurve switch 3500yl named Edge-1, with a 10G module at the rear, connected as follows: o Port A1 (10G-SR at the rear) to port C2 on Core-1 o Port A1 (second 10G-SR at the rear) to port C3 on Core-2 - A ProCurve switch 5406wl named Edge-2, with 2 x 24-port gigabit modules and a 4-slot 10G module with SR transceivers, connected as follows: o Port C1 to port C3 on Core-1 o Port C2 to port C2 on Core-2 This hardware configuration is detailed in Figure-1 below.

Figure 1. Setup for VLANs, IP Routing and MSTP Configuration

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How to configure Multiple Spanning-Tree on HP ProCurve switches

3. VLANs and IP Routing configuration

A VLAN is associated to each user group. In our example, 4 users VLANs are defined: VLANs 10, 20, 30 and 40. A 5th VLAN, VLAN 108, is configured as the management VLAN. For redundancy purposes, all VLANs are defined on all switches, and configured on uplinks ( inter-switch links): VLAN 108 is untagged, and VLANs 10,20, 30 and 40 are tagged on each inter-switch link. The 2 core switches enable IP routing between these different VLANs. An IP address is assigned on each VLAN interface. The address is 10.1.VLAN.1 for the VLANs that we will place in an instance where the core switch will be root for the spanning-tree. VLAN 10 20 30 40 Core-1 10.1.10.1 10.1.20.1 10.1.30.2 10.1.40.2 Core-2 10.1.10.2 10.1.20.2 10.1.30.1 10.1.40.1

3.1 VLANs and IP Routing switches configuration on Core switches: Core- 1 VLANs and IP Routing Configuration
! IP Routing between VLANs is enabled Core-1(config)# ip routing !VLAN definition Core-1(config)# vlan 10 name VLAN10 !VLAN is tagged on uplinks Core-1(config-vlan10)# tagged C1-C3 !IP address assignment on the VLAN Core-1(config-vlan10)# ip address 10.1.10.1/24 !DHCP requests forwarding Core-1(config-vlan10)# ip helper-address 10.3.108.36 ..... similar configuration for other VLANs.... !Management VLAN configuration Core-1(config-vlan108)# vlan 108 name MANAGEMENT Core-1(config-vlan108)# untagged all Core-1(config-vlan108)# ip address 10.3.108.201/24

Configuration on Core-2 is similar.

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How to configure Multiple Spanning-Tree on HP ProCurve switches

Note:
IP addresses in 10.1.X.1 have been assigned in each VLAN to the switch that will be configured as Root switch for MSTP in this instance, and IP addresses in 10.1.X.2 to the backup Root.

Best Practice:
For security reasons do not use Default VLAN as your management VLAN. So if a port happens to be set in default VLAN, it wont be in the management VLAN by mistake. Do I have to set my management VLAN as untagged or tagged on uplinks? Both choices are valid. Having uplink as tagged in the management VLAN implies that the switch is preconfigured to become reachable via IP. Having uplinks as untagged on Aggregation switches in the management VLAN has a practical advantage. It permits connection to switches connected out-of-the-box to the LAN with a default configuration. VLAN 1 on this non yet configured switch will be then connected to your management VLAN, will get an IP address via DHCP and become reachable for a remote configuration.

3.2 VLANs and IP Routing switches configuration on Edge switches: Edge 1 VLANs and IP Routing Configuration
! VLAN definition Edge-1(config)# vlan 10 name VLAN10 ! VLAN is configured as tagged on uplinks Edge-1(config-vlan10)# tagged A1-A4 ! User ports definition Edge-1(config-vlan10)# untagged 1-12 Edge-1(config-vlan10)# vlan 20 name VLAN20 Edge-1(config-vlan20)# tagged A1-A4 Edge-1(config-vlan20)# untagged 12-24 Edge-1(config-vlan20)# vlan 30 name VLAN30 Edge-1(config-vlan30)# tagged A1-A4 Edge-1(config-vlan30)# untagged 25-36 Edge-1(config-vlan30)# vlan 40 name VLAN40 Edge-1(config-vlan40)# tagged A1-A4 Edge-1(config-vlan40)# untagged 37-48 Edge-1(config-vlan40)# vlan 108 name MANAGEMENT Edge-1(config-vlan108)# untagged A1-A4 Edge-1(config-vlan108)# ip address 10.3.108.203/24 ! Note: Do not forget to configure the default gateway for a remote access to your switch Edge-1(config)# ip default-gateway 10.3.108.201

A similar configuration is done on Edge-2.

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How to configure Multiple Spanning-Tree on HP ProCurve switches

4. MSTP and Load-Balancing

Spanning-tree is a Layer 2-protocol that enables to define a loop-free logical topology where redundant links are blocked and become active in case of failure of the main links. For more information about the basics of spanning-tree you can refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanning_tree_protocol For more information about Multiple Spanning Tree please refer to the ProCurve Advanced Traffic Management Guide for the ProCurve Series 3500yl/6200yl/5400zl/8212zl Switches Chapter 4- Multiple Instance Spanning-tree operation: http://cdn.procurve.com/training/Manuals/3500-5400-6200-8200-ATG-Jan08-4-MSTP.pdf We are going to detail MSTP configuration. MSTP (802.1s) enables to define different instances, each of which contains multiple VLANs. Instead of blocking physically ports as in RSTP, MSTP set a free loop topology per instance and block the VLANs of a given port based on the configuration of each instance. Creating multiple instances with symmetric configuration you can load balance traffic between MSTP Instances

4.1 MSTP Topology:

On our platform, we have defined 2 instances: Instance 1 contains VLAN 10, 30 and 108. For all this VLANs, the Core-1 switch is the root of the spanning-tree topology and Core-2 the Secondary Root. In this topology, the traffic is forwarded by the Edge switches on their Root Ports ( A1 on Edge-1 and C1 on Edge-2). Alternate ports A4 on Edge-1 and C2 on Edge-2 are blocked. These links only become active in case of failure of the main links. Instance 2 contains VLAN 20 and 40. For all this VLANs, the Core-2 switch is the root of the spanningtree topology and Core-1 the Secondary Root. In this topology, the traffic is forwarded by the Edge switches on their Root Ports ( A4 on Edge-1 and C2 on Edge-2). Alternate ports A1 on Edge-1 and C1 on Edge-2 are blocked. These links only become active in case of failure of the main links.

Instance IST, which we must not forget about, is the default instance. All VLANs that have not been assigned to any other instance are members of IST, even if they have not yet been created on the switch. So, for all VLANs between 1 and 4094 that are not 10,20,30,40 and 108, the spanning-tree topology is similar to instance 1 topology: the Core-1 switch is the root of the spanning-tree topology and Core-2 the Secondary Root. In this topology, the traffic is forwarded by the Edge switches on their Root Ports ( A1 on Edge-1 and C1 on Edge-2). Alternate ports A4 on Edge-1 and C2 on Edge-2 are blocked. These links only become active in case of failure of the main links.

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How to configure Multiple Spanning-Tree on HP ProCurve switches

4.2 Switches configuration: Configuration of MSTP on Core-1

!All switches in an MSTP Domain must have the same configuration parameters. ! Same MSTP Config name. Name is case sensitive. Core-1(config)# spanning-tree config-name "B10" ! Same MSTP Revision number. Core-1(config)# spanning-tree config-revision 1 ! Same MSTP Instances definition Core-1(config)# spanning-tree instance 1 vlan 10 20 108 Core-1(config)# spanning-tree instance 2 vlan 30 40 ! Enables Spanning Tree Core-1(config)# spanning-tree !Core-switch specific configuration: !Core-1 is Root in Instance 1 Core-1(config)# spanning-tree instance 1 priority 0 !Core-1 is Secondary Root in Instance 2 Core-1(config)# spanning-tree instance 2 priority 1 !Core-1 is Root in Instance IST (0) Core-1(config)# spanning-tree priority 0

Configuration of MSTP on Core-2

Core-2(config)# Core-2(config)# Core-2(config)# Core-2(config)# Core-2(config)# spanning-tree spanning-tree spanning-tree spanning-tree spanning-tree config-name "B10" config-revision 1 instance 1 vlan 10 20 108 instance 2 vlan 30 40

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How to configure Multiple Spanning-Tree on HP ProCurve switches

!Core-2 is Secondary Root in Instance 1 Core-2(config)# spanning-tree instance 1 priority 1 !Core-2 is Root in Instance 0 Core-2(config)# spanning-tree instance 2 priority 0 !Core-2 is Secondary Root in Instance IST(0) Core-2(config)# spanning-tree priority 1

Configuration of MSTP on Edge switches

Edge-1(config)# Edge-1(config)# Edge-1(config)# Edge-1(config)# Edge-1(config)# spanning-tree spanning-tree spanning-tree spanning-tree spanning-tree config-name "B10" config-revision 1 instance 1 vlan 10 20 108 instance 2 vlan 30 40

Tip Pre-allocate VLANS to an MSTP Instance When VLAN to-Instance mapping is changed on a switch, MSTP config is changed and the switch quits the MSTP domain. This creates a short interruption of some seconds on the LAN. As it is in a different MSTP Domain, switch then interacts with other switches in RSTP mode. RSTP topology is based on the IST instance configuration. Do not forget to configure the root switch and secondary root switch in the IST instance to get a stable topology for temporary or permanent out of the MSTP Domain switch. To avoid further change in MSTP, pre-allocate VLANs to MSTP instances. This avoids further change to MSTP configuration. E.g.: Spanning-tree instance 1 vlan 1-99 200-299 400-499 600-699 800-899 Spanning-tree instance 2 vlan 100-199 300-399 500-599 700-799 900-999 E.g.: Spanning-tree instance 1 vlan 1-2000 Spanning-tree instance 2 vlan 2001-4094

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How to configure Multiple Spanning-Tree on HP ProCurve switches

4.3 MSTP Troubleshooting:

To view MSTP configuration and the states of the different switch ports, use the following commands: Show spanning-tree mst-config

Core-2# sh spanning-tree mst-config MST Configuration Identifier Information MST Configuration Name : B10 MST Configuration Revision : 1 MST Configuration Digest : 0x5570775DCD6FC8D43CC61A9C8DBC825B IST Mapped VLANs : 1-9,11-19,21-29,31-39,41-107,109-4094 Instance ID Mapped VLANs ------------ --------------------------------------------------------1 10,20,108 2 30,40

This command enables you to check on all switches that participate in the MSTP domain that the configuration digest is the same. If this is not the case on a switch, one of the parameters is probably missing. You can also verify that each VLAN is mapped to the right instances. Show spanning-tree config :
Core-2# sh spanning-tree mst-config Multiple Spanning Tree (MST) Configuration Information STP Enabled [No] : Yes Force Version [MSTP-operation] : MSTP-operation Default Path Costs [802.1t] : 802.1t MST Configuration Name : B10 MST Configuration Revision : 1 Switch Priority : 0 Forward Delay [15] : 15 Hello Time [2] : 2 Max Age [20] : 20 Max Hops [20] : 20 | Path Prio Admin Auto Admin Hello Root TCN BPDU Port Type | Cost rity Edge Edge PtP Time Guard Guard Flt ----- --------- + --------- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------ ------ ------ ---A1 100/1000T | Auto 128 No No True Global No No Yes A2 100/1000T | Auto 128 No No True Global No No Yes A3 100/1000T | Auto 128 Yes Yes True Global No No No A4 100/1000T | Auto 128 Yes Yes True Global No No No ... B24 100/1000T | Auto 128 Yes Yes True Global No No No C1 10GbE-SR | Auto 128 No No True Global No No No C2 10GbE-SR | Auto 128 No No True Global No No No C3 10GbE-SR | Auto 128 No No True Global No No No C4 | Auto 128 Yes Yes True Global No No No

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How to configure Multiple Spanning-Tree on HP ProCurve switches

This command is useful to check the config (Auto-Edge) and status (Edge and Non Edge) of the different ports. Uplinks must me set as Non-Edge and Edge ports as Edge. Show spanning-tree instance 1 Show spanning-tree instance 2
Edge-1# sh spanning-tree A1,A4 instance 1 MST Instance Information Instance ID : 1 Mapped VLANs : 10,20,108 Switch Priority : 32768 Topology Change Count Time Since Last Change : 475 : 25 hours : : : : : 001b3f-cfcd00 0 2000 A1 19 Role ---------Root Alternate State ---------Forwarding Blocking Designated Bridge ------------001b3f-cfcd00 001b3f-cfeb00

Regional Root MAC Address Regional Root Priority Regional Root Path Cost Regional Root Port Remaining Hops Port ----A1 A4 Type --------10GbE-SR 10GbE-SR Cost --------2000 2000

Priority -------0 0

Edge-1# sh spanning-tree A1,A4 instance 2 MST Instance Information Instance ID : 2 Mapped VLANs : 30,40 Switch Priority Topology Change Count Time Since Last Change

: 32768 : 447 : 25 hours : : : : : 001b3f-cfeb00 0 2000 A4 19 Role ---------Alternate Root State ---------Blocking Forwarding Designated Bridge ------------001b3f-cfcd00 001b3f-cfeb00

Regional Root MAC Address Regional Root Priority Regional Root Path Cost Regional Root Port Remaining Hops Port ----A1 A4 Type --------10GbE-SR 10GbE-SR Cost --------2000 2000

Priority -------0 0

HP ProCurve Networking

How to configure Multiple Spanning-Tree on HP ProCurve switches

We can check on Edge switches that: - in instance 1, port A1 is in Forwarding mode and is the Root port and port A4 in blocking mode - in instance 2, port A1 is in Blocking mode and port A4 is in Forwarding mode and is the Root port. This matches the topology we wanted to achieve. We also have the information of the Root Path Cost on each switch. Only one port of a link needs to be blocked. Here the blocked links are on the Edge switches, thats why we check the spanning-tree instances on Edge-1 and Edge-2. Note: If you discover that one of the Edge switches has accidentally become the Root switch, it indicates a configuration error. In that case, carefully check the MSTP common configuration parameters on all switches. Other useful command: Show lldp info remote
! Tip: Verify neighbor switch on a port with show lldp info remote Core-1# sh lldp info remote LLDP Remote Device Information Detail Local Port : C1 ChassisType : mac-address ChassisId : 00 1b 3f cf eb 00 PortType : local PortId : 49 SysName : Core-2 System Descr : ProCurve J9091A Switch 8212zl, revision K.13.25, ROM K.12... PortDescr : C1 System Capabilities Supported : bridge, router System Capabilities Enabled : bridge, router Remote Management Address Type : ipv4 Address : 10.1.10.2

This command gives details about the neighbour switch connected to a port. It helps you to check your connections between the different switches: in the example we can verify that port C1 on Core-1 is connected to port C1 on Core-2, which is a 8212zl and has IP address 10.1.10.2.

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How to configure Multiple Spanning-Tree on HP ProCurve switches

5. Hardware failure recovery time

Several tests were done to estimate the recalculation time of MSTP in case or hardware failure: Uplink failure: A ping between a machine in VLAN 108 (instance 1) connected to Edge-2 and a machine in VLAN 30 (instance 2) connected to Edge-1 is launched. Then the link between Edge-1 and Core-1 is broken. No ping is lost, the convergence time is less than 1s. Root switch failure: The ping between the 2 same machines still running, now Core-1 is rebooted. 2 to 3 pings are lost, the convergence time is between 1s and 3s.

6. Firmware versions
Switches firmware versions used in this application note are: For ProCurve switches 3500yl, 5406zl and 8212zl: K.13.25

7. Reference documents
This concludes the procedure for configuring VLANs, IP Routing and MSTP on ProCurve switches. For further information about how to configure MSTP on ProCurve switches 3500yl-5400zl-8212zl, please refer to the following links: ProCurve Advanced Traffic Management Guide for the ProCurve Series 3500yl/6200yl/5400zl/8212zl Switches Chapter 4- Multiple Instance Spanning-tree operation: http://cdn.procurve.com/training/Manuals/3500-5400-6200-8200-ATG-Jan08-4-MSTP.pdf Command Line Reference Guide: http://cdn.procurve.com/training/Manuals/8200-6200-5400-3500-CLIK13-Mar2008.pdf

For further information, please visit www.procurve.eu

2008 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

HP ProCurve Networking

4AA2-2364EEE, September 2008

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