5800 switch interface modules hot swap support

[IanTomkins]

Can anyone tell me if the interface modules for the 5800 switches are hot swap or not? Specifically the JC091A 4-port 10GbE SFP+ Module.

The only relevant information I have found was an FAQ doc which contained this:

Q. Is an interface card hot swappable after a port on the card is bound to an IRF port?
A. No. The interface card is not hot swappable after a port on the card is bound to an IRF port.

But I haven't found any reference to hot swap support in the offical docs/specs etc.

[parnassus]

Interesting...a statement (an answer) like this:

"The interface card is not hot swappable after a port on the card is bound to an IRF port"

would suggest that the whole Interface Card is indeed Hot Swappable *if* any of its physical ports is not bound to a logical IRF port.

That's only a consequence of a statement interpretation made by me, not an official declaration (of being Hot Swappable).

More interesting is the "Appendix B FRUs and compatibility matrixes" on the HPE FlexNetwork 5820X & 5800 Switch Series Installation Guide (here), it is stated that "All the FRUs in this appendix are hot swappable"...this means that:

• Power Supplies
• Fan Trays
• Interface Cards [*]
• PoE Modules
• OAP Cards
• RPS

since are all listed in the Appendix B are all Hot Swappable (on Switch models on which those FRUs are obiouvsly supported).

[*] where:

• LSW1SP4P0 (JC091A) 4-Port 10 GE Ethernet SFP+ optical interface card
• LSW1SP2P0 (JC092B) 2-port 10 GE SFP+ optical interface card
• LSW1GP16P0 (JC095A) 16-port 100/1000Base-X SFP interface card
• LSW1GT16P (JC094A) 16-port 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet electrical (?) [**] interface card

[**] Never saw a non-Electrical Ethernet port!

OTOH on the HPE 5820X & 5800 Switch Series Interface Cards User Guide (here) there is no reference of any Hot Swappable property about an Interface Card...but...among the Notes related to the operations of inserting/removing an Interface Card *there is no* reference about something like "Power Off the Switch before inserting/removing an Interface Card" *so* this would mean that those operations are be permitted with the Switch powered on...consequently any Interface Card is practically Hot Swappable even if that is not clearly stated.

[IanTomkins]

Thanks for that response, very helpful (unlike the official docs in this regard).

[**] Never saw a non-Electrical Ethernet port!

Fibre optics carry non-electrical Ethernet which is I think the implication in that context.

[parnassus]

Yep, 8-).

But technically speaking (and since the word electrical was used to reference specifically to a 10/100/1000 Base-T physical port) a port - no matter if it is a 10/100/1000/10000 (or whatever else) Ethernet - or a SFP/SPF+ slot - no matter if it is equipped with a Transceiver for Copper or Fiber connectivity or just a DAC Cable - is necessarily always electrical (even if the medium material is then made of Copper of Fiber Optic)..so saying that a port is electrical (and others are not)...made me thinking if I really ever saw one switching port that it isn't...bad wording in my opinion (not so unusual on documentation).

Edit: Fiber Optic cables carry electrical waves exactly like Copper cables...Fiber Optic cables transport electric waves in the light spectrum...so the medium is always (sort of) passive, the signal is always electrical (electronic waves)...by the way discussing about (and around) wording is *always* interesting!

[pombeii]

parnassus,

Will it be clearer if "electrical" is replaced by "copper"? If not, do you have advice?

Thanks!

pombeii

[parnassus]

Personally I would eliminate the word "electrical"...leaving only this clean description:

• LSW1GT16P (JC094A) 16-port 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet interface card

On the same document I think I saw the word "auto-sensing" to better describe those 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet ports...but, probably, that is redundant since everybody expect that that interface card has auto-sensing feature on those 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet ports.

I think that "electrical" is a term inherited by some original H3C S5800 documents (they like to distinguish electrical and optical to say that on a SFP you can install a Copper Transceiver or a Fiber Optic Transceiver)...bad wording IMHO.

But this is just a personal preference... ;-).

[pombeii]

The answer in the FAQ is brief that it creates confusion and the question is not well phrased. To my knowledge, the information intended for the users is that: Do not remove an expansion interface module directly if the module contains physical IRF member ports.

In the IRF configuration guide, you might have seen information similar to the following in the section that describes configuring IRF ports: To remove or replace the module, you must first remove the cable of each IRF physical port on the module or shut down the IRF physical ports by using the shutdown command.  

In addition, if you are replacing the module with a different module model (for example, replace a two-port module with a four-port module), you might also need to remove IRF bindings before installing the new module. The binding/unbindnig procedure also involves shutdown operation.

If I obtain more information, I will update the reply.

Hope this information is helpful.

pombeii

[parnassus]

Let me add that in that particular FAQs document probably a very simple question is lacking (and could be placed just above the one cited by OP):

Q. Are Interface Cards Hot Swappable?

Sic et simpliciter.

[Dennis Handly]

>Fiber Optic cables carry electrical waves exactly like Copper cables

I would think it more precise to say it transports photons and E&M waves.

Whereas copper transports or oscillates electrons.

[parnassus]

Yep, I was imprecise. Sorry for that...nontheless what I wrote before regarding the wording used...remains substantially true. Isn't it?