Connecting HPE Synergy 12000 with Cisco ACI for Vmware - Queries on network layout

[AGMENON]

Dear Community  ,

We plan to deploy HPE synergy to host ESX Servers as below and have queries regarding the network configuration  ( to our ACI network ) . 

Please see summary of our environment as well as our queries  .

Request help from you experts to clarify our queries 

Appreciate your quick response in this regard . 

Environment 

=========

synergy 12000 frame
HPE Virtual Connect SE 100Gb F32 Module* 2 in HA Config .

On each VC module , 2 qsfp ports for ethernet and 1 qsfp port for FC  

Server ( compute module ) requirement

============

Each compute module ( esx host ) has a single synergy 6820c 25/50gb cna.

On each compute module ( esx host ), we need the below adapters

2 vmnics in LACP ( lag ) for VM traffic -- Connecting to vmware distributed vswitch
1 nic each for vmotion traffic & 1 nic for Mgmt traffic teamed for loadbalancing and failover and connected to standard vswitch on the esx host
2* FC hbas 16Gbps for SAN Storage connectivity

We plan to create 2 ethernet uplink sets  ( 1 for Mgmt+vmotion traffic and 1 for vm traffic  ) + 2 FC uplink sets . 

Questions below
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1. our Network is based on Cisco ACI and we plan to create VPC ( not MLAG ) between the VC Uplink ports on ACI Side . Is this supported / ok ?

2. How should we connect the VC modules to the aci network  . one module to each Leaf or each module to 2 Leafs  ? 

3. How does the Uplink ports from the 2 VC Modules operate in an uplink set ? active-active or active-passive ? For HA between uplink ports from 2 VC modules , do you need LACP between them on the physical network side or is the Cross VC interconnect Enough ?

4. Can we have the Uplink ports in an Uplink set connected as normal access ports ( not LACP , vpc ) on the ACI Side ? ( requirement for the Vmotion / Management networks on the Compute Modules )

5. Does the Flexnics inherit the upstream uplinkset Physical network configuration ( lacp etc ) of the respecitve network or networksets ?

ie for an uplink set with LACP configured on the physical network side , should the corresponding flexnics using it behave in LACP as well ?

ie can we have mgmt / vmotion network uplink ports connected in lacp on the physical network side but use normal teaming  / failover on the Vsphere OS side  ? 

[naveenkumarb]

Hello,

I request you to go through the below documentation and let me know if it answers any of your queries.

https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/docDisplay?docId=emr_na-a00003736en_us

I believe you need to involve a consultant to implement the solution.

[akramer000]

There is a whitepaper that I strongly encourage you to review since it answers most of your questions.  I will also try to address your questions below. 

Q1. our Network is based on Cisco ACI and we plan to create VPC ( not MLAG ) between the VC Uplink ports on ACI Side. Is this supported / ok?

Answer - yes, it is supported. 

Q2. How should we connect the VC modules to the ACI network  . one module to each Leaf or each module to 2 Leafs? 

Answer - most optimal configuration for redundancy and failover is to connect each VC module to each Leaf, i.e. in a criss-cross configuration. 

Q3. How does the Uplink ports from the 2 VC Modules operate in an uplink set ? active-active or active-passive ? For HA between uplink ports from 2 VC modules , do you need LACP between them on the physical network side or is the Cross VC interconnect Enough ?

Answer - When using MLAG from the VC module's side and VPC from the Cisco ACI side and connecting both VC modules to both ACI LEaf switches, all uplink ports from the VC module will be Active-Active. You need both - connect VC modules together into a stack and LACP between VC module and ACI Leaf. 

Q4. Can we have the Uplink ports in an Uplink set connected as normal access ports ( not LACP , vpc ) on the ACI Side ? ( requirement for the Vmotion / Management networks on the Compute Modules )

Answer - Yes, you can have uplink ports from VC connect without LACP. Access port usually means that port carries traffic for a single VLAN, it doesn't mean there is no LACP. If multiple ports from VC uplink set connected to Cisco Leaf without LACP, one of them will become Active and the rest will remain standby. 

Q5. Does the Flexnics inherit the upstream uplinkset Physical network configuration (lacp etc) of the respective network or network sets? 

Answer - No it does not, FlexNICs have to be configured via server profile connections. If LACP on FlexNICs is desired, it is only supported with the vmware distributed vswitch and has to be configured on the profile. 

ie for an uplink set with LACP configured on the physical network side, should the corresponding flexnics using it behave in LACP as well?

Answer - it is not required, but recommended to use LACP on the FlexNIC side, but as I mentioned it will require vDS.  Uplink and downlink configuration is independent. 

ie can we have mgmt / vmotion network uplink ports connected in lacp on the physical network side but use normal teaming  / failover on the Vsphere OS side? 

Answer - Yes it is supported this way.