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Classic Token Ring Bridged Network Migration

Classic Token Ring Bridged Network Migration

The Catalyst 3900 Token Ring switch and Catalyst 5000 Token Ring switch module can be used to collapse network backbones and floor rings in classic Token Ring environments with redundantly placed source-route bridges. The use of a Catalyst Token Ring switch in this scenario improves network performance by eliminating the need for multiple bridges and by allowing the direct attachment of high-utilization devices, such as servers, front-end processors, and routers.

This section provides an example of using Catalyst Token Ring switches to replace multiple bridges in a classic Token Ring network.

This chapter provides the following information:

Initial Network Configuration

In your company, you have two backbone rings that service five floor rings. You have a server, router, and front-end processor attached to each of the backbone rings. Because the number of users is growing and there is an increased need to access the devices that are attached to the backbone rings, you need to improve the performance of your network. You have decided to replace one ring with a Catalyst 3900 and one with a Catalyst 5000 with a Token Ring switching module.

Figure 6-1 illustrates the initial network configuration.


Figure 6-1: Initial Network Configuration


Configuration Steps

To configure your collapsed backbone network, on each switch you will need to configure a new bridge (TrBRF) as you cannot add TrCRFs to the default TrBRF, a ring (TrCRF) for each floor, as well as a TrCRF that will contain the high-utilization devices.


Note For more information about Token Ring VLANs, see the "Token Ring VLANs and Related Protocols" chapter.

Configuring the Catalyst 3900

On the Catalyst 3900, you must configure a new bridge (TrBRF) and six new rings (TrCRFs).

Defining the Bridges

To define a bridge (TrBRF), complete the following steps:

Step 1. On the Catalyst 3900 Main Menu, select Configuration. The Configuration panel is displayed.

Step 2. On the Configuration panel, select VLAN and VTP Configuration. The VLAN and VTP Configuration panel is displayed.

Step 3. On the VLAN and VTP Configuration panel, select VTP VLAN Configuration. The VTP VLAN Configuration panel is displayed.

Step 4. On the VTP VLAN Configuration panel, select Add.

Step 5. At the prompt, enter a VLAN ID of 100 .

Step 6. At the prompt, select TrBRF. The VLAN Parameter Configuration for TrBRF panel (Figure 6-2) is displayed.

Step 7. On the VLAN Parameter Configuration for TrBRF panel, specify:


Figure 6-2: VLAN Parameter Configuration for TrBRF Panel


Step 8. Select Return to save your changes.

Defining the Rings

To define the rings (TrCRFs) for the first floor, complete the following steps:

Step 1. On the VTP VLAN Configuration panel, select Add.

Step 2. At the prompt, enter a VLAN ID of 101.

Step 3. At the prompt, select TrCRF. The VLAN Parameter Configuration for TrCRF (Figure 6-3) panel is displayed.

Step 4. On the VLAN Parameter Configuration for TrCRF panel, specify:


Figure 6-3: VLAN Parameter Configuration for TrCRF Panel


Step 5. Select Return to save your changes.

To define the TrCRFs for the remaining floors, repeat Step 1 through Step 5 and use the following values:

To define the TrCRF for the high-utilization devices, repeat Step 1 through Step 5 and use the following values:

Figure 6-4 shows the resulting VTP VLAN Configuration panel.


Figure 6-4: VTP VLAN Configuration Panel


Assigning Ports to the Rings

Next, you must assign the ports to the appropriate TrCRFs. On the Catalyst 3900, complete the following steps:

Step 1. On the VLAN and VTP Configuration panel, select Local VLAN Port Configuration. The Local VLAN Port Configuration panel is displayed.

Step 2. On the Local VLAN Port Configuration panel, select Change.

Step 3. At the prompt enter port number 1.

Step 4. Select Floor 1 from the list of possible TrCRFs. To select the TrCRF, use your arrow keys to highlight the desired TrCRF, press the space bar to select it, and press Enter to implement your change (Figure 6-5).


Figure 6-5: Local VLAN Port Configuration Panel


Step 5. Repeat Step 2 through Step 4 to assign the ports to the appropriate TrCRFs as follows:
Ports TrCRF

2

Floor 1

3, 4

Floor 2

5, 6

Floor 3

7, 8

Floor 4

9, 10

Floor 5

11, 12, 13

Server Ring 1

Step 6. Select Return to save your changes.

Configuring the STP

If you install an external bridge to create a backup path, you introduce possible loops into your network. However, STPs prevent these loops. By default, the TrBRF runs the IBM STP. The STP run on the TrCRF can be manually configured, however, by default the TrCRF STP is determined by the bridging mode. TrCRFs with a bridging mode of SRB will run the IEEE STP and TrCRFs with a bridging mode of SRT will run the Cisco STP.


Note You must assign the ports to the TrCRFs before you can configure spanning-tree parameters for the TrCRFs.

Configuring the Catalyst 5000

On the Catalyst 5000, you must configure a new bridge (TrBRF), 6 new rings (TrCRFs), and the STP. You have inserted the Token Ring module into slot 2 of the Catalyst 5000.

Defining the Bridge

To define the bridge (TrBRF), complete the following steps:

Step 1. At the Catalyst 5000 command prompt, enter enable.

Step 2. At the enable prompt, enter set vlan 200 name brf200 type trbrf bridge 2.

Step 3. To verify the configuration of the new VLAN, enter show vlan.

The output (Figure 6-6) indicates that brf200 has been added, but it does not have any TrCRFs assigned to it yet.


Figure 6-6: Output for show vlan Command
VLAN Name                             Status    Mod/Ports, Vlans
---- -------------------------------- --------- ----------------------------
1    default                          active    1/1-2
200  brf200 active
1002 fddi-default                     active
1003 trcrf-default                    active    2/1-16
1004 fddinet-default                  active
1005 trbrf-default                    active    1003

Defining the Rings

To define the ring (TrCRF) for the first floor, complete the following steps:

Step 1. At the enable prompt, enter:

    set vlan 201 name Floor_1 type trcrf ring 1 parent 200 mode srb 
     
    

Step 2. To verify the configuration of the new VLAN, enter show vlan.

The output (Figure 6-7) indicates that FLoor_1 has been added, but it does not have any ports assigned to it yet. It also shows that brf200 is the parent of the VLAN with the ID of 201.


Figure 6-7: Output of Show VLAN Command
VLAN Name                             Status    Mod/Ports, Vlans
---- -------------------------------- --------- ----------------------------
1    default                          active    1/1-2
200  brf200 active    201
201Floor_1active
1002 fddi-default                     active
1003 trcrf-default                    active    3/1-16
1004 fddinet-default                  active
1005 trbrf-default                    active    1003
 
VLAN Type  SAID       MTU   Parent RingNo BrdgNo Stp  BrdgMode Trans1 Trans2
---- ----- ---------- ----- ------ ------ ------ ---- -------- ------ ------
1    enet  100001     1500  -      -      -      -    -        0      0
200  trbrf 100200     4472  -      -      0x2 ibm  -        0      0
201trcrf 100201 4472  100    0x01 -      -    srb      0      0
1002 fddi  101002     1500  -      0x0    -      -    -        0      0
1003 trcrf 101003     4472  1005   0xccc  -      -    srb      0      0
1004 fdnet 101004     1500  -      -      0x0    ieee -        0      0
1005 trbrf 101005     4472  -      -      0xf    ibm  -        0      0
 

To define the TrCRFs for the remaining floors, enter the set vlan commands as follows:

set vlan 202 name Floor_2 type trcrf ring 2 parent 200 mode srb 
set vlan 203 name Floor_3 type trcrf ring 3 parent 200 mode srb 
set vlan 204 name Floor_4 type trcrf ring 4 parent 200 mode srb 
set vlan 205 name Floor_5 type trcrf ring 5 parent 200 mode srb 
 

To define the TrCRF for the server ring, enter the set vlan commands as follows:

set vlan 207 name Server_Ring_2 type trcrf ring 7 parent 200 mode srb 
 

The output (Figure 6-8) indicates that the TrCRFs have been added, but there are no ports assigned to them yet. It also shows that brf200 is the parent of the new TrCRFs.


Figure 6-8: Output of show vlan Command
VLAN Name                             Status    Mod/Ports, Vlans
---- -------------------------------- --------- ----------------------------
1    default                          active    1/1-2
200  brf200 active 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 207
201Floor_1active
202Floor_2active
203Floor_3active
204Floor_4active
205Floor_5active
207Server_Ring_2active
1002 fddi-default                     active
1003 trcrf-default                    active    2/1-16
1004 fddinet-default                  active
1005 trbrf-default                    active    1003
 
 
VLAN Type  SAID       MTU   Parent RingNo BrdgNo Stp  BrdgMode Trans1 Trans2
---- ----- ---------- ----- ------ ------ ------ ---- -------- ------ ------
1    enet  100001     1500  -      -      -      -    -        0      0
200  trbrf 100200     4472  -      -      0x2 ibm  -        0      0
201 trcrf 100201 4472  200    0x01 -      -    srb 0      0
202 trcrf 100202 4472  200    0x02 -      -    srb 0      0
203 trcrf 100203 4472  200    0x03 -      -    srb 0      0
204 trcrf 100204 4472  200    0x04 -      -    srb 0      0
205 trcrf 100205 4472  200    0x05 -      -    srb 0      0
207 trcrf 100207 4472  200    0x07 -      -    srb 0      0
1002 fddi  101002     1500  -      0x0    -      -    -        0      0
1003 trcrf 101003     4472  1005   0xccc  -      -    srb      0      0
1004 fdnet 101004     1500  -      -      0x0    ieee -        0      0
1005 trbrf 101005     4472  -      -      0xf    ibm  -        0      0

Assigning Ports to the Rings

To assign the ports to the rings (TrCRFs), enter the set vlan commands at the enable prompt as follows:

set vlan 201 23/1-2 
set vlan 202 2/3-4 
set vlan 203 2/5-6
set vlan 204 2/7-8 
set vlan 205 2/9-10 
set vlan 207 2/11-13 
 

The output (Figure 6-9) shows that two ports on the module are assigned to each of the five TrCRFs that represent each floor and that three ports are assigned to Server_Ring_2.


Figure 6-9: Output of show vlan Command
VLAN Name                             Status    Mod/Ports, Vlans
---- -------------------------------- --------- ----------------------------
1    default                          active    1/1-2
200  brf200 active 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 207
201Floor_1active2/1-2
202Floor_2active2/3-4
203Floor_3active2/5-6
204Floor_4active2/7-8
205Floor_5active2/9-10
207Server_Ring_2active2/11-13
1002 fddi-default                     active
1003 trcrf-default                    active    2/14-16
1004 fddinet-default                  active
1005 trbrf-default                    active    1003

Configuring the STP

By default, the TrBRF runs the IBM STP. The STP run on the TrCRFs is determined by the specified bridging mode. TrCRFs with a bridge mode of SRB will run the IEEE STP and TrCRFs with a bridge mode of SRT will run the Cisco STP.

Cabling the Network

Using the appropriate cabling, attach ports 1 and 2 of the Catalyst 3900 to the existing ring on floor 1. Repeat this for each of the floors. Then attach port 11 to the router, port 12 to the server, and port 13 to the front-end processor. Do the same for the ports on the Catalyst 5000.

Resulting Network Configuration

You now have a faster, more efficient network that includes less hardware to maintain (Figure 6-10).


Figure 6-10: Resulting Network


Tips

To further improve performance, if you have 16 Mbps connections and the network interface card (NIC) supports full-duplex, you can configure the ports connected to the servers to operate in FDX mode. To configure FDX:

Step 1. Select Port Configuration on the Configuration panel.

Step 2. Specify the port to which the high-utilization device is attached. In this scenario, that would be ports 11, 12, and 13.

Step 3. On the Port Configuration panel, move to the Operation Mode and select the FDX port mode.

Step 4. Select Return.


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Posted: Wed Aug 25 13:22:52 PDT 1999
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