Catalyst 6500 Architecture

Catalyst 6500 Architecture
BRKARC-3465
BRKARC-3465
2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Cisco Public
Session Goal
To provide you with a
thorough understanding
of the Catalyst
6500 switching
architecture, packet flow,
forwarding engine
functions, and key
feature operations.
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Agenda
Chassis and Power Supplies
Supervisor Engine and Switch
Fabric Architectures
Module Architectures
Layer 2 Forwarding
IP Unicast Forwarding
NetFlow
Access Control Lists
Packet Walks
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Catalyst 6500 E-Chassis Family
6509-V-E
6513-E
6509-E
6506-E
6504-E
6503-E
7 Chassis Members From 3 Slot to 13 Slot

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Catalyst 6500 E-Series Chassis

Inside the Chassis
FABRIC
BUS
Linecard
Slots
Supervisor
32/720/2T
Slots
Linecard
Slots
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Catalyst 6500 Switch Backplanes

Classic (32Gb) BUS Backplane
720Gb / 2Tb Crossbar Backplane
DBUS
RBUS
EOBC
Linecard
Linecard
Linecard
CROSSBAR
Linecard
Linecard
Data Bus (DBUS) allows L/C to forward data

to Supervisor for forwarding decision
Crossbar is a matrix of N channels to

provide a data path between linecards
Results Bus (RBUS) returns forwarding

result from Supervisor back to L/C
Sup720 supports 18 channels at 8G/20G

per channel (speed autodetected)
Ethernet Out of Band Channel (EOBC)

provide out of band management between
Supervisor and LC
Sup2T supports 26 channels at 20G/40G

per channel (speed autodetected)
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Catalyst 6500 Linecard Slot Support

Slot
6503/
6503-E
6504-E
6506/
6506-E
6509/
6509-E
6509NEBS-A
6509-V-E
6513
6513-E
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Single
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Single
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Single
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Single
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Single
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Single
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Single
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Single
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
Dual
10
Dual
Dual
11
Dual
Dual
12
Dual
Dual
13
Dual
Dual
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In order to take advantage of

the dual fabric channels in
slots 1 8 of the 6513-E
chassis, the Supervisor 2T is
required.
With any version of the

Supervisor 720, the 6513-E
fabric channel distribution Is
the same as the 6513.
Power Supply Redundancy

The Catalyst 6500 can utilize two power supplies to work in either Combined or Redundant Mode
Redundant Mode
Combined Mode
Catalyst 6500
50%
Power Supply 1
Catalyst 6500
50%
83%
Power Supply 2
Power Supply 1
Use the Cisco Power Calculator

on cisco.com to determine which
supplies and which mode of
operation is needed for your system.
83%
Power Supply 2
Each power supply operates at ~50% capacity
Each power supply provides up to 83% of its capacity
Neither supply operates at >60% or <40% capacity
The total system power available is 167% of the capacity of a

single supply
If one fails, the second supply can power the system on its
own
This is the default and recommended configuration for the
power supplies
If one fails, the second supply may not be able to power the
system on its own - this could result in devices or linecards
being shut down
This is not the recommended mode for production
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Agenda
Layer 2 Forwarding
NetFlow
Packet Walks
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Catalyst 6500 Supervisors

Supervisor 720: Some Facts
Supervisor 720 Quick Facts
Integrated 720Gbps Switch Fabric
Supervisor 720
3A / 3B / 3BXL
Supervisor 720-10G
3C / 3CXL
Integrated Policy Feature Card 3 (PFC3) supporting

hardware acceleration for select features
Integrated Multilayer Switch Feature Card 3
(MSFC3) supporting two CPUs for Layer 2 and
Layer 3 functionality
IPv6 unicast and multicast forwarding support in
hardware
Virtual Switching System (VSS) support with
Sup720-10G models
All uplinks can be active in systems with redundant
Supervisors
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inPublic
the notes)
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Supervisor 720 3A / 3B / 3BXL

EOBC
Rbus
Dbus
Classic BUS
Crossbar Fabric Channels
L2 CAM
Layer 2 FWD Engine
Switch
Fabric
FIB TCAM
FIB Table
QOS ACL
MET
Security ACL
Fabric /
Layer 3
FWD
Engine
Replication
ASIC
RP
Flash
RP
DRAM
SP
Flash
SP
DRAM
MSFC3
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RP
SP
Port
ASIC
Counters
Netflow TCAM
Netflow Table
Netflow Stats
Port
ASIC
Adjacency
Adj Stats
1G
1G
1G
Policy Feature Card

(PFC3)
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Supervisor 720-10G 3C / 3CXL

EOBC
Rbus
Dbus
Classic BUS
Switch
Fabric
Fabric
ASIC
L2 CAM
FIB Table
QOS ACL
20Gbps
Layer
2/3
FWD
Engine
Fabric /
MET
RP
SP
RP
Flash
SP
Flash
RP
DRAM
SP
DRAM
MSFC3
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FIB TCAM
Replication
ASIC
Security ACL
Counters
Netflow TCAM
Netflow Table
Netflow Stats
Port
ASIC
Adjacency
Port
ASIC
Adj Stats
Policy Feature Card

(PFC3)
Quad Port PHY
10G
1G
1G
1G
10G
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Supervisor 2T: Some Facts
Supervisor 720 Quick Facts
Integrated 2-Tbps Switch Fabric
Integrated Policy Feature Card 4 (PFC4) supporting

hardware acceleration for select features
Supervisor 2T
PFC4 / PFC4XL
Integrated Multilayer Switch Feature Card 5

(MSFC5) supporting a single CPU for L2 and L3
functionality
Connectivity Management Processor (CMP) for
improved management capability
One external compact flash slot (power controlled
by IOS)
All uplinks can be active in systems with redundant
Supervisors
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(more information
the notes)
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Supervisor 2T PFC4 / PFC4XL

EOBC
Rbus
Dbus
Classic BUS
Switch
Fabric
Fabric
ASIC
L2
NetFlow
CAM
20Gbps
MET
FIB
Layer
Counters
2/3 L3/4 Forwarding
LIF FWD
Engine
Netflow TCAM ADJ
Table
Engine
Fabric /
Replication
ASIC
Netflow Table
Netflow Stats
Port
ASIC
Flash
MSFC5
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FIB Table
CL2
TCAM
QOS ACL
CL1
TCAM
Security ACL
CPU
DRAM
FIB TCAM
Port
ASIC
LIF
DB
LIF
Stats
Quad Port PHY
10G
1G
1G
1G
10G
RPF
Table
Adjacency
Adj Stats
L2 Forwarding
Engine
ACE
Counter
L2 CAM (128K)
Policy Feature Card (PFC4)
PFC4
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Supervisor Chassis Requirements
Chassis
Supervisor 720s
Supervisor 2Ts
All E-Series
Only E-Series
All non-E Series

E-Fans for E-Series
Fan Trays
Power Supplies
E-Fan cannot be used in non-E Series

Chassis
E-Fans for E-Series
Fan2 for non-E

Series
2500W AC / DC or greater
Fan2 cannot be used in E-Series

With Supervisor 2T and 6513-E, only
Supervisors are allowed in the
Supervisor Slots
3-Slot : 1 and 2
4-slot : 1 and 2
Supervisor Slots
6-slot : 5 and 6
9-slot : 5 and 6
With Supervisor 720 and 6513-E, the fabric

channel distribution is the same as
with Supervisor 720 and 6513.
13-slot : 7 and 8
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Switch Fabric
The Supervisor 720 and Supervisor 2T support a Switch Fabric which offers each connected
linecard a set of discrete communication paths into the switch backplane
Linecard
Slot #9
Linecard
Slot #1
Linecard
Slot #7
Linecard
Slot #2
Linecard
Slot #6
Data Flows
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Linecard
Slot #8
Linecard
Slot #3
Linecard Supervisor
Slot #4
Slot #5
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Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 720

The 720Gbps Switch Fabric
Switch Fabric
- Integrated 720Gbps Switch Fabric

- Provides backplane interconnects between
linecards
- Fabric Traces are distributed across each
linecard slot
- Each Fabric Trace can run at 8Gb/sec OR
20Gb/sec
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Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 2T

The 2Tbps Switch Fabric
Switch Fabric
- Integrated 2Tbps Switch Fabric

- 26 Channels to support the 6513-E
- Provides backplane interconnects
between linecards
- Fabric Traces are distributed across
each linecard slot
- Each Fabric Trace can run at
20Gb/sec OR 40Gb/sec
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Catalyst 6500- Checking Fabric Utilization

6509E#show platform hardware capacity fabric
Switch Fabric Resources
Bus utilization: current: 25%, peak was 75% at 19:28:31 UTC Mon Feb 2 2012
Fabric utilization:
Ingress
Egress
Module
Chanl
Speed
rate
20G
10%
50% @13:49 06Jan12
20%
50% @13:49 06Jan12
20G
20%
50% @13:49 06Jan12
10%
50% @13:49 06Jan12
20G
0%
1% @20:30 13Jan12
0%
1% @20:46 06Jan12
20G
0%
1% @20:47 16Jan12
0%
1% @16:52 06Jan12
20G
20%
40% @13:49 06Jan12
0%
0% @13:49 06Jan12
20G
0%
1% @17:44 06Jan12
0%
1% @00:36 08Jan12
8G
0%
3% @16:33 12Feb12
50%
100% @13:49 06Jan12
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peak
rate
peak
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Catalyst 6500 Multilayer Switch Feature Card

MSFC Serves as Control Plane for 6500
MSFC3
Supervisors 720 and 32 have Two CPUs

SP and RP
SP serves as L2 control plane
RP serves as L3 control plane
Supervisor 2T has One CPU

Single CPU performs L2 and L3 functions
CMP on MSFC5 provides CPU,

file system, and boot management
MSFC5
Local Bootflash holds IOS images

Only SP Bootflash holds Native IOS images for Supervisor 720
Config held in NVRAM

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Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 2T

MSFC5: Connectivity Management Processor (CMP)
The Connectivity Management Processor (CMP) supports new
capabilities that will aid Network Administrators in managing the
system:
CPU Image Recovery
- TFTP boot of the system

CPU File Transfer
- Image on USB device or TFTP
Remote CPU Reset

- Hard or Soft reset
CPU Console Logging

- Record CPU console log for troubleshooting
USB Support
- USB serial console access
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Catalyst 6500 Policy Feature Card

PFC3
PFC Serves as Data Plane for 6500

Two primary ASICs L2 and L3
TCAMs used for high speed lookup into
Forwarding (FIB), ACL (Security and QoS) and
Netflow Tables
PFC3 48Mpps Maximum Forwarding
PFC4 60Mpps Maximum Forwarding
PFC4
Common features supported in hardware by

PFC3 and PFC4 include:
IPv4 - IPv6 - MPLS - Multicast - Policing - Classification RACL - VACL - PACL - GRE - Tunneling - URPF - Control
Plane Policing - and more
Features introduced by the PFC4 include:
Flexible NetFlow - ACL Dry Run - ACL Hitless Commit Cisco TrustSec VPLS - Egress NetFlow - IPv6 uRPF Roles Based Access Control 512K Multicast Routes
Improved EtherChannel Hash and more
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Agenda
Layer 2 Forwarding
NetFlow
Packet Walks
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Catalyst 6500 Classic Module Architecture

Dbus
Rbus
EoBC
Linecard
Port
ASIC
Ingress and Egress packet queuing and

scheduling is done in the Port ASIC
There is no connection to the Switch

Fabric
All other functions (Lookups, Policing,

Replication, etc) are performed on the
Supervisor
Packets destined to fabric-attached

modules utilize the Supervisors switch
fabric connection
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Catalyst 6500 CEF256 Module Architecture

Dbus
Rbus
8Gb Fabric Channel to Switch Fabric
EoBC
Fabric ASIC
Rbus
Replication
ASIC
Port
ASIC
Port
ASIC
Port
ASIC
Port
ASIC
CEF256 provides connection to Bus and

Switch Fabric
Can use either Bus or Fabric for data

transmission

Local replication ASIC for multicast and

SPAN replication
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Linecard
Dbus
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Catalyst 6500 CEF720 Module Architecture

20Gbps Fabric
Channel
Port
ASIC
Port
ASIC
CEF720 has no local forwarding

Uses CFC card to forward Packet
header to Supervisor over BUS for
forwarding lookup
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Centralized
Forwarding Card
Fabric and
Replication
ASIC
Port
ASIC
Linecard
Fabric and
Replication
ASIC
Dbus
Rbus
EoBC
20Gbps Fabric
Channel
Port
ASIC

Data sent over fabric channel to
destination linecard
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Catalyst 6500 dCEF720 Module Architecture

20Gbps Fabric
Channel
20Gbps Fabric
Channel
EoBC
Distributed
Forwarding Card
L2 FWD
Fabric and
Replication
ASIC
L3 FWD
Port
Port
..
ASIC
ASIC
Linecard
Fabric and
Replication
ASIC
Port
Port
..
ASIC
ASIC
dCEF720 uses DFC3 / DFC4 for local

forwarding
DFC3 / DFC4 contains same hardware and

logic as PFC3 / PFC4 on Supervisor
Module has no connection to Dbus

or Rbus

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Catalyst 6500 dCEF2T Module Architecture

40Gbps Fabric
Channel
40Gbps Fabric
Channel
EoBC
FABRIC INTERFACE
FIRE
ASIC
L2 FWD
FIRE
ASIC
FIRE
ASIC
L3 FWD
PORT
ASIC
PORT
ASIC
PORT
ASIC
PORT
ASIC
PORT
ASIC
PORT
ASIC
PORT
ASIC
PORT
ASIC
CTS
ASIC
CTS
ASIC
CTS
ASIC
CTS
ASIC
CTS
ASIC
CTS
ASIC
CTS
ASIC
CTS
ASIC
Linecard
FIRE
ASIC
Distributed
Forwarding Card
dCEF2T uses DFC4 for local forwarding and other

operations (ACL, NetFlow, QoS, MPLS, etc)
Ingress and Egress packet queuing and scheduling is done in

the Port ASIC
Linecard has no connection to Rbus or Dbus
CTS ASICs provide wire-rate encryption / decryption
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Catalyst 6500 Module Architecture

Centralized Forwarding Cards (CFC)
The Centralized Forwarding Card (CFC) provides BUS
connectivity for the CEF720 linecards
The CFC is available only for certain CEF720
modules:
WS-X6704-10GE
WS-X6724-SFP
WS-X6748-SFP
WS-X6748-GE-TX
The CFC provides the connection to the Dbus
and Rbus
The CFC is used to communicate with the
Supervisor when centralized forwarding is used
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Distributed Forwarding Card 3 (DFC3)
The DFC3 provides local forwarding lookups and feature

enforcement (ACL, QoS, MPLS, NetFlow, etc) for the module to
incrementally boost overall switch performance - if installed on a
CEF720 linecard, it replaces the CFC
The DFC3 supports forwarding rates up to

48Mpps
The DFC3 stores a local copy of the forwarding
table, as well as Security and QoS ACLs that are
centrally defined
The DFC3 IS field upgradeable and is supported
only with Sup720
Three different versions of the DFC3 are

supported
DFC3A
DFC3B/DFC3BXL
DFC3C/DFC3CXL
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Distributed Forwarding Card 4 (DFC4)
The DFC4 is an option for CEF720 linecards - it is used to provide
local forwarding lookups and feature enforcement (ACL, QoS,
MPLS, NetFlow, etc) for the module to incrementally boost
overall switch performance - if installed on a CEF720 linecard, it
takes the place of the CFC
The DFC4 supports forwarding rates up to 60Mpps

The DFC4 also stores a local copy of the forwarding
tables, as well as Security and QoS ACLs that are
centrally defined
The DFC4 is located underneath a protective cover
that protects the daughtercard from getting
damaged when the linecard is inserted or removed
from a chassis
The DFC4 IS field upgradable
Two different versions of the DFC4 are supported

DFC4-A / AXL
DFC4-E / EXL
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DFC3/4 Interoperability with PFC3/4
DFC3s work only with PFC3s, and DFC4s work only with PFC4s.
When mixing DFCs and PFCs of different capabilities, the lower common
denominator is in effect:
Example 1 : A PFC3BXL on the Supervisor with a DFC3B on the module will result in the
PFC3BXL running in PFC3B mode.
Result : The larger FIB and NetFlow tables of the XL will not be used as they will need to be
programmed to match the smaller tables sizes of the non-XL.
Example 2: A PFC3C on the Supervisor with a DFC3B on the module will result in the PFC3C
running in PFC3B mode.
Result : The VSS capability of the PFC3C will be disabled when it runs in PFC3B mode since
PFC3B mode does not support VSS.
Mixing of different PFCs in the same chassis is not supported.

When inserting a module with a lower level DFC than the PFC on the
Supervisor, the system must be reloaded for the PFC to reprogram itself to the
lower mode.
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Centralized Forwarding Modes of Operation
When utilizing Centralized Forwarding, the backplane will operate in one of three modesthese modes are
determined by the combination of linecards installed in the chassis, from which module the traffic is sourced from
and to which module the traffic is destined.
Mode
Description
Between non fabric modules and between a non fabric and
FLOW THROUGH
TRUNCATED
a fabric enabled linecard

Throughput 15 Mpps (@ 64 byte frames)
Bandwidth 16 Gbps of bandwidth shared throughout
Data Bus frame size is variable; min of 4 cycles (64B Data)
on the DBus for every frame +1 wait cycle
Data H
Between fabric linecards when a non fabric linecard is in
Data
the chassis.
Throughput 15 Mpps (@ 64 byte frames); independent of
frame size for CEF256 and CEF720
Bandwidth 16 G shared for classic; 8 G per CEF256; 20
G/channel CEF720
Data Bus frame size is variable; min of 4 cycles (64 Bytes
Data) on the Data Bus for every frame.
When only ALL fabric enabled linecards in a chassis
COMPACT
BRKARC-3465
Illustration
Throughput 30 Mpps (@ any frame size)

Bandwidth 8 G CEF256; 20 G/channel CEF720
Data Bus frame size is constant (compact header); 2 cycles
(32 B Data) on the DBus for every frame + no wait cycle
Data
Bus
H
D H
Bus
D H D H D H D H
Bus
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Agenda
Layer 2 Forwarding
NetFlow
Packet Walks
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Catalyst 6500 Internals

L2 Forwarding Steps
Frame received
Layer 2 Table
Learn
Layer 2 Table
Yes
Source MAC
Lookup
Destination MAC
Lookup
New MAC?
Router MAC?
No
Update entry
Layer 2 Table
Layer 2 Table
Yes
L3 forwarding
No
Known MAC?
L2 forwarding
Yes
No
L2 flooding
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Layer 2 Table Structure
MAC Table
Table
MAC
Port
The PFC has an

integrated CAM Table
that supports 4096 rows
* X pages =
MAC address space
PFC
A
B
C
D
E
F
16, 24, or
32 pages
1
2
3
4
5
6
4096
rows
MAC Table
PFC3B/BXL = 16 pages (64K entries)
PFC3C/CXL = 24 pages (96K entries)
PFC4/XL = 32 pages (128K entries)
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Layer 2 Forwarding Operation
Frame
VLAN
16, 24, or
32 Pages
PFC
MAC
Hash
0000.2222.7777 | 20
0000.1111.cccc | 10
0000.dddd.a112 | 30
MAC Table Row
4096
Rows
0000.bbbb.ac1c | 30
HIT!!!
MAC Table
1. Hash result identifies the starting Page and Row in MAC table
2. Lookup key (VLAN + MAC) compared to contents of indexed line on each page, sequentially
3. Destination lookup: Match returns destination interface(s), Miss results in Flood
4. Source lookup: Match updates age of matching entry, Miss installs new entry in table
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Displaying the Layer 2 Table

6513E.SUP2T.SA.2#show mac address-table
Legend: * - primary entry

age - seconds since last seen; n/a - not available; S - secure entry;
R - router's gateway mac address entry; D - Duplicate mac address entry
Displaying entries from active supervisor:
vlan
mac address
type
learn
age
ports
----+----+---------------+-------+-----+----------+----------------------------*
192 00d0.0053.bc00
dynamic
Yes
205 0024.c4dc.d740
static
No
Router
20 0024.c4dc.d740
static
No
Router
192 0014.5e31.4220
dynamic
Yes
65
Gi7/3
60 00d0.2bfc.23f5
dynamic
Yes
30
Gi5/14
192 00e0.1e5d.e9ff
dynamic
Yes
30
Gi7/3
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EtherChannel
Combines multiple physical interfaces into ONE logical interface

EtherChannel Load Sharing Deterministic
PFC3 algorithm supports 8 results (3 bits)
PFC4 algorithm supports 256 results (8 bits)
Load Sharing is by flow and NOT per packet
EtherChannel can be configured for L2 and L3 interfaces
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EtherChannel Power-of-2 Ports

PFC3 Flow Distribution
Frame
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
EtherChannel Hash
3 bit result
E/Chan
Bundle
Link1
Link2
Link3
Link4
Link5
Link6
Link7
Link8
2 Links
50%
50%
--
--
--
--
--
--
3 Links
37.5%
37.5%
25%
--
--
--
--
--
4 Links
25%
25%
25%
25%
--
--
--
--
5 Links
25%
25%
25%
12.5%
12.5%
--
--
--
6 Links
25%
25%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
--
--
7 Links
25%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
--
8 Links
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
Even Distribution for Flows is for those cases highlighted in RED

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EtherChannel Power-of-2 Ports

PFC4 Flow Distribution
Frame
..
1 2 3
EtherChannel Hash
256
8 bit result
E/Chan
Bundle
Link1
Link2
Link3
Link4
Link5
Link6
Link7
Link8
2 Links
50%
50%
--
--
--
--
--
--
3 Links
33.6%
33.2%
33.2%
--
--
--
--
--
4 Links
25%
25%
25%
25%
--
--
--
--
5 Links
20.4%
19.9%
19.9%
19.9%
19.9%
--
--
--
6 Links
16.8%
16.8%
16.8%
16.8%
16.4%
16.4%
--
--
7 Links
14.5%
14.5%
14.5%
14.5%
14%
14%
14%
--
8 Links
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
Even Distribution for Flows is for those cases highlighted in RED

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Agenda
Layer 2 Forwarding
NetFlow
Packet Walks
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Catalyst 6500 IP Unicast Forwarding

Note
This session covers IP Unicast forwarding.
There is a dedicated Breakout Session at Cisco Live for IP
Multicast Forwarding with the Catalyst 6500:
BRKARC-3322 Catalyst 6500 IP Multicast Architecture
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Catalyst 6500 Interface Management

Supervisor 720
4K VLAN POOL
VLANs
SVI
CoPP
Supervisor 2T
16K Bridge
Domains
128K Logical
Interfaces
L3 Ports
L3 Ports
Tunnels
Etc
VLAN 14K
SVI
VLAN 14K
CoPP
Tunnels
Etc
VLAN 14K
VLANs used for both L2 bridging

and L3 routing
Separate L2 bridging and L3 routing

Break the 4K VLAN barrier
L3 interfaces internally consume

VLANs from the 4K VLAN pool
BRKARC-3465
Allows VLAN reuse on a per port basis

Massive scale of L3 interfaces
Cisco Public
54
Catalyst 6500 PFC3/DFC3 Lookup Process

5
Netflow TCAM
L3 Engine
Netflow Table
Netflow Statistics
8
Adjacency Statistics
3 8
2
1 8
BRKARC-3465
FIB TCAM &

SSRAM
Security ACL
TCAM
QoS ACL TCAM
Adjacency Table
IP Packet Parse
L2 Engine
IP Packet Parse
L2 MAC Table
Cisco Public
55
Catalyst 6500 PFC4/DFC Lookup Process

Input Forwarding Engine Lookup
Architecturally, the PFC/DFC4 is almost the same as the PFC/DFC3
What changes is the Dual-Cycle Input (IFE) and Output (OFE) Processing
Here we perform the Input Forwarding Engine (IFE) pass...
IFE process:
Packet Header
GV
IF
RP
CL1
1.IF: Get Port and Ingress LIF QoS info

2.RP: Src FIB Lookup, Source QoS
PO
CL2
3.CL1: Ingress ACL TCAM Lookup

4.CL2: Select Ingress Class and Policy
5.NF: Ingress NetFlow lookup
RI
L2
Engine
BRKARC-3465
PL
L3
NF
L3
Engine
6.L3: Dst FIB Lookup, Dst QoS

7.PL: Apply Ingress Policing and Marking
Cisco Public
56
Catalyst 6500 PFC4/DFC Lookup Process

Output Forwarding Engine Lookup
Architecturally, the PFC/DFC4 is almost the same as the PFC/DFC3
What changes is the Dual-Cycle Input (IFE) and Output (OFE) Processing
Here we perform the Output Forwarding Engine (OFE) pass...
OFE process:
RBUS Result
GV
IF
RP
CL1
1.IF: Get Egress LIF QoS info

2.CL1: Egress ACL TCAM lookup
3.CL2: Select Egress Policy and Class
PO
CL2
4.NF: Select NF Egress Policy and Class

5.PL: Apply Egress Policing and Marking
6.RI: Generate RBUS result
RI
L2
Engine
BRKARC-3465
PL
L3
NF
L3
Engine
Cisco Public
57

Layer 3 Forwarding on PFC
Routing Protocols receive routing updates from the
network...
Control Plane (RP)

Holds routing tables in
Routing information Base
(RIB) from Static Routes
and all running
Routing Protocols
Routing Protocols
OSPF, EIGRP, ISIS, BGP, etc
Software CEF
FIB (on PFC/DFC)

FIB & ADJ tables are
used by EARL to
perform L3 lookups &
forwarding
Hardware CEF
Loads FIB into PFC

& distributes to DFCs
Takes RIB and builds a

Forwarding Information
Base (FIB) containing
IP/mask prefixes
Hardware Based CEF Process

1. FIB lookup based on destination prefix (longest-match)
2. FIB Hit returns Adjacency pointer
3. Adjacency contains Rewrite (next-hop) information
4. ACL, QoS & NetFlow lookups occur in parallel, and effect final result
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
58

Located on the PFC are the FIB and Adjacency Table
The FIB contains:
L3 entries are arranged logically
from MOST to LEAST specific
(based on /mask)
Overall FIB hardware shared by:
IPv4 Unicast
IPv4 Multicast
IPv6 Unicast
IPv6 Multicast
MPLS
172.20.45.1
10.1.1.100
MASK (/32)
IF, MACs, MTU
10.1.3.0
IF, MACs, MTU
10.1.2.0
IF, MACs, MTU
MASK (/24)
IF, MACs, MTU
10.1.0.0
The Adjacency Table:

L2 Re-Write information and / or
pointers for replication
Hardware adjacency table also
shared among protocols
172.16.0.0
MASK (/16)
Adjacency
Table
0.0.0.0
MASK (/0)
FIB TCAM
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
59

Assuming a lookup was performed for a packet with a destination of
10.1.5.2 /24, then the following would occur
172.20.45.1
Packet
10.1.1.100
MASK (/32)
IF, MACs, MTU
Key Gen
IF, MACs, MTU
10.1.3.0
10.1.2.0
Load-Sharing
Hash
MASK (/24)
Lookup Key
HIT!
10.1.0.0
172.16.0.0
MASK (/16)
IF, MACs, MTU
IF, MACs, MTU
5
Adjacency Table
0.0.0.0
MASK (/0)
FIB TCAM
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
60
Supervisor FIB TCAM Resources

IPv6 and IPv4 multicast require
2 entries
MPLS and IPv4 only one
XL PFCs = 1M entries
NON-XL PFCs
XL PFCs
IPv4, MPLS
192k
512k
IPv6, Multicast
32k
256k
Non-XL PFCs = 256K entries

By default TCAM is allocated as seen in
the table
SUP720-3BXL Example
Changing default (requires Reboot!)
6509E#sh mls cef maximum-routes

FIB TCAM maximum routes :
=======================
Current :------IPv4 + MPLS
- 512k (default)
IPv6 + IP Multicast - 256k (default)
6509E(config)#mls cef maximum-routes ?

ip
number of ip routes
ip-multicast number of multicast routes
ipv6
number of ipv6 routes
mpls
number of MPLS labels
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
62
Displaying IPv4 Forwarding Summary

6509E#show platform hardware capacity forwarding
<snip>
L3 Forwarding Resources
FIB TCAM usage:
Total
72 bits (IPv4, MPLS, EoM)
196608
144 bits (IP mcast, IPv6)
32768
detail:
Protocol
IPv4
MPLS
EoM
IPv6
IPv4 mcast
IPv6 mcast
Adjacency usage:
Total
1048576
Used
28
7
%Used
1%
1%
Used
28
0
0
%Used
1%
0%
0%
1
3
3
1%
1%
1%
Used
171
%Used
1%
<snip>
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
63
Displaying Hardware IPv4 Prefix Entries

6509E#show platform hardware cef
Codes: decap - Decapsulation, + - Push Label
Index
68
Prefix
255.255.255.255/32
Adjacency
receive
75
76
10.10.1.1/32
10.10.1.0/32
receive
receive
77
10.10.1.255/32
receive
78
10.10.1.2/32
Gi1/1,
3200
3201
224.0.0.0/24
10.10.1.0/24
receive
glean
3202
3203
10.100.0.0/24
10.100.1.0/24
Gi1/1,
Gi1/1,
0030.f272.31fe
0030.f272.31fe
3204
3205
10.100.2.0/24
10.100.3.0/24
Gi1/1,
Gi1/1,
0030.f272.31fe
0030.f272.31fe
0030.f272.31fe
<>
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
64
Finding the Longest-Match Prefix Entry

6509E#show platform hardware cef 171.1.1.0
Index
Prefix
Adjacency
6509E#show platform hardware cef lookup 171.1.1.0

Index
Prefix
Adjacency
3531584 171.0.0.0/8
Vl192
,00d0.0053.bc00
6500E#show platform hardware cef ipv6 lookup FF00::

Codes: + - Push label
Index
Prefix
512 FF00::/8
BRKARC-3465
Adjacency
glean
Cisco Public
65
IPv4 CEF Load Sharing

Up to 16* hardware load-sharing paths per prefix
Use maximum-paths command in routing protocols
to control number of load-sharing paths
10.10.0.0/16
via Rtr-A
via Rtr-B
IPv4 CEF load-sharing is per-IP flow

Per-packet load-balancing not supported
Load-sharing based on Source and Destination
IP addresses by default
Unique ID in PFC3 and PFC4 prevents polarization
Configuration option supports inclusion of

L4 ports in the hash
10.10.0.0/16
mls ip cef load-sharing full
Unique ID not included in hash in full mode

BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
66
Load-Sharing Prefixes and Paths

6509E#show platform hardware cef lookup 10.100.20.1
Index
Prefix
Adjacency
3222
10.100.20.0/24
Gi1/1,
0030.f272.31fe
Gi1/2,
0008.7ca8.484c
Gi2/1,
000e.382d.0b90
Gi2/2,
000d.6550.a8ea
6509E#show platform hardware cef exact-route 10.77.17.8 10.100.20.199
Interface: Gi1/1, Next Hop: 10.10.1.2, Vlan: 1019, Destination Mac: 0030.f272.31fe
6509E#show platform hardware cef exact-route 10.44.91.111 10.100.20.199
Interface: Gi2/2, Next Hop: 10.40.1.2, Vlan: 1018, Destination Mac: 000d.6550.a8ea
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
67
Agenda
Layer 2 Forwarding
NetFlow
Packet Walks
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
68
Catalyst 6500 NetFlow

Netflow is a process designed to collect information about traffic flows that pass through
the switch - Netflow collection of flow records is a hardware process while the exporting of
flow records to an external collector is a control plane process
Netflow
Collection
Server
Netflow
Data Flow
Exported Netflow
Record
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
69

PFC3 Flow Masks
The Catalyst 6500 supports the following flow masks - these are used to identify which
pieces of information in the header will be used as input into generating a key for flow
lookups
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
70

TCAM Lookup on PFC3
Packet
1
Mask
2
Flow Key
3
HIT!
Hash Function
Key
Key
Key
Key
Key
Key
Key
Key
Key
Key
Key
6
Compare
NetFlow
Table Index
Result
Mask
Hash Key
Key 4Compare
Hash
Flow Data
Flow Data
Flow Data
Flow Data HIT!
Flow Data
Flow Data 7
Flow Data
Flow Data
Flow Data
Flow Data
Flow Data
Flow Data
128K/256K
entries
Netflow TCAM
Statistics
128K/256K
rows
Netflow Table
Key
128 entries
BRKARC-3465
Alias CAM
Cisco Public
71

NetFlow Export Process
Supervisor
Netflow
Export
Netflow
Data
WS-X6748-GE-TX w\DFC4
Netflow
Data
EOBC
Netflow Collector
Direct Export supported with Supervisor 720 and :
WS-X6708-10GE-3C/3CXL
WS-X6716-10x-3C/3CXL
WS-X6908-10G-2T\2TXL
Netflow
Data
Direct Export supported with Supervisor 2T and :

WS-X6716-10x upgraded with DFC4-E / DFC4-EXL
WS-X6816-10x-2T/2TXL
WS-X6908-10G-2T/2TXL
WS-X6904-40G-2T/2TXL
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
73

PFC4 Key Enhancements
The PFC4 can do everything the PFC3 can do and adds these new capabilities:
Increased Support for NetFlow Entries
Up to 1M NetFlow entries (512K for Ingress and 512K for Egress) can now be stored in PFC4XL.
Improved NetFlow Hash
The hash efficiency is improved to 99%, allowing a greater percentage of the NetFlow table to be utilized.
Egress NetFlow
Provides support for collecting flow statistics for packets after they have had ingress processing applied to them.
Sampled NetFlow in Hardware
Allows users to to have NetFlow records created based on a sample of traffic matching the flow.
Flexible NetFlow
Supports the NetFlow V9 Record Format including new fields for IPV6 and Multicast information.
TCP Flags
TCP Flags (SYN, FIN, RST, ACK, URGENT, PUSH) are now collected as part of a flow record.
CPU Friendly Export
Protects the CPU from being overrun by heavy NetFlow Data Export
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
74

PFC4 NetFlow Processing
IFE NetFlow Statistics
IFE NetFlow Sampling

and Lookup
Incoming
Packet
Ingress
ACL
Ingress
NetFlow
Accounting of packets
admitted by input processing
L3
Lookup
Ingress
QoS
IFE Process
OFE Process
Outgoing
Packet
Egress
QoS
OFE NetFlow Statistics

Accounting of forwarded packet
BRKARC-3465
Egress
NetFlow
Egress
ACL
OFE NetFlow Sampling

and Lookup
Cisco Public
75

TCAM Lookup on PFC4
DST IP
SRC IP
10.1.2.11
10.1.1.10
1
Flow
FlowKey
Key
2
Hash Function
Compare
all pages
4
Lookup
Key
3
Proto
0x6
DataKey
Key
Data
Data
Key
Data
KeyKey
Data
Data
Key
Data
Key
Data
KeyKey
Data
Data
Key
DataKey
Key
Data
DataKey
Key
Data
Data
Key
Data
KeyKey
Data
Data
Key
Data
Key
Data
KeyKey
Data
Data
Key
DataKey
Key
Data
DataKey
Key
HIT!
Data
DataKey
Key
Data
Data
Key
Data
Key
DataKey
Key
Data
Data
Key
DataKey
Key
Data
Data
KeyKey
Data
Data
Key
Data
Key
Data
KeyKey
Data
Data
Key
DataKey
Key
Data
DST Port
80
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
Index
SRC Port
33992
Compare
Flow Data
6
5
Index to
NF Data
Table
Flow Data
Flow Data
Flow Data
Flow Data
Flow Data
Flow Data
Flow
HIT!Data
Flow Data
Flow Data
Flow Data
Flow Data
7
Update
Stats
Data Key
512K
entries
Indexes row in Lookup Table
NetFlow Lookup Table

BRKARC-3465
Statistics
Statistics
Statistics
Statistics
Statistics
Statistics
Statistics
Statistics
Statistics
Statistics
Statistics
NetFlow Data Table

Cisco Public
NetFlow Statistics
Table
76

Flexible NetFlow Configuration
Flow Record
Key Field
Non-Key Field
Key Field
Non-Key Field
Flow Export
Export Profile
Multiple Exporters can
be associated with a
single FNF monitor
Export Profile
Key Fields trigger the creation of a new Flow entry

every time their value change
Non-Key Fields are data that is indexed by the Key Fields.
Flow Monitor
Flow Monitor
Key Fields are defined using the match statement

Non-Key-Fields are defined using the collect statement
Interfaces
Ingress
or/and
Egress
BRKARC-3465
Ingress
or/and
Egress
Same Flow Monitor can be

associated with multiple
Interfaces.
Cisco Public
77

CPU Friendly Export
NDE increases export rate
until threshold reached
CPU
Utilization
When threshold reached, NDE

quickly backs off export rate
Yielding NDE
threshold
70%
Wait 5 seconds and then

step up export rate again
CPU before NDE
begins
30%
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
80

Integration with EEM
Example I: Malformed Packets Detection & Reporting
TTL = 0 triggers an EEM event
Attacker sending
malformed pkts with
TTL=0
NetFlow cache
srcIf
SrcIPadd
DstIf
DstIPadd
TTL
Fa1/0
173.1.1.2
Fa0/0
10.0.277.1
Fa1/0
173.1.1.2
Fa0/0
10.0.277.1
10
Fa1/0
173.1.1.2
Fa0/0
10.0.277.1
200
*MAR 29 2010 12:29:02.604 UTC:

%HA_EM-6-LOG: my-ttl-applet: flow
record with zero TTL
syslog message generated

based on preconfigured policies
Example II : Anomaly Flow Detection and Mitigation

Compromised user
sending traffic with high
rate
BRKARC-3465
NetFlow ED triggers policies to monitor flow rate.

Typically, voice conversations are 64kbps
NetFlow cache
srcIf
SrcIPadd
DstIf
DstIPadd
bytes
Fa1/0
173.1.1.2
Fa0/0
10.0.277.1
34346
Fa1/0
173.1.1.2
Fa0/0
10.0.277.1
300
Fa1/0
173.1.1.2
Fa0/0
10.0.277.1
1000
*Feb 18 01:24:30.455: %LINK-5CHANGED: Interface FastEthernet

1/0, changed state to
administratively down
interface Fa1/0 is shut down when
the flow rate exceeds
1Mbps
Cisco Public
81
Displaying NetFlow Utilization

6509E#show platform hardware capacity netflow
Netflow resources:
Netflow table size: 515032 entries total
Netflow table usage: Module/Instance
BRKARC-3465
Input flows
Output flows
10%
10%
25%
25%
Cisco Public
82
Agenda
Layer 2 Forwarding
NetFlow
Packet Walks
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
83
Catalyst 6500 Access Control Lists

Hardware Support
Hardware Support
Policy Feature Card (PFC)
Distributed Forwarding
Card (DFC)
DFC
DFC
Create the ACL or traffic

classification policy
using CLI or Network
Management System
IP Access-List extended Internet
permit ip any host 10.2.2.4
Router ACLs
Vlan ACLs
Port Based ACLs
Role Based ACLs
PFC
PFC
DFC
Hardware- Assist
Features
Netflow
WCCP
Reflexive ACLs
Network Address
Translation
Cisco Trust Sec
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
84

Three Forms of Security ACLs
The PFC3/PFC4 supports three forms of Security ACLs: the RACL, VACL and PACL
Router ACL (RACL)
VLAN ACL (VACL)
Port ACL (PACL)
Used to permit or deny

the movement of
traffic between Layer 3
Subnets

the movement of
Subnets/VLANs or
within a VLAN

the movement of
Subnets/VLANs or
within a VLAN
Applied as an input or
output policy to a Layer
3 interface
Applied as a policy to a
VLAN - is inherently
applied to both
inbound and outbound
traffic
Applied as a policy to a
Layer 2 Switch port
interface - is applied for
inbound traffic only
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
85

ACL Order of Processing
Should a RACL, VACL and PACL all be configured at the same time, there is a distinct order
in which each form of ACL is processed
Input RACL
Output RACL
VACL
VACL
Input PACL
Note that no Output PACL
exists
Destination
Source
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
86

PFC3 TCAM Population
Protocol
xxxxxxxx 10.1.2.100 xx xxxx xxxx
Dest IP
Source IP

00000000 FFFFFFFF 00 0000 0000
Dest Port
Source Port
1
2
3
4
5
Permit
Deny
Deny
1=Compare
0=Mask
7
8
ip access-list extended example

xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx 06 xxxx 0016
deny ip any host 10.1.68.101

00000000 00000000 FF 0000 FFFF
permit tcp any any eq 22
deny tcp any any eq 23
xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx 11 xxxx 00A1
deny udp any any eq 514
permit udp any any eq 161
BRKARC-3465
Permit
Deny
Deny
Permit
Permit
Masks
Values
Cisco Public
87

PFC3 TCAM Lookup
Generate
Lookup
Key
xxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxx
10.1.2.11
xxxxxx
0050
xxxx
10.1.1.10
| 10.1.2.11
| 06
06
|xxxx
84C8
| 0050
Compare 3
1
2
Lookup Key 2
00000000
FFFFFFFF
00
0000
0000
3
SIP=10.1.1.10
DIP=10.1.2.11
4
Protocol=TCP (6)
SPORT=33992
5
1 DPORT=80
6
Entries
matching only
7
Packet
destination IP
8
ip access-list extended example
1
2
3
00000000 00000000 FF 0000 FFFF
xxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxx
06
xxxx
0050
HIT!
4
xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx 11 xxxx 00A1 4
5
Entries matching
deny tcp any any eq 23
6
only protocol and
destination port
deny udp any any eq 514
7
8
Masks
permit
udp any any eq 161
Cisco PublicValues
BRKARC-3465
Permit
Result
88

PFC4 Mask Utilization
permit ip 10.1.1.0 0.0.0.255 any
permit ip 10.2.1.0 0.0.0.255 any
permit ip 10.3.0.0 0.0.255.255 any
PFC4 ACL TCAM
PFC3 ACL TCAM

MASK
0.0.0.255
MASK
0.0.255.255
10.1.1.0
permit
Mask 0.0.0.255
10.1.1.0
permit
10.2.1.0
10.3.0.0
-
permit
permit
-
Mask 0.0.0.255
10.2.1.0
permit
Mask 0.0.255.255
10.3.0.0
permit
Implements 8:1 Mask to Entry ratio

Total 4K Masks, 32K Entries
Mask resource is limited
BRKARC-3465
Implements 1:1 Mask to Entry ratio

Total 256K Masks, 256K Entries
Mask resource is no longer a limited resource
Cisco Public
90

PFC4 Lookup Example
TCAM
BANK 0 A BANK 1
TCAM B
BANK 2
Forwarding Engine
(PFC4 or DFC4)
BANK 3
VACL
QoS
SGT
RACL
ACE
Counters
(L2 ASIC)
3
TCAM Controller
4 X Results
2 X Lookup Keys
Packet Header Information
ACL
Labels
ACL
LOUs
4 X Result Data
Final Result to
Netflow
6
Classification Module 2
1
BRKARC-3465
5
Cisco Public
91

PFC4 ACL Dry Run Feature
Make sure the ACL will fit in
the TCAM before you apply
the ACL
- ACLs that do not fit can cause
software forwarding and possible
high CPU utilization
SUP2T-E#show configuration session test status

====================================
Status of last config validation:
Timestamp: 2010-02-20@17:27:06
======================================
SLOT = [1]
Result = Configuration will fit in TCAM
Special configuration session

- Create and edit ACls
- Verifies if the changes will fit within the
hardware resources
The actual changes are not

programmed into the
hardware during the
configuration session
Configuration changes can be
verified step by step
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
93

PFC4 ACL Hitless Update
Allows updates to an ACL
without interrupting traffic
Multiple features updated
at once
IPv4
IPv6
MAC
IPv4, IPv6, MAC

RACL, VACL, PBR
ACL Updates
Global configuration option

(default is on)
Feature does consume
double the number of
TCAM entries
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
95

PFC4 ACL Hitless Update
Each ACL feature is initially
programmed into two
different spaces into the
TCAM
TCAM B
TCAM A
BANK 0
BANK 1
QoS-1
SGT-1
RACL-1
SGT-2
RACL-2
VACL-2
Shadow space (label-2)
While an ACL is being updated

the PFC4 will use a temporary
label that points to the shadow
TCAM space
BANK 3
VACL-1
QoS-2
Primary space (Label -1)
BANK 2
TCAM Controller
4 X Results
2 X Lookup Keys
Once the ACL changes have

been completed the then
PFC4 will then use the
original label again
ACL
Labels
1, 2
ACL LOUs
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
96
Agenda
Layer 2 Forwarding
NetFlow
Packet Walks
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
97
Centralized Forwarding: Classic to Classic

1
Port ASIC A
Port ASIC B
Port ASIC A
Port ASIC B
Slot 1
Classic
Slot 2
Classic
Dbus
Rbus
Michael
Engineering
Switch Fabric
Amanda
Marketing
3
R
PFC4
Fabric / Bus
Interface &
Replication ASIC
2
R
P
Layer 2 Engine
Layer 3 Engine
Supervisor Engine 2T
BRKARC-3465
P = Packet
H = Header
R = Result
Cisco Public
Centralized Forwarding: Classic to CEF720

Slot 1 Classic
Port ASIC A
Port ASIC B
Slot 2 CEF720
Port ASIC A
Port ASIC B
CFC
P
FIRE ASIC A
FIRE ASIC B
Dbus
Michael
Engineering
Switch Fabric
Amanda
Marketing
Question : How
will the packet get
to the CEF720
Module ? Bus or
Switch Fabric ?
BRKARC-3465
Rbus
Fabric / Bus
ADD QUESTION IN SANInterface &
Replication ASIC
DIEGO. Make it appear
R
PFC4
between Steps 3 & 4
2
R
P
Layer 2 Engine
Layer 3 Engine
P = Packet
H = Header
R = Result
Cisco Public
Centralized Forwarding: CEF720 to Classic

Slot 1 Classic
9
Port ASIC A
Port ASIC B
Slot 2 CEF720
Port ASIC A
Port ASIC B
1
CFC
2
H
FIRE ASIC A
Dbus
Switch Fabric
Rbus
Amanda
Marketing
5
R
Fabric / Bus
Interface &
Replication ASIC
4
R
P
Layer 2 Engine
Layer 3 Engine
BRKARC-3465
FIRE ASIC B
Michael
Engineering
PFC4
P = Packet
H = Header
R = Result
Cisco Public
Centralized Forwarding: CEF720 to CEF720

Slot 1 CEF720
Port ASIC A
FIRE ASIC A
Port ASIC B
Port ASIC A
CFC
Port ASIC B
CFC
FIRE ASIC B
Slot 2 CEF720
FIRE ASIC A
FIRE ASIC B
Dbus
Rbus
Michael
Engineering
Switch Fabric
Amanda
Marketing
5
R
Fabric / Bus
Interface &
Replication ASIC
Layer 2 Engine
Layer 3 Engine
BRKARC-3465
PFC4
P = Packet
H = Header
R = Result
Cisco Public
Distributed Forwarding: CEF720/DFC4 to CEF720/DFC4

Slot 1 CEF720/DFC4
Port ASIC A
2
P
FIRE ASIC A
4
H
Port ASIC B
DFC4
L
2
Slot 2 CEF720/DFC4
Port ASIC A
DFC4
L
3
FIRE ASIC B
Port ASIC B
L
2
L
3
FIRE ASIC A
6
FIRE ASIC B
Dbus
Rbus
Michael
Engineering
Switch Fabric
Amanda
Marketing
PFC4
Fabric / Bus
Interface &
Replication ASIC
Layer 2 Engine
Layer 3 Engine
BRKARC-3465
P = Packet
H = Header
R = Result
Cisco Public
Summary
The Catalyst 6500 architecture provides a robust
infrastructure upon which the system can provide
hardware-based forwarding at high speeds
L2 and L3 switching are done via the same hardware
forwarding process, so there is no difference in
performance between the two
Enabling features such as Netflow, QoS and ACLs can
be done without impact to forwarding performance as
these features are processed in hardware in parallel to
the L2 and L3 lookup processes
The Catalyst 6500 architecture is designed so that
unicast and multicast can coexist within the same
infrastructure, providing a versatile platform for the
networks of today and tomorrow
BRKARC-3465
Cisco Public
108
Conclusion
You should now have a
thorough understanding of the
Catalyst 6500 switching
architecture, packet flow, and
key forwarding engine
functions
Any Questions?
BRKARC-3465
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109
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Catalyst 6500 Architecture

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Catalyst 6500 Architecture

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Catalyst 6500 Architecture

2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Catalyst 6500 E-Chassis Family

7 Chassis Members From 3 Slot to 13 Slot

2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Catalyst 6500 E-Series Chassis

2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Catalyst 6500 Switch Backplanes

720Gb / 2Tb Crossbar Backplane

Data Bus (DBUS) allows L/C to forward data

Crossbar is a matrix of N channels to

Results Bus (RBUS) returns forwarding

Sup720 supports 18 channels at 8G/20G

Ethernet Out of Band Channel (EOBC)

Sup2T supports 26 channels at 20G/40G

2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Catalyst 6500 Linecard Slot Support

2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

In order to take advantage of

With any version of the

Power Supply Redundancy

Use the Cisco Power Calculator

Each power supply operates at ~50% capacity

Each power supply provides up to 83% of its capacity

Neither supply operates at >60% or <40% capacity

The total system power available is 167% of the capacity of a

2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Catalyst 6500 Supervisors

Supervisor 720 Quick Facts

Integrated 720Gbps Switch Fabric

Integrated Policy Feature Card 3 (PFC3) supporting

2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Supervisor 720 3A / 3B / 3BXL

Layer 2 FWD Engine

2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Policy Feature Card

Supervisor 720-10G 3C / 3CXL

Policy Feature Card

Quad Port PHY

2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Catalyst 6500 Supervisors

Supervisor 720 Quick Facts

Integrated 2-Tbps Switch Fabric

Integrated Policy Feature Card 4 (PFC4) supporting

Integrated Multilayer Switch Feature Card 5

2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Supervisor 2T PFC4 / PFC4XL

Quad Port PHY

2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Policy Feature Card (PFC4)

Supervisor Chassis Requirements

All non-E Series

E-Fan cannot be used in non-E Series

E-Fans for E-Series

Fan2 for non-E

Fan2 cannot be used in E-Series

With Supervisor 720 and 6513-E, the fabric

2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Catalyst 6500 Supervisors

2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 720