The rhyme of the ancient network switch

When a Cisco 6509 went belly up, the drama that unfolded could only be described in verse

| Print | 4 comments|

185 Recommendations

It happened quite quickly, as if in a dream:
A supervisor engine just died with a scream.
The standby stepped up and it handled the mess,
but the active supervisor expired from stress.

Vendors were called and replacements were sought,
but none could be found, it all was for naught.
For it seems, you see, this part was EOL,
and for all our best efforts, we were SOL.

[ Cut straight to the key news for technology development and IT management with our once-a-day summary of the top tech news. Subscribe to the InfoWorld Daily newsletter. ]

But there was a new option, a possible fix:
We could throw a new supervisor into the mix.
But it wasn't that easy, for it lived in slot five,
and slot one was home to the other (when alive).

But there wasn't a choice and upgrade it would be,
so the switch was shut down, the bits were set free.
Four modules just brimming with full copper ports
were wrestled around and thrown all out of sorts.

The new supervisor was placed in slot five,
the switch was then started, and the sup came alive.
The console was humming with messages many
and the reconfig of the switch was quite heavy.

But a line then appeared on the screen o'er my hands:
The new supervisor wouldn't work with these fans.
The fan tray in the chassis was the old one, you see,
and the new supervisor simply couldn't be.

"O woe!" I cried, my efforts were spoiled.
I could not upgrade, the procedure was soiled.
The only thing that I could see to be done
was to reseat the modules, one (sigh) by one.

With very much struggle, they were set anew,
and the good supervisor was shoved in slot two.
But this left a problem -- the original crisis:
What of the backup, the standby devices?

But then, on a shelf, what is that I do see?
Why, it's a spare supervisor, 1A-2GE.
It seems that somewhere in the depths of this scuffle
the original spare had been lost in the shuffle.

With obvious glee I slid the spare in slot one
and it fired right up and started to run.
All was again well, though the upgrade was dashed,
but that didn't matter since the bits they could pass.

Frustrating? Indeed, though a lesson was learned:
Keep track of your parts, else your problems be earned.
For had we known of the spare on the shelf,
this shan't have been a problem -- at least for myself.

Tags: data center architecture, routers and switches, Cisco Systems

| Print | 4 comments|

185 Recommendations

Sign up for InfoWorld's Today's Headlines: First Look newsletter.

White Paper

D2D Virtual Tape Library Replication Primer

This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.

Download now »

White Paper

An Alternative to Virtualization for Datacenter Cost Savings

Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.

Download now »

White Paper

Why Your Firewall, VPN, and IEEE 802.11i Aren't Enough to Protect Your Network

The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.

Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation

Download now »

White Paper

Bringing the Edge to the Data Center

Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.

Download now »