Cisco Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series VSSE 720 with 10GE uplinks Information Guide
Q&A
© 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information.
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Q.
What are the target deployment areas for VSS?
A.
The VSS is targeted to be deployed in the following locations in the network (Figure 2):
●
Campus or data center core/distribution layer
●
Data center access (server connectivity)
Figure 2. High Availability Network Design Simplified Using Virtual Switching System
Q.
What makes up the VSS?
A.
The VSS is made up of the following:
●
Virtual switch members: Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches (up to two switches with initial release)
deployed with the Virtual Switching Supervisor 720 10GE
●
Virtual switch link (VSL): 10 Gigabit Ethernet connections (up to eight using EtherChannel) between the
virtual switch members. The 10 Gigabit Ethernet connections have to be one or more of the following
modules:
◦
Virtual Switching Supervisor 720 10GE: 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplink ports
◦
WS-X6708-10G module: any 10 Gigabit Ethernet port
◦
WS-X6716-10G module: only non-oversubscribed ports can be used for VSL (supported with 12.2(33)SXI)
VSLs can carry regular data traffic in addition to the control plane communication between the two virtual switch
members. The distance of VSL link is limited only by the chosen 10 Gigabit Ethernet optics. For example, with a X2-
10GB-ER optic, VSL can span distance up to 40 km. (See Figure 3.)