Trunk setup for Cisco 6509 and F5 ltm 1600

Posted By rpalacios on 01/27/2010 11:05 AM

 

 

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1. Are there any know issues I need to be aware of when I introduce the trunk?

 

 

 

 

 

Well... You need to be aware that F5 and Cisco people talking need an interpreter between them.

 

 

Cisco Trunks == F5 VLAN Tagging

 

Cisco Etherchannel == F5 Trunks

 

 

Assuming (From the description) you mean cisco trunks/f5 vlan tagging, then no there's no real problems. I usually set the allowed vlans on the cisco however when doing this.

 

 

 

2. What is the best mesh config? Should ltm-A go to 6509-A and ltm-b go to 6509-b?

 

 

 

 

That's the way I doit. Primarily because I also use etherchannels (F5 trunks) to connect for aggregated bandwidth. On cisco's you can't make a channel ACROSS switches.

 

 

 

3. Are there any known issues with looping, spanning tree, etc?

 

 

 

 

Yeah. F5's can be switches. Don't set portfast on the cisco. I usually use STP passthrough on the F5. This is more relevant where you have bridged VLAN's not F5 trunks/etherchannel.

 

 

 

4. What would be the recommended settings for LACP?

 

 

 

 

 

I use

 

 

channel-group mode active

 

 

on each interface.

 

 

 

5. Is there a better method?

 

 

 

 

Well... You could probably come up with a different method each day... Whether they're right would depend on your requirements. I know mine works, and passes all the tests thrown at it.

 

 

H