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Nexus 2000 Fabric Extenders Supported Topologies

Today I am going to talk about possible scenarios or topologies supported by Nexus 2000 FEX- Fabric Extender. The various topologies supported when the Nexus 2000 Fabric Extender switches (FEX) is connected to the parent switches or to the end hosts. Here in this article I can show case the way Nexus 2000 FEX is connected to the Parent Nexus switch which can be Nexus 5k or Nexus 7K or any other Nexus device.
What is Cisco FEX- Nexus 2000

Cisco Fabric Extender (FEX)Technology delivers an extensible and a scalable fabric that provides a flexible and comprehensive solution as part of Cisco Unified Fabric. With the help of Cisco FEX, it allows the switching fabric access layer to extend and expand all the way to the server hypervisor as your business grows

Below are the Cisco FEX supported topologies

FEX Topology no:1
Single Homed Host and FEX (Static Pinning Mode) Design

FEX Topology no:2
Single Homed Host and FEX (Port Channel Mode) Design

FEX Topology no:3

Dual-Homed Host (Active/Standby) and Single Homed FEX (Static Pinning Mode) Design


FEX Topology no:4

Dual-Homed Host (Active/Standby) and Single Homed FEX (Port Channel Mode) Design


FEX Topology no: 5

Host VPC (Single Link) and FEX Single Homed (Static Pinning Mode) Straight through Design


FEX Topology no:6

Host VPC (Single Link) and FEX Single Homed (Port Channel Mode) Straight through Design


Fig 1.1- FEX Topologies-1

FEX Topology no:7

Single Homed Host and Active-Active FEX (VPC) Design


FEX Topology no: 8

Dual Homed Host (Active/Standby) and Active-Active FEX (VPC) Design


FEX Topology no:9

Host VPC (Dual Links) and FEX Single Homed (Static Pinning Mode) Straight through VPC Design


FEX Topology no: 10

Host VPC (Dual Links) and FEX Single Homed (Port Channel Mode) Straight through VPC Design


Fig 1.2-FEX Topologies-II

FEX Topology no: 11

Host VPC (Single Link) and Active-Active FEX (Enhanced VPC) Design


FEX Topology no: 12

Host Port Channel and Active-Active FEX (VPC) Design


FEX Topology no: 13

Dual Homed Host (Active/Active) and Active-Active FEX (VPC) Design


FEX Topology no: 14

Single Parent Nexus Switch: Host VPC and FEX Single Homed Straight through Design


Fig 1.3- FEX Topologies-III