Compatibility between cisco and huawei

[dellpe]

We have purchased 7 units Huawei access switches, S2700-26TP-EI-AC & 1310 SFP modules from internet now we plan to add a aggregation switches, for this part, we want to use Cisco WS-C3750X-24S-S, my question is with Huawei GE optical port (with 1310 SFP module), can it connect to Cisco 3750X GE ports (with GLC-LH-SMD). If not we may need to go for Huawei S5700.

 

[Terry Kennedy]

We have purchased 7 units Huawei access switches, S2700-26TP-EI-AC & 1310 SFP modules from internet now we plan to add a aggregation switches, for this part, we want to use Cisco WS-C3750X-24S-S, my question is with Huawei GE optical port (with 1310 SFP module), can it connect to Cisco 3750X GE ports (with GLC-LH-SMD). If not we may need to go for Huawei S5700.

It should work, as long as you have compatible optics at both ends. Cisco equipment can sometimes have interoperability issues with non-Cisco devices when using the default Cisco interface configuration. Adding "speed nonegotiate" to the interface usually solves these (autonegotiation is optional for 1GbE, mandatory for 10GbE). Don't use this option if you don't need it - with "speed nonegitiate" set, if the transceiver sees light, it considers the interface "up". With the default ("speed negotiate", not "no speed nonegotiate"), it has to see a valid 1GbE device at the other end.

And, of course, you'll be limited to the subset of features supported on both switches - if one switch has a feature but the other doesn't, that feature will be unavailable across the link. Common stuff like dot1Q, LACP, etc. should be available on both.

In more complex topologies, there are additional configuration considerations. For example, Cisco <-> Brand X <-> Cisco can report bogus CDP events because the Brand X switch passes CDP packets through as data rather than capturing them and sending its own CDP packets. This will make both Cisco switches think they're connected to each other, and if they see different CDP capabilities they'll log spurious CDP misconfiguration messages.

If the non-Cisco switch does weird stuff when it reboots, the Cisco switch might put the port facing it in the errdisable state. The following Cisco config commands enable a 60-second recovery interval for link-flap events:

errdisable recovery cause link-flap
errdisable recovery interval 60

That's only one of the possible errdisable events. Do "show errdisable detect" to see what events the Cisco switch detects, and "show errdisable recovery" to see if any interfaces are currently errdisabled (at the end of the show command output).