Stratix 5700 fiber uplink with 1783-SFP1GLX: does the SFP slot need any configuration of its own?
Coming from ordinary office switching, so treat this as a beginner question on the industrial side. I am replacing a long copper run between two panels with fiber on a pair of Stratix 5700 switches and I have never used the SFP slots on these.
What I have:
- two Stratix 5700 switches, one per panel, uplink over single mode fiber
- 1783-SFP1GLX ordered for both ends
- the rest of the catalogue options I looked at before settling on it:
1783-SFP1GLX 1G single mode (ordered)
1783-SFP1GSX 1G multimode
1783-SFP100LX 100M single mode
1783-SFP100FX 100M multimodeThe part I am unsure about is the port itself. The SFP cage sits right next to an RJ45 socket and the documentation calls it a dual-personality port, which I read as the two being tied together somehow. I brought one switch up on the bench with Express Setup, gave it an address and left everything else at defaults.
So, three questions:
- is Express Setup plus a supported module enough, or does the fiber side need configuration of its own
- what happens if something ends up plugged into both halves of that port
- do I need to touch spanning tree before this goes into a plant that already has switches in it
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Comments 3
Short version: fit a supported Allen-Bradley module and you are done. There is no separate step to enable the fiber port.
The cage and the RJ45 beside it are one combo port with two personalities. Only one of them is in service at a time, so nothing dramatic happens when you plug the module in beyond the fiber sie taking over. You do not configure the two halves independently and you do not have to shut one to bring up the other. Express Setup gets you a managed switch with an address, and the uplink comes up on its own as long as both ends have the same module type and the plant fiber matches. With 1783-SFP1GLX on both ends that means single mode all the way through, no patch of multimode hiding in a panel somewhere.
Spanning tree is the otehr half of your question and it is also less work than you are expecting. The 5700 runs MSTP out of the box, and PVST+ and Rapid PVST+ are both available. You only touch the configuration if the existing plant speaks something other than MSTP and you have to match it. That same spanning tree support is what lets you close the topology into a ring or mesh for redundancy later, so if a second run is anywhere on the roadmap, decide the topology now instead of redoing the config afterwards.
So: supported module at both ends, matching fiber, and find out which spanning tree flavour the rest of the plant is running. Nothing beyond that.
One thing that catches people on this platform, since you are still choosing parts. The approved module list is short and the firmware honours it: the four fiber parts you listed and nothing else, in particular no copper SFP.
What makes it anoying is that the Stratix 5700 sits on the same platform as the Cisco IE-2000, and a copper module like GLC-FE-T-I is listed on the Cisco side, so the hardware is clearly capable. Reports are that it still will not come up in the Stratix, and that the Catalyst escape hatch service unsupported-transceiver is generally not offered on Stratix firmware, so there is no forcing it either. I have not tested that myself, so treat it as a warning rather than a fact. Practical upshot: if you ever need a copper uplink on one of these, plan on the copper half of the combo port or a plain RJ45 port instead of hunting for a module.
Adding a failure case so you do not lose a day to configuration if it does not come up.
Saw a pair of 5700s about 500 feet apart where neither slot would take the fiber. Red link LED in both, copper ports on either switch carrying traffic without complaint, and pulling the modules out and back in did nothing.
We worked the list over two visits. Modules refitted, both ends confirmed to be running the same kind of fiber, port settings read back out of the web interface. Then the copper socket next door was emptied in case the combo half held the port down. Firmware level checked, factory reset, nothing moved. Last try was carrying a switch onto a fiber run we knew was good, and the LED stayed red there too.
It turned out to be the switch's own internal fiber transceiver electronics, not the modules. No configuration change touches that and the unit went back on RMA. It is a known failure mode on that line and more common on older firmware, so get to v15.2.7 or later before the panel ships, stay on genuine modules from the approved list rather than compatibles, and if a new build gives you the choice, look at the IE-4000 or IE-5000 instead, since the 5700 line is mostly phased out.