Cisco WS-SUP32-GE-3B Software Configuration Guide - Page 554

Understanding How PFC QoS Works Chapter 38 Configuring PFC QoS Ingress and Egress Buffers and Layer 2 CoS-Based Queues The Ethernet LAN module port ASICs have buffers that are divided into a fixed number of queues. When congestion avoidance is enabled, PFC QoS uses the traffic's Layer 2 CoS value to assign traffic to the queues. The buffers and queues store frames temporarily as they transit the switch. PFC QoS allocates the port ASIC memory as buffers for each queue on each port. The Catalyst 6500 series switch LAN modules support the following types of queues: • Standard queues • Strict-priority queues The Catalyst 6500 series switch LAN modules support the following types of scheduling algorithms between queues: • Shaped round robin (SRR)-SRR allows a queue to use only the allocated bandwidth. • Deficit weighted round robin (DWRR)-DWRR keeps track of any lower-priority queue under-transmission caused by traffic in a higher-priority queue and compensates in the next round. • Weighted Round Robin (WRR)-WRR does not explicitly reserve bandwidth for the queues. Instead, the amount of bandwidth assigned to each queue is user configurable. The percentage or weight allocated to a queue defines the amount of bandwidth allocated to the queue. • Strict-priority queueing-Strict priority queueing allows delay-sensitive data such as voice to be dequeued and sent before packets in other queues are dequeued, giving delay-sensitive data preferential treatment over other traffic. The switch services traffic in the strict-priority transmit queue before servicing the standard queues. After transmitting a packet from a standard queue, the switch checks for traffic in the strict-priority queue. If the switch detects traffic in the strict-priority queue, it suspends its service of the standard queue and completes service of all traffic in the strict-priority queue before returning to the standard queue. The Catalyst 6500 series switch LAN modules provides congestion avoidance with these types of thresholds within a queue: • Weighted Random Early Detection (WRED)-On ports with WRED drop thresholds, frames with a given QoS label are admitted to the queue based on a random probability designed to avoid buffer congestion. The probability of a frame with a given QoS label being admitted to the queue or discarded depends on the weight and threshold assigned to that QoS label. For example, if CoS 2 is assigned to queue 1, threshold 2, and the threshold 2 levels are 40 percent (low) and 80 percent (high), then frames with CoS 2 will not be dropped until queue 1 is at least 40 percent full. As the queue depth approaches 80 percent, frames with CoS 2 have an increasingly higher probability of being discarded rather than being admitted to the queue. Once the queue is over 80 percent full, all CoS 2 frames are dropped until the queue is less than 80 percent full. The frames the switch discards when the queue level is between the low and high thresholds are picked out at random, rather than on a per-flow basis or in a FIFO manner. This method works well with protocols such as TCP that can adjust to periodic packet drops by backing off and adjusting their transmission window size. • Tail-drop thresholds-On ports with tail-drop thresholds, frames with a given QoS label are admitted to the queue until the drop threshold associated with that QoS label is exceeded; subsequent frames of that QoS label are discarded until the threshold is no longer exceeded. For example, if CoS 1 is assigned to queue 1, threshold 2, and the threshold 2 watermark is 60 percent, then frames with CoS 1 will not be dropped until queue 1 is 60 percent full. All subsequent CoS 1 frames will be dropped until the queue is less than 60 percent full. With some port types, you can configure the standard receive queue to use both a tail-drop and a WRED-drop threshold by mapping a CoS value to the queue or to the queue and a threshold. The switch uses the tail-drop threshold for 38-20 Catalyst Supervisor Engine 32 PISA Cisco IOS Software Configuration Guide, Release 12.2ZY OL-11439-03