I inserted a FET-10G (Fabric Extender Transceiver) SFP transceiver in my Nexus 5548UP and I got "access down" "SFP Validation Failed" in show interface.
FET-10Gs came with my 2232's so I figured they'd be plug and play. This is with a blank port configuration.
How do I get past "SFP Validation Failed" on a FET-10G transceiver on a Nexus 5548UP?
Setting the port's switchport mode to fex-fabric will clear the SFP Validation Failed message. You can do this while the SFP transceiver is inserted.
Example setting up port 1 to allow fabric extension:
The trouble is the order in which I thought this would work. I was trying to verify the transceiver hardware before getting into software configuration of the ports, but the transceiver expects a certain configuration first. This configuration can be changed while the transceiver is inserted.