Dell PowerStore 5200T EMC PowerStore Host Configuration Guide - Page 16

Recommended Configuration, Best Practices for Storage Connectivity

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Validation Impact Maximum number of paths per volume per Performance host: 8 Recommended number of paths per volume per host: 4 Performance Link speed should be consistent across all Performance paths to the PowerStore cluster. Duplex setting should be consistent Performance across all paths to the PowerStore cluster per single host or a cluster of hosts. Enable the TCP Offloading Engine (TOE) Performance on the host interfaces. Balance the hosts across the target ports Performance of the appliances to provide a distributed load across all target ports. Use dedicated NICs or iSCSI HBAs for PowerStore cluster iSCSI connection. NOTE: Avoid partitioning the interface. Performance Severity Warning Warning Warning Warning Warning Recommended Recommended Refer to Section Recommended Configuration Recommended Configuration Recommended Configuration Recommended Configuration Recommended Configuration Recommended Configuration Recommended Configuration Recommended Configuration Consider the following recommendations with PowerStore storage using NVMe/TCP. ● Use two separate fabrics. Each fabric should be on a different physical switch for resiliency. ● The optimal number of paths depends on the operating system and server information. To avoid multipathing performance degradation, do not use more than eight paths per device per host. It is recommended to use four paths. ● Keep a consistent link speed and duplex across all paths to the PowerStore cluster per a single host or a cluster of hosts. ● With a multi-appliance cluster, it is highly advised to zone the host to as many appliances as possible, to achieve best load distribution across the cluster. Be sure to keep the minimum/optimal zoning recommendations for each appliance. NOTE: A multi-appliance cluster is not designed to provide better resiliency, but rather to provide better load balance. To perform volume migration between appliances, a host must be zoned to both appliances. ● External hosts can be attached using NVMe/TCP to a PowerStore cluster by either the embedded 4-port card or by a SLIC: ○ A host can be connected to 1-4 appliances. It is recommended to connect the host to as many appliances as possible to allow volume migration to and from all appliances. ○ Hosts that are connected over the first two ports of the 4-port card are connected using ToR switches (also used for PowerStore internal communication). With this configuration, it is recommended to use a dedicated VLAN, and if not possible, use a separate subnet/network. ○ For hosts connected using any other port (that is, not the first two ports), use either dedicated Ethernet switch or a dedicated VLAN. ○ The PowerStore cluster can be shipped with various extension modules. If your PowerStore cluster contains more than one extension I/O module per node, distribute the connections among all I/O modules for highest availability and performance. ● Ethernet switch recommendations: ○ Use non-blocking switches. ○ Use enterprise grade switch. ○ Utilize at minimum 10 GbE interfaces. ● It is recommended to use dedicated NICs or iSCSI HBAs for PowerStore cluster and not to partition the interface (that is, disable NIC Partitioning - NPAR). ● Enable the TCP Offloading Engine (TOE) on the host interfaces, to offload the TCP packet encapsulation from the CPU of the host to the NIC or iSCSI HBA, and free up CPU cycles. ● It is recommended to use interfaces individually rather than using NIC Teaming (Link Aggregation), to combine multiple interfaces into a single virtual interface. ● If Jumbo Frames are required, ensure that all ports (servers, switches, and system) are configured with the same MTU value. 16 Best Practices for Storage Connectivity

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Validation
Impact
Severity
Refer to Section
Maximum number of paths per volume per
host: 8
Performance
Warning
Recommended Configuration
Recommended number of paths per
volume per host: 4
Performance
Warning
Recommended Configuration
Link speed should be consistent across all
paths to the PowerStore cluster.
Performance
Warning
Recommended Configuration
Duplex setting should be consistent
across all paths to the PowerStore cluster
per single host or a cluster of hosts.
Performance
Warning
Recommended Configuration
Enable the TCP Offloading Engine (TOE)
on the host interfaces.
Performance
Warning
Recommended Configuration
Balance the hosts across the target ports
of the appliances to provide a distributed
load across all target ports.
Performance
Recommended
Recommended Configuration
Use dedicated NICs or iSCSI HBAs for
PowerStore cluster iSCSI connection.
NOTE:
Avoid partitioning the
interface.
Performance
Recommended
Recommended Configuration
Recommended Configuration
Consider the following recommendations with PowerStore storage using NVMe/TCP.
●
Use two separate fabrics. Each fabric should be on a different physical switch for resiliency.
●
The optimal number of paths depends on the operating system and server information. To avoid multipathing performance
degradation, do not use more than eight paths per device per host. It is recommended to use four paths.
●
Keep a consistent link speed and duplex across all paths to the PowerStore cluster per a single host or a cluster of hosts.
●
With a multi-appliance cluster, it is highly advised to zone the host to as many appliances as possible, to achieve best load
distribution across the cluster. Be sure to keep the minimum/optimal zoning recommendations for each appliance.
NOTE:
A multi-appliance cluster is not designed to provide better resiliency, but rather to provide better load balance.
To perform volume migration between appliances, a host must be zoned to both appliances.
●
External hosts can be attached using NVMe/TCP to a PowerStore cluster by either the embedded 4-port card or by a SLIC:
○
A host can be connected to 1-4 appliances. It is recommended to connect the host to as many appliances as possible to
allow volume migration to and from all appliances.
○
Hosts that are connected over the first two ports of the 4-port card are connected using ToR switches (also used for
PowerStore internal communication). With this configuration, it is recommended to use a dedicated VLAN, and if not
possible, use a separate subnet/network.
○
For hosts connected using any other port (that is, not the first two ports), use either dedicated Ethernet switch or a
dedicated VLAN.
○
The PowerStore cluster can be shipped with various extension modules. If your PowerStore cluster contains more
than one extension I/O module per node, distribute the connections among all I/O modules for highest availability and
performance.
●
Ethernet switch recommendations:
○
Use non-blocking switches.
○
Use enterprise grade switch.
○
Utilize at minimum 10 GbE interfaces.
●
It is recommended to use dedicated NICs or iSCSI HBAs for PowerStore cluster and not to partition the interface (that is,
disable NIC Partitioning - NPAR).
●
Enable the TCP Offloading Engine (TOE) on the host interfaces, to offload the TCP packet encapsulation from the CPU of
the host to the NIC or iSCSI HBA, and free up CPU cycles.
●
It is recommended to use interfaces individually rather than using NIC Teaming (Link Aggregation), to combine multiple
interfaces into a single virtual interface.
●
If Jumbo Frames are required, ensure that all ports (servers, switches, and system) are configured with the same MTU
value.
16
Best Practices for Storage Connectivity