Dell PS6000 Configuration Guide - Page 45

Dell EqualLogic Configuration Guide v11.3

40

5

M1000e Blade Chassis Integration

M1000e (or any 3

rd

party blade chassis implementation) requires additional SAN design considerations.

In general, most blade integration solutions will require an external set of switches that will host the

PS Series arrays that are then uplinked to the M1000e blade enclosure I/O modules.

It is recommended

that stackable blade I/O modules and external switches be utilized for all blade solutions when

possible.

5.1

Guidelines for Stacking Switches in a Blade Chassis

Use the following guidelines for blade server integration with EqualLogic SANs.



Blade I/O modules and external switches should be from the same vendor if possible.



As a best practice, you should consider using Blade I/O modules as host aggregation switches

only. The limited number of external ports on the blade I/O modules drastically reduces the

scalability of a SAN if arrays are directly connected them.



Stack blade I/O modules into one of two stacking architectures as described in Section 5.2 and

Section 5.3 when possible.

Other configurations are possible and may be used if desired.



Stack any external switches into a single stack as described in Section 4.3.



Interconnect blade I/O stack(s) with external switch stacks via aggregated links as described in

Section 4.3.1.



Use the switch vendor preferred method for link aggregation (if all switches from same

vendor).



Use LACP for link aggregation when I/O modules and external switches are from different

vendors



Using 10GbE port options where available (See Figure 18):

If blade I/O modules are stacked:

o

Aggregate at least two 10GbE ports from each blade I/O module stack for redundancy

o

Distribute 10GbE links among multiple switches within each I/O module stack

o

Distribute 10GbE links evenly between all switches within the external switch stack

If blade I/O modules are NOT stacked:

o

Aggregate at least two 10GbE ports from each switch to one external switch if external

switches are not stacked.

o

Aggregate at least two 10GbE ports from each switch to two different external switches if

external switches are stacked.



Using 1GbE port options only if 10GbE is not available for up-linking:

If blade I/O modules are stacked:

Note:

All configurations documented in this section assume that Fabric A is dedicated to client LAN

traffic and Fabric B and/or C will be used for SAN infrastructure connectivity

Note:

See the following Dell EqualLogic whitepaper for more information on integrating blade

solutions into the EqualLogic SAN infrastructures:



Integrating Blade Solutions with the Dell EqualLogic PS Series

,

available at:

http://www.equallogic.com/resourcecenter/assetview.aspx?id=7173

Section	Page
1 Introduction	6
1.1 Audience	6
1.2 Document Structure	6
2 PS Series Storage Arrays	7
2.1 Array Models	7
2.2 Feature Comparison	8
2.3 Controllers	9
2.3.1 Controller Types	9
2.3.2 Controller Redundancy	10
2.3.3 Controller Failover	10
2.3.4 Firmware	12
Firmware Upgrade	13
2.4 RAID Policies	14
2.4.1 RAID 5	14
2.4.2 RAID 6	15
2.4.3 RAID 10	16
2.4.4 RAID 50	17
3 Peer Storage Operations	19
3.1 Groups	19
3.2 Pools	19
3.3 Volumes	20
3.3.1 Volume Attributes	21
3.3.2 Volume Features	22
3.3.3 Thin Provisioning	22
3.3.4 Snapshots	23
3.3.5 Cloning	23
3.3.6 Replication	24
Example Replication Topologies	25
Sizing Replica Reserve and Delegated Space	28
3.3.7 Clustering	29
4 SAN Design	30
4.1 Implementation of Standards	30
iSNS Support	30
4.2 General Requirements and Recommendations	30
4.2.1 Quality of Service (QoS)	31
4.3 Ethernet Switches and Infrastructure	32
4.3.1 Connecting SAN Switches in a Layer 2 Network	33
Stacking Switches	33
Non-Stacking Switches	34
Using a LAG to Connect Stacked Switches	34
4.3.2 Sizing Inter-Switch Connections	35
4.3.3 Comparing Inter-Switch Connection Types	36
4.4 Host Configuration Guidelines	37
4.4.1 Recommendations for Host Connectivity in Redundant SANs	37
4.4.2 Multi-Path I/O	38
EqualLogic MPIO Requirements	39
EqualLogic MPIO General Recommendations	39
Configuring Microsoft Windows MPIO	39
Configuring VMware vSphere 4.1 Multipathing Extension Module (MEM)	39
4.5 EqualLogic iSCSI SAN Design	40
4.5.1 Redundant SAN Configuration	40
4.5.2 Partially Redundant SAN Configurations	41
Single Array Controller Configurations	41
Dual Array Controller Configurations	42
4.6 Integrating 1GbE and 10GbE SANs	43
5 M1000e Blade Chassis Integration	45
5.1 Guidelines for Stacking Switches in a Blade Chassis	45
5.2 Single M1000e Enclosure Integration	46
5.3 Multiple M1000e Enclosure Integration	46
Dual I/O Module Stacks	46
Single I/O Module Stack	47
5.4 M1000e Ethernet Pass-Through I/O Module	48
5.5 External Tier Stacking	48
5.6 Stack to Stack Interconnect	48
5.6.1 10GbE Uplink Recommendations	48
5.6.2 1GbE Uplink Recommendations	49
Appendix A Network Ports and Protocols	52
A.1 Required Ports and Protocols	52
A.2 Optional Ports and Protocols	52
Appendix B Recommended Switches	54
B.1 Recommended 1GbE Switches	54
B.2 Recommended 10GbE Switches	55
Appendix C Supported iSCSI Initiators	56
C.1 Hardware iSCSI Initiators (HBAs)	56
C.2 Software iSCSI Initiators	57
C.3 Network Interface Controllers	58
Appendix D PowerConnect 54xx Switch Configuration	59
D.1 Disabling iSCSI Optimization Setting	59
D.2 Enabling the PortFast Option to Configure STP Edge Ports	60
D.3 Configuring Flow Control	60
D.4 Disabling Unicast Storm Control	61
D.5 Configuring Jumbo Frames	62
Appendix E PowerConnect 62xx Switch Configuration	63
E.1 Interface Naming Convention	63
E.2 Enabling the PortFast Option to Configure STP Edge Ports	64
E.3 Configuring Flow Control	64
E.4 Disabling Unicast Storm Control	64
E.5 Configuring Jumbo Frames	65
Appendix F Cisco IOS based Switch Configuration	66
F.1 Enabling the PortFast Option to Configure STP Edge Ports	67
F.2 Configuring Flow Control	67
F.3 Disabling Unicast Storm Control	68
F.4 Configuring Jumbo Frames	68

Dell PS6000 Configuration Guide - Page 45

M1000e Blade Chassis Integration, 5.1 Guidelines for Stacking Switches in a Blade Chassis

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