Specifications

Chapter 1
1 - 4
Component configuration
In the most basic component configuration using the BIG-IP software, an
external device, such as a router, is directly connected to the external side of
the network switch module on the Dell PowerEdge 1655MC. The network
switch module channels traffic to the BIG-IP server blade, which load
balances inbound Internet traffic to several web server blades connected to
the internal side of the switch.
The PowerEdge 1655MC server blades work as delivered, without any
configuration. You need to connect only one of the uplink ports on each
switch module to the external switch or router; you may use the other uplink
ports for additional bandwidth. If you want to use additional uplink ports for
increased bandwidth, you must configure the switch ports to use port
trunking to link them together. Refer to the Dell PowerEdge 1655MC
Integrated Switch User’s Guide for information on configuring the switch
ports.
For an introduction to more complex solutions, including load balancing
outbound traffic across firewalls and routers, refer to the BIG-IP Solutions
Guide, Chapter 1, BIG-IP System Overview.
Power management
You can shut down the BIG-IP software server blade by pressing the power
button on the front of the server blade.
You can also use the following commands from the console to halt, shut
down, or restart a BIG-IP software server blade.
halt
This command gracefully brings the server blade down, without turning off
the power. Using this command allows you to either restart the server blade
by pressing the Enter key, or to manually turn the power off, by either
pressing the power button on the server blade front panel, or removing the
chassis power.
poweroff
This command initiates a graceful shutdown, and turns off power to the
server blade. If you use this command, you must use the front panel power
button or the Dell Embedded Remote Access utility to turn the server blade
back on.
reboot
This command gracefully restarts the server blade.