Install Guide

Recommendation Description
Management
network(optional)
Connectthemanagementportsonbothcontrolmodulestoa10/100Mbps
networkswitchtokeepmanagementtrafficseparatefromiSCSItraffic.
Accesstothegroup
IPaddress(Hosts)
Inamulti-subnetgroup,eachconfigurednetworkinterfaceshouldhaveaccess
tothesubnetonwhichthegroupIPaddressresides.
Forreplication,a
reliable,adequately
sizednetworklink
Foreffectiveandpredictablereplication,thenetworklinkbetweentheprimary
andsecondarygroupsmustbereliableandprovidesufficientbandwidthfor
copyingdata.
Useofspanning-tree
protocol
Ifpossible,donotuseSpanningTreeProtocol(STP)onswitchportsthat
connectendnodes(iSCSIinitiatorsorarraynetworkinterfaces).
IfyoumustuseSTPorRSTP(STPispreferable),enabletheportsettings
(availableonsomeswitches)thatlettheportimmediatelytransitionintoSTP
forwardingstateuponlinkup.Thisfunctionalitycanreducenetwork
interruptionsthatoccurwhendevicesrestart,andshouldbeenabledonlyon
switchportsthatconnectendnodes.
YoucanuseSTPforasingle-cableconnectionbetweenswitchesandtrunking
formulticableconnectionsbetweenswitches.
VLANs
TouseDCB(DataCenterBridging),configureswitchestouseVLANsto
separateiSCSISANtrafficfromothernetworktraffic.
DCB
YoumusthaveVLANsenabled.RefertotheDell EqualLogic Group Manager
Administrator's Manual,andtheDellEqualLogic Group Manager
CLI Reference GuideformoreinformationaboutDCB.
Minimum and Recommended Cable
Configurations
Foradualcontrolmodulearray,therecommendedconfigurationistoconnectnetworkcablesto
Ethernet0onbothcontrolmodules,andconnecteachcontrolmoduletoanetworkswitch.
Forhighperformanceandavailability,distributetheconnectionsacrossmultiplenetwork
switches.
Theswitchesmustbeconnectedwithinterswitchlinksthathavesufficientbandwidthtohandle
theiSCSItraffic,orbystackingcapability.Dellrecommendsusingstackingconfigurations
whereverpossible.
Figure6illustratestherecommendednetworkconfigurationalternatives.
Note: DelldoesnotrecommendconnectingboththeSFP+and10GBASE-TEthernetportsat
thesametime.
10
PS4210 Installation Guide 3 Connecting the Array Cables