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Introduction to Microsoft Multipath I/O
7 Dell EMC SC Series Storage and Microsoft Multipath I/O | CML1004
Figure 1 shows an example cable configuration using legacy port mode. Each color represents a separate
fault domain.
1 2
LNK ACT
1 2 3 4
MGM T
10G Base-T Type C
1
2
3
1 2
LNK ACT
1 2 3 4
MGM T
10G Base-T Type C
1
2
3
PORTS
PCIe x8
8Gb FC
8 4 2
8 4 2
8 4 2
8 4 2
1 2 3 4
PORTS
PCIe x8
8Gb FC
8 4 2
8 4 2
8 4 2
8 4 2
1 2 3 4
Brocade 6505
23
19
22
18
21
17
20
16
15
11
14
10
13
9
12
8
7
3
6
2
5
1
4
0
Brocade 6505
23
19
22
18
21
17
20
16
15
11
14
10
13
9
12
8
7
3
6
2
5
1
4
0
1
1 2
750W 750W
iDRAC
8 4 2
PORT 2
8 4 2
PORT 1
PCIe x8 8Gb FC
Primary Port P1
Reserved Port R1
Reserved Port R2
Primary Port P2
Primary Port P3
Reserved Port R3
Reserved Port R4
Primary Port P4
Fabric 1
Fabric 2
SC Series
array
Server
FC switches
Legacy port mode cabling example with FC
2.1.2 Virtual port mode
Virtual port mode is the recommended configuration for Microsoft environments. In virtual port mode, all front-
end I/O ports that are assigned to fault domains are configured as active ports. Because all ports are active,
additional front-end bandwidth is available without sacrificing redundancy. Figure 2 shows that virtual port
mode provides the same MPIO functionally with half the number ports (four instead of eight) as legacy port
mode.
1 2
LNK ACT
1 2 3 4
MGM T
10G Base-T Type C
1
2
3
1 2
LNK ACT
1 2 3 4
MGM T
10G Base-T Type C
1
2
3
PORTS
PCIe x8
8Gb FC
8 4 2
8 4 2
8 4 2
8 4 2
1 2 3 4
PORTS
PCIe x8
8Gb FC
8 4 2
8 4 2
8 4 2
8 4 2
1 2 3 4
Brocade 6505
23
19
22
18
21
17
20
16
15
11
14
10
13
9
12
8
7
3
6
2
5
1
4
0
Brocade 6505
23
19
22
18
21
17
20
16
15
11
14
10
13
9
12
8
7
3
6
2
5
1
4
0
1
1 2
750W 750W
iDRAC
8 4 2
PORT 2
8 4 2
PORT 1
PCIe x8 8Gb FC
Active
Active
Active
Active
Fabric 1
Fabric 2
SC Series
array
Server
FC switches
Virtual port mode cabling example with FC