Reference Architecture

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 Remote Services are standards-based interfaces that enable consoles to integrate, for example,
bare-metal provisioning and one-to-many OS deployments, for servers located remotely. Dell‘s
Lifecycle Controller takes advantage of the capabilities of both USC and Remote Services to
deliver significant advancement and simplification of server deployment.
 Lifecycle Controller Serviceability aims at simplifying server re-provisioning and/or replacing
failed parts, and thus reduces maintenance downtime.
For more information on Dell Lifecycle Controllers and blade servers, see
http://content.dell.com/us/en/enterprise/dcsm-embedded-management and Dell.com/blades.
3.4 Dell PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator
The Dell PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator (IOA) is a flexible 1/10GbE aggregation device that is automated
and pre-configured for easy deployment into converged iSCSI and FCoE networks. The key feature of
the PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator is that all VLANs are allowed as a default setting. This allows the top-
of-rack (ToR) managed switch to perform all VLAN management related tasks. The external ports of the
PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator are automatically all part of a single link aggregation group (LAG), and
thus there is no need for Spanning-tree. The PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator can use Data Center Bridging
(DCB) and Data Center Bridging Exchange (DCBX) to support converged network architecture.
The PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator provides connectivity to the CNA/Network adapters internally and
externally to upstream network devices. Internally the PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator provides thirty-two
(32) connections. The connections are 10 Gigabit Ethernet connections for basic Ethernet traffic, iSCSI
storage traffic, or FCoE storage traffic. In a typical PowerEdge M1000e configuration with 16 half-
height blade server ports, 1-16 are used and 17-32 are disabled. If quad port CAN/Network adapters or
quarter-height blade servers are used, then ports 17-32 will be enabled.
The PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator includes two integrated 40Gb Ethernet ports on the base module.
These ports can be used in a default configuration with a 4 X 10Gb breakout cable to provide four 10Gb
links for network traffic. Alternatively these ports can be used as 40Gb links for stacking. The Dell
PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator also supports three different types of add-in expansion modules, which
are called FlexIO Expansion modules. The modules available are: 4-port 10Gbase-T FlexIO module, 4-
port 10G SFP+ FlexIO module, and the 2-port 40G QSFP+ FlexIO module.
The PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator modules can be managed through the PowerEdge M1000e Chassis
Management Controller (CMC) GUI. Also, the out-of-band management port on the PowerEdge M I/O
Aggregator is reached by connection through the CMC‘s management port. This one management port
on the CMC allows for management connections to all I/O modules within the PowerEdge M1000e
chassis.
For more information on Dell PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator, see
http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/poweredge-m-io-aggregator/pd
3.5 OpenManage Essentials
The Dell OpenManage™ Essentials (OME) Console provides a single, easy-to-use, one-to-many interface
through which to manage resources in multivendor operating system and hypervisor environments. It
automates basic repetitive hardware management tasks — like discovery, inventory, and monitoring—
for Dell servers, storage, and network systems. OME employs the embedded management of