Reference Architecture

Page 20
Load Balancing and Failover: This solution uses Route based on the originating virtual switch port ID
configuration at the vSwitch for load balancing the LAN traffic. Any given virtual network adapter will
use only one physical adapter port at any given time. In other words, if a VM has only one virtual NIC, it
will use only one physical adapter port at any given time. The reason for choosing this option is that it
is easy to configure and provides load balancing across VMs, especially in the case of a large number of
VMs.
Uplinks: There are several options to uplink the Force10 switches to the core network. Selecting the
uplink option depends on the customer core network and customer requirements. One simple option is
to create multiple uplinks on each switch and connect them to the core network switches. Uplink LAGs
can then be created from the Force10 S4810 switches to the core network.
8 Storage Architecture
EqualLogic PS6110 provides capabilities essential to the Active System 800v design, like 10Gb
connectivity, flexibility in configuring RAID arrays and creating volumes, thin provisioning, and storage
tiering, while providing tight integration with VMware vSphere for better performance and
manageability through the use of EqualLogic MEM and EqualLogic VSM for VMware.
8.1 EqualLogic Group and Pool Configuration
Each EqualLogic array (or member) is assigned to a particular group. Groups help in simplifying
management by enabling management of all members in a group from a single interface. Each group
contains one or more storage pools. Each pool must contain one or more members and each member is
associated with only one storage pool.
The iSCSI volumes are created at the pool level. In the case where multiple members are placed in a
single pool, the data is distributed amongst the members of the pool. With data being distributed over
a larger number of disks, the potential performance of iSCSI volumes within the pool is increased with
each member added.
8.2 RAID Array Design
The storage array RAID configuration is highly dependent on the workload in your virtual environment.
The EqualLogic PS series storage arrays support four RAID types: RAID 6, RAID 10, and RAID 50. The
RAID configuration will depend on workloads and customer requirements. In general, RAID 10 provides
the best performance at the expense of storage capacity, especially in random I/O situations. RAID 50
generally provides more usable storage, but has less performance than RAID 10. RAID 6 provides better
data protection than RAID 50.
For more information on configuring RAID in EqualLogic, refer to the white paper, How to Select the
Correct RAID for an EqualLogic SAN.
8.3 Volume Size Considerations
Volumes are created in the storage pools. Volume sizes depend on the customer environment and the
type of workloads. Volumes must be sized to accommodate not only the VM virtual hard drive, but also
the size of the virtual memory of the VM and additional capacity for any snapshots of the VM.