Setup Guide

Introduction 7
Introduction
This document provides basic information about the Dell PowerEdge M I/O
Aggregator, including how to install the switch in the Dell PowerEdge
M1000e Enclosure and perform the initial configuration.
For more detailed information about any
of the basic installation steps , refer to
the
Dell PowerEdge M1000e Enclosure Owner's Manual on the Dell Support
website at http://support.dell.com/manuals.
Product Description
The I/O Aggregator is a zero-touch, layer 2 switch blade with two fixed 40GbE
ports on the base module and support for two optional plug-in modules. The
Aggregator operates in a Dell PowerEdge M1000e chassis, which can support
up to 32 servers and six I/O Aggregator blade switches.
The Aggregator runs the Dell Force10 Operating System (FTOS) and auto-
configures as an unmanaged switch with bridging and multiplexing
functionality, which transmits traffic as follows:
• GbE/10GbE connections through the midplane to up to 32 server ports in
the chassis
• 10GbE connections through uplink ports to top-of-rack (ToR) switches
• 40GbE connections through stacking ports to other I/O Aggregators in a
switch stack
In a data center network, the Aggregator functions as a flat layer 2 pass-
through switch that interoperates with Dell and third-party ToR devices.
The switch supports
data center bridging (DCB) features, and provides
seamless connectivity for a Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) server and
iSCSI storage data traffic.
In its default operational mode, the Aggregator requires no additional
configuration; network connectivity for servers in an M1000e chassis is
enabled. By simplifying switch configuration and management, the
Aggregator reduces complexity in a data center network.