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4 Best Practices for Deploying a Mixed 1Gb/10Gb Ethernet SAN using Dell Storage PS Series Arrays | BP1008
1 Introduction
This paper presents network design recommendations and best practices for integration of 10Gb Dell
™
Storage PS Series arrays into an existing 1Gb PS Series iSCSI SAN environment.
By combining PS Series 10Gb storage arrays with industry standard Ethernet switches and the 10Gb
Ethernet NIC options available with Dell EMC™ PowerEdge™ servers, our customers have the ability to build
end-to-end 10Gb high-performance iSCSI Storage Area Network (SAN) infrastructures.
Two methods of introducing 10Gb components into a datacenter environment are end-to-end (10Gb
components only) or mixed (1Gb and 10Gb working together). This paper focuses on the mixed method of
introduction.
Some of the many reasons to use a mixed integration of 10Gb components into an existing 1Gb SAN
environment are:
 Introducing new PS Series arrays equipped with 10Gb controllers into existing 1Gb PS Series SAN
 Introducing new PowerEdge servers equipped with 10Gb NICs, for converged networking projects
 Application I/O throughput requirements are reaching the limits of a 1Gb SAN environment
1.1 Audience
This paper is for Solution Architects, Storage Network Engineers, System Administrators, and IT Managers.
Working knowledge by the reader of network switch deployment and operation, network administration and
Dell Storage PS Series iSCSI SAN operation is assumed.