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laurent.bel
2 Posts
0
25856
February 3rd, 2012 04:00
MD3600i which switch should I choose ?
Hi,
I want to buy a MD3600i and I don't know which switch shall I choose.
I want to :
- Take advantage of the 10 GbE RJ45 interfaces of the MD3600i.
- Connect ESXi servers that have 1 GbE RJ45 interfaces.
- Reduce my costs
Here is a small explanation of what I want to achieve.
Thanks in advance for your help.
595
0
Posted February 3rd, 2012 07:00
Dell has been pushing their Force10 switches if you talk to them. I don't know anything about them but may be one for you to look at.
595
0
Posted February 3rd, 2012 11:00
From what I've talking to some switch experts, when using 10Gbit, it's recommended that the hosts are also using 10Gbit NICs, so they can accept the data from the SAN at the speed that the SAN sends it.
Dell's 8024's are decent, but their Force10 range is probably better. I wouldn't recommend 6200's with 10Gbit modules, as those ports are really more for uplinks to other switches.
595
0
Posted February 3rd, 2012 14:00
laurent.bel - Hey I hate to burst the bubble but the uplink ports on the 5548 cannot be used for the MD3600i or any server for that matter. They are only usable for switch to switch linking.
Now you can connect them to any other port and they should downgrade to 1GbE speed, but that kind of defeats the purpose of having the 10GbE connections on the MD3600i
595
0
Posted February 5th, 2012 20:00
If you can budget a 10Gbit MD-solution, I'd suggest to look at an Equallogic PS6100-series. This has only 4 active iSCSI ports (only 1 controller is active at any given time), but it's a much more capable and powerful SAN. You can then get a pair of solid Gbit switches and I think you'll have a good start for a storage solution.
Note: Unlike an MD SAN where it's best to keep the two iSCSI switches isolated from eachother, with EQL the switches need to be linked together. This could be a stack (remember to purchase stacking modules) or a LAG (be sure to buy a switch with enough ports to spare for this LAG (4 ports per switch probably). I'd stay away from the Dell PowerConnect 5500-series. The 6200 is ok, or just get a pair of Force10 S25's or S50's (or the newer models that are replacing these).
595
0
Posted August 21st, 2012 16:00
I use a procurve 5412zl with 24port 1G ethernet modules, I use a single VLAN for iSCSI traffic and dont have 10G yet but when I do I should be able to install a 10g module, connect the SAN into it, configure the VLAN and all the servers will automatically see it.
laurent.bel
2 Posts
595
1
Posted February 3rd, 2012 16:00
Hi everyone, thanks a lot for your help to start with !
"uplink ports on the 5548 cannot be used for the MD3600i... They are only usable for switch to switch linking"
Good to know, it makes sense...
Regarding the 10 GbE, I'm just trying to take advantage of it. But Dev Mgr pointed out something that I did not know : "From what I've talking to some switch experts, when using 10Gbit, it's recommended that the hosts are also using 10Gbit NICs, so they can accept the data from the SAN at the speed that the SAN sends it."
To conclude it leaves me with two options :
1 - Buy some 10 GbE network cards for my servers and buy a 10 GbE switch (Force 10 is an option) and make it a full 10 GbE system. Very expensive, but this would be the ideal scenario.
2 - Downgrade everything to 1 GbE (netward interfaces + switch). I would not take advantage of the 10 GbE but would have a much cheaper solution.
If someone has a better idea or another understanding, do not hesitate.
Thanks again guys !
Laurent.