Design Guidelines For Host Connectivity In A Redundant San - Dell EqualLogic PS6100 series Configuration Manual

Table 26 Redundant Server NIC Configurations
NIC Connections
to SAN
7.3.1

Design guidelines for host connectivity in a redundant SAN

Using the Dell PowerEdge R610 server as an example, you configure redundant connection paths to
the SAN switches as shown in Figure 21 below. The R610 server shown in Figure 21 has one additional
dual-port PCI-E NIC installed. This configuration leaves two unused ports on the LOM controller for
connecting to the server LAN.
Note: As a best practice, we recommend using the same NIC devices in your server for all
connection paths to the iSCSI SAN. This will minimize the complexity of server
configuration management.
For maximum performance, ensure that the PCI express slot hosting the network
controller has the same specifications as the network controller. For example, if the
network controller has a PCIe x8 interface then ensure that it is installed into a PCIe slot
that can support 8 or more PCIe lanes.
Figure 21 Redundant NIC Connections from Server to SAN using one installed PCI-E NIC and LOM
An R610 server with two additional dual-port PCI-E NICs installed is shown in Figure 22 below. This
configuration leaves all four ports on the LOM controller available for other connections.
March 2013
LOM
NIC
X
-
X
Dell EqualLogic Configuration Guide v14.1
Installed Installed
NIC 1 NIC 2
X
X
-
-
X
X
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