Steps For Connecting Network Cables - Dell EqualLogic FS7500 Installation And Setup

EqualLogic FS7500 Installation and Setup
Ideally, you want a network switch configuration in which a switch failure does not disrupt the availability of the
NAS service. This means that no single switch should have all the client, SAN, or internal network connections.
Network connection requirements and recommendations for each FS7500Controller are as follows:
• A switched 1GE network is recommended.
• You need 13 network cables for each FS7500 controller.
• Connect the IPMI port to the internal network.
controller back panel.
• Connect the two internal network ports on each network interface card (NIC) to different switches.
• Do not connect the internal network ports to a router.
• Connect the two SAN network ports on each NIC to different switches.
• Do not connect the SAN network ports to a router.
• Connect two client network ports on the bottom NIC to one switch, and connect the other two client network
ports to a different switch.
For the SAN network:
• Flow Control must be enabled on switches and network interfaces
• Unicast storm control must be disabled on switches
• Jumbo Frames must be enabled. Specifically, the network switching infrastructure must be configured to
support an MTU size of 9216 bytes.
• VLANs can be used, but are not required.
If you use VLANs within your switch stack, the internal and SAN networks must be in the same VLAN.
Note:

Steps for Connecting Network Cables

To connect network cables to a FS7500 Controller, follow these steps:
1. Obtain the correct number of network cables. For each controller, you need 13 network cables. This means
that you will need a total of 26 cables for both controllers.
2. Connect the cables for the SAN and internal network connections. See
Network Cables on page
3. Connect the cables for the client network connections. See
41.
4. Use the cable management system to organize the network cables. See
page 41.
Figure 5 on page 9
41.
4 Network Cable Connections
shows the location of the IPMI port on the
Connecting SAN and Internal
Connecting the Client Network Cables on page
Managing the Controller Cables on
39