Dcb Support; Fcoe Connectivity; Iscsi Operation - Dell PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator Getting Started Manual

DCB Support

DCB enhancements for data center networks are supported to eliminate
packet loss and provision links with required bandwidth.
The Aggregator provides zero-touch configuration for DCB. The Aggregator
auto-configures DCBX port roles to match the DCBX configuration in the ToR
switches to which it connects through its uplink ports.

FCoE Connectivity

Many data centers use Fiber Channel (FC) in storage area networks (SANs).
Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) encapsulates Fiber Channel frames over
Ethernet networks.
On an Aggregator, the internal ports support FCoE connectivity and connect
to the converged network adapter (CNA) in blade servers. FCoE allows Fiber
Channel to use 10-Gigabit Ethernet networks while preserving the Fiber
Channel protocol.
The Aggregator also provides zero-touch configuration for FCoE configuration.
The Aggregator auto-configures to match the FCoE settings used in the ToR
switches to which it connects through its uplink ports.

iSCSI Operation

Support for iSCSI traffic is turned on by default when the Aggregator powers
up. No configuration is required.
When the Aggregator powers up, it monitors known TCP ports for iSCSI
storage devices on all interfaces. When a session is detected, an entry is
created and monitored as long as the session is active.
The Aggregator also detects iSCSI storage devices on all interfaces and auto-
configures to optimize performance. Performance optimization operations,
such as Jumbo frame size support, STP port-state fast, and disabling of storm
control on interfaces connected to an iSCSI storage device, are applied
automatically.
CLI configuration is necessary only when the configuration includes iSCSI
storage devices that cannot be automatically detected and when non-default
QoS handling is required.
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Installing and Configuring the Aggregator