Introduction; Product Description - Dell PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator Getting Started Manual

Introduction

This document provides basic information about the Dell PowerEdge M I/O
Aggregator, including how to install the switch in the Dell PowerEdge
M1000e Enclosure and perform the initial configuration.
For more detailed information about any of the basic installation steps, refer to
the Dell PowerEdge M1000e Enclosure Owner's Manual on the Dell Support
website at http://support.dell.com/manuals.

Product Description

The I/O Aggregator is a zero-touch, layer 2 switch blade with two fixed 40GbE
ports on the base module and support for two optional plug-in modules. The
Aggregator operates in a Dell PowerEdge M1000e chassis, which can support
up to 32 servers and six I/O Aggregator blade switches.
The Aggregator runs the Dell Force10 Operating System (FTOS) and auto-
configures as an unmanaged switch with bridging and multiplexing
functionality, which transmits traffic as follows:
• GbE/10GbE connections through the midplane to up to 32 server ports in
the chassis
• 10GbE connections through uplink ports to top-of-rack (ToR) switches
• 40GbE connections through stacking ports to other I/O Aggregators in a
switch stack
In a data center network, the Aggregator functions as a flat layer 2 pass-
through switch that interoperates with Dell and third-party ToR devices.
The switch supports data center bridging (DCB) features, and provides
seamless connectivity for a Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) server and
iSCSI storage data traffic.
In its default operational mode, the Aggregator requires no additional
configuration; network connectivity for servers in an M1000e chassis is
enabled. By simplifying switch configuration and management, the
Aggregator reduces complexity in a data center network.
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Introduction