Cabling The Cluster In Network-Attached Configuration - Dell PowerVault MD3200i Hardware Installation And Troubleshooting Manual

Cabling the Cluster in Network-Attached Configuration

In the network-attached configuration, each cluster node attaches to the
storage system using redundant IP storage area network (SAN) industry-
standard 1 Gb Ethernet switches, and either with one dual-port iSCSI NIC or
two single-port iSCSI NICs. If a component fails in the storage path such as
the iSCSI NIC, the cable, the switch, or the storage controller, the multipath
software automatically re-routes the I/O requests to the alternate path so that
the storage array continues to operate without interruption. The
configuration with two single-port NICs provides higher availability; a NIC
failure does not cause Microsoft Failover Cluster to move cluster resources to
the other cluster node.
This configuration can support up to 32 hosts simultaneously. Examples of
this configuration are:
• One cluster.
• Two clusters.
• One eight-node cluster, two two-node clusters, and one stand-alone
system.
To cable the cluster:
1 Connect the storage system to the iSCSI network:
Install a network cable from switch 1 to controller 0 port In-0.
a
Install a network cable from switch 1 to controller 1 port In-0.
b
Install a network cable from switch 2 to controller 0 port In-1.
c
Install a network cable from switch 2 to controller 1 port In-1.
d
Install a network cable from switch 1 to controller 0 port In-2.
e
Install a network cable from switch 1 to controller 1 port In-2.
f
Install a network cable from switch 2 to controller 0 port In-3.
g
Install a network cable from switch 2 to controller 1 port In-3.
h
2 Connect the cluster to the iSCSI network:
Install a network cable from the cluster node 1 iSCSI NIC 1 (or NIC
a
port 1) to the network switch 1.
Install a network cable from the cluster node 1 iSCSI NIC 2 (or NIC
b
port 2) to the network switch 2.
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Cabling Your Cluster Hardware