Dell PowerVault NX1950 - Manual (Page 15)

Planning the Network Configuration
15
• Configure multiple network interfaces on an array.
Connect the network interfaces to different switches.
• For a multi-subnet PS Series group, provide access to the subnet on which the
group IP address for all enabled network interfaces on the group members.
• Use redundant paths between iSCSI initiators and storage arrays.
Multipath I/O ensures that no single point of failure exists between initiators
and arrays. This can be achieved by using Microsoft’s MPIO solution.
For additional details on these guidelines, see the EqualLogic Customer
Support website at www.equallogic.com. You must create an account to
access contents of the EqualLogic Customer Support website.
Planning Network Redundancy
You must make the network fault tolerant like you make your applications
fault tolerant by deploying clusters. You have to apply certain rules when
configuring redundancy for the different network segments of your cluster as
described in "Considering the Network Design Structure" on page 13. The
public network can be made redundant using NIC teaming or by configuring
multiple interfaces on separate subnets. The network that is enabled for
internal communication between cluster nodes, typically a private network,
must not be teamed. The SAN network should use multipath I/O for
redundancy.
When used with a PS Series group, full cluster redundancy at the network
level may require five network ports. You can accomplish network redundancy
in the PowerVault NX1950 cluster solution by using the following:
• Teaming or multiple interfaces on separate subnets. These are the only two
supported options for the public network. For more information on
network adapters and drivers required for teaming to a specific
environment, see your network adapter documentation.
• Two or more NICs for SAN traffic, utilizing multipath I/O. NIC teaming
for iSCSI is not supported.
• One NIC for the private internal cluster communications or heartbeat. As
a best practice, ensure that the network adapters used in all cluster nodes
are identical. Whether using the PowerVault NX1950 storage system on-
board (built-in) network adapters or add-on PCI/X cards, they should be
the same make, model, and firmware version on each network.
Book.book Page 15 Monday, February 4, 2008 1:26 PM