You are on page 1of 2

Global

Dell Certified Systems Expert


BACK TO: Dell Certified Systems Expert Previous Print Next
PS6100/4100 Cabling
Connecting the PS6100 OR PS4100 Array for full redundancy
For high performance and availability, Dell recommends that you connect network cables to all the network interfaces and distribute the connections across multiple network switches, Use four
network cables on each control module for a total of eight network connections.
Typical when all cables are connected in a dual control module array, only one control module is active (serving network traffic) at one time. Each control module includes a cache-to-flash
module for storing recently-used data.
Between 1-8 network connections can be made
Maximum of 4 network connections will be active in the case of the PS6100 and two for the PS4100
For availability reasons it is recommended that a minimum of two network connections be made to separate switches
For dual CM configurations, its recommended that at least one connection be made on port 0 or 1 of the redundant CM
Network cabling
A PS Series array must have at least one network connection to the switch network but can have up to four network connections.
Each control module has four network interface ports. These are labeled: eth0, eth1, eth2 and eth3. A dual control module array has four pairs of ports. Both ports in a pair share the same IP
address but only one port is used at one time for I/O.
The active control module can use network interfaces on the secondary control module if there is a cable connected from the corresponding port on the secondary control module to a network
switch. Therefore, you should connect cables to all the network interface ports on each control module to make sure that both control modules can access an interface. In the example above:
Control Module 0 Ethernet 0 and Ethernet 1 ports are connected to Switch 0 and Ethernet 2 and Ethernet 3 are connected to Switch 1.
For Control Module 1 reverse these connections so Ethernet 0 and Ethernet 1 are connected to Switch 1, and Ethernet 2 and Ethernet 3 are connected to Switch 0.
Up to two ports on the active control module can failover without contention. In the above network configuration full availability is maintained by the alternating of the switch connections
between the ports of the two control modules.
General rules for connecting network cables are as follows:
Connect network interfaces in the following order: eth0, eth1, eth2 and eth3.
If possible, connect network interfaces to different switches.
To ensure connectivity to the network interface regardless of which control module is active, connect cables to all ports.
Network connections in a dual control module installation where CM0 is active:
CM0 has four network connections:
CM0s Eth0 to switch 1
CM0s Eth1 to switch 1
CM0s Eth2 to switch 2
CM0s Eth3 to switch 2
If CM0 Fails, CM1 takes over and has 4 network connections
CM1s Eth0 to switch 2
CM1s Eth1 to switch 1
CM1s Eth2 to switch 2
CM1s Eth3 to switch 1
Recommendations for network connections for a single control module
Connect ports to two switches
Connecting the PS6100 OR PS4100 Array redundancy with minimum cabling
The Minimum cable example is shown below. This is using the vertical port sharing function, a minimum cable configuration provides full bandwidth to the active control module and saves on
the overall ports needed for the network configuration. In this example only four network connections are needed.
Page 1 of 2 Dell - Dell EqualLogic PS6100, PS4100, PS6110 and PS4110 - PS6100/4100 Cabling
3/17/2014 file:///D:/TechNote/Dell/EqualLogic/PS4100_PS6100_TS_Essentials_v2/PS4100_PS6100...
As shown both vertical ports, for example both eth0 or both eth1 ports, share the electrical connection but only one port provides the physical link. Two ports from Control Module 0 are
connected to a switch, and the alternate two ports from Control Module 1 are connected to a switch. Through vertical port sharing, Control Module 0 uses the two ports of Control Module 1 (the
secondary control module) to provide full network bandwidth
If Control Module 1 becomes active, vertical port sharing uses the ports from Control Module 0 (which is now secondary) to maintain full network bandwidth. For infrastructures that are
sensitive to switch port counts, Vertical Port Failover provides full redundancy on both controllers with a reduction of port count by half. Referred to as minimally redundant as it uses the
minimum amount of network cables and switch ports to provide redundant control module connections.
It is always recommend that all array ports are connect to switch ports for maximum high availability
With the Type 11 and Type 12 control modules, the active control module can use network interfaces on the secondary control module if there is a cable connected from the corresponding port
on the secondary control module to a network switch. Therefore, you should connect cables to all the network interface ports on each control module to make sure that both control modules
can access an interface.
For redundancy, the cache on the secondary control module mirrors the data that is stored in the cache on the active control module.
BACK TO: Dell Certified Systems Expert
Copyright 1999-2008 Dell Inc. For Dell Employees and Dell Service Providers only.
Privacy Policy | About Dell | Contact Us | Top
Page 2 of 2 Dell - Dell EqualLogic PS6100, PS4100, PS6110 and PS4110 - PS6100/4100 Cabling
3/17/2014 file:///D:/TechNote/Dell/EqualLogic/PS4100_PS6100_TS_Essentials_v2/PS4100_PS6100...

You might also like