Brass Tacks

Upcoming EMC / Cisco webcast "Designing High Availability into a Converged Networking Environment"

Please join J Metz of Cisco and I (Erik Smith of EMC) for a webcast that will cover some of the HA considerations that you need to think about before moving to a Converged Nework topology. 

The webcast details are provided below.  Please remember to pre-register.

Date:  November 10, 2011

Time:  12-1PM Eastern

URL:  http://cemc.bright-talk.com/

Title:  Designing High Availability in a Converged Networking Environment 

Abstract:   Highly available networks have different meanings for LAN and SAN administrators. This session will explore the design principles for a truly converged system, and identify the means by which architects can build highly available networks for both LANs and SANs using converged technologies like FCoE and DCB-based Ethernet.

Particular importance will be paid to Role-Based Access and SAN best practices using a converged infrastructure, along with recommendations for growth and scale.

Join us for this event and learn more about:

• the requirements for High Availability for both LANs and SANs
• the limitations of designing highly available networks and the approaches to mitigate issues within the Data Center
• how Highly Available converged networks scale with increased storage requirements over time

Who Should Attend:  Storage and Networking Administrators who want to learn more designing high availability converged networks.

NOTE:  Please remember that you need to register in advance.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Thanks for reading!

A Multi-Hop FCoE topology example

As I mentioned in the previous post, in early November we will be releasing an updated version of the FCoE TechBook that will contain a number of fixes as well as a new Multi-Hop case study.  The exact topology that will be configured in that case study is shown below.

The topology is intended to highlight all of the different connectivity options  available and is not intended to represent a realistic topology.  I'll provide a link to the actual case study as soon as it becomes available.

Thanks for reading!

FC/FCoE Connectivity options as of 11/3/2011

Well…we’ve been talking about it since EMC World in May and on November 3rd EMC will officially release support for a Director Class Multi-Hop FCoE solution!  More specifically, we will be adding the Cisco Nexus 7000 and FCoE support for the Cisco MDS 95xx to the November EMC Support Matrix (ESM).  We are also adding a case study to the EMC FCoE TechBook that will provide step-by-step installation instructions for a couple of different deployment options.  I’ll provide a link to the updated techbook once it’s posted. 

Configuration rules

The following configuration rules were used to create the topology diagrams.  If there is a discrepancy between the diagrams and the configuration rules, the configuration rules take precedence:

1. The Nexus 2232 requires a connection to a Nexus 5000 in order to function.
2. The Nexus 2232 does not support native Fibre Channel ports.
3. The Nexus 4001i requires a connection to a Nexus 5000 in order to support FCoE.
4. The Nexus 4001i does not support native Fibre Channel ports.
5. The Nexus 7000 does not support native Fibre Channel ports.
6. The Fibre Channel ports on the Nexus 5000 cannot be used for end device connectivity while the switch is in NPV mode.
7. FC-SW interoperability between Brocade and Cisco is not supported.  When attaching a Brocade switch to a Cisco FCF and vice versa, either NPV mode must be used on the Cisco switch or AG mode must be used on the Brocade switch.
8. The Fibre Channel ports on the Brocade 8000 cannot be used for end device connectivity while the switch is in NPV mode.
9. All host connectivity to the UCS 6100 is via FCoE.
10. The Fibre Channel ports on the UCS 6100 cannot be used for end device connectivity while the switch is in NPV mode.
11. The UCS 6100 does not currently provide an FC zoning interface.  As a result, when the 6100 is running in FC-SW mode, it must be connected to another Cisco switch that is also running in switch mode.
12. Cascading switches that are running in NPV / AG mode is not supported.
13. The Nexus 4001i does not support external VN_Port connections
14. As of November 3rd 2011, EMC supports FCoE on the Nexus 7000 and MDS.
15. Storage ports cannot be connected to the Nexus 5000 while it is running in NPV mode.
16. The Brocade 8000 and DCX do not support VE_Ports
17. Cisco UCS does not currently support VE_Ports.
18. FCoE NPV uplinks between Cisco and Brocade switches are not supported.

Supported connectivity options:

The supported connectivity options have been broken down into several categories with each category focusing on the connectivity options for a particular connectivity component.  The categories are:

1. Configurations specific to Nexus 5000
2. Configurations specific to Nexus 2000
3. Configurations specific to Nexus 4001i
4. Configurations specific to Nexus 6100
5. Configurations specific to Nexus 7000
6. Configurations specific to MDS 95xx
7. Configurations specific to Brocade 8000 / DCX

Configurations specific to Nexus 5000:

Configurations specific to Nexus 2000:

Configurations specific to Nexus 4001i:

Configurations specific to 6100:

Configurations specific to 7000:

Configurations specific to MDS 95xx:

Configurations specific to Brocade 8000 / DCX:

Thanks for reading!

 Note: This post was updated on 11/7/2011 to correct one of the 6100 topologies.

FCoE TechBook update for October 2011

An updated version of the FCoE TechBook (v10.0) has been posted to powerlink and emc.com.

New in this version is a chapter titled “EMC Storage in an FCoE Environment” that was written by Shreedhan Nikam.  It contains information for VMAX as well as VNX and is a very welcome (and necessary) addition to an FCoE TechBook written by a storage company..

Also new in this version is a section for Brocade DCX that was written by Erik Paine.  It contains all of the information you'll need to know when installing an FCoE blade into a DCX.

Finally, I updated the Nexus 2232PP case studies to show that it is no longer necessary to bind the VFCs to the ENODE MAC of the CNA when creating VFCs for CNAs that are attached to the 2232.  This was a change that had somehow escaped my notice and I’m very grateful to Eng Khong Toh for taking the time to call this oversight to my attention!!

Thanks for reading!