Reference Guide

Dell PowerVault Data MD3000i Support Matrix l 19
Network-Attached Solutions
You can also cable your host servers to the MD3000i RAID controller iSCSI ports through
an industry-standard 1 GB Ethernet switch. By using an Ethernet switch, the MD3000i
RAID controller can support up to 16 hosts simultaneously with multiple connections per
session. This solution supports either single-path or dual-path data configurations, as well as
either single or dual controller modules.
Figure 4 shows how up to 16 standalone servers can be attached (via multiple sessions) to a
single MD3000i RAID controller module through a network. Hosts that have a second
Ethernet connection to the network allow two separate physical paths for each host, which
ensures full redundancy if one of the paths fail. Figure 5 shows how the same number of
hosts can be similarly attached to a dual MD3000i RAID controller. In Figure 5 for SAN
configurations the servers can be configured to form clusters:
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 cluster supports up to 8 nodes
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 supports up to 16 nodes
Any combination of clusters and standalone servers can be used to access the MD3000i.
Figure 4. Up to 16 SAN-Configured Servers, Single-Path Data, Single Controller (Simplex)
1
up to 16 standalone
host servers
2
IP SAN (Gigabit
Ethernet switch)
3
Ethernet
management port
4
MD3000i RAID
Enclosure (single
controller)
5
corporate, public
or private network