Users Guide

Static or DHCP

address

Subnet mask Gateway DNS Network

between server

cluster nodes

Static X Subnet 5

Network Interface Cards

Configure Network Interface Cards (NICs ) on all SMB clients and storage nodes for jumbo frames with

the MTU frame size set to 9 KB. Also, ensure that flow control is enabled on every NIC.

Also, it is a best practice to rename all ports in Windows Server based on their function by using names

such as Manage, External, and Internal.

Remote Direct Memory Access

Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) allows for significantly increased throughput, and low latency by

performing direct memory transfers between servers. SMB direct is a feature of Windows Server 2012 R2

that enables the use of RDMA between SMB clients and the storage nodes.

SMB direct requires a network adapter, which supports the RDMA protocol. Also, both the storage nodes

and the SMB clients must have RDMA adapters installed to use SMB direct. For more information about a

list of supported RDMA adapters, see the Dell Storage with Microsoft Storage Spaces Support Matrix

available at Dell.com/dsmsmanuals.

You must configure RDMA adapters on all SMB clients and storage nodes for jumbo frames with the MTU

frame size set to 9 KB. Also, verify that flow control is enabled on every NIC.

Also, when adding supported RDMA adapters to the solution there are several steps required in Windows

Server 2012 R2 to ensure SMB direct is enabled, existing SMB connections are refreshed, and SMB routing

is configured (if supported by the adapter). For more information about configuring the RDMA adapters,

see the Dell Storage with Microsoft Storage Spaces Deployment Guide available at Dell.com/

dsmsmanuals.