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vStart 1000v for Enterprise Virtualization using VMware vSphere: Reference Architecture
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Using Brocade Port Trunking, multiple external N_Ports are combined to form a single logical port. The
FC SAN Module uses internal F-port to external N-port mappings as configured to direct traffic from the
blade server (HBAs) to the fabric.
In this solution, a trunk group is configured on each Brocade 5100 switch with four FC ports. Each Dell
SAN module automatically forms a trunk with the corresponding external N-ports connected to the FC
switch ports.
Connectivity between Brocade 5100 and Compellent Storage Controller: In the solution, each
Compellent Series 40 storage controller is configured with two quad ports FC HBAs. Two ports per HBA
are used to connect each storage controller to the two Brocade 5100 switches.
Compellent Storage Connectivity: In this solution, Compellent series 40 storage controllers are
configured with two quad port 6Gb/s SAS HBAs. Using the two quad port SAS HBAs, multiple Compellent
24 bay 2.5” SAS enclosures are connected. The enclosures are grouped into two redundant daisy
chained connections for optimal performance. Each daisy chain loop can have a maximum of 96 drives.
8.3 Performance
Dell Compellent Series 40, with the dual-controller configuration, 8 Gb Fibre Channel interconnects
provides high bandwidth for data flows. This bandwidth is complemented with a large variety of drives
in multiple speeds and sizes. The Series 40 also uses virtual port IQNs and WWNs, thereby enabling
higher throughput and fault tolerance.
8.4 Drive Types and Automated Tiered Storage
In the vStart 1000v solution, the number of storage enclosures and the drives in the enclosures can be
customized based on customer requirements. Administrators can mix SSD and SAS drives in the same
system, as well as SAS drives with the same form factor (but different speeds and capacities) in the
same storage enclosure. A maximum of 16 enclosures is supported in vStart 1000v.
High speed drives are assigned to higher tiers and low speed drives to lower tiers. Compellent Storage
Center automatically configures RAID levels for these tiers and automatically moves the data between
the tiers based on access patterns. Compellent Fluid Data storage dynamically moves data to the
optimal tier based on actual usage. The most active blocks reside on high-performance SSD, FC, or SAS
drives, while infrequently accessed data migrates to lower-cost, high-capacity SAS or SATA drives. For
more details, refer to the Automated Tiered Storage web page. Automated Tiered Storage requires
Data Progression™ licenses for Compellent.
8.5 RAID Array Design
Dell Compellent Series 40 supports RAID 5, 6 and 10. The Compellent Storage Center will dynamically
set up RAID based upon the demands of applications accessing data on the storage tier(s).