Deployment Guide

65 Dell Networking FC Flex IOM: Deployment of FCoE with Dell FC Flex IOM, Brocade FC switches,
and Dell Compellent Storage Array
Deployment/Configuration Guide
Figure 57 NIC team virtual adapter as seen in ‘Device Manager’ in Windows
5.2 Dell IOA w/ FC Flex IOM Configuration
5.2.1 Default Configuration
If only layer 2 functionality is required, FC Flex IOM can be used with the Dell IOA blade switch to
provide Ethernet-FC bridging capability instead of the Dell MXL blade switch which also provides
advanced layer 3 functionality. In addition, in the default standalone mode, the Dell IOA blade switch
requires zero-touch configuration. Simply insert the blade switch into the Dell M1000e chassis and it
functions as a NPIV Proxy Gateway switch with the default configuration provided. The below topology
is slightly different than the topology shown prior with the MXL blade switches. The main difference is
that instead of the Dell MXLs in Fabric A, we are now using the Dell IOAs in Fabric B of the M1000e
chassis with FC Flex IOMs. Because we’re using Fabric B of the M1000e chassis, we are also using the
QLogic QME8262-k mezzanine CNA adapter inserted in the Fabric B slot of the server.
Note, by default, all uplink ports on a Dell IOA are part of the Port Channel 128 LAG. All 40 GbE ports are
in quad mode (10 GbE mode) and also part of the Port Channel 128 LAG. In such a configuration, the
upstream LAN switches should be configured correctly for the Port Channel 128 LAG consisting of 10
GbE ports. In such a configuration, a possible design may be such as the below. Here VLT can still be
employed on the S6000s down to the IOA for the LAN traffic. This gives an extra level of switch-level redundancy
for the ToR. In this configuration, the LAN connection from the server is active/standby while the SAN
connection is active/active and utilizing a round-robin multipathing policy.