Users Guide

Table Of Contents
656 iSCSI Optimization
If no iSCSI traffic is detected for a session for a configurable aging period, the
session data is cleared.
How Does iSCSI Optimization Interact With Dell EqualLogic and
Compellent Arrays?
The iSCSI feature includes auto-provisioning support with the ability to
detect directly connected Dell EqualLogic (EQL) or Compellent SAN
storage arrays and automatically reconfigure the switch to enhance storage
traffic flows.
The Dell EMC Networking N-Series switches use LLDP, a vendor-neutral
protocol, to discover Dell SAN devices on the network. LLDP is enabled by
default. For more information about LLDP, see "Discovering Network
Devices" on page 913.
When the switch detects a Dell SAN array, the following actions occur:
An MTU of 9216 is enabled on the system, if it is not already enabled.
Spanning tree portfast is enabled on the SAN-connected interface
identified by LLDP.
Unicast storm control is disabled on the SAN-connected interface
identified by LLDP.
It is advisable to enable spanning tree portfast and disable unicast storm
control on ports connected to the initiators as well.
If the iSCSI CoS policy feature is enabled on the switch and an EQL array is
detected, the switch applies additional iSCSI CoS policies to the EQL inter-
array traffic on TCP ports 9876 and 25555. If the iSCSI CoS policy is disabled
and EQL arrays are present, the additional CoS policy is removed globally.
How Does iSCSI Optimization Interact with Other SAN Arrays?
Dell EMC Networking N-Series switches support a macro that may be used to
configure a port connected to a SAN storage array. The name of the macro is
profile-compellent-nas. The macro takes a single argument: the interface
identifier to which the SAN array is connected. The macro disables unicast
storm control and sets the spanning tree configuration on the port to portfast.
For an example of how to execute the macro, see "Configuring iSCSI
Optimization Between Servers and a Disk Array" on page 660.