Setup Guide

10 Dell EMC SmartFabric OS10 Switch Configuration Guide for VxRail 4.7
3 Topology options
VxRail may be deployed using a single or dual switch topology. Using a single switch provides a lower initial
cost but creates a single point of failure. A dual switch configuration helps ensure high availability by
eliminating this single point of failure.
A dual switch configuration may be used with or without VLT. Dell EMC recommends a dual switch
configuration with VLT. The sections that follow explain the different options.
3.1 Dual switch
In a dual switch topology, each VxRail node has one or more connections to each of the two leaf switches
providing redundancy at the NIC and switch levels. If VLT is used, the switches are connected with a VLT
interconnect (VLTi). If VLT is not used, the switches are connected with a standard LACP port channel.
3.1.1 Dual switch with VLT
Dell EMC recommends using a dual switch configuration with VLT, as shown in Figure 7.
Rack 1
S5248F-Leaf1A S5248F-Leaf1B
VLTi
1
VxRail node n
2
1
2
VxRail node 1
1
VxRail node 2
2
25GbE connections
100GbE VLTi connections
Dual switch topology with VLT
VLT synchronizes ARP, MAC tables, and IPv6 neighbors between the VLT peers and makes the switch pair
appear as one logical unit to connected devices.
VLT provides the following benefits:
• Provides a loop-free topology and eliminates STP-blocked ports
• Optimizes the use of all available uplink bandwidth