HP BladeSystem Deployment Guide for Solutions with 6Gb SAS BL Switches and External SAS Storage Enclosures

MDS600 and D6000 single domain, high-performance cabling, max performance
This example illustrates cabling for best-possible performance in a single-domain configuration. In
this configuration, note the following:
• This configuration combines a unique cabling scheme AND zone group creation strategy to
achieve best possible performance in a single-domain configuration.
• High-performance cabling adds an additional cable from each MDS600/D6000 I/O module
in each storage drawer) to the switch, improving performance by providing an additional
connection between the storage and the server: one cable provides a 4x connection; two
cables provide a 8x (high-performance) connection. For more information on switch ports,
4x, and 8x (high-performance) cabling, see “HP 6Gb SAS BL Switch” (page 20).
• Adding a second HP 6Gb SAS BL Switch (even though this is a single-domain environment)
improves performance by providing two more connections between the MDS600/D6000
drawer and the server, for a total of four connections (when used in conjunction with the
outlined cabling scheme and zone group creation strategy.)
• Connecting one MDS600/D6000 drawer to one switch and the other MDS600/D6000
drawer to the same ports on the other switch allows for the creation of zone groups that span
the storage drawers.
• Creating zone groups that include drives from each MDS600/D6000 drawer takes advantage
of the unique cabling, so that all four connections between the storage and the server can be
utilized.
• To achieve maximum performance, assign more than two drives from each MDS600/D6000
drawer to each zone group.
IMPORTANT: When using high-performance cabling, both cables from an MDS600/D6000
I/O module must connect to one of the following pairs of switch ports: 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, or 7/8.
Illustrated configuration examples 87