HP StoreAll Storage Network Best Practices Guide

Flat network
NOTE: A flat network may also be referred to a unified network. The ASCII Installation Wizard
was changed in StoreAll OS v6.5 to use the term “flat network” exclusively.
The flat network is the recommended default configuration for StoreAll 9730 networking. This
configuration combines the cluster, user, and management networks onto a single IP network.
Subnets segregate the management network from the cluster and user networks, while still allowing
access for remote management. Modern high-speed networking hardware makes this combination
possible without unduly affecting performance. The flat approach provides ease of configuration,
improved remote management, and good performance.
Motivation
Benefits of the flat network:
• Simplified network configuration.
• Simplified initial cabling, with LACP trunking support for additional bandwidth.
• Easier customer integration into an existing network infrastructure. The customer no longer
needs to integrate a potentially foreign switch technology into the existing infrastructure.
• Remote access to c7000 management interfaces from the customer network, without requiring
an intermediate gateway. Enabling remote customer access to the server iLOs is especially
important.
• Better integration with central management servers such as HP-SIM.
• Best dynamic utilization of available network bandwidth.
Reasons to choose a different configuration:
• Physically separate the management network from the user and cluster networks for increased
security, better traffic management, and so on.
• Allocate maximum bandwidth utilization based on physical network segregation.
• Implement user network segregation based on the physical segregation of networks instead
of the use of virtual LANs.
• Accommodate customer implementations where the management and user networks have very
different physical bandwidths.
Logical description
Logically, the flat configuration is a single, large IP network with a separate subnet for the 9730
management components. In Figure 8 (page 31), the IP addresses show the relationship between
components and subnets. (The subnet mask and IP address assignments shown here are for
illustration purposes only; customer address allocation schemes can be done differently.)
30 StoreAll 9730 platform networking