HP StoreAll Storage Network Best Practices Guide

Customer use of VLANs or multiple user network VIFs can require additional IP addresses beyond
those specified in this table.
Management subnet
When using the flat configuration, HP recommends that the management network be placed on a
separate subnet to limit the amount of non-management traffic that the management interfaces
need to process. The management interfaces are implemented by embedded systems that do not
have the processing power of a full server and can potentially be overwhelmed if subjected to the
full network traffic of the data/cluster subnet.
It is the customer’s responsibility to ensure that a route exists between the user/cluster subnet and
the management subnet. Since the route must be set up somewhere in the customer’s networking
infrastructure, it is not possible for the StoreAll Storage platform to automatically create this route
as part of the installation process.
Physical description
The physical networking connections in the StoreAll 93xx/8x00 platform are implemented using
external patch cables and the customer networking infrastructure, as shown in Figure 24 (page 58).
The customer is responsible for providing the necessary ports for network attachment and ensuring
that the appropriate routes exist between the cluster, user, and management networks.
Figure 24 StoreAll 93xx/8x00 flat network — physical view
Example of packet traversals
This section describes sample packet traversals through the physical connections to illustrate the
flow of network traffic.
Packet traversing from StoreAll node to external user network:
1. The packet is created in the application layer of the node and is destined for a file client on
the user network.
2. The operating system determines by IP address that the user network can be reached through
the bond0 interface and queues the packet for that interface.
3. The bond driver determines which of its two underlying physical interfaces are up and
functioning correctly. If both interfaces are available, the packet is sent out the last working
58 StoreAll 93xx/8x00 platform networking