Dell Best Practices for Mixed Speed Devices within a 10Gb EqualLogic SAN using PowerConnect 8100 Series Switches
Summary
Optimize your storage network performance with this essential guide covering best practices for mixed-speed SAN deployments. This white paper provides in-depth technical analysis for integrating 1 Gb and 10 Gb devices seamlessly within a Dell EqualLogic Storage Area Network utilizing PowerConnect switches. It details test methodologies, configuration setups, and expert recommendations crucial for engineers and system administrators managing hybrid infrastructure upgrades, ensuring reliable performance across varying speeds.
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Best Practices for Mixed Speed Devices within a 10 Gb Equal Logic Storage Area Network Using Power Connect 8100 Series Switches A Dell Equal Logic Best Practices Technical White Paper Storage Infrastructure and Solutions Engineering Dell Product Group February 2013
Page Summary Contents For Dell Best Practices for Mixed Speed Devices within a 10Gb EqualLogic SAN using PowerConnect 8100 Series Switches
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Best Practices for Mixed Speed Devices within a 10 Gb Equal Logic Storage Area Network Using Power Connect 8100 Series Switches A Dell Equal Logic Best Practices Technical White Paper Storage Infrastr...
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© 2012 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden. For more information, contact De...
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Table of contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................................................
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Acknowledgements This whitepaper was produced by the PG Storage Infrastructure and Solutions of Dell Inc. The team that created this whitepaper: Ron Bellomio, Guy Westbrook, and Camille Daily Feedback...
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1 Introduction With the growth of 10 Gb Ethernet, many Dell™ Equal Logic™ customers are transitioning from pure 1 Gb E to pure 10 Gb E environments. To complete this transition, new switches, storage ...
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2 Product overview The 10 Gb E switch used in the tests for this paper is the Power Connect 8164 The 8100 Series switches are stackable Layer 2 and Layer 3 switches that extend the Power Connect LAN s...
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3 Test methodology The test cases used in this paper were designed to test the ability and performance of the transition from a purely 1 Gb E environment to a purely 10 Gb E environment. The same work...
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4 Test setup and configuration This section describes the setup and configuration for each test configuration. There were four configurations which tested the transition from a pure 1 Gb environment t...
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4.1 1 Gb environment (baseline) This section describes the configuration used for the pure 1 Gb E environment illustrated in Figure 1. • Eight Power Edge R610 servers - Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 - On...
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4.2 1 Gb components with a 10 Gb switch infrastructure This section describes the configuration for the second test configuration consisting of 1 Gb E hosts, 1 Gb E arrays, and utilizing a 10 Gb E swi...
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4.3 1 Gb and 10 Gb components with a 10 Gb switch infrastructure This section describes the configuration used for Test configuration 3 which includes 1 Gb E and 10 Gb E hosts and arrays utilizing a 1...
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4.4 10 Gb environment (baseline) This section will describes the configuration used for Test configuration 4 which uses a pure 10 Gb E environment as illustrated in Figure 4. • Two Power Edge R610 ser...
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5 Results and analysis Note: The results provided in this paper are intended for the purpose of comparing the specific configurations used in our lab environment. The results do not portray the maximu...
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The graph in Figure 6 shows the performance comparison of a pure 1 Gb environment (test configuration 1 - baseline) and a 1 Gb performance in a mixed speed environment with both 1 Gb and 10Gb devices ...
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The Figure 7 graph illustrates the performance comparison of a pure 10 Gb environment (test configuration 4 - baseline) and a 10 Gb in a mixed speed environment with both 1 Gb devices and 10 Gb device...
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6 Best practice recommendations While transitioning from a pure 1 Gb infrastructure to a pure 10 Gb infrastructure, it may be necessary to have both 1 Gb and 10 Gb arrays in the same SAN infrastructur...
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No downtime strategy The no downtime strategy is used when data unavailability of any length is not an option. The array to be converted is first removed from the group (using the delete member operat...
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A Solution infrastructure details Switch Configuration Guides are also published to provide step-by-step instructions for configuring Ethernet switches for use with Equal Logic PS Series storage using...
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i SCSI initiator version 6.1.7601.17514 RX buffers 3000 TX Buffers 5000 Network Adapter (10G) Model Intel(R) Ethernet 10G 2P X540-t Driver Version 2.11.114.0 Use Data Center Bridging Disabled Profile ...
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Array (1G) Raid Type RAID 10 Control module Model70-0400(TYPE 11) Boot ROM 3.6.4 Cables to Switch CAT6 copper 20 BP1048 | Best Practices for Mixed Speed Devices within a 10 Gb Equal Logic Storage Area...
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Array (10G) Model PS6110XV Firmware 6.0.1 (R264419) Enable performance load balancing in pools disabled Raid Type RAID 10 Control module model70-0477 (TYPE 14) Boot ROM 3.9.1 Cables to Switch CAT6 cop...
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B VDbench parameters sd=A-a,lun=\\.\Physical Drive1 sd=A-b,lun=\\.\Physical Drive2 sd=A-c,lun=\\.\Physical Drive3 sd=A-d,lun=\\.\Physical Drive4 sd=A-e,lun=\\.\Physical Drive5 sd=A-f,lun=\\.\Physical ...
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sd=B-h,lun=\\.\Physical Drive8,range=(0m,10m),hitarea=1m sd=B-i,lun=\\.\Physical Drive9,range=(0m,10m),hitarea=1m sd=B-j,lun=\\.\Physical Drive10,range=(0m,10m),hitarea=1m sd=B-k,lun=\\.\Physical Driv...
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wd=wd1,sd=A-*,seekpct=100,rdpct=67,xfersize=8k,iorate=9999999,priority=1 wd=wd2,sd=B-*,seekpct=0,rdpct=100,rhpct=100,whpct=100,xfersize=256k,iorate=9999999,priority=1 wd=wr1,sd=B-*,seekpct=0,rdpct=0,x...
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Additional resources Support.dell.com is focused on meeting your needs with proven services and support. Dell Tech Center.com is an IT Community where you can connect with Dell Customers and Dell empl...
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This white paper is for informational purposes only. The content is provided as is, without express or implied warranties of any kind.
Manual Details
| Brand | Best |
|---|---|
| Pages | 26 |
| File Size | 691.14 KB |
| Published | May 16, 2026 |
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Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of environments can this guide address?
It provides best practices for mixed speed devices within a 10 Gb EqualLogic SAN.
Where can I find more EqualLogic best practices and sizing guidelines?
Refer to Storage Infrastructure and Solutions Team Publications at: http://dell.to/sM4hJT
Was this white paper accompanied by any warranty?
No, the content is provided as is, without express or implied warranties of any kind.