Dell EMC AX4-5I manual Supported Cluster Configurations, NICs Dedicated to iSCSI

Table 1-3. DellEMC Storage System Requirements

Processor	Minimum Required	Possible Storage	SPS
Enclosure	Storage	Expansion
AX4-5i	One DPE with at least	Up to three DAE with a	1 (required) and 2
	4 and up to 12 hard	maximum of 12 hard	(optional)
	drives	drives each

NOTE: Ensure that the core software version running on the storage system is supported. For specific version requirements, see the Dell Cluster Configuration Support Matrices located on the Dell High Availability Cluster website at www.dell.com/ha.

NICs Dedicated to iSCSI

The NIC controlled by iSCSI Software Initiator acts as an I/O adapter to connect the system's expansion bus and the storage components. Failover Cluster solutions that are configured with the AX4-5i storage array require two iSCSI NICs or NIC ports in each PowerEdge system to provide redundant paths and load balance the I/O data transfer to the storage system.

Ethernet Switches Dedicated to iSCSI

The Gigabit switch for iSCSI access functions as a regular network switch that provides extension and dedicated interconnection between the node and the storage system(s).

Supported Cluster Configurations

Direct-Attached Cluster

In a direct-attached cluster, both nodes of the cluster are directly attached to a single storage system. In this configuration, the RAID controllers (or storage processors) on the storage systems are connected by cables directly to the iSCSI NIC ports in the nodes.

Figure 1-1 shows a basic direct-attached, single-cluster configuration.

Introduction

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