Overview

This document provides information for installing and connecting peripheral hardware, storage, and Internet small computer system interface (iSCSI) network components to your Dell™ PowerEdge™ cluster FE655Wi solution. The configuration information in this document is specific to the Microsoft® Windows Server® 2003 and Microsoft Windows Server 2003, x64 operating systems.

NOTE: Reference to Windows Server 2003 in this guide implies reference to Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2, Enterprise Edition, unless explicitly stated. Reference to Microsoft Windows Server 2003, x64 implies reference to Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2, Enterprise x64 Edition.

This document covers the following topics:

•PowerEdge cluster FE655Wi solution overview.

•Configuration information for installing peripheral and embedded hardware components into PowerEdge cluster FE655Wi configurations. These components include the Ethernet daughter cards (for iSCSI traffic), the internal Gigabit Ethernet switch or pass-through modules, and the embedded server module network interface cards (NICs).

•Configuration rules and guidelines for iSCSI direct-attached and switch-attached configurations.

•Dell Cluster Configuration Support Matrix.

NOTE: Configurations not listed in this document may not be certified or supported by Dell or Microsoft.

The PowerEdge cluster FE655Wi solution is attached to a self-contained iSCSI storage area network formed by server modules from one or more PowerEdge 1855/1955 server enclosure(s). The server modules are interconnected to one or more storage systems in an iSCSI direct-attached configuration or an iSCSI switch-attached configuration using one of the following methods:

•Self-contained iSCSI network with internal Ethernet switch modules or Ethernet pass-through modules

•External iSCSI network using Ethernet pass-through modules

•External iSCSI network using Ethernet switch modules

The PowerEdge 1855/1955 server enclosure provides up to ten server modules and two Gigabit Ethernet switch modules or pass-through modules for iSCSI communication interface. Each server module has two embedded NICs and one Gigabit Ethernet daughter card with two ports for iSCSI data paths.

Supported Cluster Configurations

This section provides information about the supported cluster configurations for your PowerEdge cluster solution. Table 1-1 provides a list of the supported cluster configurations for the PowerEdge cluster FE655Wi solution running Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2003, x64 operating system.

NOTE: Each cluster node in a PowerEdge cluster configuration must be identical and must be running the same operating system.

Platform Guide