topic Re: Converged iSCSI with DCB in Array Setup and Networking

Converged iSCSI with DCB

seanblee71 — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 09:40:41 GMT

Is anyone using Nimble arrays in a converged iSCSI environment with DCB? We're about to start migrating some of our kit across to Cisco Nexus 5672 switches for converged LAN and SAN, including our legacy EqualLogic arrays and ESXi hosts, so I was wondering if anyone had any tips on integrating our Nimble arrays with this setup?

Thanks,

Sean

Re: Converged iSCSI with DCB

pfrisoli27 — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 12:53:32 GMT

Good morning,

You should health-check that the networking best practices, ESX and best practices are in place. I have attached the link below for reference. Also, check that your vSwitch and iSCSI HBA settings are correct. From the array, ensure the all volumes are mapped to the correct initiator groups and the groups have the correct IQN's associated. Hope this helps!

Best Practices: http://www.nimblestorage.com/resources/bpg.php

Re: Converged iSCSI with DCB

pfrisoli27 — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 12:57:23 GMT

Also, check Nimble ESX Integration guide via the support site. It is located under the toolkits section of the Support site. P

Re: Converged iSCSI with DCB

seanblee71 — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 18:29:06 GMT

Thanks Paul, but I've already read the Best Practices and Integration guides and none of them talk about converged networking. We've ended up selecting CoS 4 for iSCSI and configuring the ports facing the Nimble arrays with 'untagged cos 4' to get frames correctly marked, then we're using QoS policies on the Nexus 5672 switches and the facing Nexus 1000V DVS to guarantee bandwidth for iSCSI in the event of contention. So far, so good...