VC FF 20/40 and Stacking

[sgunelius]

We have (5) c7000 enclosures in (2) data centers, each is populated with VCE 1/10 modules (Bays 1 & 2) and VCF 4Gb modules (Bays 3 & 4) configured with Active (Bay 1)/SAN Fabric A (Bay 3) and Standby (Bay 2)/SAN Fabric B (Bay 4).  We also have the enclosures configured as single domain, with each enclosure using a unique HP-predefined range for virtual MAC and virtual WWPN.

We're in the process of purchasing VC FlexFabric 20/40 modules for Bays 1 & 2 in all, but one of the enclosures to replace both VCE & VCF modules to accommodate the new Gen9 blades.  We're also replacing the older Cisco 3750-X (network) and legacy HP SAN Switch 4/32B (SAN) with Cisco Nexus 5672UPs for TOR switches.

Since we're going to have to reconfigure Virtual Connect, should I take this opportunity to reconfigure as multi-enclosure/single domain and interconnect the enclosures to reduce the number of 10GbE and 8Gb FC uplinks going to the Nexus TOR switches?  Should we retain the Active/Standby configuration or is there an Active/Active configuration that would better support the mapped VLANs managed within VC?  Thank you.

[Adrian Clint]

 I wouldn't go with stacking the enclosures unless you really must do to get uplink bandwidth, OneView does not support stacked enclosures so I expect this method to be used less and less by people architecting and supporting enclosures.

You will get more bandwidth if you do go active/active and unless you have a lot of east/west traffic between servers in your enclosures - its the way to go.