Can I direct attach 4 NICs from host to dual controller MSA 2040?

[jesseroscoe]

I've looked at the supported configuration diagrams for directly attaching hosts to the MSA 2040, but they always show one cable from a host to controller A and one cable to controller B.  Is it supported to have two connections from a single host to each controller (ie. A1, A2, B1, B2)?  If so, how many different subnets should be used for the configuration?

[sbhat09]

Hello @jesseroscoe,

Can you please post the screenshot of the diagram or the document link you are referring?

Regards,

Srinivas Bhat

[jesseroscoe]

Sure, it's from the MSA 2040 User Guide, the section titled "Connecting direct attach configurations" starting on page 32:

https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/docDisplay?docId=c03792322

[sbhat09]

Hello @jesseroscoe,

Yes. You can connect 2 paths to each controller, total 4 paths from the host to MSA if you have requirement and port availability. The diagram is representative purpose in regular scenarios.

Regards,
Srinivas Bhat

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[jesseroscoe]

Thanks. @sbhat09  Can you tell me what the recommended IP address scheme is for this scenario? I currently have A1 and B1 on one network, and A2 and B2 on a second subnet. The goal is to achieve a higher throughput and not just have redundancy.

[sbhat09]

Hello @jesseroscoe,

When I worked on similar connection on MSA, I used the same subnet for all 4 paths. That was good to deliver additional throughput and redundancy. Same subnet for A1, A2, B1, and B2 should work fine for you as well.

Regards,
Srinivas Bhat

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Note: All of my comments are my own and are not any official representation of HPE.