IBM 9835-415, Deployment Manual

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For supported interoperability configurations, see the System Storage
Interoperation Center website (www.ibm.com/systems/support/storage/config/
ssic).
iSCSI network configurations
Host systems can connect to a FlashSystem A9000R over an Ethernet network
using the Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) protocol.
In a production environment, always connect Ethernet hosts to a minimum of two
separate Ethernet switches to provide redundancy. In Ethernet network
configurations, there are two dual-port connections per grid controller.
Notes:
v For best performance, use a 10 Gb Ethernet switch and HBA on the host to
obtain maximum performance or throughput.
v Host system can have as many HBAs as needed to support the operating
system, application, and overall performance requirements.
v In a FlashSystem A9000R system with iSCSI configuration, each grid controller
has two dual 10 Gb Ethernet ports.
Figure 31 shows the port numbers for each of the iSCSI ports on the grid
controllers.
Several network configurations using Ethernet are technically possible, and each
configuration varies in terms of cost, flexibility, performance, and reliability.
Important: Non-redundant iSCSI configurations, such as single switch and
single-port host configurations may be implemented, however they are not
recommended.
Use non-redundant configurations only when the risks of a single point of failure
are acceptable, which is typically the case for test and development environments.
In the FlashSystem A9000R system, each iSCSI port is defined with its own IP
address. Before you set up the iSCSI network, gather the following information for
each iSCSI port:
v IP address
v Net mask
▌1▐
10GbE port 1
▌2▐
10GbE port 2
▌3▐
10GbE port 3
▌4▐
10GbE port 4
Figure 31. iSCSI port numbering on the grid controllers
Chapter 5. Network and host connectivity requirements
69