Setup Guide
Table Of Contents
- Dell EMC PowerStore Host Configuration Guide
- Additional Resources
- Introduction
- Best Practices for Storage Connectivity
- Host Configuration for VMware vSphere ESXi
- Chapter Scope
- Recommended Configuration Values Summary
- Fibre Channel Configuration
- iSCSI Configuration
- vStorage API for System Integration (VAAI) Settings
- Setting the Maximum I/O
- Confirming UNMAP Priority
- Configuring VMware vSphere with PowerStore Storage in a Multiple Cluster Configuration
- Multipathing Software Configuration
- Post-Configuration Steps
- Host Configuration for Microsoft Windows
- Host Configuration for Linux
- Host Configuration for AIX
- Host Configuration for Solaris
- Host Configuration for HP-UX
- Considerations for Boot from SAN with PowerStore
Recommended Configuration for iSCSI
Consider the following recommendations when setting up an iSCSI SAN infrastructure.
● External hosts can be attached via ISCSI to a PowerStore cluster via either the embedded 4-port card or via a SLIC:
○ Hosts connected via the first two ports of the 4-port card, will be connected using ToR switches (also used for
PowerStore internal communication). With this configuration, it is recommended to use a dedicated VLAN, and if not
possible, use a separate subnet/network for iSCSI storage.
○ For hosts connected using any other iSCSI port (that is, not the first two ports), use either dedicated iSCSI switches or a
dedicated VLAN for iSCSI storage.
● The PowerStore cluster can be shipped with various extension modules for iSCSI. If your PowerStore cluster contains more
than one extension I/O module per node, distribute the connections among all I/O modules for highest availability and
performance.
● You can connect the host to 1-4 appliances. It is recommended to connect the host to as many appliances as possible to
allow volume migration to and from all appliances.
● iSCSI switch recommendations
○ Use nonblocking switches
○ Use enterprise grade switch
○ Utilize at minimum 10GbE interfaces
● It is recommended to use dedicated NICs or iSCSI HBAs for PowerStore cluster iSCSI and not to partition the iSCSI
interface (that is, disable NIC Partitioning - NPAR).
● Enable the TCP Offloading Engine (TOE) on the host iSCSI interfaces, to offload the TCP packet encapsulation from the
host's CPU to the NIC or iSCSI HBA, and free up CPU cycles.
● When using PowerStore iSCSI, it is recommended to use interfaces individually rather than using NIC Teaming (Link
Aggregation), to combine multiple interfaces into a single virtual interface.
● In PowerStore only single network subnet is supported for the iSCSI target portals and routing is not supported.
● If Jumbo Frames are required for iSCSI traffic or management traffic (Vvol), make sure that all ports (servers, switches and
system) are configured with the same MTU value.
NOTE: VMware requires setting Jumbo Frames at the virtual switch and VMKERNEL level.
NOTE: Refer to your iSCSI switch user manual for instructions on the implementations.
The following diagram describes a simple iSCSI connectivity with a single PowerStore appliance:
1. Host
2. PowerStore Appliance
3. ToR/iSCSI Switch
4. Node
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Best Practices for Storage Connectivity