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Connecting a Dell PowerEdge M1000e to a Cisco MDS9513
Hello,
We are going to be installing some Dell PowerEdge blade servers (with a Brocade M5424 switch) and I have some questions about setting up my Cisco MDS9513 switches to support the storage for the blades.
1. Is enabling NPIV non-disruptive?
2. Do I enable NPIV on just the switch (edge) where the blade server will be plugged into or do I also need enable it on my core switch?
3. Do the ports that I'm going to use for these servers need to be in their own VSAN or can I use an exsisting VSAN?
If anyone has experience with setting up PowerEdge blade servers to a Cisco SAN, any assistance/information will be greatly appreciated.
Anonymous
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January 30th, 2014 21:00
Hi Sue
Just to answer all your questions if you have not set this environment up as yet,
On the Cisco 9513 you will need to turn on the NPIV feature if it is not already turned on
core (config) #feature npiv
This is not disruptive and turns on the NPIV feature for all VSAN's in the switch
On the Brocade M5424 if the blade is not in Access Gateway mode it will need to be enabled for NPV use
ag --modeEnable
This is disruptive as the blade module will reboot. Please make sure the config is saved before running the command.
All the ports on the blade switch will be in the same VSAN as the connected Cisco port. So if this a new host add, just set the Cisco port to the same VSAN as the storage is already in.
Please also use WWN zoning as dynamox has already stated. If you use port zoning for an NPIV port, all devices connected to that port will be part of the same zone. EMC always recommends using 1 to 1 WWN zoning, example 1 Server HBA port to 1 storage front end port.
dynamox
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January 29th, 2014 08:00
1) correct, enabling NPIV is non-disruptive
2) edge is fine
3) i would use existing VSANs, no need to mess with IVR to get those blades connected to your storage.
I assume Brocade M5424 support access-gateway mode ?
SueF1
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January 29th, 2014 08:00
Thanks for the quick response. Your assumption is correct.
I have another couple of questions:
1. By enabling NPIV on the Edge switch, will that automatically enable NPIV on my VSAN? The reason I'm asking is because a document that I found said that the VSAN needs to be configured for NPIV as well.
2. If I enable NPIV for the other VSAN, how will that affect the active zones in that VSAN?
Thanks!
Sue Flood
dynamox
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January 29th, 2014 08:00
1) NPIV is per switch, not per VSAN
2) see #1
SueF1
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January 29th, 2014 11:00
Today, I do all my zoning via port. Can I port zone this or should I WWN zone? Please let me know any gotcha's with zoning.
Thanks,
Sue Flood
SueF1
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January 29th, 2014 12:00
EMC storage. At first we may use a CX-4-960 and then as the environment grows it will either be a DMX4 or VMAX 20K. I don't have a real requirement to port zone so I will use WWN zoning for this system.
dynamox
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January 29th, 2014 12:00
port zoning ? Do you have requirements for port zoning ? If not please use WWN zoning, create device aliases or fcalias and use those to create your zones. Much more flexible way to do zoning, what storage are you zoning these blades to ?
dynamox
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January 29th, 2014 13:00
good, let us know if you need help with CX/Symm zoning
SueF1
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January 31st, 2014 06:00
Bethany,
Thank you so much for this information, it is very helpful.
I have just one more question about the zoning. If you go to page 11 of the attachment, you’ll see an example of zoning. In the first step it looks like they put all 3 WWNs in the zone (HBA, storage, and Brocade M5424) and start a format on a lun presented to a host. Once the format starts, the next step says to remove the Brocade M5424 WWN from the zone. Should I do it as this document states or just WWN zone the HBA with the storage?
Sue Flood
Technology Consultant, FDA Account
HP Enterprise Services
sue.flood@hp.com
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1 Attachment
connecting_dell_pedge_m1000e_to_cisco_san_fabric.pdf
dynamox
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January 31st, 2014 06:00
that has to be a typo, you don't need to add switch WWN to the zone, just your initiator and target.
SueF1
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January 31st, 2014 07:00
Awesome! Thanks!
Sue Flood
Technology Consultant, FDA Account
HP Enterprise Services
sue.flood@hp.com
T +1 704 549 5490
M +1 704 634 9866
Hewlett-Packard Company
10101 Claude Freeman Dr.
Suite 200W
Charlotte, NC 28262
SueF1
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January 31st, 2014 08:00
LOL… ☺
Sue Flood
Technology Consultant, FDA Account
HP Enterprise Services
sue.flood@hp.com
T +1 704 549 5490
M +1 704 634 9866
Hewlett-Packard Company
10101 Claude Freeman Dr.
Suite 200W
Charlotte, NC 28262
dynamox
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January 31st, 2014 08:00
someone who works for HP is working on connecting EMC storage to IBM blades ..that is just plane wrong
!!!
SueF1
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February 6th, 2014 13:00
Hello,
We just got the Brocade m5424 switches on the network. So when I try to enable AG, I get this error:
Not allowed while Authentication policies are enabled.
So I found some documentation regarding this and for AG mode the Switch Authentication Policy can either be On or Off. The default is Passive:
M5424:admin> authutil --show
AUTH TYPE HASH TYPE GROUP TYPE
--------------------------------------------------------------------
fcap,dhchap sha1,md5 0,1,2,3,4
Switch Authentication Policy: PASSIVE
Device Authentication Policy: OFF
So I thought I’d try to turn the policy on and I get this message:
M5424:admin> authutil --policy -sw on
DH-CHAP secret or FCAP certificate must be created, before doing this operation
And then I tried to turn the policy off and I get this message:
M5424:admin> authutil --policy -sw off
Warning: Activating the authentication policy requires either DH-CHAP secrets or PKI certificates depending on the protocol selected. Otherwise, ISLs will be segmented during next E-port bring-up.
ARE YOU SURE (yes, y, no, n): [no]
My question is if I turn it off, will this in anyway affect my Cisco switches and the ISL that I have between the edge and core fabric?
Any assistance that you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
Regards,
Sue Flood
SueF1
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February 6th, 2014 13:00
Hello,
We just got the Brocade m5424 switches on the network. So when I try to enable AG, I get this error:
Not allowed while Authentication policies are enabled.
So I found some documentation regarding this and for AG mode the Switch Authentication Policy can either be On or Off. The default is Passive:
M5424:admin> authutil --show
AUTH TYPE HASH TYPE GROUP TYPE