Dell SmartFabric OS10 User Guide Release 10.5.3

Converged data center services

OS10 supports converged data center services, including IEEE 802.1 data center bridging (DCB) extensions to classic Ethernet. DCB provides I/O consolidation in a data center network. Each network device carries multiple traffic classes while ensuring lossless delivery of storage traffic with best-effort for local area network (LAN) traffic and latency-sensitive scheduling of service traffic.

DCB enables the convergence of LAN and storage area network (SAN) traffic over a shared physical network in end-to-end links from servers to storage devices. In a converged network, all server, storage, and networking devices are DCB-enabled. DCB supports fibre channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and iSCSI transmission of storage data. DCB is not supported on interfaces with link-level flow control (LLFC) enabled.

Priority flow control (PFC)

Use priority-based flow control to ensure lossless transmission of storage traffic, while transmitting other traffic classes that perform better without flow control, see Priority flow control.

Enhanced transmission selection (ETS)

Assign bandwidth to 802.1p class of service (CoS)-based traffic classes. Use ETS to increase preferred traffic-class throughput during network congestion, see Enhanced transmission selection.

Data Center Bridging Exchange protocol (DCBX)

Configure the DCBX protocol DCB neighbors use to discover and exchange configuration information for plug-and-play capability, see Data center bridging eXchange.

Internet small computer system interface (iSCSI)

Use iSCSI auto-configuration and detection of storage devices, monitor iSCSI sessions, and apply QoS policies on iSCSI traffic, see Internet small computer system interface.

Configuration notes

All Dell PowerSwitches except S4200-Series, S5200 Series, and Z9332F-ON:

When you do not enable PFC on some of the port channel members between the FIP snooping bridge (FSB) and NPIV proxy gateway (NPG), FCoE sessions are not established. You should enable all the members of a port channel with PFC, for the FCoE sessions to establish.