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Platform Guide 5
This document provides information for installing and connecting peripheral hardware, storage, and
Internet small computer system interface (iSCSI) network components to your Dell™ PowerEdge™
cluster FE655Wi solution. The configuration information in this document is specific to the
Microsoft
®
Windows Server
®
2003 and Microsoft Windows Server 2003, x64 operating systems.
NOTE: Reference to Windows Server 2003 in this guide implies reference to Microsoft Windows Server 2003,
Enterprise Edition and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2, Enterprise Edition, unless explicitly stated. Reference to
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, x64 implies reference to Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition and
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2, Enterprise x64 Edition.
This document covers the following topics:
• PowerEdge cluster FE655Wi solution overview.
• Configuration information for installing peripheral and embedded hardware components into
PowerEdge cluster FE655Wi configurations. These components include the Ethernet daughter cards
(for iSCSI traffic), the internal Gigabit Ethernet switch or pass-through modules, and the embedded
server module network interface cards (NICs).
• Configuration rules and guidelines for iSCSI direct-attached and switch-attached configurations.
•
Dell Cluster Configuration Support Matrix.
NOTE: Configurations not listed in this document may not be certified or supported by Dell or Microsoft.
Overview
The PowerEdge cluster FE655Wi solution is attached to a self-contained iSCSI storage area network
formed by server modules from one or more PowerEdge 1855/1955 server enclosure(s). The server
modules are interconnected to one or more storage systems in an iSCSI direct-attached configuration or
an iSCSI switch-attached configuration using one of the following methods:
• Self-contained iSCSI network with internal Ethernet switch modules or Ethernet pass-through modules
• External iSCSI network using Ethernet pass-through modules
• External iSCSI network using Ethernet switch modules
The PowerEdge 1855/1955 server enclosure provides up to ten server modules and two Gigabit Ethernet
switch modules or pass-through modules for iSCSI communication interface. Each server module has
two embedded NICs and one Gigabit Ethernet daughter card with two ports for iSCSI data paths.
Supported Cluster Configurations
This section provides information about the supported cluster configurations for your PowerEdge cluster
solution. Table 1-1 provides a list of the supported cluster configurations for the PowerEdge cluster
FE655Wi solution running Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2003, x64 operating system.
NOTE: Each cluster node in a PowerEdge cluster configuration must be identical and must be running the same
operating system.