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10-4 User’s Guide
switch fabric can support up to seven hops without performance degradation, a typi-
cal PowerVault SAN implementation usually includes fewer than seven hops.
Attaching a SAN-Attached Cluster Configuration to a Network
SAN-attached clusters are cluster configurations where redundant Fibre Channel
HBAs are cabled to a redundant Fibre Channel switch fabric. Connecting the cluster to
the storage system is achieved through the switch fabric. These SAN-attached config-
urations can share certain resources with other servers, storage systems, and backup
systems on the SAN.
SAN-attached cluster configurations can be attached to the following types of
networks:
• Public network - A network that connects the cluster nodes to the client network.
This network consists of devices such as Ethernet network interface controllers
(NIC) installed in the cluster nodes.
• Private network (node-to-node cluster interconnect) - A dedicated network that
connects the servers to each other. The primary function of the private network
in a cluster configuration is to pass heartbeat information that allows each cluster
node to monitor the health of the other cluster node.
• Storage area network (SAN) - A configuration of computer and storage systems
that incorporates dedicated Fibre Channel connectivity between the computer
systems and storage. A SAN bypasses traditional network bottlenecks and sup-
ports direct high-speed data transfer between the servers and storage devices.
NOTE: Each segment may vary in components and complexity.
Figure 10-2 shows a SAN-attached PowerEdge Cluster FE100/FL100 Datacenter con-
figuration using three networking segments: public network, private network, and
SAN.