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1-6 Dell PowerEdge Cluster F-Series SAN Guide
• 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.
SAN-Attached Cluster Rules and Guidelines
The following rules and requirements described in Table 1-1 apply to SAN-attached
clusters. For rules and requirements for cluster consolidation configurations, see
“Cluster Consolidation Rules and Guidelines” found later in this document. See the
Dell PowerVault SAN documentation for more information on general SAN rules and
guidelines.
Table 1-1. Rules and Guidelines for SAN-Attached Clusters
Rule/Guideline Description
Number of servers
supported
Up to 10 two-node clusters attached to a SAN.
Combinations of standalone servers and cluster pairs
not to exceed 20 server maximum.
Cluster pair support All homogeneous and heterogeneous PowerEdge
Cluster F-Series configurations supported in direct-
attach configurations are supported in SAN-attached
configurations. See the
Dell PowerEdge Cluster FE100/
FL100 Platform Guide
for more information on sup-
ported cluster pairs.
Primary storage Up to 8 PowerVault Fibre Channel disk arrays are sup-
ported on a SAN. Primary storage can be owned by a
single cluster and multiple clusters (through SAN-
attached cluster consolidation configurations discussed
later in this document). A mixture of these types of
ownership on a single storage system is not supported.
For example, the following are supported configura-
tions: one cluster to one storage system, one cluster to
multiple storage systems, and multiple clusters to one
storage system. However, a configuration with multiple
clusters to multiple storage systems is not supported.
A mixture of configurations is supported on a SAN.
Secondary storage Up to 4 Fibre Channel Bridges are supported, each with
up to 2 PowerVault 130T tape libraries or up to 4 Power-
Vault 120T tape autoloaders. Any server attached to the
SAN can share these devices.
Dell OpenManage™
Storage
Consolidation
Not required for standard SAN-attached clusters.
Fibre Channel switch
configuration
Redundant switch fabrics required for clusters.
Fibre Channel switch
zoning
Required whenever a cluster shares a SAN with other
cluster(s) or standalone server(s).