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25145
August 23rd, 2011 14:00
iSCSI - Hardware dependent initiators vs Software intiator
Environment:
1. VMware ESXi 4.1 update 1
2. Dell PowerEdge R810 Server (2 servers) and the NIC card is BroadCom II 5709 with TOE and iSCSI offload (Quad port)
(2 quadport nics per server hence total 8 nics in each server - first 2 ports from onboard NIC card and first 2 ports of additional nic card are dedicated for iSCSI. Rest of the ports are connected to regular network.)
3. Dell PowerConnect 7024 switches (2 switches) with 2 10 GbE ports in each switch.
4. Dell PowerVault MD3600i storage Dual Controller 10 GbE.
Need help on determining whether to go with Hardware dependent iSCSI initiators (without jumbo frames) or Software initiator with Jumbo frames. Broadcom iSCSI adapter (5709) does not support Jumbo frames.
Any best practices or tips are appreciated.
-Ajay
1. VMware ESXi 4.1 update 1
2. Dell PowerEdge R810 Server (2 servers) and the NIC card is BroadCom II 5709 with TOE and iSCSI offload (Quad port)
(2 quadport nics per server hence total 8 nics in each server - first 2 ports from onboard NIC card and first 2 ports of additional nic card are dedicated for iSCSI. Rest of the ports are connected to regular network.)
3. Dell PowerConnect 7024 switches (2 switches) with 2 10 GbE ports in each switch.
4. Dell PowerVault MD3600i storage Dual Controller 10 GbE.
Need help on determining whether to go with Hardware dependent iSCSI initiators (without jumbo frames) or Software initiator with Jumbo frames. Broadcom iSCSI adapter (5709) does not support Jumbo frames.
Any best practices or tips are appreciated.
-Ajay
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dkraut
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August 24th, 2011 08:00
JOHNADCO
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847 Posts
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August 24th, 2011 09:00
Maybe come back and give us some details on how the aggregated 10GBE solution is working out for you. We are considering doing the same thing with our storage servers. 1GBE from the hosts to the switches, 10gbe from the switches to the storage servers.
ajaykumar_n
2 Posts
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August 25th, 2011 09:00
JOHNADCO - Thanks for your comments too.
Even my readings also suggest to go with Software initiators, but I would like to give a try with hardware initiators since i have some time before i make this setup live. I have configured hardware initiators for now and I have not seen any performance gotchas so far. Later I would change it to software initiators and will compare my findings.
Any comment on how the performance testing - what i would really look for between h/w and s/w iscsi initiators??
-Aj