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The following table shows the SAN component requirements for 3-Tier Platforms:
Table 30. SAN component requirements
Component | Minimum | Maximum |
Cisco MDS 9148T, 9396T, 9706-v2 or 9710-v2 multilayer fabric switches | One pair | One pair |
LAN connectivity includes Cisco Nexus data plane switches. The compute layer connects to Ethernet components in the network layer.
The FIs connect to the Cisco Nexus data plane switches through 10 GbE, 40 GbE, or 100 GbE port channels. The LAN supports 10 Gbps, 40 Gbps, and 100 Gbps uplinks to the external network, and it supports 10 Gbps, 25 Gbps, 40 Gbps, or 100 Gbps access for attached devices.
When incorporating a LAN switch into a 3-Tier platform, consider the airflow in your data center design. The LAN 93108TC-FX3P, 92348GC-X, or 9336C-FX2 switches may be configured with either port-side intake or port-side exhaust airflow. Follow these best practices:
The 3-Tier platform LAN layer consists of switches that manage, route, and store data. The following figure shows the high-level architecture of the 3-Tier Platform with Layer 3 uplinks and Open Shortest Path First (OSPF):
Figure 9. 3-Tier Platform with Layer 3 uplinks and OSPF
The 3-Tier Platform supports a Layer 2 uplink topology or a Layer 3 routing-protocol-based uplink topology. Both routing topologies are supported on the management plane and the data plane. Configure the uplinks as 10 Gbps, 40 Gbps, or 100 Gbps to the external network. The 3-Tier Platform is configured with a pair of ToR Cisco Nexus 9300 Series switches.
The 3-Tier Platform is connected to the external network over L2 links. Routing for all 3-Tier Platform and external VLANs occurs at the external network. This scenario applies if you need L2 adjacency between endpoints both inside and outside the3-Tier Platform. L2 uplinks allow workload mobility without requiring a network overlay such as VXLAN, because a subnet can be consumed both inside and outside the 3-Tier Platform.
L2 uplinks reduce the amount of traffic that traverses the uplinks to the external network for 3-Tier Platform inter-VLAN communication, thereby improving overall performance.
With an L3 uplink scenario, the 3-Tier Platform implements the OSPF, Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), or static routing protocol. These protocols provide L3 routing services for east-west traffic within the ToR switches and north-south flows for traffic that is leaving the 3-Tier Platform.