Solution integration and network connectivity

Each of the variants in Microsoft HCI Solutions from Dell Technologies supports a specific type of network connectivity. The type of network connectivity determines the solution integration requirements.

For switchless storage networking, install the server cabling according to the instructions detailed in Cabling instructions.
For sample switch configurations for these network connectivity options, see Single switch configuration for both iWARP and RoCE.
Note: DCB is required for all cluster deployments.

Fully converged network connectivity

In the fully converged network configuration, both storage and management/VM traffic use the same set of network adapters. These adapters are configured with Switch-Embedded Teaming (SET). When using RoCE in a fully converged network configuration, you must configure Data Center Bridging (DCB).

The following figure depicts the integration of the fully converged architecture.

Figure illustrating fully converged network topology with two NIC ports — Figure 2. Fully converged network topology with two NIC ports

Figure illustrating fully converged network topology with four NIC ports — Figure 2. Fully converged network topology with two NIC ports

The following figure depicts the AX4510c fully converged network topology with embedded LOM.

Figure 4. AX4510c fully converged network topology with embedded LOM

The following figure depicts the AX4520c fully converged network topology with PCIe NICs.

Figure 5. AX4520c fully converged network topology with PCIe NICs

In the fully converged network topology, all storage ports from the server are connected to the same network fabric. In the host operating system, the NIC ports are used for both storage and management/VM traffic. The following figure shows this configuration in the host operating system.

Figure illustrating OS network configuration in fully converged topology with two NIC ports — Figure 6. Host operating system network configuration in fully converged topology with two NIC ports

In this host operating system network configuration, a SET is created with two or four physical ports and virtual adapters in the host operating system that is implemented for Storage 1, Storage 2, and Management traffic.

Note: The number of virtual storage adapters in the host operating system must match the number of physical ports in the SET.

Non-converged network connectivity

In the non-converged network configuration, storage traffic uses a dedicated set of physical network adapters.

In the non-converged configuration, Dell Technologies recommends the following:

Storage traffic is on the physical storage network adapter ports
Management/VM traffic goes through a SET that is created using network ports of the server rNDC

The following figure depicts this network integration option.

Figure showing network integration in a non-converged configuration with two NIC ports — Figure 7. Network integration in a non-converged configuration with two NIC ports

The following figure depicts AX4510c non-converged network topology with embedded LOM:

AX4510 non-converged network topology with embedded LOM — Figure 8. AX4510c non-converged network topology with embedded LOM

The following figure depicts AX4520c non-converged network topology with PCIe NICs:

Figure 9. AX4520c non-converged network topology with PCIe NICs

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