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 https://infohub.delltechnologies.com/t/reference-guide-network-integration-and-host-network-configuration-options-1/.
- For sample switch configurations for these network connectivity options, see Microsoft HCI Solutions from Dell Technologies : Switch Configurations, iWARP Mellanox (RoCE) and Intel E810 (iWARP) Cards and Microsoft HCI Solutions from Dell Technologies : Switch Configurations, iWARP (Qlogic Cards Only).
Table 1. DCB configuration based on network card and switch topology Network card on node Fully converged switch topology Nonconverged switch topology Switchless storage network topology Mellanox (RoCE)/Intel E810 (iWARP/RoCE) DCB Configured by default using Network ATC DCB Configured on SMB NICs using Network ATC DCB Configured on SMB NICs using Network ATC Note: Enable DCB only on storage (RDMA) adapters connected to the ToR switches that require it.
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).
Nonconverged network connectivity
In the nonconverged network configuration, storage traffic uses a dedicated set of network adapters either in a SET configuration or as physical adapters. A separate set of network adapters is used for management, VM, and other traffic classes. In this connectivity method, DCB configuration is optional for QLogic (iWARP), but mandatory for Mellanox (RoCE)/Intel E810 (iWarp/RoCE)) adapters.