Overview
The Dell PowerEdge MX7000 includes three I/O fabrics and the Management Modules. Fabrics A and B are for Ethernet and future I/O module connectivity, and Fabric C is for SAS and Fibre Channel (FC) connectivity. Each fabric provides two slots for redundancy. Management Modules contain the chassis intelligence, which overlooks and orchestrates the operations of the various components. The following example figure shows the rear of the PowerEdge MX7000 chassis. From top to bottom, the chassis is configured with:
- One Dell Networking MX9116n Fabric Switching Engine (FSE) installed in fabric slot A1
- One Dell Networking MX7116n Fabric Expander Module (FEM) installed in fabric slot A2
- Two Dell Networking MX5108n Ethernet switches installed in fabric slots B1 and B2
- Two Dell Networking MXG610s Fibre Channel switches installed in fabric slots C1 and C2
- Two Dell PowerEdge MX9002m modules are installed in management slots MM1 and MM2
The Dell PowerEdge MX7000 now includes a 100 GbE solution by deploying a 100 GbE Fabric Expander Module (FEM), the Dell Networking MX8116n. The 100 GbE FEM is installed in Fabrics A and B and operate with an external Fabric Switching Engine (FSE), the Dell PowerSwitch Z9432F-ON. For additional information on the 100 GbE solution see PowerEdge MX 100 GbE solution with external Fabric Switching Engine.
Dell PowerEdge MX9002m management module
The Dell PowerEdge MX9002m management module controls the overall chassis power, cooling, and hosts the OpenManage Enterprise Modular console. Two external Gigabit Ethernet ports are provided to enable management connectivity and to connect additional MX7000 chassis in a single logical chassis. The MX7000 chassis supports two MX9002m modules for redundancy. The following figure shows a single MX9002m module and its components.
The following MX9002m module components are labeled in the figure:
- Handle release
- Gigabit Ethernet port 1
- Gigabit Ethernet port 2
- ID button and health status LED
- Power status LED
- Micro-B USB serial port
Dell PowerEdge MX9116n Fabric Switching Engine
The Dell PowerEdge MX9116n Fabric Switching Engine (FSE) is a scalable, high-performance, low latency 25 Gbps Ethernet switch, purpose-built for the PowerEdge MX platform. The MX9116n FSE provides enhanced capabilities and cost-effectiveness for enterprise, mid-market, Tier 2 cloud, and NFV service providers with demanding compute and storage traffic environments.
The MX9116n FSE provides:
- Sixteen internal 25 GbE server facing ports, ports 1 through 16, connected to compute sleds
- Twelve QSFP28-Double Density (DD) ports for fabric expansion/uplinks, ports 17 through 40 (These ports can be operated as 2x 100 GbE, 2x 40 GbE, 8x 25 GbE, and 8x 10 GbE.
- Two 100 GbE QSFP28 ports, used for Ethernet uplinks, ports 41 and 42
- Two 100 GbE QSFP28 unified ports, used for Ethernet and Fibre Channel connections, ports 43 and 44.
For more information about port-mapping and virtual ports, see Interfaces and port groups.
The two standard QSFP28 ports can be used for Ethernet uplinks. The QSFP28 unified ports can support Ethernet or native Fibre Channel connectivity, supporting both NPIV Proxy Gateway (NPG) and direct attach FC capabilities.
The twelve QSFP28-DD ports provide additional uplinks, VLTi links, and connections to rack servers at 10 GbE or 25 GbE using breakout cables. The QSFP28-DD ports also provide fabric expansion connections for up to nine additional MX7000 chassis using the MX7116n Fabric Expander Module. The MX7000 chassis supports up to four MX9116n FSEs in Fabric A and Fabric B, or both. See the PowerEdge MX IOM slot support matrix for more information about supported slot configurations and the PowerEdge MX I/O Guide for more information about cable selection.
The following MX9116n FSE components are labeled in the figure:
- Express service tag
- Storage USB port
- Micro-B USB console port
- Power and indicator LEDs
- Handle release
- Two QSFP28 ports
- Two QSFP28 unified ports
- Twelve QSFP28-DD ports
The following table shows the port mapping example for internal and external interfaces on the MX9116n FSE. The MX9116n FSE maps dual-port mezzanine cards to odd-numbered ports. The MX7116n FEM, connected to the MX9116n FSE, maps to sequential virtual ports with each port representing a compute sled attached to the MX7116n FEM.
MX7000 slot | MX9116n FSE ports | MX7116n FEM virtual ports |
1 | Ethernet 1/1/1 | Ethernet 1/71/1 |
2 | Ethernet 1/1/3 | Ethernet 1/71/2 |
3 | Ethernet 1/1/5 | Ethernet 1/71/3 |
4 | Ethernet 1/1/7 | Ethernet 1/71/4 |
5 | Ethernet 1/1/9 | Ethernet 1/71/5 |
6 | Ethernet 1/1/11 | Ethernet 1/71/6 |
7 | Ethernet 1/1/13 | Ethernet 1/71/7 |
8 | Ethernet 1/1/15 | Ethernet 1/71/8 |
Dell Networking MX7116n Fabric Expander Module
The Dell Networking MX7116n Fabric Expander Module (FEM) acts as an Ethernet repeater, taking signals from an attached compute sled and repeating them to the associated lane on the external QSFP28-DD connector. The MX7116n FEM provides two QSFP28-DD interfaces, each providing up to eight 25 Gbps connections to the chassis and 16 internal server-facing ports.
There is no operating system or switching ASIC on the MX7116n FEM, so it rarely requires an upgrade. There is also no management or user interface, making the MX7116n FEM almost maintenance-free. The MX7000 chassis supports up to four MX7116n FEMs in Fabric A, Fabric B, or both. See PowerEdge MX IOM slot support matrix for more information about supported slot configurations, and the PowerEdge MX I/O Guide for more information about cable selection.
The following MX7116n FEM components are labeled in the figure:
- Express service tag
- Supported optic LED
- Power and indicator LEDs
- Module insertion and removal latch
- Two QSFP28-DD fabric expander ports
The following figure shows how the MX7116n FEM can act as a pass-through module. The breakout of the port is shown to connect to ToR switches (using SFP+, SFP28, QSFP+, or QSFP28 connections), and the internal connections to compute sleds with two ports on the Mezzanine card. When connecting to QSFP+ or QSFP28 interfaces, the interface must be configured as 4x 10 GbE or 4x 25 GbE, respectively.
The following figure shows different uplink options for the MX7116n FEM to act as a pass-through module operating at 25 GbE. The MX7116n FEM should be connected to an upstream switch at 25 GbE. Support for 10 GbE is available as of OME-Modular 1.20.00.
If the MX7116n FEM port connects to QSFP28 ports, a QSFP28-DD to 2x QSFP28 cable is used. If the MX7116n FEM port connects to SFP28 ports, a QSFP28-DD to 8x SFP28 cable is used. These cables can be DAC, AOC, or optical transceiver plus passive fiber. See the PowerEdge MX I/O Guide for more information about cable selection.
Dell Networking MX5108n Ethernet switch
The Dell Networking MX5108n Ethernet switch is targeted at PowerEdge MX deployments of one or two chassis. While not a scalable switch, it still provides high-performance and low latency with a nonblocking switching architecture. The MX5108n provides line-rate 25 Gbps Layer 2 and Layer 3 forwarding capacity to all connected servers with no oversubscription.
In addition to eight internal 25 GbE ports, the MX5108n provides:
- One 40 GbE QSFP+ port
- Two 100 GbE QSFP28 ports
- Four 10 GbE RJ45 Base-T ports
These ports can be used to provide a combination of network uplink, VLT interconnect (VLTi), or FCoE connectivity. The MX5108n supports FCoE Initialization Protocol (FIP) Snooping Bridge (FSB) mode, but does not support NPG or direct-attach FC capabilities. The MX7000 chassis supports up to four MX5108n Ethernet switches in Fabric A and Fabric B, or both. See PowerEdge MX IOM slot support matrix for more information about supported slot configurations and the PowerEdge MX I/O Guide for more information about cable selection.
The following MX5108n components are labeled in the figure:
- Express service tag
- Storage USB port
- Micro-B USB console port
- Power and indicator LEDs
- Module insertion and removal latch
- One QSFP+ port
- Two QSFP28 ports
- Four 10GBase-T ports
PowerEdge MX Ethernet Pass-Through Modules
There are two Ethernet Pass-Through Modules (PTM) providing nonswitched Ethernet connections to ToR switches. Each PTM provides 16 internal ports mapped directly to 16 external ports. The MX7000 chassis supports four PTMs in Fabric A and Fabric B, or both. See PowerEdge MX IOM slot support matrix for more information about supported slot configurations and the PowerEdge MX I/O Guide for more information about cable selection. For more information about PTM port to compute sled mapping, see PTM port mapping.
The following figure shows the 25 GbE Ethernet PTM. The 25 GbE PTM provides 16 external SFP28 ports that can operate at 10 GbE or 25 GbE.
The following 25 GbE PTM components are labeled in the figure:
- Express service tag
- Power and indicator LEDs
- Module insertion and removal latch
- 16 SFP28 ports
The 10GBase-T Ethernet PTM, shown in the following figure, provides 16 external RJ45 Base-T ports that operate at 10 GbE.
The following 10GBase-T Ethernet PTM components are labeled in the figure:
- Express service tag
- Power and indicator LEDs
- Module insertion and removal latch
- 16 10GBase-T ports
Dell Networking MXG610s Fibre Channel switch
The Dell Networking MXG610s is a high-performance, 32 Gbps Fibre Channel switch based on Brocade technology. It is ideal for connectivity to all-flash SAN storage solutions and is designed for maximum flexibility and value with pay-as-you-grow scalability using a Port on Demand (PoD) license model. The MXG610s is compatible with Brocade and Cisco FC switches. The MXG610s runs the Brocade FOS operating system and Brocade tools are used to manage the switch.
In addition to 16 internal 32-GFC ports, the MXG610s provides:
- Eight external SFP+ ports
- Two 4x 32 Gbps external QSFP ports
The internal and external port information is as follows:
- Internal ports support 16-Gbps or 32-Gbps speed
- Internal ports support F_Port mode and N_Port mode for NPIV connections
- External ports support F_Port, N_Port, D_Port, and E_Port modes
- SFP+ ports auto negotiate to 8 Gbps, 16 Gbps, or 32 Gbps speeds when 32 Gbps SFP+ transceivers are used
- SFP+ ports auto negotiate to 8 Gbps or 16 Gbps speeds when 16 Gbps SFP+ transceivers are used
- QSFP ports auto negotiate to 16 Gbps, or 32 Gbps speeds when 32 Gbps QSFP transceivers are used
- QSFP ports support breakout cables
- QSFP ports support ISL connections only. Interchassis link (ICL) connections are not supported
- Dynamic Ports on Demand (POD) support with increments of 8-port licenses
The external ports support the connection of the MX7000 chassis to existing SAN switches, or the connection of a FC storage array directly to the switch.
The following MXG610s components are labeled in the figure:
- Express service tag
- Module insertion and removal latch
- Micro-B USB console port
- Power and indicator LEDs
- Eight external SFP+ ports
- Two 4x 32-GFC QSFP ports
Dell Networking MXG610s Fibre Channel switch models and licenses
The Dell Networking MXG610s FC switch can be purchased in two configurations:
- Sixteen activated ports and four 32 Gbps SFP+ SWL optical transceivers
- Sixteen activated ports, eight 32 Gbps SFP+ SWL optical transceivers, and the Enterprise software bundle
The Enterprise bundle includes ISL Trunking, Fabric Vision, and Extended Fabric licenses:
- ISL Trunking
- Allows you to aggregate multiple physical links into one logical link for enhanced network performance and fault tolerance. ISL trunking also enables Brocade Access Gateway ISL Trunking (N_port Trunking).
- Fabric Vision
- Enables MAPS (Monitoring and Alerting Policy Suite), Flow Vision, IO Insight, VM Insight, and ClearLink, or D_Port, to non-Brocade devices
- MAPS enables rules-based monitoring, alerting capabilities, and provides comprehensive dashboards to troubleshoot problems in Brocade SAN environments
- Flow Vision enables the host to LUN flow monitoring, application flow mirroring for offline capture and deeper analysis, and test traffic flow generation function for SAN infrastructure validation
- IO Insight automatically detects degraded storage IO performance with integrated device latency, and IOPS monitoring embedded in the hardware
- ClearLink (D_Port) to non-Brocade devices allows extensive diagnostic testing of links to devices other than Brocade switches and adapters. Note: The functionality requires the support of the attached device, and the ability for the user to check the device.
- Extended Fabric
- Provides greater than 10 km of switched fabric connectivity at full bandwidth over long distances
You can purchase the Ports on Demand (POD) licenses to activate up to 24 additional ports using 8-port POD licenses. The switch module supports dynamic POD license allocation, where two port licenses are assigned to ports 0 and 17 at the factory. The remaining licenses are assigned to active ports on a first-come, first-served basis. After the licenses are installed, you can move them from one port to another, making port licensing flexible.
To obtain software licenses for the MXG610s, you must register the switch on the Broadcom support portal at https://support.broadcom.com/.
To obtain upgrades for MXG610s software, contact Dell Technical Support.
Dell PowerEdge MX5000s SAS module
The Dell PowerEdge MX5000s SAS module supports four SAS internal connections to all eight front-facing slots in the PowerEdge MX7000 chassis. The MX5000s uses T10 SAS zoning to provide multiple SAS zones/domains for the compute sleds. Storage management is conducted through the OpenManage Enterprise Modular console.
The MX5000s provides Fabric C SAS connectivity to each compute and one or more MX5016s storage sleds. Compute sleds connect to the MX5000s using either SAS Host Bus Adapters (HBA) or a PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) in the mini-mezzanine PCIe slot.
The MX5000s switches are deployed as redundant pairs to offer multiple SAS paths to the individual SAS disk drives. The MX7000 chassis supports redundant MX5000s in Fabric C.
The following MX5000s components are labeled in the figure:
- Express service tag
- Module insertion and removal latch
- Power and indicator LEDs
- Six SAS ports