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When integrated with VxBlock or Vscale, PowerStore X is used as a workload domain in the production vSphere vCenter. PowerStore X requires all networks to be unique. It is highly recommended that the PowerStore X appliance is deployed with multiple and unique VLANs to separate traffic.
The management network connects the cluster to services such as NTP and DNS. The IP addresses used in the management network are used to address the cluster, appliances, nodes, and internal hosts. When connected physically to VxBlock ToR or Vscale leaf switches, this network is the workload domain ESXi management network configured for the VxBlock System and Vscale Architecture
The storage network enables clients to access the storage in the cluster. The IP addresses in the storage network are used for iSCSI targets, iSCSI initiators, and the Global Storage Discovery IP. The Global Storage Discovery IP address is the floating address used by hosts to discover storage from the PowerStore X cluster.
The vMotion network enables migration of VMs in the VMware vSphere cluster. These IP addresses are used for a dedicated network that transfers VMs between appliances. When connected physically to VxBlock ToR or Vscale leaf switches, this network is the workload domain ESXi vMotion network configured for the VxBlock System and Vscale Architecture.
The internal network communication occurs on the Native VLAN. This network manages internal communication to the cluster database and between appliances in a cluster.
The network VLANs for PowerStore X are configured on the LAN switches to which the PowerStore X appliance is physically connected. VxBlock Systems and Vscale Architecture have ESXi workload VLANs configured on the ToR/leaf switches. PowerStore X uses the configured workload ESXi Management (w-mgmt) and workload ESXi vMotion (w-vmotion) VLANs when physically connected to the VxBlock System or Vscale LAN switches. In this scenario, only the storage network and internal network VLANs for the PowerStore X cluster need to be created. For Vscale Open FTC, it may be necessary to add the workload ESXi Management (w-mgmt) and workload ESXi vMotion (w-vmotion) VLANs to the leaf switches as well.
When the PowerStore X is physically located at the remote customer site, create all the VLANs on the customer switches to which the PowerStore X is connected. These VLAN IDs should be unique to the PowerStore X ESXi cluster.
Note: If the customer network is Layer 2 stretched between the remote site and the data center, you can use the same VLAN IDs as the target VxBlock System or Vscale vSphere VLANs (w-mgmt, w-vmotion).
The following table shows an example of the networks, with sample VLAN IDs, required for PowerStore X integration with VxBlock or Vscale. The actual VLAN IDs and names may be different.
PS-X LAN network connection | Default VLAN ID | Default VLAN name | PowerStore X network | VLAN ports | Subnet example/netmask |
VxBlock/Vscale | 1858 | N/A | Remote Discovery (runs over native VLAN) | Untagged | 169.254.x.x/16 |
VxBlock/Vscale | 1631 | w-mgmt | Management | Tagged | /24 |
VxBlock/Vscale | 1854 | powerstore-stg | Storage | Tagged | /24 |
VxBlock/Vscale | 1632 | w-vmotion | vMotion | Tagged | /24 |
VxBlock/Vscale | 1858 | powerstore-int | Internal (runs over native VLAN) | Untagged | Internal IPv6 addressing |
VxBlock/Vscale | 2301 | custdata | VM Customer Data |
| /24 |
The following table shows an example of the different networks, with sample VLAN IDs, required for a remote PowerStore X connected to edge/COLO/ROBO location network switches. The actual VLAN IDs and names may be different.
PS-X LAN network connection | Default VLAN ID | Default VLAN name | PowerStore X network | VLAN ports | Subnet example/netmask |
Customer | 1158 | N/A | Remote Discovery (runs over native VLAN) | Untagged | 169.254.x.x/16 |
Customer | 1131 | w-mgmt-psx | Management | Tagged | /24 |
Customer | 1154 | powerstore-stg | Storage | Tagged | /24 |
Customer | 1132 | w-vmotion-psx | vMotion | Tagged | /24 |
Customer | 1158 | powerstore-int | Internal (runs over native VLAN) | Untagged | Internal IPv6 addressing |
Customer | 1101 | custdata-psx | VM Customer Data |
| /24 |
The following section details the required IP address information for integration of PowerStore X with VxBlock 1000 or Vscale Architecture.
A minimum of thirteen and a maximum of fifteen IP addresses, are required per appliance:
Up to two IP addresses are used per cluster:
The following table documents the minimum and maximum number of IP addresses required for a PowerStore X cluster based on the number of appliances in the cluster:
PowerStore appliances per cluster | Minimum IP addresses | Maximum IP addresses |
One | 14 | 17 |
Two | 27 | 32 |
Three | 40 | 46 |
Four | 53 | 62 |
The following table shows the initial configuration IP address requirements for a single appliance PowerStore:
PowerStore X network | PowerStore X component | IP address example |
Management | PowerStore X cluster 1 | 10.222.252.218 |
PowerStore X appliance 1 | 10.222.252.219 | |
PowerStore X appliance 1 node A | 10.222.252.220 | |
PowerStore X appliance 1 node B | 10.222.252.221 | |
PowerStore X ESXi host 1 (node A) | 10.222.252.222 | |
PowerStore X ESXi host 2 (node B) | 10.222.252.223 | |
Storage | PowerStore X cluster 1 appliance 1 node A iSCSI target 1 (vFEPORT 1) | 172.26.22.36 |
PowerStore X cluster 1 appliance 1 node B iSCSI target 1 (vFEPORT 1) | 172.26.22.37 | |
PowerStore X ESXi host 1 iSCSI initiator 1 (node A) | 172.26.22.38 | |
PowerStore X ESXi host 2 iSCSI initiator 1 (node B) | 172.26.22.39 | |
PowerStore X ESXi host 1 iSCSI initiator 2 (node A) | 172.26.22.40 | |
PowerStore X ESXi host 2 iSCSI initiator 2 (node B) | 172.26.22.41 | |
PowerStore X cluster 1 appliance 1 node A iSCSI target 2 (vFEPORT 2 – Optimization option) | 172.26.22.42 | |
PowerStore X cluster 1 appliance 1 node B iSCSI target 2 (vFEPORT 2 –Optimization option) | 172.26.22.43 | |
Global Storage Discovery IP address (optional) | 172.26.22.44 | |
vMotion | PowerStore X ESXi host 1 (node A) vmk | 172.26.22.155 |
PowerStore X ESXi host 2 (node B) vmk | 172.26.22.156 |
The following additional IP addresses are required during the initial configuration of the PowerStore X cluster:
The following figure depicts the VxBlock/Vscale ESXi network topology of node A (ESXi host 1) of the PowerStore X. Node B looks similar. This ESXi host has been configured with the optimization option. Notice the use of mezzanine card ports 2 and 3. If optimization is not configured, only mezzanine card ports 0 and 1 are used. For simplicity, this figure does not depict the Vscale spine and Border leaf switches.
This section explains how to configure PowerStore X appliance with a VxBlock 1000 System or Vscale Open FTC.
The PowerStore X appliance is physically cabled to the VxBlock ToR switches or Vscale Open FTC leaf switches.
This section is specific to configuring the switches for the PowerStore X appliance. As part of the deployment process, complete the default configuration for the VxBlock ToR and Vscale leaf switches before adding PowerStore X. The following information is only for the network configuration needed for the PowerStore X.
In a standard deployment, the VxBlock ToR switches already have the ESXi workload management, the ESXi workload vMotion, and VM customer data SVIs configured.
In a standard deployment of Vscale Architecture, the SVIs for the routable VLANs (the ESXi workload management VLAN, the ESXI workload vMotion VLAN, and a VM customer data VLAN) are already configured on the Vscale LAN fabric. Verify that these are accessible from the Vscale Open FTC leaf switches:
sh interface vlan 1631
sh interface vlan 1632
sh interface vlan 2301
Example of output:
Vxlan1-Cell1-9336-A(config-if)# sh int vlan 1631
Vlan1631 is up, line protocol is up, autostate enabled
Hardware is EtherSVI, address is a0b4.394a.5383
Description: w-mgmt
Internet Address is 10.225.252.193/24
MTU 9216 bytes, BW 1000000 Kbit, DLY 10 usec,
reliability 255/255, txload 1/255, rxload 1/255
Encapsulation ARPA, loopback not set
Keepalive not supported
ARP type: ARPA
Last clearing of "show interface" counters never
L3 in Switched:
ucast: 0 pkts, 0 bytes
L3 out Switched:
ucast: 0 pkts, 0 bytes
Some VxBlock 1000 Systems and Vscale Architecture deployed in the field may have dot1Q native VLAN tagging enabled globally on the VxBlock ToR and/or Vscale leaf switches. Disable the dot1Q Native VLAN tagging on both VxBlock ToRs or Vscale Open Fabric Technology Connect leaf switches prior to discovery of the PowerStore X appliances. Use the following steps to disable dot1Q native VLAN tagging:
<switch># sh run |grep dot1Q
vlan dot1Q tag native
<switch>config# no vlan dot1Q tag native
Output: Turning off vlan dot1q tag native may impact the functioning of existing dot1q tunnel ports if they exist.
<switch>config# sh run |grep dot1Q
Output: <switch>config#
<switch>config# copy running-config startup-config
Configure the PowerStore X storage and internal VLANs on the VxBlock ToR and Vscale Open FTC leaf switches. Actual VLAN IDs and names may be different:
vlan 1854
name powerstore-stg
vlan 1858
name powerstore-int
interface Vlan1854
description powerstore-stg
no shutdown
mtu 9216
no ip redirects
ip address 172.26.22.34/27<A switch: hsrp-a IP/length, B switch: hsrp-b IP/length>
no ipv6 redirects
ip ospf passive-interface
ip router ospf 1000 area 0.0.0.1 <ospf information may be different>
hsrp version 2
hsrp 120
preempt
priority 110
ip 172.26.22.33 <VLAN default gateway>
interface Vlan1858
description powerstore-int
no shutdown
no ip redirects
no ipv6 redirects
The following example shows the Ethernet port configuration of the PowerStore X appliance ports connected to the VxBlock 1000 ToR switches or Vscale Open FTC leaf switches running NXOS/VXLAN. Use this example to configure all the PowerStore ports in the PowerStore X cluster on the VxBlock ToR switches or Vscale leaf switches. Actual port interfaces, VLAN IDs, and descriptions may be different:
interface Ethernet1/23
description PowerStoreX01 NodeA Mezz0 Port 0
switchport mode trunk
switchport trunk native vlan 1858
switchport trunk allowed vlan 1631-1632,1854,1858,2301
spanning-tree port type edge trunk
mtu 9216
Note: The network configuration difference between PowerStore T and PowerStore X is the appliance facing ports. PowerStore T ports are configured in port-channels; PowerStore X ports are not.
On VxBlock 1000 and Vscale fabrics using NXOS/VXLAN, a virtual port-channel (vPC) is configured between the VxBlock ToR switches or Vscale FTC leaf switches. This is known as the vPC peer link. The five VLANs used for PowerStore X are allowed on this port-channel automatically. No additional configuration is needed.
When the PowerStore X is connected to VxBlock ToR switches or Vscale FTC leaf switches, either a web browser or the Dell PowerStore Discovery Utility is installed on a VM on the AMP Central management platform. By default, AMP Central servers are physically cabled to the VxBlock ToR switches or Vscale FTE leaf switches. The default AMP Central port configuration is used. However, it is also necessary to add the native VLAN to the AMP Central server facing ports, because the internal PowerStore Discovery Network uses the native VLAN to identify the PowerStore appliances to configure.
The following example shows the Ethernet port configuration for the AMP server ports on the VxBlock ToR switches, AMP Central Standalone ToR switches, or Vscale FTE leaf switches running NXOS/VXLAN:
interface Ethernet1/29/1
description AMP A
switchport mode trunk
switchport trunk native vlan 1858
switchport trunk allowed vlan <vlans allowed per VxBlock/Vscale build standards>
spanning-tree port type edge trunk
mtu 9216
When the PowerStore X is located remotely at the customer site, see the guidelines in the Dell PowerStore Networking Guide for PowerStore X Models.