Brocade Solution for EMC VSPEX Server Virtualization

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Reference Architecture Brocade Solution Blueprint

EMC VSPEX with Brocade

June 2012

Brocade Solution for EMC VSPEX Server Virtualization

Microsoft

^®

Hyper-V™ for 50 & 100 Virtual Machines

Enabled by Microsoft Hyper-V, Brocade ICX series switch, EMC VNXe™,

and EMC Next-Generation Backup

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the USA.

Published June, 2012

EMC believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice.

The information in this publication is provided as is. EMC Corporation makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the information in this publication, and specifically disclaims implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Use, copying, and distribution of any EMC software described in this publication requires an applicable software license.

EMC2, EMC, and the EMC logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of EMC Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.

For the most up-to-date regulatory document for your product line, go to the technical documentation and advisories section on the EMC online support website.

Part Number: H10939

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3 Brocade Solution for EMC VSPEX Server Virtualization

Microsoft Hyper-V for 50 & 100 Virtual Machines

Brocade VSPEX Network Introduction

This document describes the Brocade networking components for the EMC^® VSPEX™ solution for Microsoft^® Hyper-V™ server virtualization for 50 to 100 virtual machine configurations.

See the “Learn More” section to access detailed information for EMC VSPEX Reference Architectures with Brocade.

EMC VSPEX reference architectures built with Brocade ICX series network switches ensure cost-effective integrated solutions that can quickly scale virtualization and cloud computing environments. VSPEX reference architectures are pre-validated and modular so customers can make an informed decision about the hypervisor, compute, networking and storage components.

The Brocade ICX series switches, when integrated into the EMC VSPEX reference architecture, deliver complete, jointly tested and proven configurations for virtualization and cloud computing. Brocade backs VSPEX solutions with its investment in architecture validation and testing so partners can easily and cost-effectively deploy integrated server

virtualization stacks. Partners recognize that working with Brocade means their customers get the benefits of proven networking technology with the simplicity of operation, scalability, and flexibility they need to meet a wide range of application performance requirements.

Purpose of this Document

EMC VSPEX with Brocade

Network Integration

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Network Solution Overview

The Brocade ICX series switches provide industry-leading innovation optimized for small and medium business environments. The Brocade ICX series switches deliver fast, dependable optimized network connectivity between servers and storage, while ensuring the data throughput

applications require. With the Brocade ICX series switches, interoperability with existing network equipment is assured.

The network must handle traffic fluctuations and deliver the high performance and low latency required to run virtualized business

applications. Table 1 summarizes the benefits of the EMC VSPEX solution with Brocade ICX series switches.

Table 1. Brocade ICX Series Switch Customer Benefits

Feature Benefits

• High speed stacking using either 10 GbE ports (ICX 6540) or dedicated 40 Gbps ports (ICX 6610)

Ease of Deployment: Flat Layer 2 network without running spanning tree and high performance inter- switch communication eliminating network bottleneck providing fast and easy virtual machine migration across servers.

• Symmetric Flow Control (SFC)

• Total transmit queue depth limit

• Intelligent Buffer Management

Network Performance: Optimize performance and reduce latency of LAN and iSCSI storage traffic.

• Hitless Failover

• Hot insertion and removal of switches in the stack

Availability and Resiliency: No interruption of service in the unlikely event of a failure of the master stack controller. No interruption of service when replacing a switch for

servicing.

• Manage the entire stack from a single IP Address

• Single gateway IP Address for stack with single VLAN instance

• sFlow monitoring built into every switch

Ease of Management: Single point of management, and single routing instance eliminating dependence on first hop redundancy protocols and Spanning Tree protocols. Real-time network traffic monitoring without overhead enabling continuous performance and security monitoring.

Brocade Networking VSPEX Benefits

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Brocade Solution for EMC VSPEX Server Virtualization Microsoft Hyper-V for 50 & 100 Virtual Machines 6 The Brocade ICX series switches are integrated with the EMC VNXe™ series array and the Microsoft Hyper-V cluster to provide shared storage,

network, and server hardware for efficient deployment and management of a scalable number of virtual machines.

The Brocade ICX series scales dynamically with flexibility and ease. The following foundational components are used to configure the base virtualization solution:

• Brocade ICX series switches

• Hypervisor

• x86 server-based compute

• EMC VNXe 3100/3300 series arrays

• EMC next-generation backup and recovery

The logical architecture in Figure 1 shows all components of the VSPEX solution.

The Brocade ICX series switches can be stacked for high availability and simple management. Stacking creates a single logical switch from multiple physical switches and provides high availability, as any single switch can fail and traffic will automatically re-route around it.

Brocade ICX series switches support open standard protocols to provide uplink connectivity to existing customer network equipment. For example, the Brocade ICX series switches support the following features:

• IEEE 802.1x Ethernet flow control

• 802.1q VLAN tagging

• Ethernet link aggregation using IEEE 802.1ax (802.3ad) Link Aggregation Control Protocol

• SNMP management capability

• Jumbo frames

See the “Learn More” section to access specifications for the Brocade ICX series switches.

Uplinks from any switch in the stack can be combined into a Link

Aggregation Group (LAG) for increased throughput. Links can be added quickly to a LAG to adjust uplink oversubscription. Any stack configuration settings are applied once to the stack and all switches receive the same configuration. Uplink ports are Layer 3 ports relying on routing for the Reference Architecture (RA) and load balancing.

Architecture Components

Logical Architecture Overview

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Microsoft Hyper-V for 50 & 100 Virtual Machines Figure 1 shows the overall logical architecture of the solution up to 100 virtual machines.

Figure 1. Logical VSPEX Architecture for Microsoft Server Virtualization Both the Brocade ICX 6450 and more powerful Brocade ICX 6610 switches deliver fast, dependable network connectivity between servers and VNXe storage arrays to ensure high availability and a low latency network for server virtualization with Microsoft Hyper-V.

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Brocade Validated Network Architecture

The Brocade ICX 6450 and ICX 6610 series switches provide

unprecedented levels of performance, availability, and flexibility in a stackable form factor. The integration of the Brocade ICX series switch delivers wire-speed, non-blocking performance across all ports in the VSPEX solution. They are optimized to support latency-sensitive

applications installed on iSCSI storage.

The Brocade ICX series switch provides an end-to-end path between Hyper-V running in the compute layer to VNXe array in the storage layer and to existing customer infrastructure. The number of servers may vary based on the minimum number of cores and appropriate memory and HA requirements. Connectivity is provided to the VNXe 3100 storage array to meet the scale Input and Output (I/O) demands of the VSPEX solution.

Uplink ports are configurable for either 1GbE or 10GbE to the existing customer networking infrastructure.

The network must be able to handle traffic fluctuations, real-time VM movement, and deliver the high performance and low latency required by the business. All network traffic is carried by two Brocade ICX series switches with redundant cabling for high availability and low latency, meeting the performance requirements of the VSPEX solution.

The following configuration ensures the network meets the high availability and resiliency requirements of the VSPEX reference architecture:

• Two stackable switches to support redundancy

• Redundant connectivity o To server

o To storage

o To existing customer network infrastructure

Stacking ports use high-speed (ICX 6450 -10GE and ICX 6610 - 40GE) links providing low oversubscription rates between switches in the stack.

Stacking ports are typically configured in pairs of two or four depending on over subscription requirements.

Uplink ports use LAG links from any switch in the stack. Links are added to the LAG to adjust uplink oversubscription. Any configuration settings are applied once to the stack and all switches receive that configuration when they join the stack.

Storage traffic is carried over a dedicated VLAN while management traffic is carried over a separate VLAN for traffic isolation and security.

EMC VSPEX with ICX Series Switch

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Microsoft Hyper-V for 50 & 100 Virtual Machines The Brocade ICX 6450 series switch provides connectivity requirements between compute, storage and network uplink used in the VSPEX Server Virtualization stack with Microsoft Hyper-V for 50 Virtual Machines. The Brocade ICX 6450 series switch features are applied in the VSPEX solution during the network layout deployment.

Table 2 lists the ICX 6450 series switch connectivity requirements between compute, storage and network uplink used in the VSPEX Server

Virtualization with Microsoft Hyper-V for 50 Virtual Machines solution stack.

Table 2. EMC VSPEX Network Connectivity with ICX 6450 Switch Stack

Component Port Configuration to ICX Switch Notes Microsoft

Hyper-V servers

Minimum switching capacity to servers:

• Six 1 GbE NICs per Hyper-V server

The number of servers required to implement 50 Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines with High Availability (HA) is listed in the VSPEX Reference

Architecture. The minimum number of servers depends on the number of cores and the memory requirement across the cluster to support 50 virtual machines as described in the RA.

The servers are

configured as a single Hyper-V cluster.

EMC VNXe3100 Minimum switching capacity to VNXe3100 storage array:

• One 1 GbE port per storage processor for management

• Two 1 GbE ports per storage processor for data

Each VNXe3100 is configured with two Storage Processors (active/active).

VNXe series provides Hyper-V datastores based on the iSCSI servers for Windows hosts storage connectivity in the solution.

Uplink to Customer Infrastructure

Minimum switching capacity to VNXe storage:

• Two 1 GbE ports to existing customer infrastructure

• Optionally, the uplink to existing customer infrastructure can be two10 GbE ports to ICX series switch for additional bandwidth.

Uplink ports use LAG with links from both switches in the stack so links can be added to the LAG for HA and to adjust uplink

oversubscription.

ICX 6450

Network Layout for Server

Virtualization up to 50 VMs

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Brocade Solution for EMC VSPEX Server Virtualization Microsoft Hyper-V for 50 & 100 Virtual Machines 10 The Physical network diagram in Figure 2 shows the network connectivity

between the Hyper-V servers, VNXe3100 array, and uplinks to existing network infrastructure.

Figure 2. Network Topology Diagram – ICX 6450

Table 3 lists the ICX 6450 series switch configuration requirements for the VSPEX Server Virtualization Solution with Microsoft Hyper-V for 50 Virtual Machines.

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Microsoft Hyper-V for 50 & 100 Virtual Machines Table 3. Brocade ICX 6450 Series Switch Configuration

VSPEX Microsoft Hyper-V for 50 Virtual Machines Brocade ICX 6450 Series Switch

Switch Options Description Quantity

ICX-6450-48 ICX 6450 48 Port switch (SFP+ Optics and cables are required for

stacking)

2 (required for HA)

ICX6400-EPS1500 Switch Option – External Power Supply - 1500W External Power (External Power Supply for redundancy)

1(EPS supports 2 ICX 6450

switches)

ICX6400-2x10G-LIC-

POD ICX 6450 2X10G Capacity Based License, Upgrade 1G

Uplink/Stacking Ports to 1G/10G (SFP+ Optics and cables are required)

2 (1 per switch Optional – based on customer infrastructure uplink)

The Brocade ICX 6610 series switch provides connectivity requirements between compute, shared storage and network uplinks used in the VSPEX Server Virtualization stack with Microsoft Hyper-V for 100 Virtual Machines.

The Brocade ICX 6610 series switch features are applied in the VSPEX solution during the network layout deployment.

Table 4 lists the ICX 6610 series switch connectivity requirements between compute, storage and network uplink used in the VSPEX Server

Virtualization with Microsoft Hyper-V for 100 Virtual Machines solution stack.

Table 4. EMC VSPEX Network Connectivity with ICX 6610 Switch

Stack Componen

t Port Configuration to ICX Switch Notes ICX 6610

Network Layout for Server

Virtualization up to 100 VMs

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Brocade Solution for EMC VSPEX Server Virtualization Microsoft Hyper-V for 50 & 100 Virtual Machines 12 Stack

Componen

t Port Configuration to ICX Switch Notes Microsoft

Hyper-V servers

Minimum switching capacity to servers:

• Six 1 GbE NICs per Hyper-V server

The number of Microsoft Hyper-V servers required to implement 100 virtual machines with High Availability (HA) is listed in the VSPEX Reference

Architecture. The minimum number of servers depends on the number of cores and the memory requirement across the cluster to support 100 virtual machines as described in the RA. The servers are configured as a single Hyper-V cluster.

EMC VNXe3300 Minimum switching capacity to VNXe storage:

• One 1GbE port per storage processor for management

• Four 1 GbE ports per storage processor for data

• Optional – Two 10 GbE ports per storage processor for Data is

available on VNXe3300 series array*

Each VNXe3300 is configured with two Storage Processors (active/active).

* Use of optional 10 GbE ports on the VNXe3300 should align with storage requirements while keeping in mind the overall network requirements for this solution and a level of redundancy to support high availability.

VNXe series provides Hyper-V datastores based on the iSCSI servers for Windows hosts storage network connectivity in the VSPEX solution.

Uplink to Customer Infrastructure

Minimum switching capacity to VNXe storage:

• Two 1 GbE ports to existing customer infrastructure

• Optionally, the uplink to existing customer infrastructure can be two10 GbE ports to ICX series switch for additional bandwidth.

Uplink ports use LAG with links from both switches in the stack so links can be added to the LAG for HA and to adjust uplink

oversubscription.

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Microsoft Hyper-V for 50 & 100 Virtual Machines Note: The port counts required for the VSPEX solution will be based on existing requirements. Please review the additional documentation in

“Learn More” for additional information.

The Physical network diagram in Figure 3 shows the network connectivity between the Hyper-V servers, VNXe3300 array, and uplink to existing network infrastructure.

Figure 3. Network Topology Diagram – ICX 6610

Table 5 lists the ICX 6610 series switch configuration requirements for VSPEX Server Virtualization Solution with Microsoft Hyper-V for 100 Virtual

Machines.

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Brocade Solution for EMC VSPEX Server Virtualization Microsoft Hyper-V for 50 & 100 Virtual Machines 14 Table 5. Brocade ICX 6610 Series Switch Configuration – Microsoft

Hyper-V for 100 Virtual Machines

VSPEX Microsoft Hyper-V for 100 Virtual Machines Brocade ICX 6610 Series Switch

Switch Options Description Quantity

ICX6610-48-E 48 port 1G RJ45, plus 8 x 1G SFPP uplinks ports (upgradeable to 10G).

4 x 40G stacking ports. Exhaust air flow. Base S/W

2 (required for HA in VSPEX solution)

RPS15-E Switch Option – 250W Power supply

for ICX6610. Exhaust airflow 2 (required for redundancy) ICX6610-FAN-E Exhaust direction FAN for the

ICX6610Switch Option – Capacity- based license, upgrade 1G Uplink/Stacking ports to 1G/10G (Optics are required)

2 (required for redundancy)

ICX6610-RMK-4P 4 Post Rack Mount Kit 2 (1 per switch required for VSPEX rack 4 post mounting) ICX6610-10G-LIC-

POD Switch Option – License to upgrade 4 additional ports of 1G SFP+ uplink to 10G speeds (Optics are required and cables required)

2 (Optional -1 per switch – based on 10G option to VNXe storage

connectivity and customer

infrastructure uplink)

Table 6 lists the software used on the ICX series switches.

Table 6. ICX Series Switch Software Brocade ICX Series Switches

Software Configuration

ICX 6450 FastIron Version 7.4

ICX 6610 FastIron Version 7.4

ICX Software Resources

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Learn More

The following documents, available on the EMC Powerlink website, provide additional and relevant information. If you do not have access to a

document, contact your EMC representative.

• EMC VSPEX Server Virtualization Solution Microsoft Hyper-V for 50 Virtual Machines Enabled by Microsoft Hyper-V, VNXe3100, and EMC Next-Generation Backup — Reference Architecture

• EMC VSPEX Server Virtualization Solution Microsoft Hyper-V for 50 Virtual Machines Enabled by Microsoft Hyper-V and VNXe3100—

Deployment Guide

• EMC VSPEX Server Virtualization Solution Microsoft Hyper-V for 100 Virtual Machines Enabled by Microsoft Hyper-V, VNXe3300, and EMC Next-Generation Backup — Reference Architecture

• EMC VSPEX Server Virtualization Solution Microsoft Hyper-V for 100 Virtual Machines Enabled by Microsoft Hyper-V and VNXe3300—

Deployment Guide

• EMC VSPEX Server Virtualization Solution Microsoft Hyper-V for 0 -100 Virtual Machines – Sizing Guide

For documentation on Microsoft Hyper-V, System Center Virtual Machine Manager, and System Center Essentials, refer to the Microsoft website at http://www.microsoft.com.

For more information on Brocade ICX Series Switches, visit www.brocade.com/ICX.

EMC Documentation

Other

Documentation

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About Brocade

Brocade networking solutions help the world’s leading organizations transition smoothly to a virtualized world where applications and

information can reside anywhere. These Ethernet networking offerings are designed for unmatched simplicity, HA Hit-less networking, optimized applications, and investment protection. Learn more at

www.brocade.com.

Brocade partners with companies of all sizes to deliver innovative solutions that help organizations maximize the value of their most critical

information.

To learn more, visit www.brocade.com/alliances.

Brocade Solution for EMC VSPEX Server Virtualization

EMC VSPEX with Brocade

Brocade Solution for EMC VSPEX Server Virtualization

Microsoft

Hyper-V™ for 50 & 100 Virtual Machines

Enabled by Microsoft Hyper-V, Brocade ICX series switch, EMC VNXe™,

and EMC Next-Generation Backup

Table of Contents

Brocade VSPEX Network Introduction

Network Solution Overview

Brocade Validated Network Architecture

Learn More

About Brocade