Blade Server/Switch Question

lamav · ‎05-17-2010

Hi -- a bit confused about something. I originally posted this is Server Networking, but there are like 2 people and a dog on that thread.

If a blade chassis/encosure is going to use the Cisco 3130 blade switch, where does it fit into the overall architecture of the enclosure?

For example, the Dell M-1000e blade enclosure was designed to support Ciscos 3130 blade switches. But how do they fit into the overall architecture scheme? Normally, the blade servers connect to the I/O fabrics through the passive midplane...so where does the switch come in? Or does the switch replace the I/O fabrics?

Thanks

Victor

Jon Marshall · ‎05-17-2010

lamav wrote:

Hi -- a bit confused about something. I originally posted this is Server Networking, but there are like 2 people and a dog on that thread.

If a blade chassis/encosure is going to use the Cisco 3130 blade switch, where does it fit into the overall architecture of the enclosure?

For example, the Dell M-1000e blade enclosure was designed to support Ciscos 3130 blade switches. But how do they fit into the overall architecture scheme? Normally, the blade servers connect to the I/O fabrics through the passive midplane...so where does the switch come in? Or does the switch replace the I/O fabrics?

Thanks

Victor

My understanding of how these work is that as you say the passive midplane connects the blade servers to the IO infrastructure. The IO infrastructure is made up of 6 IO modules the first 2 of which must be used for the ethernet connectivity. So 2 of the IO modules used would be the 3130 switches for network connectivity. The remaining 4 IO module slots are used for fiber channel/infiband/ethernet (if desired).

Jon

lamav · ‎05-17-2010

Jon:

Im not too sure if thats correct because I was reading a document on the 3130 that included a mapping of the server blade slots and the ports on the switch that they map to.

In other words...

gigabitethernet x/0/1 -----> server slot 1

gigabitethernet x/0/2 -----> server slot 2

and the switch is connected to the server blades via the backplane.

etc...

But I just want to confirm my suspicion regarding the switch replacing the I/O modules

Jon Marshall · ‎05-17-2010

lamav wrote:

Jon:

Im not too sure if thats correct because I was reading a document on the 3130 that included a mapping of the server blade slots and the ports on the switch that they map to.

In other words...

gigabitethernet x/0/1 -----> server slot 1

gigabitethernet x/0/2 -----> server slot 2

and the switch is connected to the server blades via the backplane.

etc...

But I just want to confirm my suspicion regarding the switch replacing the I/O modules

Victor

Your confusing me now

The switch doesn't replace an I/O module, it is an I/O module, just one of a number of different I/O modules that can be used in the chassis.

The mappings of ports to servers is still done using the passive midplane ie. that is the fabric connection between the servers and the I/O modules.

Jon

lamav · ‎05-17-2010

Jon:

The Dell M1000e blade server enclosure supports 3 types of fabrics: A, B and C. And each fabric is comprised of 2 I/O modules each - A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2....Fabric A supports ethernet, B and C support FC and IB.

My question is whether any of these fabric modules is used when the Cisco 3130 switch module is used. I would think that it is not because the switch itself IS the I/O module and the blade servers are connected to it using the internal bus/backplane.

Clearer now?