By Paul Steeves
An adaptable IT infrastructure is critical in helping enterprises match specific workload requirements and keep pace with advances in computing technology.
The Dell PowerEdge FX architecture enables IT infrastructures to be constructed from small, modular blocks of computing resources that can be easily and flexibly scaled and managed.
PowerEdge FD332 storage block: Dense and flexible DAS
The densely packed PowerEdge FD332 storage block allows FX-based infrastructures to rapidly and flexibly scale storage resources. The PowerEdge FD332 is a half-width, 1U module that holds up to sixteen 2.5-inch hot-plug Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) or SATA SSDs or HDDs. The PowerEdge FD332 is independently serviceable while the PowerEdge FX2 chassis is operating.
FX servers can be attached to one or more PowerEdge FD332 blocks. For each storage block, a server can either attach to all 16 drives or split access and attach to 8 drives separately.
This flexibility lets administrators combine FX servers and storage in a wide variety of configurations to address specific processing needs. For example, three PowerEdge FD332 blocks can provide up to 48 drives in a single 2U PowerEdge FX2 chassis — while leaving one half-width chassis slot to house a PowerEdge FC630 for processing. This flexibility results in 2U rack servers with massive direct-attach capacity, enabling a pay-as-you-grow IT model.
Two half-width PowerEdge FD332 storage blocks and two PowerEdge FC630 server blocks in a PowerEdge FX2 chassis
FN I/O aggregators: Effective network consolidation
Designed to simplify cabling for the PowerEdge FX2 chassis, the FN I/O aggregators offer as much as eight-to-one cable aggregation, combining eight internal server ports into one external cable. The I/O aggregators also optimize east-west traffic communication within the chassis, helping greatly increase overall performance by accelerating virtual machine migration and significantly lowering overall latency.
The FN I/O aggregators include automated networking functions with plug-and-play simplicity that give server administrators access-layer ownership. Administrators can quickly and easily deploy a network using the simple graphical user interface of the Chassis Management Controller (CMC) or perform custom network management through a command-line interface. The I/O aggregators also are able to provide Virtual Link Trunking as well as uplink link aggregation.
The FN I/O aggregators support Data Center Bridging (DCB), Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and Internet SCSI (iSCSI) optimization to enable converged data and storage traffic. By converging I/O through the aggregators, it is possible to eliminate redundant SAN and LAN infrastructures within the data center. As a result, cabling can be reduced up to 75 percent when connecting server blocks to upstream switches like the Dell Networking S5000 10/40GbE unified storage switch for full-fabric Fibre Channel breakout. Moreover, I/O adapters can be reduced by 50 percent.
PowerEdge FN410s. The FN I/O aggregator provides four ports of small form-factor pluggable + (SFP+) 1/10GbE connectivity and eight 10GbE internal ports. With SFP+ connectivity, the I/O aggregator supports optical and direct-attach copper (DAC) cable media.
PowerEdge FN410s: Four-port SFP+ I/O aggregator
PowerEdge FN410t. The FN I/O aggregator offers four ports of 1/10GbE 10GBASE-T connectivity and eight 10GbE internal ports. The 10GBASE-T connectivity supports cost-effective copper media with maximum transmission distance up to 328 feet (100 meters).
PowerEdge FN410t: Four-port 10GBASET-T I/O aggregator
PowerEdge FN2210s. Providing innovative flexibility for convergence within the PowerEdge FX2 chassis, the PowerEdgeFN2210s delivers up to two ports of 2/4/8 Gbps Fibre Channel bandwidth through N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) proxy gateway (NPG) mode, along with two SFP+ 10GbE ports. It also can be reconfigured with four SFP+10GbE ports through a reboot.
PowerEdge FN2210s: Four-port combination Fibre Channel/Ethernet I/O aggregator
NPG mode technology enables the PowerEdge FN2210s to use converged FCoE inside the PowerEdge FX2 chassis while maintaining traditional unconverged Ethernet and native Fibre Channel outside of the chassis. To converged network adapters, the PowerEdge FN2210s appears as a Fibre Channel forwarder, while its Fibre Channel ports appear as NPIV N_ports or host bus adapters to the external Fibre Channel fabric. This capability allows for connectivity upstream to a Dell Networking S5000 storage switch or many widely deployed Fibre Channel switches providing full fabric services to a SAN array; the PowerEdge FN2210s itself does not provide full Fibre Channel fabric services.
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