Dell M1000e
Encyclopedia
The Dell
blade server
solutions are built around their new M1000e enclosure that can hold their complete range of server blades and an extensive range of I/O modules like ethernet switches, fibre-channel switches etc.
The M1000e fits in a 19" server-rack and is 10 Rack unit
s high (44 cm), 17,6" wide (44,7 cm) and 75,4 cm deep. The empty blade enclose weighs 44,5 kg while a fully loaded system can weigh up to 178,8 kg.
On the front the servers are inserted while at the backside the power-supplies and I/O modules are attached. A blade enclosure offers centralized management for the servers and I/O systems of the blade-system. Most servers used in the blade-system offer a iDRAC card and you can connect to each servers iDRAC via the M1000e management system. It is also possible to connect a virtual KVM switch to have access to the main-console of each installed server.
CPU and up to 192 Gb RAM. A maximum of two on-blade hot-pluggable 2.5" hard-disks or SSD's and a choice of built-in NIC's for Ethernet or CNA
, Fiber Channel or InfiniBand
. The server has the Intel 5520 chipset and a Matrox G200 video card
CPU and up to 192 Gb RAM. A maxumum of four on-blade hot-pluggable 2,5" hard-disks or SSD's and a choise of built-in NIC's for ethernet or CNA
, fibre channel or InfiniBand
. The videocard is a Matrox G200.The server has the Intel 5520 chipset
, fibre channel or InfiniBand
. The videocard is an ATI RN50.The server has the NVidia MCP55 chipset
, fibre channel or InfiniBand
switches are modular switches for use in the Dell blade server
enclosure M1000e.
The M6220, M6348, M8024 and M8024K are all switches in the same family, based on the same fabrics (Broadcom
) and running the same firmware-version.
All the M-series switches are OSI layer 3
capable: so you can also say that these devices are routers with built-in layer 2 functions.
The most important difference between the M-series switches and the Dell PowerConnect
classic switches (e.g. the 8024 model is the fact that most interfaces are internal interfaces that connect to the blade-servers via the midplane of the enclosure. Also the M-series can't be running outside the enclosure: it will only work when inserted in the enclosure
and Network Layer
capabilities
Besides the M-series switches mentioned below the following I/O modules are available or usable in a Dell M1000e enclosure:
)interface. Dell offers the following (converged) ethernet mezzanine cards for their PowerEdge blades:
blade-switch and based on a Brocade switch. It offers 16 internal 1/10Gb ports, 8 external 10Gb interfaces and 4 Fibre Channel
interfaces to connect to a SAN controller or central Fibre Channel switch.
The switch runs Brocade FC firmware for the fabric and fibre-channel configuration
available for use in the M1000e chassis:
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
blade server
Blade server
A blade server is a stripped down server computer with a modular design optimized to minimize the use of physical space and energy. Whereas a standard rack-mount server can function with a power cord and network cable, blade servers have many components removed to save space, minimize power...
solutions are built around their new M1000e enclosure that can hold their complete range of server blades and an extensive range of I/O modules like ethernet switches, fibre-channel switches etc.
The M1000e fits in a 19" server-rack and is 10 Rack unit
Rack unit
A rack unit or U is a unit of measure used to describe the height of equipment intended for mounting in a 19-inch rack or a 23-inch rack...
s high (44 cm), 17,6" wide (44,7 cm) and 75,4 cm deep. The empty blade enclose weighs 44,5 kg while a fully loaded system can weigh up to 178,8 kg.
On the front the servers are inserted while at the backside the power-supplies and I/O modules are attached. A blade enclosure offers centralized management for the servers and I/O systems of the blade-system. Most servers used in the blade-system offer a iDRAC card and you can connect to each servers iDRAC via the M1000e management system. It is also possible to connect a virtual KVM switch to have access to the main-console of each installed server.
Power Edge M610
A half-height server with a quad-core or six-core Intel 5500 or 5600 XeonXeon
The Xeon is a brand of multiprocessing- or multi-socket-capable x86 microprocessors from Intel Corporation targeted at the non-consumer server, workstation and embedded system markets.-Overview:...
CPU and up to 192 Gb RAM. A maximum of two on-blade hot-pluggable 2.5" hard-disks or SSD's and a choice of built-in NIC's for Ethernet or CNA
Converged Network Adapter
A converged network adapter , also called a converged network interface controller , is a computer input/output device that combines the functionality of a Host Bus Adaptor to a storage area network with a network interface controller for a general-purpose computer network.-Support :Some products...
, Fiber Channel or InfiniBand
InfiniBand
InfiniBand is a switched fabric communications link used in high-performance computing and enterprise data centers. Its features include high throughput, low latency, quality of service and failover, and it is designed to be scalable...
. The server has the Intel 5520 chipset and a Matrox G200 video card
Power Edge M710
A full-height server with a quad-core or sic-core Intel 5500 or 5600 XeonXeon
The Xeon is a brand of multiprocessing- or multi-socket-capable x86 microprocessors from Intel Corporation targeted at the non-consumer server, workstation and embedded system markets.-Overview:...
CPU and up to 192 Gb RAM. A maxumum of four on-blade hot-pluggable 2,5" hard-disks or SSD's and a choise of built-in NIC's for ethernet or CNA
Converged Network Adapter
A converged network adapter , also called a converged network interface controller , is a computer input/output device that combines the functionality of a Host Bus Adaptor to a storage area network with a network interface controller for a general-purpose computer network.-Support :Some products...
, fibre channel or InfiniBand
InfiniBand
InfiniBand is a switched fabric communications link used in high-performance computing and enterprise data centers. Its features include high throughput, low latency, quality of service and failover, and it is designed to be scalable...
. The videocard is a Matrox G200.The server has the Intel 5520 chipset
Power Edge M805
A full-height server with up to a six-core AMD Opteron CPU, 128Gb RAM and two hot-swappable 2,5" hard-drives (spinning or SSD). A choice of built-in NIC's for ethernet or CNAConverged Network Adapter
A converged network adapter , also called a converged network interface controller , is a computer input/output device that combines the functionality of a Host Bus Adaptor to a storage area network with a network interface controller for a general-purpose computer network.-Support :Some products...
, fibre channel or InfiniBand
InfiniBand
InfiniBand is a switched fabric communications link used in high-performance computing and enterprise data centers. Its features include high throughput, low latency, quality of service and failover, and it is designed to be scalable...
. The videocard is an ATI RN50.The server has the NVidia MCP55 chipset
Power Edge M905
A full-height server with up to a six-core AMD Opteron 8000 CPU, 192Gb RAM and two hot-swappable 2,5" hard-drives (spinning or SSD). It utilizes the NVidia MCP55 chipset and a choice of built-in NIC's for ethernet or CNAConverged Network Adapter
A converged network adapter , also called a converged network interface controller , is a computer input/output device that combines the functionality of a Host Bus Adaptor to a storage area network with a network interface controller for a general-purpose computer network.-Support :Some products...
, fibre channel or InfiniBand
InfiniBand
InfiniBand is a switched fabric communications link used in high-performance computing and enterprise data centers. Its features include high throughput, low latency, quality of service and failover, and it is designed to be scalable...
PowerConnect switches
The Dell PowerConnectDell PowerConnect
PowerConnect is a Dell series of network switches. The PowerConnect "classic" switches are based on Broadcom or Marvell Technology Group fabric and firmware. Dell also offers the PowerConnect J-series which are Juniper Networks switches and the PowerConnect B-series which are Dell-branded Brocade...
switches are modular switches for use in the Dell blade server
Blade server
A blade server is a stripped down server computer with a modular design optimized to minimize the use of physical space and energy. Whereas a standard rack-mount server can function with a power cord and network cable, blade servers have many components removed to save space, minimize power...
enclosure M1000e.
The M6220, M6348, M8024 and M8024K are all switches in the same family, based on the same fabrics (Broadcom
Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a fabless semiconductor company in the wireless and broadband communication business. The company is headquartered in Irvine, California, USA. Broadcom was founded by a professor-student pair Henry Samueli and Henry T. Nicholas III from the University of California, Los...
) and running the same firmware-version.
All the M-series switches are OSI layer 3
Network Layer
The network layer is layer 3 of the seven-layer OSI model of computer networking.The network layer is responsible for packet forwarding including routing through intermediate routers, whereas the data link layer is responsible for media access control, flow control and error checking.The network...
capable: so you can also say that these devices are routers with built-in layer 2 functions.
The most important difference between the M-series switches and the Dell PowerConnect
Dell PowerConnect
PowerConnect is a Dell series of network switches. The PowerConnect "classic" switches are based on Broadcom or Marvell Technology Group fabric and firmware. Dell also offers the PowerConnect J-series which are Juniper Networks switches and the PowerConnect B-series which are Dell-branded Brocade...
classic switches (e.g. the 8024 model is the fact that most interfaces are internal interfaces that connect to the blade-servers via the midplane of the enclosure. Also the M-series can't be running outside the enclosure: it will only work when inserted in the enclosure
Capabilities
All M-series switches offer a broad range of Data Link LayerData link layer
The data link layer is layer 2 of the seven-layer OSI model of computer networking. It corresponds to, or is part of the link layer of the TCP/IP reference model....
and Network Layer
Network Layer
The network layer is layer 3 of the seven-layer OSI model of computer networking.The network layer is responsible for packet forwarding including routing through intermediate routers, whereas the data link layer is responsible for media access control, flow control and error checking.The network...
capabilities
Data Link Layer
Some of the Layer2 capabilities are:- IEEE 802.3IEEE 802.3IEEE 802.3 is a working group and a collection of IEEE standards produced by the working group defining the physical layer and data link layer's media access control of wired Ethernet. This is generally a local area network technology with some wide area network applications...
- the switches are ethernetEthernetEthernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
switches - IEEE 802.1QIEEE 802.1QIEEE 802.1Q is the networking standard that supports Virtual LANs on an Ethernet network. The standard defines a system of VLAN tagging for Ethernet frames and the accompanying procedures to be used by bridges and switches in handling such frames...
- VLAN tagging and trunking - IEEE 802.1XIEEE 802.1XIEEE 802.1X is an IEEE Standard for port-based Network Access Control . It is part of the IEEE 802.1 group of networking protocols. It provides an authentication mechanism to devices wishing to attach to a LAN or WLAN....
- Port security and authentication - IEEE 802.3X - flow control
- Jumbo frame support: allowing the use of larfe farmes, mainly used for iSCSIISCSIIn computing, iSCSI , is an abbreviation of Internet Small Computer System Interface, an Internet Protocol -based storage networking standard for linking data storage facilities. By carrying SCSI commands over IP networks, iSCSI is used to facilitate data transfers over intranets and to manage...
operation - iSCI optimasation: easier configuration of the iSCSI VLAN
- Auto-VOIPVoice over IPVoice over Internet Protocol is a family of technologies, methodologies, communication protocols, and transmission techniques for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol networks, such as the Internet...
- supports easier configuration for VOIP in small networks - DHCP snooping and the associated (security) features as IPSG and Dynamic Arp Inspection
- Spanning Tree ProtocolSpanning tree protocolThe Spanning Tree Protocol is a network protocol that ensures a loop-free topology for any bridged Ethernet local area network. The basic function of STP is to prevent bridge loops and ensuing broadcast radiation...
- STP, RSTP, MSTP, portfast features - DHCP support -BOOTPBOOTPIn computer networking, the Bootstrap Protocol, or BOOTP, is a network protocol used by a network client to obtain an IP address from a configuration server. The BOOTP protocol was originally defined in RFC 951....
, DHCP and other broadcast can be redirected to DHCP servers and the DHCP conversations can be monitored for use by the advanced security features (DHCP snooping) - Several discovery-protocol settings such as ISDP which is the industry-standard version of Cisco Discovery ProtocolCisco Discovery ProtocolThe Cisco Discovery Protocol is a proprietary Data Link Layer network protocol developed by Cisco Systems. It is used to share information about other directly connected Cisco equipment, such as the operating system version and IP address...
, LLDP or IEEE 802.1AB and the extension to this: LLDP-MED - Layer2 MulticastMulticastIn computer networking, multicast is the delivery of a message or information to a group of destination computers simultaneously in a single transmission from the source creating copies automatically in other network elements, such as routers, only when the topology of the network requires...
ing - Ling Agregation or LAG: static and dynamic (=LACPLACPLACP may refer to:* League of American Communications Professionals, an organization encouraging quality in communications.* Link Aggregation Control Protocol , an Ethernet protocol that allows the bundling of several ports;* Los Angeles County Police...
)
Network Layer
The PowerConnect M-series switches offer a wide range of routing-capabilities. Some of the standards supported on the PowerConnect M-series:- Routing: static, connected (routes automatically added to the routing-table for the subnet of each VLAN IP interface), OSPF, OSPFv3, RIPRIPR.I.P. is an abbreviation for rest in peace .R.I.P. or RIP may also refer to:-Biology:*Regulated intramembrane proteolysis, a biochemical process which regulates a semipermeable membrane...
- Supports IPv4 and IPv6 routing
- VRRP: Virtual Router Redundancy
- Differentiated Services
- Class of Service
- IPv4 and IPv6 Multicast
- DiffServ
- IRDP: Routing Discovery Protocol
I/O cards
A M1000e enclosure can hold up to 6 switches or other I/O cards.Besides the M-series switches mentioned below the following I/O modules are available or usable in a Dell M1000e enclosure:
- Cisco CatalystCisco CatalystCatalyst is the brand name for a variety of network switches sold by Cisco Systems. While commonly associated with Ethernet switches, a number of different interfaces have been available throughout the history of the brand. Cisco acquired several different companies and rebranded their products...
3032, 3130G and 3130X switches - Ethernet passthrough modules that bring internal server-interfaces to an external interface at the back of the enclosure.
- Brocade FC switch for Fibre ChannelFibre ChannelFibre Channel, or FC, is a gigabit-speed network technology primarily used for storage networking. Fibre Channel is standardized in the T11 Technical Committee of the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards , an American National Standards Institute –accredited standards...
based Storage area networkStorage area networkA storage area network is a dedicated network that provides access to consolidated, block level data storage. SANs are primarily used to make storage devices, such as disk arrays, tape libraries, and optical jukeboxes, accessible to servers so that the devices appear like locally attached devices... - InfiniBandInfiniBandInfiniBand is a switched fabric communications link used in high-performance computing and enterprise data centers. Its features include high throughput, low latency, quality of service and failover, and it is designed to be scalable...
is available for High-performance computingHigh-performance computingHigh-performance computing uses supercomputers and computer clusters to solve advanced computation problems. Today, computer systems approaching the teraflops-region are counted as HPC-computers.-Overview:...
Ethernet Mezzanine cards
Standard blade-servers have one or more built in gigabit or 10 Gb internal NIC's that connect to the 'default' switch-slot in the enclosure (often blade-servers also offer one or more external NIC interfaces at the front of the blade) but if you want to server to have more physical (internal) interfaces or connect to different switch-blades in the enclosure you can place extra mezzanine cards on the blade. The same applies when you want to add a fibre-channel HBA or a FCoE CNA (=Converged Network AdapterConverged Network Adapter
A converged network adapter , also called a converged network interface controller , is a computer input/output device that combines the functionality of a Host Bus Adaptor to a storage area network with a network interface controller for a general-purpose computer network.-Support :Some products...
)interface. Dell offers the following (converged) ethernet mezzanine cards for their PowerEdge blades:
- Broadcom 57712 dual-port CNA
- Brocade BR1741M-k CNA
- Mellanox ConnectX-2 dual 10Gb card
- Intel dual port 10Gb ethernet
- Intel Quad port 1Gb ethernet
- Intel Quad port 1Gb ethernet with virtualisation technology and iSCSI acceleration features
- Broadcom NetXtreme II 5709 dual and quad port gigabit ethernet (dual port with iSCSI offloading features)
- Broadcom NetXtreme II 5711 dual port 10Gb ethernet with iSCSI offloading features
Non-ethernet cards
Apart from the above ethernet and converged ethernet cards the following mezzanine cards are available for fibre channel and InfiniBand- Emulex LightPulse LPe1105-M4 HBA
- Mellanox ConnectX IB MDI Dual-Port InfiniBand Mezzanine Card
- QLogic SANblade HBA
- SANsurfer Pro
PowerConnect M5424
This is a switch in the B-series: a Brocade FCoE switch. See also the Brocade B-series lemmaPowerConnect M6220
This is a 20 port switch: 16 internal and 4 external gigabit ethernet interfaces and the option to extend it with up to four 10Gb external interfaces for uplinks.PowerConnect M6348
This is a 48 port switch: 32 internal 1Gb interfaces (two per serverblade) and 16 external copper (RJ45) gigabit interfaces. There are also two SFP+ slots for 10Gb uplinks and two CX4 slots that can either be used for two extra 10Gb uplinks or to stack several M6348's blades in one logical switch.PowerConnect M8024 and 8024k
The M8024 and 8024k offer 16 internal autosensing 1 or 10Gb inerfaces and up to 8 external ports via two I/O modules each of which can offer: 4 x 10Gb SFP+ slots, 3 x CX4 10Gb (only) copper or 2 x 10G BaseT 1/10 Gb RJ-45 interfaces.The non-classic I/O devices
The above PowerConnect series switches are PowerConnect classic switches based on Broadcom hardware and are all running the same firmware. For the M1000e enclosure Dell also offers the following I/O systems:PowerConnect M8428k
This is the Fibre Channel over EthernetFibre Channel over Ethernet
Fibre Channel over Ethernet is an encapsulation of Fibre Channel frames over Ethernet networks. This allows Fibre Channel to use 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks while preserving the Fibre Channel protocol...
blade-switch and based on a Brocade switch. It offers 16 internal 1/10Gb ports, 8 external 10Gb interfaces and 4 Fibre Channel
Fibre Channel
Fibre Channel, or FC, is a gigabit-speed network technology primarily used for storage networking. Fibre Channel is standardized in the T11 Technical Committee of the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards , an American National Standards Institute –accredited standards...
interfaces to connect to a SAN controller or central Fibre Channel switch.
The switch runs Brocade FC firmware for the fabric and fibre-channel configuration
Passthrough modules
There are three models available:- 32 port 10/100/1000 Mbit/s gigabit ethernet pass-through card: connects 16 internal ethernet interfaces (1 per blade) to an external RJ45 10/100/1000 Mbit/s copper port
- 32 port 10 Gb NIC version supports 16 internal 10Gb ports with 16 external SFP+ slots
- 32 port 10 Gb CNA version supports 16 internal 10Gb CNAConverged Network AdapterA converged network adapter , also called a converged network interface controller , is a computer input/output device that combines the functionality of a Host Bus Adaptor to a storage area network with a network interface controller for a general-purpose computer network.-Support :Some products...
ports with 16 external CNA's
Cisco Catalyst
There are 3 Cisco Catalyst switchesCatalyst switch
Catalyst is the brand name for a variety of network switches sold by Cisco Systems. While commonly associated with Ethernet switches, a number of different interfaces have been available throughout the history of the brand. Cisco acquired several different companies and rebranded their products...
available for use in the M1000e chassis:
- Catalyst 3032: 16 internal, 4 external 10/100/1000 interfaces or 4 external SFP modules.
- The 3032 only offers basic layer3 routing capabilities with static routes. It is mainly a layer2 switch
- Catalyst 3130G: 16 internal + 4 external 10/100/1000 interfaces or 4 SFP modules. Also 2 high-speed stacking ports available to stack switches (virtual switch)
- The 3130G offers two IP IOS versions: basic IP and IP Services Upgrade to offer routing-protocols like RIP, OSPF, EIGRP and BGP
- Catalyst 3130X: 16 internal + 4 external 10/100/1000 interfaces or 4 SFP modules. for Gb speeds OR 2 SFP+ interfaces for 10Gb uplinks. Also 2 high-speed stacking ports available to stack switches (virtual switch)
- The 3130X offers two IP IOS versions: basic IP and IP Services Upgrade to offer routing-protocols like RIP, OSPF, EIGRP and BGP