If you are new to blade servers, you may find there are quite a few options to consider in regards to managing your Ethernet traffic. Some vendors promote the traditional integrated switching, while others promote extending the fabric to a Top of Rack (ToR) device. Each method has its own benefits, so let me explain what those are. Before I get started, although I work for Dell, this blog post is designed to be an un-biased review of the network options available for many blade server vendors.
Tag Archives: DCB
First Look–Dell PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator
[updated 10.11.2012] In many data centers, rack servers offer organizations the ability to keep server and networking responsibilities separated. However, when blade servers are introduced into an environment, the server and network admins roles start to blur. Should the server admin have to learn networking, or should the networking admin have to learn blade servers? Continue reading
Dell Announces Converged 10GbE Switch for M1000e
Updated 1/27/2011
Dell quietly announced the addition of a 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) switch module, known as the M8428-k. This blade module advertises 600 ns low-latency, wire-speed, 10GbE performance, Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) switching, and low-latency 8 Gb Fibre Channel (FC) switching and connectivity. Continue reading