Cisco Catalyst 3750 and 2970 Switches: Using Switches with a PS Series Group
2
Figure 1: PS Series Storage Array
Use the recommendations in this Technical Report for proper connectivity and configuration of
Cisco Catalyst 3750 and 2970 switches and PS Series storage arrays to dramatically improve iSCSI
SAN performance and data availability.
Basic Steps
Follow these recommended basic steps to use Cisco Catalyst 3750 and 2970 switches with
PS Series storage arrays to create a high-performance and highly-available iSCSI SAN:
1. Set up a PS Series group and create volumes in the group. See the PS Series QuickStart or
Group Administration manual for information. Also, see the Network Connection and
Performance Guidelines Technical Report on the EqualLogic Customer Support website for
detailed information about how to improve performance when using a PS Series group.
2. Set up the Cisco Catalyst 3750 and 2970 switches that will handle iSCSI traffic between
servers and the PS Series group members (storage arrays). Be sure to follow these
recommendations, listed in order of significance:
• It is recommended that you do not use Spanning-Tree (STP) on switch ports that connect
end nodes (iSCSI initiators or storage array network interfaces). If you want to use STP or
RSTP (preferable to STP), enable Cisco’s PortFast option on each switch port that
connects end nodes. PortFast will reduce network interruptions that occur when devices
restart.
Note that the use of Spanning-Tree for a single-cable connection between switches is
encouraged, as is the use of trunking for multiple-cable connections between switches.
• It is recommended that you configure Flow Control on each switch port that handles iSCSI
traffic. PS Series storage arrays will correctly respond to Flow Control if enabled on a
switch. If your server is using a software iSCSI initiator and NIC combination to handle
iSCSI traffic, you must also enable Flow Control on the NICs to obtain the performance
benefit.
• It is recommended that you disable unicast storm control on each switch that handles iSCSI
traffic. However, the use of broadcast and multicast storm control is encouraged.
• Configure Jumbo Frames on each switch that handles iSCSI traffic. If your server is using
a software iSCSI initiator and NIC combination to handle iSCSI traffic, you must also
enable Jumbo Frames on the NICs to obtain the performance benefit (or reduce CPU
overhead) and ensure consistent behavior.
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