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June 29th, 2011 13:00

6248 Redunancy - VRRP/Spanning Tree/LACP

Hello all:

 

I have a pair of 6248 destined to replace the core of our network, routing 6 VLANs.  My requirements are to set this up as a highly available configuration with performance.  This is a brief outline of the network devices:

multiple edge switches - use LACP trunks to core for performance?

multiple ISCI storage devices (not eql) - use MPIO for performance and redundancy?

multiple VMware hosts - direct connect to the core with either LACP bonding or use multiple discreet interfaces?

I have read the white paper for VRRP, it seems straightforward to set this up, however I was going to stack the switches together for performance.  Also, how should I approach LACP, if the switches are stacked then I can create an LACP pair with a port from each switch, correct?  This will solve the performance/redundancy needs.  I suppose the basic question is can I use VRRP between stack members?  Also how do I connect this up to my firewalls?  I am running a pair of pfSense firewalls in a redundant configuration as well.  Any advice on how to set this up would be greatly appreciated.  I would be happy to throw up a PDF diagram of the network if this helps.

Thanks in advance.

3 Posts

June 29th, 2011 13:00

I forgot to mention the ISCI devices will also be direct connect to the core, not an edge switch.

3 Posts

July 1st, 2011 13:00

I would like to work on this over the long weekend, anyone have advice on this?

65 Posts

July 7th, 2011 07:00

If you connect as a stack, you can lose "some" redundancy as some work, such as firmware require the stack to be reset, that said, I like a stack config best, much cleaner.

Multiple Edge Switches - Yep, LACP is best, with a stack you can have a trunk to multiple core members which adds to redundancy.
Multiple iSCSI - MPIO, yes. It is best to have iSCSI over a separate switch if possible, if not, I would suggest separating it with a VLAN.
VMWare - Sorry, not too much knowledge with VMWare. With Xenserver, I use a network bond, nothing required on the switch.

PDF would help if I havent answered all your questions.

203 Posts

July 12th, 2011 19:00

On a slight tanget, but related note, I posting my recent adventures getting my 6224 switches configured correctly, and contemplated the stacking versus non-stacking argument.  itforme.wordpress.com/.../reworking-my-powerconnect-6200-switches-for-my-iscsi-san

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