Switch basics
X Series appliances come with two Dell PowerConnect M6220 switches. When used with the X10G™, each switch supports two 10Gb SFP+ ports.
Support is provided for VLAN, with optional switch high availability (A1/A2). See Configuring VLAN and switch high availability.
The switch ports used and their specific configuration are determined by the network type.
A Microsoft Windows hosted switch configuration tool is provided to simplify the switch configuration process.
VLAN and switch high availability
The X10G integrated 10Gb switches (A1 and A2) can be configured for both VLAN and switch high availability (HA).
- A connection to an external upstream switch with one or two 10Gb trunk ports.
- A 10Gb cable to a 10Gb port on the A1 switch.
- Configuration of both switch A1 and A2 using the X Series switch configuration tool. Optionally, the switches can be configured manually by a knowledgeable administrator.
- Configuration of VLAN support on the blades.
- Configuration of the STP priority on the upstream switch, X10G switches, and blades.
- Configuration of VLAN support on the blades.
- Connection of a 10Gb trunk port on both the A1 and A2 switches on the X10G chassis to one or more upstream switches.
- Configuration of the A1 and A2 switches, performed with the X Series switch configuration tool. Optionally, the switches can be configured manually by a knowledgeable administrator.
In the switch HA configuration, any one switch can be removed from service at any time for maintenance.
It is a best practice to verify that network traffic is flowing to your blade servers as expected, and if switch HA is configured, that failover works as expected.