March 2013 Dell EqualLogic Configuration Guide v14.1 9-90
The 10GbE PowerConnect M-Series I/O modules do not provide a dedicated stacking interface and
must be interconnected using available, external Ethernet ports in conjunction with a link aggregation
protocol such as LACP or “front-port” stacking. Due to the limited number of external ports available
on Dell’s PowerConnect M-Series blade I/O modules, SAN growth can be limited. For 10Gb SAN
solutions that will require multiple arrays and/or multiple M1000e chassis, it is recommended that you
do not consider directly attached arrays and follow the guidelines described in Section 9.2.
If reducing administrative overhead is the goal, the Direct Attached design with a inter-fabric stack is
the best option, with the storage direct attached design requiring fewer cables thatn the host pass-
through design.
Direct Attached – Single Chassis Stacked and/or LAG
Figure 31 SAN modules in single enclosure fabric
9.1.1 SAN design for multiple M1000e enclosure
For a multiple M1000e enclosure SAN solutions, there are two primary strategies to consider, the first
– described here – is directly attaching arrays to the individual M1000e chassis and interconnecting
the chassis M-Series I/O modules in each chassis, and the second strategy – described in Section 9.2
– is to build an external network for array consolidation and using chassis M-Series I/O modules as