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After some reading, this is how I think my small business network setup should look like.

SAN Network (192.168.10.0/24, 1000mbps, jumbo frames enabled)

  • Managed cisco switch
  • 2 x ESXi host (2 x 1Gbps Ports each, No HA)
  • OpenFiler /w iSCSI MPIO (2 x 1Gbps Ports) -

LAN network (192.168.1.0/24, 10/100mbps)

  • 2 x ESXi host (1Gbps Port each)
  • SOHO 10/100 switch
  • SOHO router
  • 10 workstations accessing ESXi hosts
OpenFiler (2 cables to Cisco)
IP 192.168.10.100, NETMASK 255.255.255.0 (JUMBO + MPIO)
IP 192.168.10.101, NETMASK 255.255.255.0 (JUMBO + MPIO)

ESXi (2 cables to Cisco, 1 to SOHO)
IP 192.168.10.1, NETMASK 255.255.255.0 (JUMBO + MPIO)
IP 192.168.10.2, NETMASK 255.255.255.0 (JUMBO + MPIO)
IP 192.168.1.101, NETMASK 255.255.255.0, GW 192.168.1.1
VM1 IP: 192.168.1.201, NETMASK 255.255.255.0, GW 192.168.1.1
VM2 IP: 192.168.1.202, NETMASK 255.255.255.0, GW 192.168.1.1
VM3 IP: 192.168.1.203, NETMASK 255.255.255.0, GW 192.168.1.1
etc...

IP 192.168.10.3, NETMASK 255.255.255.0 (JUMBO + MPIO)
IP 192.168.10.4, NETMASK 255.255.255.0 (JUMBO + MPIO)
IP 192.168.1.102, NETMASK 255.255.255.0, GW 192.168.1.1
VM1 IP: 192.168.1.221, NETMASK 255.255.255.0, GW 192.168.1.1
VM2 IP: 192.168.1.222, NETMASK 255.255.255.0, GW 192.168.1.1
VM3 IP: 192.168.1.223, NETMASK 255.255.255.0, GW 192.168.1.1
etc...

Workstations (1 cable each to SOHO)
DHCP ASSIGNED: IP 192.168.1.XX, NETMASK 255.255.255.0, GW 192.168.1.1

Q1. Does this mean I have to configure two virtual switches in ESXi? One to enable jumbo frames for the Cisco network, and another set as default?

Q2. What happens if I connect the SOHO switch to the Cisco switch after I enable jumbo frames on the Cisco SAN network? Would the performance of every node drop, making it worst than a regular non-jumbo frame network?

I ask because I don't see a way to manage the OpenFiler on the SAN network, unless I connect to ESXi from a workstation. Or I connect another computer to the SAN network without jumbo frames.

Q2. Since there's no physical router in the jumbo frame network, what are correct configuration settings required for the 2 SAN NICs on the ESXi hosts and the VMs on the ESXi machine? Just an IP and a netmask?

Q3. If upgrade the SOHO switch to a managed switch would it be possible to do NIC teaming to improve network performance to the 10 Workstations?

I hope my scenarios are clear, please let me know if they are not and I will try to edit the wordings correctly. Thanks in advanced!

kenshinjeff
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1 Answers1

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Q1. Does this mean I have to configure two virtual switches in ESXi? One to enable jumbo frames for the Cisco network, and another set as default?

No, enabling JFs doesn't stop a switch from handling non-JFs, so only one vSwitch for iSCSI required.

Q2. What happens if I connect the SOHO switch to the Cisco switch after I enable jumbo frames on the Cisco SAN network? Would the performance of every node drop, making it worst than a regular non-jumbo frame network?

In that scenario any traffic directly between the Openfiler and your iSCSI vSwitch over the Cisco switch will be capable of transmitting using JFs, while any traffic transmitted over the SOHO switch will not use JFs. Connecting the two switches doesn't automatically disable JF support on the Cisco switch.

I ask because I don't see a way to manage the OpenFiler on the SAN network, unless I connect to ESXi from a workstation. Or I connect another computer to the SAN network without jumbo frames.

I hope my answer to Q1 shows that JF support is a superset and therefore traffic will get from your VM to the Openfiler, even if it's not using JFs - although as described above there'd be no route from a VM to the Openfiler so you'll need routing of some form.

Q2. Since there's no physical router in the jumbo frame network, what are correct configuration settings required for the 2 SAN NICs on the ESXi hosts and the VMs on the ESXi machine? Just an IP and a netmask?

Firstly there's no need for two vSwitches as discussed, also I'm pretty sure Openfiler (I'm no expert in OF) will happily share via a single IP over two physical NICs - i.e. teaming. Certainly if you wished to avoid the need for a router you could either simply create a second vNIC for the 'Openfiler Management VM' on the iSCSI vSwitch port group and assign it a 192.168.10.x IP or leave it with a single vNIC but set its netmask to 255.255.0.0

Q3. If upgrade the SOHO switch to a managed switch would it be possible to do NIC teaming to improve network performance to the 10 Workstations?

Yes, if the switch support that functionality.

Chopper3
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