1

In my environment I have 9 ESXi servers (ProLiant DL360 G7 & DL360p Gen8) and NetApp FAS2240 that is used for storage (NFS datastores).

Currently, we have 1Gbps network with multiple VLANs (management, NFS, applications, vmotion etc), and we're looking for an upgrate to 10Gbps networking solutions.

In addition to the speed upgrade, we also need a Private VLAN support (support of Isolated PVLANS & Community PVLANS). We don't need this support for the NFS VLAN, but for other VLANs we have.

After a research, I believe that Nexus 3064-T (to use 10GBASE-T ports for the servers) is the best match. I'd be grateful to get your help answering the following questions, which I didn't find any answer for so far:

  1. Does Nexus 3064-T fully supports Private VLAN's? I found out articles saying that the support of the Nexus series isn't mature yet (compared to the Catalyst switches). Anyone here has experience implementing Private VLAN solution using Nexus switches?

  2. In order to connect the server, I figured out I'd use HP Ethernet 10Gb 530T Adapter. But, in the compability section, it looks like this model doesn't compatible with the 360 G7 (but there are other G7 models listed). Does anyone knows why? Is it really not compatible? And if so, why and what's my alternatives?

  3. In my NetApp, I have 10Gb adapter, with SFP+. But, the Nexus 3064-T comes with 40Gbps QSFP+ ports. What's the recommended way to make this connection for short length? Is there DAC (twinax) cable that i can use to connect QSFP+ to SFP+ adapter? Or, should i use the SFP+ with GBIC, and if so - does anyone have working configuration they can share?

Thanks!

Shahar Gvirtz
  • 133
  • 1
  • 5
  • 1
    These are great questions to ask your Cisco sales rep. –  Apr 02 '15 at 21:39
  • *Sales Engineer*.... Sales rep will be a contact point for engineering assistance at best. Also you might look at the 3172T vs the 3064. – cpt_fink Apr 14 '15 at 04:26

1 Answers1

2

  1. Sadly I don't know. If you are planning to put any iSCSI traffic on the N3064 update your question or add a comment because I know a lot about that.

  2. Intel X540 based NICs definitely work with the N3064 and have available VMware drivers and should fit in a 16 lane PCIe slot, of which the DL360 g7 should have two.

  3. Putting those QSFP ports to work is annoying and expensive. There's a passive adapter that will turn a QSFP port into ONE SPF+ port if you have an existing SFP+ module but it is a few hundred dollars for a metal bracket and a tiny PCB that is just contacts. In your case it sounds like your best bet is a QSFP to 4x SFP+ breakout cable which cisco makes.

Todd Wilcox
  • 2,851
  • 2
  • 20
  • 32
  • Be careful with the 4x10G<->QSFP breakout cable, especially if you are going to be using the interfaces for connections to different pieces of equipment. The QSFP to SFP+ adapter does have a cost, and does limit the 40G port to 10G, but in cases where there is a limited need for SFP+ connectivity it is the correct choice. – cpt_fink Apr 14 '15 at 04:32