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VCE Vblock® System 720Gen 4.2Architecture Overview

Document revision 4.9

February 2015

Contents

Revision history..........................................................................................................................................4

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................5

Accessing VCE documentation.................................................................................................................6

System overview.........................................................................................................................................7System architecture and components.................................................................................................... 7Base configurations and scaling...........................................................................................................10Connectivity overview...........................................................................................................................11

Segregated network architecture...................................................................................................12Unified network architecture.......................................................................................................... 15

Compute layer overview...........................................................................................................................19Compute overview................................................................................................................................19Cisco Unified Computing System.........................................................................................................19Cisco Unified Computing System fabric interconnects.........................................................................20Cisco Trusted Platform Module............................................................................................................ 20Scaling up compute resources............................................................................................................. 21VCE bare metal support policy.............................................................................................................22Disjoint layer 2 configuration................................................................................................................ 22

Storage layer overview.............................................................................................................................24Storage layer hardware........................................................................................................................ 24EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K Series storage arrays..............................................................................25EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K Series storage arrays..............................................................................26EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K Series storage arrays..............................................................................28EMC Data At Rest Encryption (DARE).................................................................................................30EMC VNX VG2 Gateway and EMC VNX VG8 Gateway......................................................................31Scaling up storage resources...............................................................................................................32Storage features support......................................................................................................................35

Network layer overview............................................................................................................................36Network layer hardware....................................................................................................................... 36Network layer components...................................................................................................................36

Virtualization layer overview....................................................................................................................39Virtualization components.................................................................................................................... 39VMware vSphere Hypervisor ESXi.......................................................................................................39VMware vCenter Server....................................................................................................................... 40

Management..............................................................................................................................................42

VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview Contents

2© 2013-2015 VCE Company, LLC.

All Rights Reserved.

Management hardware components....................................................................................................42Management software tools................................................................................................................. 42

System infrastructure...............................................................................................................................44Cabinets overview................................................................................................................................ 44Cabinet types....................................................................................................................................... 44Power options.......................................................................................................................................45

Configuration descriptions......................................................................................................................48Vblock® System 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K....................................................................... 48Vblock System 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K..........................................................................48Vblock System 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K..........................................................................48

Sample configurations............................................................................................................................. 49Vblock System 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K sample configuration....................................... 49Vblock System 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K sample configuration....................................... 51Vblock System 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K (ACI ready) sample configuration.................... 56Vblock System 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K sample configuration....................................... 62

Additional references............................................................................................................................... 68Virtualization components.................................................................................................................... 68Compute components.......................................................................................................................... 68Network components............................................................................................................................69Storage components............................................................................................................................ 69

Contents VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview



Revision history

Date Vblock System Documentrevision

Description of changes

February 2015 Gen 4.2 4.9 Added support for Cisco B200 M4 Blade.

December 2014 Gen 4.2 4.8 Updated to support Microsoft Windows Server 2012, EMCPowerPath/VE License Management Virtual Appliance,EMC Secure Remote Support Virtual Appliance, and VCEVblock System 720 Release 5.0.x Certification Matrix.

September 2014 Gen 4.2 4.7 Modified elevations and deleted aggregation section.

July 2014 Gen 4.2 4.6 Added support for VMware VDS.

May 2014 Gen 4.2 4.5 Added support for VMware vSphere 5.5

Added Cisco Nexus 9396PX switch

Added EMC XtremCache

October 2013 Gen 4.1 4.4 Added Cisco Trusted Platform Module information

Removed data protection information

June 2013 Gen 4.1 4.3 Updated the bare metal support policy

April 2013 Gen 4.1 4.2 • Added VCE Vision™ Intelligent Operations

• Updated VMware vSphere information

• Integrated into the Gen 4.1 release

March 2013 Gen 4.0 4.1 Updated for VCE rebranding

February 2013 Gen 4.0 4.0 Gen 4.0 release

VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview Revision history



IntroductionThis document describes the high-level design of the Vblock® System 720. This document also describesthe hardware and software components that VCE includes in each Vblock 720.

The target audience for this document includes sales engineers, field consultants, advanced servicesspecialists, and customers who want to deploy a virtualized infrastructure by using the Vblock 720.

The VCE Glossary provides terms, definitions, and acronyms that are related to Vblock Systems.

To suggest documentation changes and provide feedback on this book, send an e-mail to [email protected]. Include the name of the topic to which your feedback applies.

Related information

Accessing VCE documentation (see page 6)

Introduction VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview



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VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview Accessing VCE documentation



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System overview

System architecture and componentsThis topic provides an overview of the Vblock System 720 architecture and components.

Vblock 720 is a modular platform with defined scale points that meets the higher performance andavailability requirements of an enterprise's business-critical applications. Vblock 720 is designed fordeployments involving large numbers of VMs and users. The Vblock 720 provides the following features:

• Delivers a multi-controller, scale-out architecture with consolidation and efficiency for theenterprise

• Allows scaling of resources through common and fully redundant building blocks

• Uses a SAN storage medium or a NAS (file) storage medium. Local boot disks are optional andavailable only for bare metal blades

The following table shows Vblock 720 architecture:

Component Vblock 720

Network access Segregated or unified

Storage access Block or unified

Cisco B-series blade chassis 48 chassis maximum (16 per Cisco UCS domain, up to a maximum of five CiscoUCS domains)

B-series blades (maximum) Half-width = 384

Full-width = 192

Back-end FC buses 8 - 64

Storage protocol Block = FC

Unified = FC, CIFS, and NFS

Data store type Block = VMFS

Unified = NFS and VMFS

X-Blades (Unified only) Minimum = 2

Maximum = 8

Boot path SAN

Disk drives EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K = 24 – 1560

EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K = 88 – 2400

EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K = 88 – 3200

System overview VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview



Vblock 720 contains the following key hardware and software components:

Resource Components

Vblock Systemmanagement

VCE Vision™ Intelligent Operations that consists of:

• VCE Vision™ Intelligent Operations System Library

• VCE Vision™ Intelligent Operations Plug-in for vCenter

• VCE Vision™ Intelligent Operations Compliance Checker

• VCE Vision™ Intelligent Operations API for System Library

• VCE Vision™ Intelligent Operations API for Compliance Checker

Virtualizationandmanagement

• VMware vSphere Server Enterprise Plus

• VMware vSphere ESXi

• VMware vCenter Server

• VMware vSphere Web Client

• VMware Single Sign-On (SSO) Service (version 5.1 and higher)

• EMC PowerPath/VE

• Cisco UCS Manager

• Cisco Secure Access Control Server (ACS)

• EMC Secure Remote Support (ESRS) on Windows

• EMC Unisphere for VMAX on Windows

Compute • Cisco UCS 5108 Server Chassis

• Cisco UCS B-Series M3 Blade Servers with Cisco UCS VIC 1240, optional port expander orCisco UCS VIC 1280

• Cisco UCS B-Series M4 Blade Servers with Cisco UCS VIC 1340, optional port expander orCisco UCS VIC 1380

• M81KR VIC converged network adapter for the Cisco UCS B250 M2 Blade Server - CiscoUCS VIC 1280 for all M2 Blade Servers

• Cisco UCS 2204XP Fabric Extenders or Cisco UCS 2208XP Fabric Extenders

• Cisco UCS 6248UP Fabric Interconnects or Cisco UCS 6296UP Fabric Interconnects

Network • Cisco Nexus 7010 Switches, Cisco Nexus 5596UP Switches, or Cisco Nexus 5548UPSwitches are placed in compute cabinet

• Cisco Nexus 7010 Chassis if Cisco Nexus 5596UP Switches, or Cisco Nexus 5548UPSwitches are placed in separate cabinet, Cisco Nexus 5596UP Switches, or Cisco Nexus5548UP Switches placed in compute cabinet

• Cisco MDS 9148 Multilayer Fabric Switch or Cisco MDS 9513 Multilayer Director

• Cisco Nexus 1000V Series Switches (Optional) VMware Virtual Distributed Switch (VDS)(VMware vSphere version 5.5 and higher)

• Cisco Nexus 9396PX switches

Storage EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K, EMC Symmetrix 20K, or EMC Symmetrix 40K

VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview System overview



The following illustration provides a high-level overview of the components in Vblock 720 architecture:

The VCE Vblock System Release Certification Matrix provides a list of the certified versions ofcomponents for Vblock 720. For information about Vblock System management, refer to the VCE Vision™

Intelligent Operations Technical Overview.

Related information





Base configurations and scalingFor each Vblock System 720, there is a base configuration that is a minimum set of compute and storagecomponents, as well as fixed network resources. These components are integrated within one or more28-inch 42U cabinets.

Within the base configuration, the following hardware aspects can be customized:

Hardware How it can be customized

Compute blades B-series blade type including all supported VCE blade configurations

Compute chassis Up to sixteen Cisco UCS Server Chassis per domain

Up to five Cisco UCS domains (five pair of fabric interconnects) yielding support for up to 128half-width Cisco UCS Blade Servers per domain, up to 384 blade servers per Vblock System.

Storage hardware Drive types for up to three tiers of storage, the number of drives in each tier, the RAIDprotection for all tiers, and the number of disk array enclosures (DAEs)

Storage EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K storage array: contains two to eight engines with a maximum of128 front-end ports. Combinations support 2 ½ inch drives, 3 ½ inch drives and a mix of both2 ½ inch and 3 ½ inch drives. Depending on the configuration, the EMC Symmetrix VMAX40K supports 88 – 3200 drives.

EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K storage array: contains two to eight engines, a maximum of 128front-end ports and 88 - 2400 drives in up to eleven cabinets including one system cabinetand one to ten storage cabinets.

EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K storage array: contains one to four engines and 24 - 1560 drivesin up to six cabinets. Support 2 ½ inch drives, 3 ½ inch drives, and a mix of both 2 ½ inch and3 ½ inch drives.

Supported diskdrives

Tier 1 Drives – 100/200/400 GB

Tier 2 Drives – 146/300/450/600 GB

Tier 3 –1/2/3 TB

Supported capacity and drive size vary by storage array types.

Supported RAIDtypes

Tier 1: RAID 1, RAID 5

Tier 2: RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6

Tier 3: RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6

RAID 10 striping is accomplished through striped meta volumes and striped virtual pools.

Managementhardware options

An AMP centralizes management of Vblock System components. Optionally, a high-availability version of the AMP can be substituted.

(Optional) EMCRecoverPointappliances (RPAs)

Two to eight clustered appliances that facilitate storage replication and rapid disasterrecovery.

X-Blade enclosurepacks

Base configuration has two control stations configured with one X-Blade enclosure and onepair of X-Blades. Upgrades are available on the EMC VNX VG8 Gateway with two X-Bladesin a DME.




Together, the components offer balanced CPU, I/O bandwidth, and storage capacity relative to thecompute and storage arrays in the Vblock System. All components have N+N or N+1 redundancy.

These resources can be scaled up as necessary to meet increasingly stringent requirements. Themaximum supported configuration differs based on core components. To scale up compute resources,add blade packs and chassis activation kits. To scale up storage resources, add engines, cache, RAIDpacks, and DME packs. Optionally, add expansion cabinets with additional resources.

Vblock Systems are designed to keep hardware changes to a minimum should the storage protocol bechanged after installation. For example, changing from block storage to unified storage.

For the Vblock 720, cabinet space is reserved for all components that are needed for each storageconfiguration (MDS switches, X-Blades, etc.). All network and power cabling for these components are inplace.

Related information

EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K Series storage arrays (see page 28)



Scaling up storage resources (see page 32)

Management hardware components (see page 42)

EMC VNX VG2 Gateway and EMC VNX VG8 Gateway (see page 31)

Connectivity overviewThis topic describes the components and interconnectivity within Vblock System 720 that areconceptually subdivided into compute, storage, and network layers.

The following table describes the layers:

Layer Description

Compute • Contains the components that provide the computing power within theVblock System

• Cisco UCS blade servers, chassis, and fabric interconnects belong in thislayer

Storage • Contains the storage components for both block and file storage types

• EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K, EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K, or the EMCSymmetrix VMAX 10K array components belong in this layer

• VG NAS gateway components are available for file storage




Layer Description

Network • Contains the components that provide switching and routing between thecompute and storage layers within a Vblock System, and between theVblock System and the external network

• Cisco MDS switches (for segregated only) and the Cisco Nexusswitches belong in this layer

All components incorporate redundancy into the design.

Segregated and unified network architecture

In segregated network architecture, LAN and SAN connectivity is segregated into separate switcheswithin the Vblock System. LAN switching uses the Cisco Nexus 5548UP Switches, the Cisco Nexus5596UP Switches, or the Cisco Nexus 7010 Switches. SAN switching uses the Cisco MDS 9148Multilayer Fabric Switch or the Cisco MDS 9513 Multilayer Fabric Switch.

In unified network architecture, LAN and SAN switching is consolidated onto a single pair of networkdevices within the Vblock System (Cisco Nexus 5596UP Switch), removing the need for a Cisco MDSSAN switch.

The VCE Vblock System 720 Port Assignments Reference provides information about the assigned usefor each port in the Vblock System.

Related information

Compute layer (see page 19)

Storage layer (see page 24)


Segregated network architecture

This topic describes the segregated network architecture for Vblock System 720.

Block storage configuration

The following illustration shows a segregated network, block storage configuration for the Vblock System.The compute layer connects to both the Ethernet and Fibre Channel (FC) components of the networklayer. The Cisco UCS fabric interconnect connects to the Cisco Nexus switches in the Ethernet networkthrough 10 GbE port channels and to the Cisco MDS switches through 8 Gb FC port-channels. Thestorage layer consists of an EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K, EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K, or EMC SymmetrixVMAX 40K storage array. The front-end expansion cards connect to the Cisco MDS switches within thenetwork layer over 8 Gb FC port-channels. The X-Blades and control stations are absent from thecabinets, however, space can be reserved in the cabinets for these components. All power and network




cabling is present. This design makes it easier to add the components later if the unified storage isupgraded.

SAN boot storage configuration

VMware vSphere ESXi hosts always boot over the FC SAN to a 20 GB Boot LUN, which contains thehypervisor's locker for persistent storage of logs and other diagnostic files. The remainder of the storagecan be presented as NFS or VMFS data stores. Storage can also be presented directly to the VMs asCIFS shares. The following illustration shows a segregated network, unified storage with SAN bootconfiguration for the Vblock System:




Note: Components leveraged to support SAN booting in Vblock 720 are highlighted in a red, dashedline.

Unified storage configuration

In a segregated network, unified storage configuration, the compute layer accesses the storage layerthrough both file and block methods in the network layer using NFS/CIFS and FC respectively. Theengines within the array connect to NAS gateway X-Blades through the FC SAN. The X-Blades alsoconnect to the Cisco Nexus switches within the network layer over 10 GbE to provide NFS access to the




compute layer in addition to the block access described in block storage configuration. The followingillustration shows the segregated network, unified storage configuration for Vblock System:

Unified network architecture

With unified network architecture, EMC Symmetrix VMAX block and file access uses a Cisco Nexus5596UP Switch for both LAN and SAN connectivity.




Block storage configuration

The following illustration shows a unified network, block-storage configuration for Vblock System 720:

The X-Blades are absent from the cabinets, however, space can be reserved in the cabinets for thesecomponents (including the optional EMC RecoverPoint). This design makes it easier to add thecomponents later if the customer upgrades to unified storage. In a unified storage configuration for blockand file, the storage processors also connect to X-Blades over FC. The X-Blades connect to the CiscoNexus switches within the network layer over 10 GbE.

SAN boot storage configuration

In a SAN boot storage configuration, the VMware vSphere ESXi hosts always boot over the FC SAN to a20 GB Boot LUN, which contains the hypervisor's locker for persistent storage of logs and otherdiagnostic files. The remainder of the storage can be presented as NFS or VMFS data stores. Storagecan also be presented directly to the virtual machines as CIFS shares. The following illustration shows aunified network, unified storage configuration with SAN boot for the Vblock System:




Note: Components leveraged to support SAN booting in Vblock 720 are highlighted in a red, dashedline.




Unified storage configuration

In a unified network storage configuration, storage processors also connect to X-Blades over FC. The X-Blades connect to the Cisco Nexus switches within the network layer over 10 GbE. The followingillustration shows a unified network, unified-storage configuration for Vblock 720:




Compute layer

Compute overviewThis topic provides an overview of the compute components for the Vblock System.

Cisco UCS B-Series Blades installed in the Cisco UCS chassis provide computing power within a VblockSystem.

Fabric extenders (FEX) within the Cisco UCS chassis connect to Cisco fabric interconnects overconverged Ethernet. Up to eight 10 GbE ports on each Cisco UCS fabric extender connect northbound tothe fabric interconnects, regardless of the number of blades in the chassis. These connections carry IPand storage traffic and can be configured as port channels.

VCE has reserved these ports for southbound connections to the Cisco UCS 5108 Server Chassis or fornorthbound connections to the network connectivity layer. The northbound ports connect to upstreamaccess/aggregation switches. These connections carry IP traffic to and from the external network. In aunified storage configuration, these ports also carry IP traffic to the X-Blades within the storage layer.

Each fabric interconnect also has multiple ports reserved by VCE for 8 Gb FC. These ports connect toCisco MDS storage switches. These connections carry FC traffic between the compute layer and thestorage layer. In a unified storage configuration, these connections also enable SAN booting of the CiscoUCS blades.

Cisco Unified Computing SystemThis topic provides an overview of the Cisco Unified Compute System (UCS) data center platform thatunites compute, network, and storage access.

Optimized for virtualization, the Cisco UCS integrates a low-latency, lossless 10 Gb Ethernet unifiednetwork fabric with enterprise-class, x86-based servers (the Cisco B-Series).

Vblock Systems contain a number of Cisco UCS 5100 Server Chassis. Each chassis can contain up toeight half-width Cisco UCS B-Series M2, M3, and M4 Blade Servers or four full-width blades. In VblockSystems, each chassis also includes Cisco UCS fabric extenders and Cisco UCS B-Series ConvergedNetwork Adapters.


Vblock Systems powered by Cisco UCS feature:

• Built-in redundancy for high availability

• Hot-swappable components for serviceability, upgrade, or expansion

• Fewer physical components than in a comparable system built piece by piece

Compute layer VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview



• Reduced cabling

• Improved energy efficiency over traditional blade server chassis

The VCE Vblock Systems Blade Pack Reference provides a list of supported Cisco UCS blades.

Related information


Cisco Unified Computing System fabric interconnectsThe Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) fabric interconnects provide network connectivity andmanagement capabilities to the Cisco UCS blades and chassis.

The Cisco UCS fabric interconnects provide the management and communication backbone for theblades and chassis. The Cisco UCS fabric interconnects provide LAN and SAN connectivity for all bladeswithin their domain. Cisco UCS fabric interconnects are used for boot functions and offer line-rate, low-latency, lossless 10 Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) functions.

The Vblock System 720 uses Cisco UCS 6248UP Fabric Interconnects and Cisco UCS 6296UP FabricInterconnects. Single domain uplinks of 2, 4, or 8 between the fabric interconnects and the chassis areprovided with the Cisco UCS 6248UP Fabric Interconnects. Single domain uplinks of 4 or 8 between thefabric interconnects and the chassis are provided with the Cisco UCS 6296UP Fabric Interconnects.

Cisco Trusted Platform ModuleCisco Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is a computer chip that securely stores artifacts such aspasswords, certificates, or encryption keys that authenticate the Vblock System.

Cisco TPM provides authentication and attestation services that provide safer computing in allenvironments. Cisco TPM is a computer chip that securely stores artifacts such as passwords,certificates, or encryption keys that authenticate the Vblock System. Cisco TPM provides authenticationand attestation services that provide safer computing in all environments.

Cisco TPM is available by default within the Vblock System as a component within the Cisco UCS B-Series M3 Blade Servers and Cisco UCS B-Series M4 Blade Servers, and is shipped disabled. The VCEVblock Systems Blade Pack Reference contains additional information about Cisco TPM.

VCE only supports Cisco TPM hardware. VCE does not support the Cisco TPM functionality. Sincemaking effective use of the Cisco TPM involves the use of a software stack from a vendor with significantexperience in trusted computing, VCE defers to the software stack vendor for configuration andoperational considerations relating to the Cisco TPMs.

VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview Compute layer



Related information

www.cisco.com

Scaling up compute resourcesThis topic describes what you can add to a Vblock System to scale up compute resources.

Blade packs

To scale up compute resources, you can add blade packs and chassis activation kits when VblockSystems are built or after they are deployed. Cisco UCS blades are sold in packs of two, and include twoidentical Cisco UCS blades.

The base configuration of each Vblock System includes two blade packs. The maximum number of bladepacks depends on the selected scale point.

Each blade type must have a minimum of two blade packs as a base configuration and can be increasedin single blade pack increments thereafter. Each blade pack is added along with license packs for thefollowing software:

• Cisco UCS Manager (UCSM)

• VMware vSphere ESXi

• Cisco Nexus 1000V Series Switch (Cisco Nexus 1000V Advanced Edition only)

• EMC PowerPath

Note: License packs for VMware vSphere ESXi, Cisco Nexus 1000V Series Switch, and EMCPowerPath are not available for bare metal blades.

The VCE Vblock System Blade Pack Reference provides a list of Cisco UCS blades supported in VblockSystem 720.

Additional chassis

The power supplies and fabric extenders for all chassis are pre-populated and cabled, and all requiredTwinax cables and transceivers are populated. However, in a base Vblock System configuration, there isa minimum of two Cisco UCS 5108 Server Chassis. There are no unpopulated server chassis unless theyare ordered that way. This limited licensing reduces the entry cost for Vblock Systems.

As more blades are added and additional chassis are required, additional chassis are addedautomatically to an order. The kit contains software licenses to enable additional fabric interconnect ports.

Only enough port licenses for the minimum number of chassis to contain the blades are ordered.Additional chassis can be added up-front to allow for flexibility in the field or to initially spread the bladesacross a larger number of chassis.




http://www.cisco.com

Related information


VCE bare metal support policySince many applications cannot be virtualized due to technical and commercial reasons, Vblock Systemssupport bare metal deployments, such as non-virtualized operating systems and applications.

While it is possible for a Vblock System to support these workloads (with caveats noted below), due to thenature of bare metal deployments, VCE is only able to provide “reasonable effort" support for systemsthat comply with the following requirements:

• The Vblock System contains only VCE published, tested, and validated hardware and softwarecomponents. The VCE Release Certification Matrix provides a list of the certified versions ofcomponents for Vblock Systems.

• The operating systems used on bare-metal deployments for compute and storage componentsmust comply with the published hardware and software compatibility guides from Cisco and EMC.

• For bare metal configurations that include other hypervisor technologies (Hyper-V, KVM, etc.),those hypervisor technologies are not supported by VCE. VCE Support is only provided onVMware Hypervisors.

VCE reasonable effort support includes VCE acceptance of customer calls, a determination of whetherthe Vblock System is operating correctly, and assistance in problem resolution to the extent possible.

VCE is unable to reproduce problems or provide support on the operating systems and applicationsinstalled on bare metal deployments. In addition, VCE does not provide updates to or test those operatingsystems or applications. The OEM support vendor should be contacted directly for issues and patchesrelated to those operating systems and applications.

Related information


Disjoint layer 2 configurationTraffic is routed to different networks at the fabric interconnect in the disjoint layer 2 configuration tosupport two or more discrete Ethernet clouds connected by the Cisco UCS servers.

Upstream disjoint layer 2 networks allow two or more Ethernet clouds that never connect to be accessedby servers or VMs located in the same Cisco UCS domain.

VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview Compute layer



The following illustration provides an implementation of disjoint layer 2 networking into a Cisco UCSdomain:

Virtual port channels (VPCs) 101 and 102 are production uplinks that connect to the network layer of theVblock System. Virtual port channels 105 and 106 are external uplinks that connect to other switches.

If you use Ethernet performance port channels (PC 103 and 104 by default), port channels 101 through104 are assigned to the same VLANs.




Storage layer

Storage layer hardwareThe EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K series, EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K series, and the EMC SymmetrixVMAX 10K series are high-end storage systems built for the virtual data center. Built for reliability,availability, and scalability, EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K, EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K, and EMCSymmetrix VMAX 10K use specialized engines, each of which includes two redundant director modulesproviding parallel access and replicated copies of all critical data.

The EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K, EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K, and the EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K offerthe following software components:

Component Description

EMC Symmetrix FullyAutomated StorageTiering (FAST)

(For EMC SymmetrixVMAX 20K and EMCSymmetrix 40K only)

Puts the right data in the right place at the right time to improve performance andreduce costs of tiered environments. FAST uses simplified policies to manage storageresources based on built-in automation and intelligence. FAST can optimize placementof data at either the volume/LUN or sub-LUN level.

EMC Symmetrix FAST forVirtual Pools (FAST VP)

Enables your business to optimize system performance while reducing cost. Thisoptimizes array performance across drive types (Flash, SATA, and Fibre Channel) andacross all engines in the array. Tiering is automatically optimized by dynamicallyallocating and relocating application workloads based on defined policies. FAST VPnon-disruptively moves workloads across storage types, optimizing the overall systemperformance.

EMC Symmetrix VirtualProvisioning

Virtual Provisioning, based on thin provisioning, is the ability to present an applicationwith more capacity than is physically allocated in the storage array. The physicalstorage is then allocated to the application on demand as it is needed from the sharedpool of capacity. This lowers cost of ownership by reducing initial over-allocation ofstorage capacity and reducing labor costs by simplifying data layout and eliminatingthe steps required to accommodate capacity growth.

EMC Enginuity 5876 Storage operating environment for EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K, EMC SymmetrixVMAX 20K, and EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K. Delivers performance, array tiering,availability, and data integrity.

EMC Unisphere for VMAX Browser-based graphical interface for device creation, management, and monitoringon EMC Symmetrix arrays.

EMC RecoverPoint EX IOSplitter

Provides an array-based IO splitter for use with EMC RecoverPoint EX replicationsoftware to eliminate the need for an expensive SAN-based IO splitter.

The VCE Vblock System 720 Port Assignments Reference provides information about the assigned usefor each port in Vblock 720.

VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview Storage layer



EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K Series storage arraysUse this topic for an overview of the EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K Series storage arrays.

The following illustration shows the interconnection of the EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K in Vblock System720.

The EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K storage arrays include the following features:

• Minimum configuration contains two engines, and the maximum contains eight engines. Enginescan be added one at a time.

• Available cache options are: 96 GB, 192 GB, or 256 GB

• Sixteen 8 GB Multimode Fibre Channel (FC) ports per engine

• EMC Data at Rest Encryption (DARE) is optional.

• Integrated EMC RecoverPoint Splitter.

• Minimum of 88 drives with a maximum of 2400 3 ½ inch drives or 3200 2 ½ inch drives

• Choice of 2 ½ inch, 3 ½ inch or a combination of 2 ½ inch and 3 ½ inch drives are supported butmust be in separate storage bays.

• Minimum of two racks and a maximum of 12 racks with 3 ½ inch drives or 10 racks with 2 ½ inchdrives

Storage layer VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview



• Dispersion of system bay (two system bays)

• Dispersion of daisy chain storage bays

Supported drives

The following table illustrates the supported drives for the EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K:

Flash-FC Flash FC SAS NL-SAS SATA

3½ inch drive capacity/speed 100 GB 300 GB - 15K 300 GB -10K 2 TB - 7.2K

200 GB 300 GB - 15K 600 GB - 10K 3 TB - 7.2K

400 GB 600 GB - 10K

600 GB - 15K

2 ½ inch drive capacity/speed 200 GB 300 GB - 10K 1 TB - 7.2K

400 GB 600 GB - 10K

146 GB - 15K

300 GB - 15K

RAID protection Mirrored Mirrored Mirrored Mirrored Mirrored Mirrored

R5 (3+1) R5 (3+1) R5 (3+1) R5 (3+1) R5 (3+1) R5 (3+1)

R5(7+1) R5(7+1) R5(7+1) R5(7+1) R5(7+1) R5(7+1)

R6(6+2) R6(6+2) R6(6+2) R6(6+2)

R6(14+2) R6(14+2) R6(14+2) R6(14+2)

Related information

EMC Data at Rest Encryption (see page 30)

EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K Series storage arraysUse this topic for an overview of the EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K in Vblock System 720.




The following illustration shows the interconnection of the EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K in Vblock System720:

This illustration shows one Unified Computing System (UCS) domain. With Vblock 720, you can have amaximum of five UCS domains and eight EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K engines in a maximumconfiguration.

Vblock 720 enabled by SAN storage can support NAS with the provision that primary boot services areprovided across the SAN. Mission-critical applications are hosted that require FC access to maintainperformance. It is recommended that one or more NAS gateways are deployed for VMware vSphere, theexact number required being determined during the planning phase.

EMC PowerPath/VE (PP/VE) provides several benefits for block-based IOs in terms of performance,availability, and operations. The base PP/VE license is mandatory for Vblock 720.

Supported drives



3½ inch drive capacity/speed 100 GB 300 GB - 10K 300 GB -10K 3 TB - 7.2K 1TB - 7.2K

200 GB 300 GB - 15K 450 GB - 10K 2TB - 7.2K

400 GB 450 GB - 10K 600 GB - 10K

450 GB - 15K

600 GB - 15K





600 GB - 10K

146 GB - 15K

146 GB - 15K


R5 (3+1) R5 (3+1) R5 (3+1) R5 (3+1) R5 (3+1) R5 (3+1)

R5(7+1) R5(7+1) R5(7+1) R5(7+1) R5(7+1) R5(7+1)

R6(6+2) R6(6+2) R6(6+2) R6(6+2)

R6(14+2) R6(14+2) R6(14+2) R6(14+2)

EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K Series storage arraysThe EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K delivers scalable performance, simplified management and provisioning,automated tiering, local and remote replication, and the ability to support numerous virtual machines.

The core element of the EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K is the EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K engine, whichincludes the Intel XEON quad-core processors, cache, and front-end and back-end connectivity. TheEMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K can scale by adding up to four EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K engines with atotal of eight redundant directors.




The following illustration shows the interconnection of the EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K in Vblock System720:

A Vblock 720 enabled by SAN storage can support NAS with the provision that primary boot services areprovided across the SAN. Mission-critical applications are hosted that require Fibre Channel (FC) accessto maintain performance. It is recommended that one or more X-Blades are deployed for VMwarevSphere, the exact number required being determined during the planning phase.

EMC PowerPath/VE (PP/VE) provides several benefits in terms of performance, availability, andoperations. The base PP/VE license is mandatory for Vblock 720.

The EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K contains the following features:

• A single engine with 96 GB or 128 GB of cache and 16 8 Gb FC front-end ports (per engine).

• Three available tiers of storage: EFD, FC, and SATA.

• In a base configuration, one storage cabinet and Tier 2 storage drives are populated with aminimum of 24 drives or 36 drives depending upon the RAID configuration.

• The base configuration can be expanded to four engines with up to 512 GB of cache and 64 FCfront-end ports.

• The storage drives can be increased to a maximum of 1560 drives which can be configured withinthe three storage tiers.




The maximum configuration requires six storage cabinets. Some of the front-end FC ports are reservedfor replication, external SAN access, and X-Blades. The EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K chassis has twopower supplies for full redundancy.

Supported drives



3½ inch drive capacity/speed 100 GB 200 GB 300 GB - 15K 300 GB -10K 2 TB - 7.2K 2TB - 7.2K

200 GB 400 GB 450 GB - 15K 600 GB - 10K 3 TB - 7.2K

600 GB - 15K

600 GB - 10K

2 ½ inch drive capacity/speed 100 GB 300 GB - 10K 1 TB - 7.2K

200 GB 600 GB - 10K

400 GB 300 GB - 15K


R5 (3+1) R5 (3+1) R5 (3+1) R5 (3+1) R5 (3+1) R5 (3+1)

R5(7+1) R5(7+1) R5(7+1) R5(7+1) R5(7+1) R5(7+1)

R6(6+2) R6(6+2) R6(6+2) R6(6+2)

R6(14+2) R6(14+2) R6(14+2) R6(14+2)

EMC Data at Rest EncryptionEMC Data at Rest Encryption (DARE) protects data on hard drives that are members of EMC SymmetrixVMAX 10K, EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K, and EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K arrays, by adding back-end atrest encryption to the entire array. While the mechanics of EMC DARE deal with keeping encryption inrunning systems, the objective is to minimize data-exposure risks for drives outside of operational arrays,such as failed or retired drives or drives in EMC Symmetrix VMAX array being moved between facilities.

This feature must be added from the start; adding it later causes a total loss of the array.

The following list summarizes the main features of EMC DARE that are supported on Vblock Systems:

• Hardware-based XTS-AES 256 bit encryption at the disk level

• Leverages EMC RSA key management to provide secure encryption keys for each drive

• EMC RSA Data Protection Manager is the default setting. It requires no user interaction

• Functionality is provided by encryption-capable EMC Symmetrix VMAX engines




• System-wide setting. It is not possible to have a mix of encryption engines and non-encryptionengines

• All disks, regardless of type, are encrypted

• Supported on four Gb/s FC I/O module with encryption (backend module)

• Configurable when the storage array is installed. Cannot be enabled at a later time

• Once enabled, it cannot be disabled

• Provides Embedded Key Management and External Key Management. However, VblockSystems currently support only Embedded Key Management. Embedded Key Managementresides on the EMC Symmetrix Service Processor. The key is obtained for the Data ProtectionManager (DPM) when the EMC Symmetrix array is initially installed or when a drive, director, orstorage processer (SP) is added or replaced

EMC VNX VG2 Gateway and EMC VNX VG8 GatewayVblock System 720 configurations can be upgraded to include file-based storage by adding the optionalEMC VNX VG2 Gateway or the EMC VNX VG8 Gateway. The EMC gateways provide NAS storage in acentrally managed information storage system. The gateways allow you to grow, share, and cost-effectively manage the Vblock System with multiprotocol file access.

The EMC VNX VG2 Gateway is an entry-level SAN and NAS storage platform.

The EMC VNX VG8 Gateway is a massively scalable, enterprise, SAN, and NAS platform.




The following table compares the EMC VNX Gateways available in Vblock 720:

EMC VNX VG2 Gateway EMC VNX VG8 Gateway

Two X-Blades Two to eight X-Blades

Four core 2.40 GHz Intel Xeon 5600 processors with6 GB memory

Six core 2.83 GHz Intel Xeon 5600 processors with24 GB memory

200 TB usable capacity per X-Blade (200 TB persystem)

256 TB usable capacity per X-Blade (1792 TB persystem)

Scaling up storage resourcesTo scale up storage resources, add RAID packs, engines, cache, and Data Array Enclosure (DAE) packs.Optionally, expansion cabinets can be added with additional resources.

RAID packs

Storage capacity can be increased by adding RAID packs. Each pack contains a number of drives of agiven type, speed, and capacity. The number of drives in a pack depends upon the RAID level that itsupports.

The number and types of RAID packs to include in a Vblock System is based upon the following:

• The number of storage pools that are needed.

• The storage tiers that each pool contains and the speed and capacity of the drives in each tier.The following table lists tiers, supported drive types, supported speeds, and capacities.

Note: The speed and capacity of all drives within a given tier in a given pool must be the same.

Tier Drive type Supported speeds and capacities

1 Solid-state Enterprise Flash drives (EFD) 100 GB

400 GB

2 Fibre Channel (FC) 300 GB 10K RPM

600 GB 10K RPM

300 GB 15K RPM

450 GB 15K RPM

600 GB 15K RPM




Tier Drive type Supported speeds and capacities

3 SATA 1 TB 7.2K RPM

2 TB 7.2K RPM

3 TB 7.2K RPM

• The RAID protection for the tiers in each pool. The following table describes each supportedRAID protection level.

Note: RAID protection levels for the three separate tier-related pools can differ. More than threepools can exist, but only three pools and tiers can exist in a single auto-tiering EMCSymmetrix Fully Automated Storage Tiering (FAST) policy.

RAIDprotectionlevel

Description

RAID 1 • A set of mirrored drives.

• Offers the best overall performance of the three supported RAID protection levels.

• Offers robust protection. Can sustain double-drive failures that are not in the same mirror set.

• Offers the best write performance since only two IOs are required to perform a single write.

• Lowest economy of the three supported RAID levels since usable capacity is only 50% of rawcapacity.

• Supported on EFD, FC, and SATA drives.

RAID 5 • Block-level striping with a single parity block, where the parity data is distributed across all thedrives in the set.

• Offers the best mix of performance, protection, and economy.

• Has a higher write performance penalty than RAID 1 because multiple IOs are required toperform a single write.

• With single parity, can sustain a single drive failure with no data loss. Vulnerable to data lossor unrecoverable read errors on a track during a drive rebuild.

• Highest economy of the three supported RAID levels. Usable capacity is 80% of raw capacity.

• EMC best practice for EFD and FC drives. Supported on SATA drives but not recommended.

RAID 6 • Block-level striping with two parity blocks, distributed across all of the drives in the set.

• Offers increased protection and read performance comparable to RAID 5.

• Has a significant write performance penalty because multiple IOs are required to perform asingle write.

• Economy is very good. Usable capacity is 75% of raw capacity or better.

• EMC best practice for SATA drives. Supported on FC drives but not on EFD drives.




There are RAID packs for each RAID protection level/tier type combination. The RAID levels dictate thenumber of drives included in the packs. RAID packs are ordered in bundles of four. The following tablelists RAID protection levels and the number of drives in the packs for each level:

RAID protection level Number of drives per RAID pack

RAID 1 8 (4 + 4)

RAID 5

Should always be in quantities of 8 drives

4 (3 + 1) * 2

or

8 (7 + 1). Requires a minimum of 8 DAEs.

RAID 6 8 (6 drives + 2 parity)

or

16 (14 drives + 2 parity)

Storage cabinet

Storage for Vblock System 720 can be expanded by adding additional storage cabinets.

EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K storage cabinets

If the number of RAID packs in a Vblock 720 is expanded, more EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K storageexpansion cabinets might be required. The maximum number of cabinets is 12 with 3 ½ inch drives or 10cabinets with 2 ½ inch drives.


If the number of RAID packs in a Vblock 720 is expanded, more EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K storagecabinets might be required. The maximum number of cabinets is 11.


If the number of RAID packs is expanded, with a 3 ½ inch drive or mixed drive configuration, an additionalstorage expansion cabinet might be required. A maximum of two storage expansion cabinets aresupported with a 3 ½ inch drive or mixed drive configuration.

DAE packs

If there are not enough drive slots to support additional storage, slots can be added based on the EMCminimums for the EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K. DAEs are added in packs of 4 and 8 for the EMCSymmetrix VMAX 20K or EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K.

Engines

There is one engine in the EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K base configuration. There are two engines in theEMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K or EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K base configuration. The EMC SymmetrixVMAX 10K can grow up to four engines. The EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K and EMC Symmetrix 40K cangrow up to eight engines. You can increment engines one at a time depending on your configuration.




Storage features supportThis topic presents additional storage features available on the Vblock System 720.

File deduplication

File deduplication is supported on the EMC VNX VG2 Gateway or the EMC VNX VG8 Gateway, but is notenabled by default. Note that enabling this feature requires thorough knowledge of capacity and storagerequirements.

External NFS and CIFS access

Vblock Systems can present CIFS and NFS shares to external clients provided that these provisions arefollowed:

• Requires dedicated X-Blades for access by hosts outside of Vblock Systems

• Vblock System shares cannot be mounted internally by Vblock System hosts and external to theVblock System at the same time

• In a configuration with two X-Blades, mixed internal and external access is not supported. Thefollowing configurations are supported:

— External NFS and external CIFS only

— Internal NFS and internal CIFS only

• In a configuration with more than two X-Blades, external NFS and CIFS access runs on one ormore X-Blades that are physically separate from the X-Blades serving VMFS data stores to theVblock System compute layer

Related information

EMC VNX VG2 Gateway and EMC VNX VG8 Gateway (see page 31)




Network layer

Network layer hardwareThis topic provides an overview of the network layer hardware.

The Cisco Nexus series switches in the network layer provide 10 or 40 GbE IP connectivity between thecomponents between the Vblock System and the outside world. In a unified storage architecture, theswitches also connect the fabric interconnects in the compute layer to the X-Blades in the storage layer.

The switches also provide connectivity for out-of-band management through redundant connections tothe Cisco Catalyst 3560X Ethernet switch or switches. Ports are reserved or identified for special VblockSystem services such as backup connectivity.

The Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches in the network layer provide Fibre Channel (FC) links between thefabric interconnects and the engines. In a unified storage configuration, this connection also supportsSAN booting of the blades in the compute layer.

Ports are also reserved for special Vblock System services such as SAN backup connectivity andaggregation uplinks.

Related information

Management hardware components (see page 42)

Network layer componentsThe Vblock System 720 includes switches that provide IP, SAN, and FC connectivity between thecompute layer components and the storage layer components in Vblock 720. These switches alsoprovide connectivity for backup and business continuity requirements when configured.

Each Vblock 720 includes two Cisco Nexus 9396PX Switches, two Cisco Nexus 5548UP IP switches, twoCisco Nexus 5596UP IP switches, or two Cisco Nexus 7010 switches in segregated architecture. If theunified network option is selected, the Cisco Nexus 5596UP provides both Ethernet and Fibre Channel(FC) connectivity. In segregated architecture only, Vblock 720 contains two Cisco MDS 9148 multilayerfabric switches or two Cisco MDS 9513 multilayer fabric directors.


VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview Network layer



Switching components

For segregated architecture, two Cisco MDS 9148 Multilayer Fabric Switches or Cisco MDS 9513Multilayer Fabric Directors provide:

• FC connectivity between the compute layer components and the storage layer components

• Connectivity for backup and business continuity requirements when configured

Note: Inter-Switch Links (ISLs) to existing SAN is not permitted.

The Cisco MDS 9148 Multilayer Fabric Switches provides 16 to 48 line-rate ports for non-blocking 8 Gbpsthroughput depending upon the configuration. Sixteen ports are licensed; additional ports can be licensedon an as needed basis.

The Cisco MDS 9513 Multilayer Fabric Director switch provides 256 Gbps of back-panel throughput. VCEleverages the advanced 32 port line cards at line rate of 8 Gbps for all ports. The base configurationconsists of two 32 port line cards, per director. Additional 32 port line cards can be added, as required.

Network layer components

Vblock 720 supports additional network layer components for extremely high-throughput IP networkingscenarios. These additional components must be installed in a separate network cabinet. VCE does notsupport Vblock System configurations where these components are installed within the storage/computecabinets.

Cisco Nexus 5548UP Switches or Cisco Nexus 5596UP Switches

Each Vblock 720 requires Ethernet switches as a base configuration to provide Ethernet connectivity:

• Between the Vblock System internal components

• To the site network

• To out-of-band management through redundant connections to the Cisco Catalyst 3000 Ethernetswitches

The Cisco Nexus 5548UP Switch supports low latency line-rate 10 Gb Ethernet connectivity on up to32 ports or 48 ports including the expansion module.

The Cisco Nexus 5596UP Switch supports low latency line-rate 10 Gb Ethernet and FC connectivity onup to 48 ports or 96 ports including the expansion module. FC is supported only with unifiedconfigurations.

Cisco Nexus 7010 IP switches

For extremely demanding IP networking scenarios, Cisco Nexus 7010 switches can replace the CiscoNexus 5548UP switches or Cisco Nexus 5596UP switches. The F1 32 port line card and F2 48 port linecards are leveraged to provide 10Gbe connectivity and are added in pair per director.

Network layer VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview



Cisco Nexus 9396PX Switch

The Cisco Nexus 9396PX switch supports 48 fixed 10 Gbps SFP+ ports and 12 fixed 40 Gbps QSFP+ports. It is a 2RU (rack unit) appliance and all ports are licensed and available for use. There are noexpansion modules.

Related information

Cisco Unified Computing System fabric interconnects (see page 20)

Cabinet types (see page 44)

VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview Network layer



Virtualization layer

Virtualization componentsThis topic provides an overview of the virtualization components.

VMware vSphere is the virtualization platform that provides the foundation for the private cloud. The coreVMware vSphere components are the VMware vSphere Hypervisor ESXi , VMware vCenter Server formanagement. VMware vSphere 5.1 or higher includes a Single Sign-on (SSO) component.

The hypervisors are deployed in a cluster configuration and can scale up to 32 nodes per cluster. Thecluster allows dynamic allocation of resources, such as CPU, memory, and storage. The cluster alsoprovides workload mobility and flexibility with the use of VMware vMotion and Storage vMotiontechnology.

VMware vSphere Hypervisor ESXiThis topic describes the VMware vSphere Hypervisor ESXi that runs in the management servers and inthe Vblock System using VMware vSphere Server Enterprise Plus.

The VMware vSphere Hypervisor ESXi is a lightweight hypervisor that requires very little space to run(less than six GB of storage required to install) and has minimal management overhead. The VMwarevSphere Hypervisor ESXi boots from the SAN through an independent Fibre Channel (FC) LUNpresented from the EMC storage array to the compute blades. The FC LUN also contains the hypervisor'slocker for persistent storage of logs and other diagnostic files to provide stateless computing within aVblock System. The stateless hypervisor (PXE boot into memory) is not supported.

Cluster configuration

VMware vSphere ESXi hosts and their resources are pooled together into clusters. These clusterscontain the CPU, memory, network, and storage resources available for allocation to VMs. Clusters canscale up to a maximum of 32 hosts. Clusters can support thousands of VMs.

The clusters can also support a variety of Cisco UCS blades running inside the same cluster.

Note: Some advanced CPU functionality might be unavailable if more than one blade model is running ina given cluster.

Data stores

Vblock Systems support a mixture of data store types: block level storage using VMFS or file levelstorage using NFS. The maximum size per VMFS volume is 64 TB (50 TB VMFS3 @ 1 MB). Beginningwith VMware vSphere 5.5, the maximum VMDK file size is 62 TB. Each host/cluster can support amaximum of 255 volumes. VCE optimizes the advanced settings for VMware vSphere ESXi hosts that aredeployed in Vblock Systems to maximize the throughput and scalability of NFS data stores. VblockSystems currently support a maximum of 256 NFS data stores per host.

Virtualization layer VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview



Virtual networks

Virtual networking in the Advanced Management Platform (AMP-2HA) uses the VMware Virtual StandardSwitch (VSS). Virtual networking in Vblock Systems is managed by either the Cisco Nexus 1000Vdistributed virtual switch or VMware vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS). The Cisco Nexus 1000V SeriesSwitch ensures consistent, policy-based network capabilities to all servers in the data center by allowingpolicies to move with a VM during live migration. This provides persistent network, security, and storagecompliance.

Alternatively, virtual networking in a Vblock System is managed by VMware VDS with comparablefeatures to the Cisco Nexus 1000V where applicable. The VMware VDS option consists of both aVMware VSS and a VMware VDS and uses a minimum of four uplinks presented to the hypervisor.

Cisco Nexus 1000V and VMware VDS use intelligent network Class of Service (CoS) marking and Qualityof Service (QoS) policies to appropriately shape network traffic according to workload type and priority.

VMware vCenter ServerThis topic describes the VMware vCenter Server.

VMware vCenter Server is a central management point for the hypervisors and virtual machines. VMwarevCenter is installed on a 64-bit Windows Server and runs as a service.

The AMP and the Vblock System each have a unified VMware vCenter Server Appliance instance. Eachof these systems resides in the management stack.

VMware vCenter Server provides the following functionality:

• Cloning of VMs

• Template creation

• VMware vMotion and VMware Storage vMotion

• Initial configuration of VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) and VMware vSpherehigh-availability clusters

VMware vCenter Server also provides monitoring and alerting capabilities for hosts and VMs. VblockSystem administrators can create and apply alarms to all managed objects in VMware vCenter Server,including:

• Data center, cluster, and host health, inventory, and performance

• Data store health and capacity

• VM usage, performance, and health

• Virtual network usage and health

VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview Virtualization layer



Databases

The back-end database that supports VMware vCenter Server and VUM is the remote Microsoft SQLServer 2008 (VMware vSphere 5.1) and Microsoft SQL 2012 (VMware vSphere 5.5). Vblock Systemsalso support the use of Oracle databases for vCenter and VUM databases. The SQL Server service canbe configured to use a dedicated service account.

Authentication

Vblock Systems support the VMware Single Sign-On (SSO) Service which can integrate multiple identitysources including Active Directory, Open LDAP, and local accounts for authentication. VMware SSO isavailable in vSphere 5.1 and later. VMware vCenter Server, Inventory, Web Client, SSO, Core DumpCollector, and VUM run as separate Windows services. Each service can be configured to use adedicated service account depending on security and directory services requirements.

VCE supported features

VCE supports the following VMware vCenter Server features:

• VMware SSO (version 5.1 and later)

• VMware vSphere Web Client (used with VCE Vision™ Intelligent Operations)

• VMware vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS)

• VMware vSphere High Availability

• VMware DRS

• VMware Fault Tolerance

• VMware vMotion

• VMware Storage vMotion

• Raw Device Maps

• Resource Pools

• Storage DRS (capacity only)

• Storage-driven profiles (user-defined only)

• Distributed power management (up to 50 percent of VMware vSphere ESXi hosts/blades)

• VMware Syslog Service

• VMware Core Dump Collector

• VMware vCenter Web Services

Virtualization layer VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview



Management

Management hardware componentsVblock Systems include an AMP that provides a single management point for Vblock Systems.

The AMP enables the following benefits:

• Monitors and manages Vblock System health, performance, and capacity

• Provides fault isolation for management

• Eliminates resource overhead on the Vblock System

• Provides a clear demarcation point for remote operations

The following table describes the AMPs:

AMP Description

Mini • One Cisco UCS C220 server

High-availability (HA) • Two Cisco UCS C220 server

• One EMC VNXe3150

• Two Cisco Catalyst 3560X Ethernet switches

In a Vblock System configuration with a mini-AMP, space is reserved in the cabinet for the additional HAAMP components to make it easy to upgrade to the HA AMP later.

Management software toolsThis topic describes the management software tools available on Vblock System 720.

Each AMP is delivered pre-configured with the following software tools, depending on the ReleaseCertification Matrix selected:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Standard x64

• Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard x64

Note: One Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Standard R2 x64 license is required to support CiscoDCNM until the application supports Windows 2012 R2 x64 (in Vblock System Release5.x).

• VMware vSphere Server Enterprise Plus

VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview Management



• VMware vSphere Hypervisor ESXi

• VMware Single Sign-On (SSO) Service (version 5.1 and higher)

• VMware vSphere Web Client Service

• VMware vCenter Server

• VMware vCenter Database using Microsoft SQL Server Standard Edition

• VMware vCenter Update Manager

• VMware vSphere client

• VMware vSphere Syslog Collector Service (optional)

• VMware vSphere Core Dump Service (optional)

• VMware Virtual Distributed Switch (VDS) or Cisco Nexus 1000V virtual switch (VSM)

• EMC PowerPath/VE License Management Server (ELMS)

• EMC Secure Remote Support (ESRS)

• Array Management modules, including, but not limited to, EMC Solutions Enabler with SMIS,EMC Unisphere for VMAX on Windows, and PowerPath Viewer

• Cisco Prime Device Manager, Data Center Network Manager (DCNM), and Device Manager

Vblock Systems using VMware VDS does not include Cisco Nexus 1000V VSM VMs.

Management VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview



System infrastructure

Cabinets overviewWithin each Vblock System 720, the compute and network layer components are distributed within thecabinets. Distributing the components in this manner balances out the power draw and reduces the sizeof the power distribution units (PDUs) that are required.

Each cabinet has a capacity for physical dimensions such as weight, heat dissipation, power draw, RUspace, and receptacle count. This design makes it more flexible to upgrade or expand each VblockSystem as capacity needs increase.

For some configurations, VCE preinstalls all wiring based on the predefined layouts.

Vblock System cabinets are designed to be installed contiguously to one another within the data center. Ifthe base and expansion cabinets need to be physically separated, customized cabling is needed, whichincurs additional cost and delivery delays.

Note: The cable length is NOT the same as distance between cabinets. The cable must route throughthe cabinets and through the cable channels overhead or in the floor.

Related information

Power options (see page 45)

Cabinet typesThis topic provides an overview of the sample cabinets for Vblock System 720.

Sample compute and network cabinet

A sample compute and network cabinet can contain:

• Cisco Catalyst 3560X Ethernet Switches

• Cisco UCS C220 Servers

• EMC VNXe3150

• Two EMC control stations

• EMC VNX 5300 DME

• Cisco Nexus 5596UP switches

VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview System infrastructure



• Cisco Nexus 6248UP Fabric Interconnects

• Cisco UCS 5108 Server Chassis

If a Vblock 720 configuration expands, a compute and network expansion cabinet can be added foradditional Cisco UCS 5108 chassis. This modular design makes it easier to add hardware later ifnecessary.

A sample network cabinet may contain a Cisco Catalyst 3560X Ethernet Switch and a Cisco MDS 9153Multilayer Director. In Vblock 720 with a large networking core, redundant network switches such asCisco Nexus 7010 Switch and Cisco MDS 9153 Multilayer Director would be split into separate cabinetsto eliminate potential for a single failure domain.

The compute and network expansion cabinet can be expanded in a modular configuration.

Array system bay cabinet

In the Vblock System, EMC VMAX 20K and EMC VMAX 40K system bay cabinets house storage arrayengines only. Up to eight engines can be housed in a system bay cabinet. The EMC VMAX 40K arrayengines can be dispersed into two separate system bay cabinets with a separation between system baysof up to 25 meters.

Array storage bay cabinet

EMC VMAX storage bay supports 2 ½ inch or 3 ½ inch drive array enclosures (2 ½ inch and 3 ½ inchdrives cannot be mixed in a single storage cabinet). In a 2 ½ inch drive configuration, a single storage baycan expand up to 400 drives, which means 25 drives per DAE with 16 DAEs per storage bay cabinet. in a3 ½ inch drive configuration, a single storage bay can expand up to 240 drives, which means 15 drivesper DAE with 16 DAEs per storage bay cabinet.

Power optionsVblock System 720 supports several power distribution unit (PDU) options inside and outside of NorthAmerica.

North America power options for Vblock System cabinets

The following table lists the PDUs that are available in North America:

PDU Power specifications Number per CN or S

IEC 309 3P+PE 3-phase delta / 60A /208V 2 PDUs per cabinet

Hubbell CS8365 3-phase delta / 50A /208V 2 PDUs per cabinet

NEMA L15-30P 3-phase delta / 30A /208V 4 PDUs per cabinet

IEC 60309 3-phase delta / 60A /208V 2 PDUs per cabinet

System infrastructure VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview




IEC 60309 Single phase / 60A / 208V 4 PDUs per cabinet

NEMA L6-30P Single phase / 30A / 208V 6 PDUs per cabinet

Power options outside of North America for Vblock System cabinets

The following table lists the PDUs that are available for Vblock 720 configuration outside of NorthAmerica:


IEC 309 3P+N+PE 3-phase wye / 32A / 230 / 400V 2 PDUs per cabinet

IEC 309 2P+E 1-phase / 32A / 230 / 400V 2 PDUs per cabinet

IEC 60309 2P+E Single phase / 32A / 230V 6 PDUs per cabinet

IEC 60309 3-phase wye / 32A / 230 / 400V 2 PDUs per cabinet

IEC 60309 3-phase wye / 16A / 230 / 400V 4 PDUs per cabinet

North America power options for EMC VMAX 40K

The following table lists the PDUs that are available for EMC VMAX 40K in North America:

PDU Power specifications Number per cabinet

Hubbell CS8365C 3-phase delta/50A/208V 2 PDUs per cabinet

ABL Sursum P/N S52.30 3-Phase wye/32A/230/400V 2 PDUs per cabinet

NEMA L6-30P Single phase/30A/208V 4 PDUs per cabinet

Power options outside of North America for EMC VMAX 40K

The following table lists the PDUs that are available for EMC VMAX 40K outside of North America:

PDU Power specifications Number per CB/CE cabinet

ABL Sursum P/N S52.30 3-Phase wye/32A/230/400V 2 PDUs per cabinet




Hubbell CS8365C 3-phase delta / 50A /208V 2 PDUs per cabinet


VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview System infrastructure





PDU Power specifications Number per CB/CE cabinet

Flying leads (add own plug) 3-phase wye / 32A / 230/400V 2 PDUs per cabinet








IEC 60309 2P+E Single phase /32A / 230V 2 PDUs per cabinet

The VCE Vblock System Physical Planning Guide provides additional information about powerrequirements.

Related information


System infrastructure VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview



Configuration descriptions

Vblock® System 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10KThe Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K configuration illustrates how Vblock 720 provides high-end virtual storage capabilities to IT organizations and service providers with demanding storagerequirements and limited resources.

Vblock 720 sample configuration has reserved floor space for an EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K diskexpansion cabinet (storage expansion 1A).

The configuration contains two Cisco UCS 5108 blade chassis, two Cisco UCS 6248UP FabricInterconnects or Cisco UCS 6296UP Fabric Interconnects, and blade servers. The base configuration canbe expanded up to 16 Cisco UCS 5108 blade chassis with the addition of the EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10Kdisk expansion cabinet (storage expansion 1). Each Cisco UCS 5108 blade chassis has two fabricextenders that have four connections to each of the fabric interconnects. Each Cisco UCS 5108 bladechassis also has four power supplies (2500 W each) for full redundancy. The two installed Cisco UCS5108 blade chassis are licensed in this configuration.

Vblock System 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20KThe Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K configuration illustrates how Vblock 720 is deployed formassive scaling with ERP, CRM, and virtual desktops in configurations that are extensible to meet themost demanding IT requirements of any enterprises or service providers and uses SAN storage or a NAS(file) storage. Cisco UCS local boot disks are optional.

Note: When installing Vblock 720 cabinets, it is important to leave sufficient space between the computebase cabinet or network cabinets and the EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K storage bay to allow for asmany storage expansion bays as the customer plans to grow to. If this space is not pre-allocated,it will require an outage or exception request to move the cabinets during an upgrade.

Vblock System 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40KThe Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K sample configuration illustrates how Vblock 720 isdeployed for massive scaling with ERP, CRM, and virtual desktops in configurations that are extensible tomeet the most demanding IT requirements of any enterprises or service providers and uses a SANstorage medium or a NAS (file) storage medium. Cisco UCS local boot disks are optional.

Note: When installing Vblock 720 cabinets, it is important to leave sufficient space between the cabinetor network cabinets and the EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K storage bay to allow for as many storageexpansion bays as the customer plans to grow to. If this space is not pre-allocated, it will requirean outage or exception request to move the cabinets during an upgrade.

VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview Configuration descriptions



Sample configurations

Sample Vblock System 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10KVblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K cabinet elevations vary based on the specific configurationrequirements.

These are provided for sample purposes only. For specifications for a specific Vblock 720 design, consultyour vArchitect.

Sample configurations VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview



Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K rear view

VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview Sample configurations



Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K CN 1 cabinet

Sample Vblock System 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20KVblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K cabinet elevations vary based on the specific configurationrequirements.





Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K front view




Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K cabinet layout front view




Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K C 1 cabinet





Sample Vblock System 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K(ACI ready)Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K cabinet elevations that are Cisco Application CentricInfrastructure (ACI) ready vary based on the specific configuration requirements..

For specifications for a specific Vblock 720 design, consult your vArchitect.




Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K (ACI ready) front view




Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K (ACI ready) rear view




Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K (ACI ready) storage cabinet layout front view




Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K (ACI ready) cabinet 1





Sample Vblock System 720with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40KVblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K cabinet elevations vary based on the specific configurationrequirements.





Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K cabinet layout front view

Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K compute and network cabinet layout front view




Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K storage cabinet layout front view

Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K C 1 through C 10 cabinets




Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K N 11 cabinet




Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K N 12 cabinet




Vblock 720 with EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K N 13 and N 14 cabinet




Additional references

Virtualization componentsThis topic provides a description of the virtualization components.

Product Description Link to documentation

VMware vCenterServer

Provides a scalable and extensible platform that forms thefoundation for virtualization management.

http://www.vmware.com/products/vcenter-server/

VMware vSphereESXi

Virtualized infrastructure for Vblock Systems. Virtualizesall application servers and provides VMware highavailability (HA) and dynamic resource scheduling (DRS).

www.vmware.com/products/vsphere/

Compute componentsThis topic provides a description of the compute components.


Cisco UCS 6200 SeriesFabric Interconnects

UCS family of line-rate, low-latency, lossless,10 Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel overEthernet (FCoE), and Fibre Channelfunctions. Provide network connectivity andmanagement capabilities.

www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps11544/index.html

Cisco UCS 5100 SeriesBlade Server Chassis

Chassis that supports up to eight bladeservers and up to two fabric extenders in a sixrack unit (RU) enclosure.


Cisco UCS 2200 SeriesFabric Extenders

Bring unified fabric into the blade-serverchassis, providing up to eight 10 Gbpsconnections each between blade servers andthe fabric interconnect

www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/ps10265/ps10276/data_sheet_c78-675243.html

Cisco UCS B-SeriesBlade Servers

Servers that adapt to application demands,intelligently scale energy use, and offer best-in-class virtualization


Cisco UCS Manager Provides centralized management capabilitiesfor the Cisco Unified Computing System


VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview Additional references





http://www.vmware.com/products/vsphere/

http://www.vmware.com/products/vsphere/

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps11544/index.html




http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/ps10265/ps10276/data_sheet_c78-675243.html







Network componentsThis topic provides a description of the network components.


Cisco Nexus 1000VSeries Switches

A software switch on a server that delivers CiscoVN-Link services to virtual machines hosted on thatserver.


VMware vSphereDistributed Switch(VDS)

A VMware vCenter-managed software switch thatdelivers advanced network services to virtualmachines hosted on that server.

http://www.vmware.com/products/vsphere/features/distributed-switch.html

Cisco MDS 9148Multilayer FabricSwitch

Provides 48 line-rate 16-Gbps ports and offerscost-effective scalability through on-demandactivation of ports.


Cisco Nexus 3048Switch

Provides local switching that connects transparentlyto upstream Cisco Nexus switches, creating anend-to-end Cisco Nexus fabric in data centers.

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/switches/nexus-3048-switch/index.html

Cisco Nexus 5000Series Switches

Simplifies data center transformation by enabling astandards-based, high-performance unified fabric.

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/switches/nexus-5000-series-switches/index.html

Cisco Nexus 7000Series Switches

A single end-to-end platform designed aroundinfrastructure scalability, operational continuity, andtransport flexibility.


Cisco Nexus 9396PXSwitch

Provides high scalability, performance, andexceptional energy efficiency in a compact formfactor. Designed to support Cisco ApplicationCentric Infrastructure (ACI).

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/switches/nexus-9396px-switch/model.html

Storage componentsThis topic provides a description of the storage components.


EMC SymmetrixVMAX 40K

Delivers industry-leading performance, scale, andefficiency for hybrid cloud environments.

www.emc.com/storage/symmetrix-vmax/vmax-40k.htm


EMC high-end storage array that deliversinfrastructure services in the next generation datacenter. Built for reliability, availability, and scalability,EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K uses specializedengines, each of which includes two redundantdirector modules providing parallel access andreplicated copies of all critical data.


Additional references VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview





HTTP://WWW.VMWARE.COM/PRODUCTS/VSPHERE/FEATURES/DISTRIBUTED-SWITCH.HTML





HTTP://WWW.CISCO.COM/C/EN/US/PRODUCTS/SWITCHES/NEXUS-3048-SWITCH/INDEX.HTML






HTTP://WWW.CISCO.COM/C/EN/US/PRODUCTS/SWITCHES/NEXUS-7000-SERIES-SWITCHES/INDEX.HTML






http://www.emc.com/storage/symmetrix-vmax/vmax-40k.htm






Delivers full enterprise-class availability, dataintegrity, and security.


EMC VNX VG2Gateway

EMC VNX VG8Gateway

Provide NAS storage in a centrally managedinformation storage system. The gateways allow youto grow, share, and cost effectively manage theVblock System with multi-protocol file access.

www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/data-sheet/c1119-celerra-gateway-storage-ds.pdf

www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/specification-sheet/h7292-celerra-vg2-ss.pdf

www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/specification-sheet/h7293-celerra-vg8-gateway-ss.pdf

EMC RecoverPoint Provides continuous data protection for operationaland disaster recovery of information on the VblockSystem.

www.emc.com/replication/recoverpoint/recoverpoint.htm

VCE Vblock® System 720 Gen 4.2 Architecture Overview Additional references





http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/data-sheet/c1119-celerra-gateway-storage-ds.pdf



http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/specification-sheet/h7292-celerra-vg2-ss.pdf



http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/specification-sheet/h7293-celerra-vg8-gateway-ss.pdf



http://www.emc.com/replication/recoverpoint/recoverpoint.htm

http://www.emc.com/replication/recoverpoint/recoverpoint.htm

www.vce.com

About VCE

VCE accelerates the adoption of converged infrastructure and cloud-based computing models that dramatically reduce thecost of IT while improving time to market for enterprises and service providers globally. Through its leading VblockSystems, VCE delivers the industry's only true converged infrastructure, leveraging Cisco compute and networktechnology, EMC storage and data protection, and VMware virtualization and virtualization management. VCE solutionsare available through an extensive partner network and cover horizontal applications, vertical industry offerings andapplication development environments, enabling customers to focus on business innovation instead of integrating,validating, and managing IT infrastructure.

For more information, go to http://www.vce.com.

© 2013-2015 VCE Company, LLC. All rights reserved. VCE, Vblock, VCE Vision, and the VCE logo are registeredtrademarks or trademarks of VCE Company, LLC. and/or its affiliates in the United States or other countries. All othertrademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.



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