Vce Vblock Series 300 Architecture Overview

VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview
Revision history
www.vce.com

Version 2.6 June 2012
2012 VCE Company, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
1 2012 VCE Company, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Revision history
Revision history
Date May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 July 2011 July 2011 August 2011 May 2012 Version 1.0 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Author Colin Ferguson Colin Ferguson Colin Ferguson Colin Ferguson Colin Ferguson Colin Ferguson Sandy Guardiani Description of changes Initial release Updates for GA Correction: the HA AMP includes two C200 series servers, each with two 2 TB SAS disks RAID-1 protected US Power Options > North American Power Options Added virtualization information Removed blade pack information. Now refers to Blade Packs Reference Added the Cisco UCS 6248UP Fabric Interconnects and the Cisco UCS 2208XP Series Fabric Extenders Updated all illustrations Removed port assignments information. Now refers to Port Assignments Reference Updated the following information: ESRS, bare-metal support, aggregation, RAID and drive type, model overview, VMware vSphere, base configurations and scaling, AMP hardware, management software tools, and storage features support Added Vblock Data Protection information Updated the Vblock systems elevations Added new storage drives Added I/O bandwidth enhancement information Revised external NFS and CIFS access information Revised replica statement for NAS configurations Updated block storage, SAN boot storage, unified storage, and aggregation common services graphics Added new POU information Updated for VCE branding
June 2012
2.6
Sandy Guardiani
Table of contents
Table of contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 7 Accessing VCE documentation ................................................................................................................. 8 Overview ...................................................................................................................................................... 9 Vblock Systems Series 300 overview ................................................................................................. 9 Base configurations and scaling ........................................................................................................... 11 Connectivity overview ........................................................................................................................... 12 Block storage configuration .................................................................................................................. 13 SAN boot storage configuration............................................................................................................ 14 Unified storage configuration ................................................................................................................ 15 Aggregating multiple Vblock systems ................................................................................................... 16 Aggregation common services ....................................................................................................... 17 Compute layer hardware .......................................................................................................................... 18 Compute overview ................................................................................................................................ 18 Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) .............................................................................................. 18 Cisco UCS fabric interconnects ............................................................................................................ 19 Scaling up compute resources ............................................................................................................. 19 Blade packs .................................................................................................................................... 19 Chassis activation kits (CAK) ......................................................................................................... 20 Bare-metal support ............................................................................................................................... 21 Storage layer hardware ............................................................................................................................ 22 Storage overview .................................................................................................................................. 22 EMC VNX Series storage arrays .......................................................................................................... 22 Replication ............................................................................................................................................ 23 Scaling up storage resources ............................................................................................................... 23 I/O bandwidth expansion................................................................................................................ 23 RAID packs .................................................................................................................................... 24 Disk array enclosure (DAE) packs ................................................................................................. 26 Network layer hardware............................................................................................................................ 27 Network overview ................................................................................................................................. 27 IP network components ........................................................................................................................ 27 Storage switching components ............................................................................................................. 28 Virtualization components ....................................................................................................................... 29 Virtualization overview .......................................................................................................................... 29 VMware vSphere Hypervisor ESXi ....................................................................................................... 29 Cluster configuration ...................................................................................................................... 29 Datastores ...................................................................................................................................... 29 Virtual networks.............................................................................................................................. 29 VMware vCenter Server ....................................................................................................................... 30
2012 VCE Company, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 3
Table of contents
Databases ...................................................................................................................................... 30 Authentication ................................................................................................................................ 30 VCE supported features ................................................................................................................. 31 Management components ........................................................................................................................ 32 Management hardware components .................................................................................................... 32 Management software tools ................................................................................................................. 33 AMP software tools ........................................................................................................................ 33 Storage features support ...................................................................................................................... 34 vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI).................................................................................... 34 File deduplication ........................................................................................................................... 34 Block compression ......................................................................................................................... 34 External NFS and CIFS access ..................................................................................................... 34 Snapshotting .................................................................................................................................. 35 Replicas ......................................................................................................................................... 35 Data protection .......................................................................................................................................... 36 Vblock Data Protection overview .......................................................................................................... 36 Data protection defined .................................................................................................................. 36 VCE Vblock Data Protection capabilities .............................................................................................. 37 Backup and recovery ............................................................................................................................ 38 One VCE cabinet that contains EMC Avamar ............................................................................... 38 Multiple VCE cabinets that contain EMC Avamar .......................................................................... 40 One VCE cabinet that contains EMC Avamar and EMC Data Domain 670 .................................. 41 One VCE cabinet that contains EMC Avamar and another VCE cabinet that contains EMC Data Domain 890 .................................................................................................................................... 43 One VCE cabinet that contains EMC Avamar and multiple cabinets that contain EMC Data Domain 890 .................................................................................................................................... 44 Business continuity and workload mobility ........................................................................................... 45 EMC VPLEX ................................................................................................................................... 45 Cluster configurations .................................................................................................................... 45 Recommended configurations ....................................................................................................... 46 Single engine ................................................................................................................................. 47 Dual engine .................................................................................................................................... 48 Vblock Series 300 cabinets ...................................................................................................................... 49 Cabinets overview ................................................................................................................................ 49 Cabinet types ........................................................................................................................................ 50 Compute/storage base (CSB) cabinets ......................................................................................... 50 Compute/storage expansion (CSE) cabinets ................................................................................. 51 Storage expansion (SE) cabinets .................................................................................................. 51 Network cabinets ............................................................................................................................ 51 Vblock Series 300 models ........................................................................................................................ 52 Vblock Series 300 model overview....................................................................................................... 52 Power options for Vblock Series 300 ................................................................................................... 53
Table of contents
North America power options ......................................................................................................... 53 Power options outside of North America........................................................................................ 53 Vblock Series 300 model HX .................................................................................................................... 54 300HX overview.................................................................................................................................... 54 300HX base configuration .................................................................................................................... 55 300HX compute layer base configuration ...................................................................................... 57 300HX storage layer base configuration (block storage) ............................................................... 57 300HX storage layer base configuration (unified storage)............................................................. 58 300HX maximum configuration ............................................................................................................ 59 Expanding the 300HX compute layer ............................................................................................ 60 Expanding the 300HX storage layer .............................................................................................. 60 300HX maximum CSB cabinets ........................................................................................................... 61 300HX CSB A cabinet .................................................................................................................... 61 300HX CSB B cabinet .................................................................................................................... 62 300HX maximum compute/storage expansion cabinets ...................................................................... 63 300HX maximized CSE 1 cabinet .................................................................................................. 63 300HX maximized CSE 2 cabinet .................................................................................................. 64 300HX maximum storage expansion cabinets ..................................................................................... 65 Vblock Series 300 model GX .................................................................................................................... 68 300GX overview ................................................................................................................................... 68 300GX base configuration .................................................................................................................... 69 300GX compute layer base configuration ...................................................................................... 71 300GX storage layer base configuration (block storage) ............................................................... 71 300GX storage layer base configuration (unified storage) ............................................................ 72 300GX maximum configuration ............................................................................................................ 73 Expanding the 300GX compute layer ............................................................................................ 74 Expanding the 300GX storage layer .............................................................................................. 74 300GX maximum CSB cabinets ........................................................................................................... 75 300GX CSB A cabinet.................................................................................................................... 75 300GX CSB B cabinet.................................................................................................................... 76 300GX compute/storage expansion cabinets ....................................................................................... 77 300GX maximized CSE 1 cabinet .................................................................................................. 77 300GX maximized CSE 2 cabinet .................................................................................................. 78 300GX storage expansion cabinet ....................................................................................................... 79 Vblock Series 300 model FX .................................................................................................................... 80 300FX overview .................................................................................................................................... 80 300FX base configuration ..................................................................................................................... 81 300FX compute layer base configuration ...................................................................................... 83 300FX storage layer base configuration (block storage) ............................................................... 83 300FX storage layer base configuration (unified storage) ............................................................. 84 300FX maximum configuration ............................................................................................................. 85 Expanding the 300FX compute layer ............................................................................................. 86 Expanding the 300FX storage layer ............................................................................................... 86
Table of contents
300FX maximum CSB cabinets ............................................................................................................ 87 300FX CSB A cabinet .................................................................................................................... 87 300FX CSB B cabinet .................................................................................................................... 88 300FX compute/storage expansion cabinets ....................................................................................... 89 300FX maximized CSE 1 cabinet .................................................................................................. 89 300FX maximized CSE 2 cabinet .................................................................................................. 90 Vblock Series 300 model EX .................................................................................................................... 91 300EX overview .................................................................................................................................... 91 300EX base configuration .................................................................................................................... 92 300EX compute layer base configuration ...................................................................................... 94 300EX storage layer base configuration (block storage) ............................................................... 94 300EX storage layer base configuration (unified storage) ............................................................. 95 300EX maximum configuration............................................................................................................. 96 300EX maximum CSB cabinet ............................................................................................................. 98 300EX maximum storage expansion cabinet ....................................................................................... 99 Additional references ............................................................................................................................. 100 References overview .......................................................................................................................... 100 Virtualization components .................................................................................................................. 100 Compute components ........................................................................................................................ 101 Network components .......................................................................................................................... 102 Storage components .......................................................................................................................... 102
Introduction
Introduction
Growing business challenges and fleeting opportunities demand an infrastructure that is swift, agile, and economicalenabling enterprises to adapt to change quickly and cost-effectively. VCE represents the next evolution of IT, one focused on the next generation data center and the future of cloud computing. VCE seeks to eliminate challenges that consume today's data center resources. VCE designs and delivers Vblock Systems that seamlessly integrate leading compute, network, and storage technologies. Through intelligent discovery, awareness and automation, Vblock systems provide the highest levels of virtualization and application performance. The Vblock Series 300 is an agile and efficient data center class system, providing modular and scalable performance. The Vblock 300 features high density, compact fabric switch, tightly-integrated fabric based blade servers, and best-in-class unified storage. It is available in four models - Vblock Series 300 model HX (300HX), Vblock Series 300 model GX (300GX), Vblock Series 300 model FX (300FX), and Vblock Series 300 model EX (300EX). This document describes the high-level design of the Vblock Series 300. This document also describes the hardware and software components that VCE includes in each Vblock 300 model. The target audience for this document includes sales engineers, field consultants, advanced services specialists, and customers who want to deploy a virtualized infrastructure by using a Vblock 300 model. The VCE Glossary provides terms, definitions, and acronyms that are related to Vblock systems. Refer to Accessing VCE documentation. To suggest documentation changes and provide feedback on this book, send an e-mail to docfeedback@vce.com. Include the name of the topic to which your feedback applies.
Accessing VCE documentation
Accessing VCE documentation

Select the documentation resource that applies to your role:
Role Customer VCE Partner Cisco, EMC, VCE, or VMware employee VCE employee Resource support.vce.com A valid username and password are required. www.vcepartnerportal.com/resourcelib-vce.asp?loc=331 A valid username and password are required. www.vceportal.com/solutions/68580567.html www.vceview.com/solutions/products/ or vblockproductdocs.ent.vce.com
Overview
Overview Vblock Systems Series 300 overview

The Vblock Series 300 systems have the following features: Optimized, fast delivery configurations based on the most commonly purchased components Common power solution across all Vblock 300 cabinets with three North American and two non-North American options Base configurations with fewer drives, fewer blades, and more granular flexibility on the configuration Granular, but optimized compute and storage growth by adding predefined kits and packs VMware vStorage API for Array Integration (VAAI) enablement Advanced Management Pod (AMP) models for value and high availability requirements
Each Vblock 300 model contains the following key hardware and software components:
Resource Compute Components Network Storage Virtualization Management Cisco UCS 5108 Blade Server Chassis Cisco UCS B-Series Blades Cisco UCS 2104XP Series Fabric Extenders or Cisco UCS 2208XP Series Fabric Extenders Cisco UCS 6248UP Series Fabric Interconnects or Cisco UCS 61x0XP Series Fabric Interconnects Cisco Nexus 1000V Series virtual switch Cisco Nexus 5548 Series IP switches Cisco MDS 9148 Series Storage Switches (Fibre Channel) EMC VNX Series unified storage with EMC Unisphere (Optional) EMC RecoverPoint VMware ESXi VMware vCenter Server EMC PowerPath/VE Cisco UCS Manager EMC Unisphere Manager EMC VNX Local Protection Suite EMC VNX Remote Protection Suite EMC VNX Application Protection Suite EMC VNX Fast Suite EMC VNX Security and Compliance Suite EMC Ionix Unified Infrastructure Manager (UIM) EMC Secure Remote Support (ESRS) on Windows VMware vSphere Server Enterprise Plus
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Overview
The following illustration provides a high-level overview of the components in the Vblock 300 architecture:
The VCE Vblock Systems Release Certification Matrix provides a list of the certified versions of components for Vblock 300. Refer to Accessing VCE documentation. Each Vblock 300 model has a different scale point based on compute and storage options. Each Vblock 300 model can support block or unified storage protocols. Refer to EMC VNX Series storage arrays.
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Overview
Base configurations and scaling

For each Vblock system model, there is a base configuration, which is a minimum set of compute and storage components, as well as fixed network resources. These components are integrated within one or more 19-inch 42U cabinets. Within the base configuration, the following hardware aspects can be customized:
Hardware Compute blades Compute chassis How it can be customized B-series blade type including all supported VCE blade configurations. Cisco UCS Blade Server Chassis Eight maximum for the 300HX, 300GX, and 300FX Two maximum for the 300EX Drive flexibility for up to three tiers of storage per pool, drive quantities in each tier, the RAID protection for each pool, and the number of disk array enclosures (DAEs). EMC VNX storage. Refer to EMC VNX Series storage arrays. 100/200 GB EFD, 300/600 GB 15K SAS, 300/600/900 GB 10K SAS, 2 TB/3TB 7.2K NL-SAS Tier 1: RAID 1, RAID 5 Tier 2: RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6 Tier 3: RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6 Refer to Scaling up storage resources. An Advanced Management Pod (AMP) centralizes management of Vblock system components. Optionally, a high-availability version of the AMP can be substituted. Refer to Management hardware components. Two to eight clustered appliances that facilitate storage replication and rapid disaster recovery. Refer to Replication. Available on all Vblock Series 300 models. Additional DME packs can be added for additional X-Blades on the 300HX, 300GX, or 300FX.
Storage hardware Storage Supported disk drives Supported RAID types
Management hardware options EMC RecoverPoint Appliances (RPAs) Data Mover Enclosure (DME) packs
Together, the components offer balanced CPU, I/O bandwidth, and storage capacity relative to the compute and storage arrays in the system. All components have N+N or N+1 redundancy. These resources can be scaled up as necessary to meet increasingly stringent requirements. The maximum supported configuration differs from model to model. To scale up compute resources, add blade packs and chassis activation kits. Refer to Scaling up compute resources. To scale up storage resources, add RAID packs, DME packs, and DAE packs. Optionally, add expansion cabinets with additional resources. Refer to Scaling up storage resources. Vblock systems are designed to keep hardware changes to a minimum should the customer decide to change the storage protocol after installation (for example, from block storage to unified storage). Cabinet space is reserved for all components that are needed for each storage configuration (Cisco MDS switches, X-Blades, etc.) All network and power cabling for these components is in place.
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Overview
Connectivity overview
Components and interconnectivity within Vblock systems are conceptually subdivided into three layers:
Layer Compute Storage Network Description Contains the components that provide the computing power within the Vblock system. The Cisco UCS blade servers, chassis, and fabric interconnects belong to this layer. Contains the EMC VNX storage components. Contains the components that provide switching between the compute and storage layers within a Vblock system, and between the Vblock system and the customer network. The Cisco Nexus switches and the Cisco MDS switches belong to this layer.
All components incorporate redundancy into the design. The following topics present connectivity configurations for the Vblock Series 300: Block storage configuration SAN boot storage configuration Unified storage configuration
The VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Port Assignments Reference provides information about the assigned use for each port in the Vblock system. Refer to Accessing VCE documentation.
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Overview
Block storage configuration

The following illustration shows a block-only storage configuration for Vblock Series 300 systems. The X-Blades are absent from the cabinets. However, space can be reserved in the cabinets for these components (including the optional EMC RecoverPoint). This design makes it easier to add the components later if the customer upgrades to unified storage.
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Overview
SAN boot storage configuration

In a SAN boot storage configuration, the ESXi hosts always boot over the FC SAN. The remainder of the storage can be presented either as NFS or as VMFS datastores. Storage can also be presented directly to the virtual machines as CIFS shares. The following illustration shows the components (highlighted in a red, dotted line) that are leveraged to support SAN booting in Vblock Series 300 systems:
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Overview
Unified storage configuration

In a unified storage configuration, the storage processors also connect to X-Blades over fibre channel. The X-Blades connect to the Cisco Nexus switches within the network layer over 10 GbE, as shown in the following illustration:
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Overview
Aggregating multiple Vblock systems

Multiple Vblock systems can be connected into a common network at a high level. The following illustration shows a configuration in which two Vblock systems are aggregated. The UCS domain and SAN on each Vblock system are maintained separately. The SANs within the Vblock systems share common services, such as migration and backup/data recovery, within an aggregated Cisco MDS 9500 Series Director. However, no resources are shared between the Vblock system SANs.
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Overview
Aggregation common services

The VCE aggregation solution supports the connection of multiple Vblock systems in a single physical environment to shared disaster recovery, replication, and backup services. It also provides cross-Vblock system IP connectivity and facilitates data movement both into and out of the Vblock system from the customer environment. The aggregation solution also delivers a standardization of connections into the Vblock system which provides clarity for support personnel, and expansion flexibility. The following aggregation topologies are available: SAN only Ethernet only Mixed SAN and Ethernet
These topologies have various scaling points using different Cisco MDS and Cisco Nexus solutions to provide the required connectivity among the Vblock system, customer network, and external common services appliances.
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Compute layer hardware
Compute layer hardware Compute overview

Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) B-series blades provide the computing power within a Vblock system. The blades are installed in Cisco UCS chassis. Fabric extenders (FEX) within the Cisco UCS chassis connect to Cisco fabric interconnects over converged Ethernet. Four 10 GbE ports on each FEX connect northbound to the fabric interconnects regardless of the number of blades in the chassis. These connections carry IP and storage traffic. Each fabric interconnect has multiple ports reserved by VCE for 10 GbE ports. VCE has reserved some of these ports to connect to upstream access switches within the Vblock system. These connections are formed into a port channel to the Cisco Nexus switch and carry IP traffic destined for the customer network 10 GbE links. In a unified storage configuration, this port channel can also carry IP traffic to the X-Blades within the storage layer. Each fabric interconnect also has multiple ports reserved by VCE for fibre channel (FC) ports. These ports connect to Cisco MDS storage switches. These connections carry FC traffic between the compute layer and the storage layer. In a unified storage configuration, these connections also enable storage area network (SAN) booting of the UCS blades.
Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS)

The Cisco UCS data center platform unites compute, network, and storage access. Optimized for virtualization, the Cisco UCS integrates a low-latency, lossless 10 GB Ethernet unified network fabric with enterprise-class, x86-based servers (the Cisco B series). Vblock systems contain a number of Cisco UCS 5108 Series Blade Server Chassis. Each chassis can contain up to eight half-width Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers or four full-width blades. In Vblock systems, each chassis also includes Cisco UCS fabric extenders and Cisco UCS B-Series Converged Network Adapters. The VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Port Assignments Reference provides information about the assigned use for each port in the Vblock system. Refer to Accessing VCE documentation.
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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 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 in Vblock Series 300 models. Refer to Accessing VCE documentation.
Cisco UCS fabric interconnects

The Cisco UCS fabric interconnects provide network connectivity and management capabilities to the Cisco UCS blades and chassis. The Cisco UCS fabric interconnects offer line-rate, low-latency, lossless 10 Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) functions. The interconnects provide the management and communication backbone for the blades and chassis. The interconnects provide LAN and SAN connectivity for all blades within their domain. All Vblock Series 300 models use the 48-port Cisco UCS 6248UP Series Fabric Interconnects. Optionally, the 300EX uses the 26-port Cisco UCS 6120XP Fabric Interconnects. Optionally, the other Vblock 300 models use the 52-port Cisco UCS 6140XP Fabric Interconnects.
Scaling up compute resources

To scale up compute resources, you can add blade packs and chassis activation kits. You can add packs and kits either when Vblock systems are built or after they are deployed.
Blade packs
Cisco UCS blades are sold in packs of two. Each blade pack includes: Two identical Cisco UCS blades Two fabric interconnect port licenses
The base configuration of each Vblock system model includes two blade packs. The maximum number of blade packs depends on the model. Each blade type must have a minimum of two blade packs as a base configuration and then can be increased in single blade pack increments thereafter.
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Each blade pack is added along with license packs for the following software: Note: Cisco UCS Manager (UCSM) VMware ESXi Cisco Nexus 1000v virtual switch EMC Ionix UIM EMC PowerPath/VE License packs for VMware ESXi, Cisco Nexus 1000v virtual switch, and EMC PowerPath are not available for bare-metal blades.
The VCE Vblock Systems Blade Pack Reference provides a list of supported Cisco UCS blades in Vblock 300 models. Refer to Accessing VCE documentation.
Chassis activation kits (CAK)

The power supplies and fabric extenders for all chassis are populated and cabled, and all required Twinax cables and transceivers are populated. However, in a base Vblock system configuration, only two of the Cisco UCS 5100 series blade server chassis are licensed for fabric interconnect ports. This limited licensing reduces the entry cost for Vblock systems. As more blades are added and additional chassis are required, chassis activation kits are added automatically by the VCE configuration tool. The kit contains software licenses to enable additional fabric interconnect ports. The VCE configuration tool only enables enough port licenses for the minimum number of chassis to contain the blades ordered. At the customer's discretion, chassis activation kits can be added up-front to allow for flexibility in the field or to spread the blades initially across a larger number of chassis.
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Bare-metal support
If applications cannot be virtualized due to technical or commercial reasons, Vblock system blades can be deployed bare-metal; that is, with non-virtualized operating system and application configurations. Bare-metal workloads always require separate physical spindles, disk groups, and pools to ensure that bare-metal workloads do not adversely impact Vblock system workloads. VCE can provide reasonable-effort support for bare-metal blades only if the bare-metal deployment complies with the following requirements: The base Vblock system contains only VCE published, tested, and validated hardware and software components. The VCE Vblock Systems Release Certification Matrix provides a list of the certified versions of components for Vblock Series 300. Refer to Accessing VCE documentation. The applications and operating systems for tested Vblock systems software for compute and storage components are included in published support matrices from EMC and Cisco.
For bare-metal deployments that include other hypervisor technologies (Hyper-V, KVM, etc.), those hypervisor technologies are not supported by VCE. VCE reasonable effort support means that VCE determines that the base Vblock system is operating correctly, and assists in problem resolution to a reasonable extent. VCE is unable to reproduce problems or provide support on the operating systems installed for bare-metal deployments. VCE cannot provide updates to those operating systems or test them. Customers must work directly with their support vendors for issues and patches for those operating systems.
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Storage layer hardware
Storage layer hardware Storage overview

The storage layer within a Vblock Series 300 consists of an EMC VNX storage array. The storage array consists of a number of disk array enclosures (DAEs) that contain disk drives. These connect to dual storage processors (SPs) over 6 GB four-lane serial attached SCSI (SAS). Fibre Channel expansion cards within the storage processors connect to the Cisco MDS switches within the network layer over Fibre Channel.
EMC VNX Series storage arrays

EMC VNX series are fourth-generation storage platforms that deliver industry-leading capabilities. They offer a unique combination of flexible, scalable hardware design and advanced software capabilities that enable them to meet the diverse needs of todays organizations. EMC VNX series platforms support block and unified storage. The platforms are optimized for VMware virtualized applications. They feature Flash drives for extendable cache and high performance in the virtual storage pools. Automation features include self-optimized storage tiering and application-centric replication. Regardless of the storage protocol implemented at startup (block or unified), Vblock 300 models can include cabinet space, cabling, and power to support the hardware for all of these storage protocols. This arrangement makes it easier to move from block storage to unified storage with minimal hardware changes. The following table lists Vblock 300 models, in order from largest capacity to smallest. The table also lists the EMC VNX Series storage array that is included in each Vblock system:
Vblock 300 model 300HX 300GX 300FX 300EX VNX storage array model 7500 5700 5500 5300
Note:
Within Vblock 300 models, all EMC VNX components are installed within VCE cabinets in VCEspecific layouts.
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Replication
For block storage configurations, Vblock Series 300 systems can be upgraded to include EMC RecoverPoint. This replication technology provides continuous data protection and continuous remote replication for ondemand protection and recovery to any point in time. EMC RecoverPoint advanced capabilities include policybased management, application integration, and bandwidth reduction. RecoverPoint is included in the EMC Local Protection Suite and EMC Remote Protection Suite. To implement EMC RecoverPoint within a Vblock system, add two or more EMC RecoverPoint Appliances (RPA) in a cluster to the Vblock system. This cluster can accommodate approximately 80 MB/s sustained throughput through each RPA. To ensure proper sizing and performance of an EMC RecoverPoint solution, VCE works with an EMC Technical Consultant and the customer. They collect information about the data to be replicated, as well as data change rates, data growth rates, network speeds, and other information that is needed to ensure that all business requirements are met.
Scaling up storage resources

To scale up storage resources, you can: Expand block I/O bandwidth between the compute and storage resources Add RAID packs Add disk array enclosure (DAE) packs
I/O bandwidth and packs can be added when Vblock systems are built and after they are deployed.
I/O bandwidth expansion

Fibre channel bandwidth can be optionally doubled with four additional fibre channel ports between the Cisco UCS 6248UP Fabric Interconnects and the Cisco MDS 9148 Series Storage Switch pairs in the 300HX and the 300GX. This configuration requires the use of four storage array ports per storage processor that are normally reserved for unified connectivity of the X-Blades. This option is available for environments that require high bandwidth, block-only configurations.
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RAID packs
Storage capacity can be increased by adding RAID packs. Each pack contains a number of drives of a given type, speed, and capacity. The number of drives in a pack depends upon the RAID level that it supports. 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, and 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 1 2 Drive type Solid-state Enterprise Flash drives (EFD) Serial attached SCSI (SAS) Supported speeds and capacities 100 GB 200 GB 300 GB 10K RPM 600 GB 10K RPM 900 GB 10K RPM 300 GB 15K RPM 600 GB 15K RPM 2 TB 7.2K RPM 3 TB 7.2K RPM
Nearline SAS
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The RAID protection level for the tiers in each pool. The following table describes each supported RAID protection level. The RAID protection level for the different pools can vary.
Description 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. Lowest economy of the three supported RAID levels since usable capacity is only 50% of raw capacity. Block-level striping with a single parity block, where the parity data is distributed across all of the drives 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 to perform a single write. With single parity, can sustain a single drive failure with no data loss. Vulnerable to data loss or 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. 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 a single write. Economy is very good. Usable capacity is 75% of raw capacity or better. EMC best practice for SATA and NL-SAS drives.
RAID protection level RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 6
There are RAID packs for each RAID protection level/tier type combination. The RAID levels dictate the number of drives that are included in the packs. The following table lists RAID protection levels and the number of drives in the packs for each level:
RAID protection level RAID 1 RAID 5 RAID 6 Number of drives per RAID pack 8 (4 + 4) 5 (4 + 1) 8 (6 drives + 2 parity)
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Disk array enclosure (DAE) packs

If the number of RAID packs in a Vblock system is expanded, more disk array enclosures (DAEs) might be required. DAEs are added in packs. The number of DAEs in each pack is equivalent to the number of backend buses in the EMC VNX array in the Vblock system. The following table lists Vblock 300 models, and the number of DAEs in the packs for each model:
Vblock 300 model 300HX 300GX 300FX 300EX EMC VNX array type EMC VNX 7500 EMC VNX 5700 EMC VNX 5500 EMC VNX 5300 Number of buses in the array 8 4 2 2 Number of DAEs in the DAE pack 8 4 2 (base includes DPE as the first DAE) 2 (base includes DPE as the first DAE)
Each DAE is a 15 drive 3U enclosure for 3.5" form factor drives.
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Network layer hardware
Network layer hardware Network overview

The Cisco Nexus 5000 series switches in the network layer provide 10 GbE IP connectivity between the Vblock system and the outside world. In a unified storage configuration, the switches also connect the fabric interconnects in the compute layer to the X-Blades in the storage layer. The switches also provide connectivity to the Advanced Management Pod (AMP) through redundant connections to the Cisco Catalyst 3560X Ethernet switch or switches in the AMP. Refer to Management hardware components for information about the AMP. The Cisco MDS 9000 series switches in the aggregation layer provide fibre channel links between the Cisco fabric interconnects and the engines. In a unified storage configuration, this connection also supports SAN booting of the blades in the compute layer. Ports are reserved or identified for special Vblock system services such as backup, replication, or aggregation uplink connectivity.
IP network components
Each Vblock Series 300 model includes two Cisco Nexus 5548 Ethernet switches. In the Vblock system, these switches provide Ethernet connectivity: Between the Vblock system internal components To the site network To the Advanced Management Pod (AMP) through redundant connections to the Cisco Catalyst 3000 Ethernet switches in the AMP
The Cisco Nexus 5548 switch supports low latency line-rate 10 GB Ethernet and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) connectivity on up to 32 ports. A unified port expansion module provides an extra 16 ports of 10 GbE or FCoE connectivity. The ports are licensed on an on-demand basis.
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Network layer hardware
Storage switching components

Each Vblock 300 model includes two Cisco MDS 9148 Multilayer Fabric Switches. In the Vblock system, these switches provide: Fibre Channel connectivity between the compute layer components and the storage layer components Connectivity for backup, business continuity (EMC RecoverPoint), and storage federation requirements when configured
The Cisco MDS 9148 switch provides from 16 to 48 line-rate ports for non-blocking 8 Gbps throughput. The port groups are enabled on an as needed basis.
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Virtualization components
Virtualization components Virtualization overview

VMware vSphere is the virtualization platform that provides the foundation for the private cloud. The core VMware vSphere components are the VMware vSphere Hypervisor ESXi and VMware vCenter Server for management. The hypervisors are deployed in a cluster configuration and can scale up to 32 nodes per cluster. The cluster allows dynamic allocation of resources, such as CPU, memory, and storage. The cluster also provides workload mobility and flexibility with the use of VMware vMotion and Storage vMotion technology.
VMware vSphere Hypervisor ESXi

The VMware vSphere Hypervisor ESXi runs in the AMP and in the Vblock system. This lightweight hypervisor requires very little space to run (less than 6 GB of storage required to install) and has minimal management overhead. ESXi does not contain a console operating system. ESXi is booted from a dedicated SAN volume to provide stateless computing within a Vblock system.
Cluster configuration
ESXi hosts and their resources are pooled together into clusters. These clusters contain the CPU, memory, network, and storage resources available for allocation to virtual machines. Clusters can scale up to a maximum of 32 hosts. Clusters can support thousands of virtual machines. 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 in a given cluster.
Datastores
Vblock systems support a mixture of datastore types: block level storage using VMFS or file level storage using NFS. The maximum size per VMFS5 volume is 64 TB (50 TB VMFS3 @ 1 MB). Each host/cluster can support a maximum of 255 volumes. VCE optimizes the advanced settings for ESXi hosts that are deployed in Vblock systems to maximize the throughput and scalability of NFS datastores. Vblock systems currently support a maximum of 256 NFS datastores per host.
Virtual networks
Virtual networking in the AMP uses the VMware standard vSwitch. Virtual networking in Vblock systems is managed by the Cisco Nexus 1000v distributed virtual switch.
VMware vCenter Server

VMware vCenter Server is a central management point for the hypervisors and virtual machines. VMware vCenter 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 instance, as well as an accompanying instance of VMware Update Manager to assist with upgrades and host patch management. VMware Update Manager is installed on a separate Windows Server and runs as a Windows service. Each of these systems resides in the AMP. VMware vCenter Server provides the following functionality: Cloning of virtual machines Creating templates VMware vMotion and VMware Storage vMotion Initial configuration of DRS and VMware vSphere high availability clusters
VMware vCenter Server also provides monitoring and alerting capabilities for hosts and virtual machines. Vblock system administrators can create and apply alarms to all managed objects in VMware vCenter Server. These alarms include: Datacenter, cluster, and host health, inventory, and performance Datastore health and capacity Virtual machine usage, performance, and health Virtual network usage and health
Databases
The backend database that supports VMware vCenter Server and VMware Update Manager (VUM) is remote Microsoft SQL Server 2008. Vblock systems also support the use of Oracle databases for vCenter and VUM databases. The SQL Server service requires a dedicated service account.
Authentication
Vblock systems support the integration of client-side Active Directory for authentication. VMware vCenter Server and Update Manager run as separate Windows services. Each service is configured to use a dedicated service account. A separate Active Directory domain can be provisioned by VCE if required. This domain is configured with the service accounts, user accounts, and groups required to manage the virtual environment.
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VCE supported features

VCE supports the following VMware vCenter Server features: vSphere high availability DRS Fault Tolerance VMware vMotion VMware Storage vMotion Raw Device Maps Resource Pools Storage DRS (capacity only) VMware vSphere Storage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI) (except TP reclaim primitive) Storage driven profiles (user-defined only) Distributed power management (up to 50 percent of ESXi hosts/blades) VMware Syslog Service VMware Core Dump Collector VMware vCenter Web Services
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Management components
Management components Management hardware components

Vblock systems include an AMP. The AMP provides a single management point for Vblock systems. It enables the following benefits: Monitors and manages Vblock system health, performance, and capacity Provides fault isolation for management Eliminates resource overhead on Vblock systems Provides a clear demarcation point for remote operations
The following table describes the AMPs:

AMP Mini Description High-availability (HA) One Cisco UCS C200 server Two Cisco Catalyst 3560X Ethernet switches Two Cisco UCS C200 servers Two Cisco Catalyst 3560X Ethernet switches One EMC VNXe3100
In a Vblock system configuration with a mini-AMP, space is reserved in the compute/storage base (CSB) cabinet for the additional HA AMP components to make it easy to upgrade to the HA AMP later. In the 300EX, the AMP is not installed in the base cabinet. The AMP must be installed within an external storage expansion (SE) cabinet, network cabinet, or customer-provided cabinet. The mini-AMP occupies three rack units (RUs). The HA AMP occupies 6 RUs.
Cisco UCS C200 server
Cisco Catalyst 3560X Ethernet switch
EMC VNXe3100
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Management software tools

This topic lists the management software tools available on Vblock Series 300.
AMP software tools

Each AMP is delivered pre-configured with the following software tools: VMware vCenter, VCDB built on Microsoft Windows SQL Server, and vCenter Update Manager EMC Ionix UIM/P Cisco Nexus 1000v virtual switch manager EMC PowerPath/VE License Management Server (Optional) EMC RecoverPoint management software that includes RecoverPoint Management Application and RecoverPoint Deployment Manager Array management virtual supervisor modules containing Unisphere Client and Server, Unisphere Service Manager, EMC VNX Initialization Utility, EMC VNX Startup Tool, and Fabric Manager EMC Secure Remote Support (ESRS) EMC Solutions Enabler with SMIS Cisco Device Manager and Cisco Fabric Manager System administration utilities such as PuTTY, TFTP Server, Java, etc.
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Storage features support

This topic presents additional storage features available on Vblock Series 300.
vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI)

Vblock 300 models support VMware vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI). This technology improves overall storage performance by offloading various host resource-intensive tasks to the SAN hardware. VAAI is supported for block protocols only. Within a Vblock system with VNX OE for Block 05.31 and VMware ESX(i) 5.0, VAAI is automatically enabled. The following features are supported: Full copy offload Block zeroing (Copy Same) Hardware assisted lock management Thin provisioning (TP) stun
File deduplication
File deduplication is supported but is not enabled by default. Note that enabling this feature requires thorough knowledge of capacity and storage requirements.
Block compression
Block compression is supported but is not enabled by default. Note that enabling this feature requires thorough knowledge of capacity and storage requirements.
External NFS and CIFS access

Vblock systems can present CIFS and NFS shares to external clients provided that these provisions are followed: 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 the Vblock system at the same time In a configuration with two X-Blades, mixed internal and external access is not supported. The following configurations are supported: External NFS and external CIFS only Internal NFS and internal CIFS only
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In a configuration with more than two X-Blades, external NFS and CIFS access runs on one or more X-Blades that are physically separate from the X-Blades serving VMFS datastores to the Vblock system compute layer
Snapshotting
For block storage snapshotting, EMC SnapView is supported. This software provides local block replication using snaps and clones without the extra cost of the optional EMC RecoverPoint Appliances. This software is included in the EMC VNX Local Protection Suite. For NAS file system snapshotting, EMC SnapSure is supported. It is included in the EMC VNX Local Protection Suite.
Replicas
For Vblock system NAS configurations, EMC VNX Replicator is supported. This software can create local clones (full copies) and replicate file systems asynchronously across IP networks. EMC VNX Replicator is included in the EMX VNX Remote Protection Suite.
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Data protection
Data protection Vblock Data Protection overview

This section presents the following information: Defines data protection Describes the optional VCE Vblock Data Protection capabilities Illustrates and describes the typical, standard data protection configurations for backup and recovery Illustrates and describes the typical, standard data protection configurations for business continuity and workload mobility
The information in this section assumes prior knowledge of EMC Avamar, EMC Data Domain, and EMC VPLEX.
Data protection defined

Data protection encompasses a wide range of different technologies, techniques and methodologies used to ensure the integrity, availability, and currency of both the data and the underlying delivery systems in an IT environment. For Vblock systems, data protection is defined as: Backup and recovery: Minimum required data insurance. Provides protection against data corruption, accidental data deletion, storage component failure, and site disaster. Ensures backups are fully recoverable, point-in-time copies of data that are typically done once per day.
Replication of data snapshots: Additional data insurance. Provides additional level of data protection on top of daily backups since replication cannot always protect against data corruption. Takes multiple snapshots, or nearly continuous snapshots, throughout the day to reduce worst case data loss from 24 hours to time of last snapshot.
Business continuity: Application availability insurance Ensures zero data loss and near-zero recovery time for business-critical data. Provides additional level of data protection on top of daily backups since replication cannot always protect against data corruption.
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Data protection
Workload mobility: Moves workload to another site in anticipation of a disaster. Moves workload for balancing sites or systems.
Archive: Provides long-term copy of data that is typically done for legal compliance reasons whose retention period spans multiple years.
Refer to the VCE Vblock Data Protection white paper for more information about VCE data protection strategies and solutions. Consult with a VCE vArchitect or VCE Partner about data protection requirements and determine what type of solution is best for your environment.
VCE Vblock Data Protection capabilities

The optional VCE Vblock Data Protection ensures continuous availability of the IT infrastructure, applications, and workloads running within VCE virtualized and cloud computing environments. The Vblock Data Protection family of solutions allows a choice of streamlined backup and recovery, data replication, business continuity, and workload mobility to deliver reliable, predictable, and cost-effective availability for Vblock systems. Vblock Data Protection scales from one to many Vblock systems within and across data centers to provide the necessary data protection. The following table describes how Vblock Data Protection solutions provide data protection for the Vblock system:
Capability Deduplication backup software and system Solution EMC Avamar Solution description Provides highly efficient, variable-length deduplication, with tight integration to EMC purpose-built, backup appliances. Enables fast, complete daily backups of virtualized environments including the IT infrastructure, enterprise applications, and data. Deduplication on the client side reduces ESX contention and network traffic by sending only changed blocks to the backup target. This shortens backup times while keeping full backups available for rapid, single-step restores. Client-side and target-based deduplication backup and recovery. Leverages high speed technology to reduce the backup data storage footprint at the target device by 10 times to 30 times. Shares, protects, or load-balances infrastructure resources across multiple Vblock systems in the same data center or in different data centers within a campus or metro area. Moves live virtual machines between locations to avoid planned downtime. Handles unplanned events automatically with zero data-loss and zero to near-zero application recovery time.
Deduplication backup software and system, and deduplication storage systems Business continuity (disaster avoidance) and workload mobility
EMC Avamar and EMC Data Domain EMC VPLEX
Vblock Data Protection solutions are extensions of the Vblock system and are contained in VCE cabinets. The solutions contain standardized components and are designed to be fully scalable. Vblock Data Protection solutions are individually sized for each customer based on specific customer requirements and based on the results of the EMC sizing tool. The EMC sizing tool assessment must be completed by personnel who have been trained and certified by EMC.
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Data protection
Backup and recovery

The Vblock Data Protection solution for backup and recovery is available in the following VCE configurations: One VCE cabinet that contains EMC Avamar Multiple VCE cabinets that contain EMC Avamar One VCE cabinet that contains EMC Avamar and EMC Data Domain 670 One VCE cabinet that contains EMC Avamar and another VCE cabinet that contains EMC Data Domain 890 One VCE cabinet that contains EMC Avamar and multiple cabinets that contain EMC Data Domain 890
Refer to the Vblock Systems Backup and Recovery Best Practices white paper for more information about the Vblock Data Protection solution for backup and recovery.
One VCE cabinet that contains EMC Avamar

This solution is best used when the EMC sizing tool determines that an EMC Avamar-only deployment is the most effective solution. The VCE backup and recovery solution that contains EMC Avamar in one VCE cabinet contains EMC Avamar switches, Cisco Nexus 5548UP switches, EMC Avamar data nodes, and utility nodes with built-in networking, and two external connection cables to the Vblock system. The minimum configuration has three data nodes and one utility node. Expansion space is provided in the cabinet for up to 13 additional nodes in any combination of spare node, data nodes (16 total maximum), and NDMP accelerator nodes. The Cisco Nexus 5548UP switches connect the data protection cabinet to the Vblock system. When you add additional components in the available expansion area, add components starting from the bottom of the expansion area.
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Data protection
The following illustration shows the rear view of the VCE data protection cabinet with EMC Avamar solution:
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Data protection
Multiple VCE cabinets that contain EMC Avamar

When the Vblock system to be backed up requires more than one EMC Avamar instance, the solution scales up by simply adding additional EMC Avamar instances. The following illustration shows the rear view of the multiple VCE data protection cabinets with EMC Avamar:
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Data protection
One VCE cabinet that contains EMC Avamar and EMC Data Domain 670
This solution is best used when the Vblock system will not require more than one cabinet of EMC Avamar and EMC Data Domain components to meet the backup requirements (single cabinet excluding the backup replication system). The VCE backup and recovery solution that contains EMC Avamar and EMC Data Domain 670 in one VCE cabinet has EMC Avamar switches, Cisco Nexus 5548UP switches, a minimum of one EMC Data Domain 670 Head Unit, one EMC ES30 expansion (storage) shelf, three EMC Avamar data nodes, and one EMC Avamar utility node. This solution includes built-in networking and two external connection cables to the Vblock system. It contains three expansion spaces providing room for an additional head unit, an additional storage unit, and an additional ten nodes in any combinations of data notes and accelerator nodes. The Cisco Nexus 5548UP switches connect the data protection cabinet to the Vblock system. When you add additional components in the available expansion area, add components starting from the bottom of the cabinet. Note: If backing up multiple Vblock systems to one VCE Vblock Data Protection cabinet that contains EMC Avamar and EMC Data Domain, each Vblock system must be connected to a group of dedicated uplink ports from the data protection cabinet.
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Data protection
The following illustration shows the rear view of the VCE data protection cabinet with EMC Avamar and EMC Data Domain 670:
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Data protection
One VCE cabinet that contains EMC Avamar and another VCE cabinet that contains EMC Data Domain 890
This solution is best used when the EMC sizing tool determines that an EMC Avamar with EMC Data Domain 890 deployment is the most effective solution. This solution provides a single instance backup deployment that is highly scalable. The first VCE cabinet is identical to the VCE data protection cabinet that contains EMC Avamar only, with the addition of inter-cabinet connections for connection of VCE cabinets containing EMC Data Domain 890 systems. The second cabinet contains one EMC Data Domain 890 Head Unit, up to 12 EMC ES30 expansion (storage) shelves with 2 TB drives, and 2U space for a future head unit upgrade. Note: If backing up multiple Vblock systems to one VCE Vblock Data Protection cabinet that contains EMC Avamar and EMC Data Domain, each Vblock system must be connected to a group of dedicated uplink ports from the data protection cabinet.
The following illustration shows the rear view of the minimum configuration for the combination of the VCE data protection cabinet with EMC Avamar and the VCE cabinet with EMC Data Domain 890:
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Data protection
One VCE cabinet that contains EMC Avamar and multiple cabinets that contain EMC Data Domain 890
The following illustration shows the rear view of the VCE data protection scaled-up solution with EMC Avamar in one VCE cabinet and EMC Data Domain 890 in multiple cabinets.
This solution includes one cabinet that contains EMC Avamar components and can scale beyond two cabinets with EMC Data Domain components.
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Data protection
Business continuity and workload mobility

The Vblock Data Protection solution addresses the two most common use cases: Business continuity (disaster avoidance) that keeps the critical business applications operational, even after a disaster Workload mobility is the ability to identify and migrate a workload without disruption to the most appropriate platform at that point in time
EMC VPLEX
EMC VPLEX is an enterprise-class, storage federation technology that aggregates and manages pools of Vblock system storage within and among data centers. EMC VPLEX resides between the virtual machine servers and the FC attached storage. It presents local and distributed volumes to hosts. EMC VPLEX enables dynamic workload mobility and continuous availability within and between Vblock systems over distance. It provides simultaneous access to storage devices at two sites through the creation of EMC VPLEX Distributed Virtual Volumes, supported on each side by an EMC VPLEX cluster. The EMC VPLEX data protection solution for Vblock systems uses the following hardware and software components and technologies: Vblock systems VMware vCenter Server VMware vCenter Server Heartbeat VMware vSphere High Availability VMware vMotion
Refer to the Vblock Data Protection: Best Practices for EMC VPLEX with Vblock Systems white paper for more information about the business continuity and workload mobility solution. Refer to the EMC VPLEX Architecture Guide for more information about EMC VPLEX.
Cluster configurations
A single Vblock 300 can be connected to a single engine or a dual engine EMC VPLEX cluster. It cannot be connected to a quad engine EMC VPLEX cluster. The Vblock 300 has only 16 ports available for EMC VPLEX front-end and back-end connections.
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Data protection
Recommended configurations
The recommended configurations for the Vblock Data Protection solution for business continuity and workload mobility are:
Configuration Non cross-cluster connect Description Cross-cluster connect Delivers zero Recovery Point Objective (RPO) in all single failures including that of an entire site Delivers zero Recovery Time Objective (RTO) in the event of a storage array failure For a server domain failure or EMC VPLEX failure, limits RTO to the application restart time Requires a ping round-trip time of less than five milliseconds
Servers in cross-cluster connect configuration can access data from the EMC VPLEX cabinet at either site. Cross-cluster connect is suitable for deploying within a campus, or in multiple isolated zones within a single data center. This configuration eliminates the need to do server failover when an entire storage cluster (EMC VPLEX) or the storage behind it) goes down. A cross-cluster configuration: Delivers zero RPO in all single failures including that of an entire site Delivers zero RTO in the event of a storage domain failure For a server domain failure, limits RTO to the application restart time Requires a ping round-trip time of less than one millisecond
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Data protection
Single engine
The following illustration shows the single engine configuration:
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Data protection
Dual engine
The following illustration shows the dual engine configuration:
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Vblock Series 300 cabinets
Vblock Series 300 cabinets Cabinets overview

Within each Vblock Series 300 model, the compute, storage, and network layer components are distributed within two or more 19-inch 42U cabinets. Distributing the components in this manner balances out the power draw and reduces the size of the power outlet units (POUs) that are required. Refer to Power options for Vblock Series 300 for more information. Note: The Vblock Series 300 model EX base configuration is installed in a single cabinet.
Each cabinet conforms to a standard predefined layout. Space is reserved for specific components even if they are not present or required for the customer configuration. This design makes it easier to upgrade or expand each Vblock system as capacity needs increase. As shown in the following illustration, Vblock system cabinets are designed to be installed next to one another within the data center (that is, contiguously). If a customer requires the base and expansion cabinets to be physically separated, customized cabling is needed, which incurs additional cost and delivery delays. Note: The cable length is NOT the same as distance between cabinets. The cable must route through the cabinets and through the cable channels overhead or in the floor.
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Cabinet types
The VCE standard cabinet configurations for Vblock Series 300 include: Compute/storage base (CSB) cabinets Compute/storage expansion (CSE) cabinets Storage expansion (SE) cabinets Network cabinets
Compute/storage base (CSB) cabinets

CSB cabinets contain the base compute, storage, and networking components. 300HX, 300GX, and 300FX have two CSB cabinets: CSB A and CSB B. The 300EX has a CSB A cabinet only. The CSB A and CSB B cabinets each contain the following set of components: Two Cisco UCS blade chassis, each containing up to four full-width blades or eight half-width blades. One Cisco Nexus 5548 IP switch One Cisco MDS 9148 storage switch One Cisco UCS 6248UP Fabric Interconnect or one Cisco UCS 61x0XP Fabric Interconnect
The CSB A cabinet contains these additional components: (Unified storage configurations) EMC VNX array storage processors, control stations, and data movers. Up to four DAEs (optional)
The CSB B cabinet contains these additional components: Mini Advanced Management Pod (mini AMP) Up to four DAEs (optional)
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Compute/storage expansion (CSE) cabinets

If a Vblock system expands beyond its CSB cabinets, up to two CSE cabinets (CSE 1 and CSE 2) can be added to contain the additional components. Each CSE cabinet can contain these components: Up to two Cisco UCS blade chassis, each containing up to four full-width blades or eight half-width blades (if the capacity limitations of the given Vblock system model permit more blades than can fit in the base cabinet) Up to nine DAEs, if the capacity limitations of the given Vblock system model permit this many DAEs
Each CSE cabinet is added only if it is needed. The CSE 1 cabinet is added only if the Vblock system expands beyond its CSB cabinets. The CSE 2 cabinet is added only if the Vblock system expands beyond the CSE 1 cabinet. Space is reserved in each cabinet for the blade chassis and the DAEs, even if they are not all installed. This design makes it easier to add this hardware later, if necessary.
Storage expansion (SE) cabinets

If a Vblock system requires more DAEs than the CSB and CSE cabinets can contain, an SE cabinet is added. Each cabinet can contain up to 14 DAEs, if the capacity limitations of the given Vblock 300 model permit this many DAEs. SE cabinets are numbered from 1 to 3. SE cabinets are added only after all of the reserved DAE space in the CSB and CSE cabinets is filled. SE cabinets can also be used to house these components: The AMP (300EX only) (Optional) EMC RecoverPoint Appliances (RPAs)
Network cabinets
If additional space is required for networking or storage switching components, one or more network cabinets is added. Network cabinets serve as aggregation points for: IP networking components for cross-Vblock system communication and customer access points The core portion of core-edge block fabrics to support shared replication and fabric services AMP IP management connectivity consolidation
Use network cabinets to house the following components: A centralized AMP for large Vblock system environments Shared (optional) EMC RecoverPoint Appliances (RPAs)
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Vblock Series 300 models
Vblock Series 300 models Vblock Series 300 model overview

The following table compares the architecture of the Vblock 300 models:
300HX Storage access Fabric interconnect model Cisco B-series blade chassis Block or unified Cisco UCS 6248UP or Cisco UCS 6140XP 8 maximum 300GX Block or unified Cisco UCS 6248UP or Cisco UCS 6140XP 8 maximum 300FX Block or unified Cisco UCS 6248UP or Cisco UCS 6140XP 8 maximum with Cisco UCS 6248UP Fabric Interconnects 4 maximum with Cisco UCS 6140XP Fabric Interconnects Half-width = 64 Full-width = 32 Cisco Nexus 5548 (2) Cisco MDS 9148 (2) EMC VNX 5500 2 Block = FC Unified = NFS, FC, and CIFS Block = VMFS Unified = NFS and VMFS Minimum = 2 Maximum = 3 SAN Minimum = 18 Maximum = 240 300EX Block or unified Cisco UCS 6248UP or Cisco UCS 6120XP 2 maximum
B-series blades (maximum) IP switches SAN switches Array Back-end SAS buses Storage protocol
Half-width = 64 Full-width = 32 Cisco Nexus 5548 (2) Cisco MDS 9148 (2) EMC VNX 7500 8 Block = FC Unified = NFS, FC, and CIFS Block = VMFS Unified = NFS and VMFS Minimum = 2 Maximum = 8 SAN Minimum = 18 Maximum = 960
Datastore type
X-Blades (block only) Boot path Disk drives
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Vblock Series 300 models
Power options for Vblock Series 300

Vblock 300 supports several power outlet unit (POU) options inside and outside of North America.
North America power options

The following table lists the POUs that are available for Vblock systems in North America. The NEMA POU is standard. Other POUs will add time to Vblock system assembly and delivery.
POU NEMA L15-30P IEC 60309 IEC 60309 NEMA L6-30P Power specifications 3-phase delta / 30A / 208 V 3-phase delta / 60A / 208 V Single phase / 60A / 208 V Single phase / 30A / 208 V Number per cabinet 4 POUs per CSB and CSE cabinet 2 POUs per SE cabinet 2 POUs per cabinet 4 POUs per CSB and CSE cabinet 2 POUs per SE cabinet 6 POUs per CSB and CSE cabinet 4 POUs per SE cabinet for 300GX 6 POUs per SE cabinet for 300HX
Power options outside of North America

The following table lists the POUs that are available for Vblock systems outside of North America. The IEC 309 POU is standard. Other POUs will add time to Vblock system assembly and delivery.
POU IEC 309 32A 3P+N+PE IEC 60309 3P+N+ E IEC 60309 2P+E Power specifications 3-phase wye / 32A / 230 / 400 V 3-phase wye / 16A / 230 / 400 V Single phase / 32A / 230 V Number per cabinet 2 POUs per cabinet 4 POUs per CSB and CSE cabinet 2 POUs per SE cabinet 6 POUs per CSB and CSE cabinet 4 POUs per SE cabinet for 300GX 6 POUs per SE cabinet for 300HX
The VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Physical Planning Guide provides more information about power requirements. Refer to Accessing VCE documentation.
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Vblock Series 300 model HX
Vblock Series 300 model HX 300HX overview

The Vblock Series 300 model HX (300HX) can support the highest compute and storage capacity of all Vblock 300 models: The 300HX compute capacity is expandable from 4 blades to 64 half-width blades or 32 full-width blades. The 300HX includes an EMC VNX 7500 storage array. 300HX storage capacity is expandable up to 64 DAEs/960 drives, depending upon drive type mixture and DAE model.
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300HX base configuration

The following illustration shows the front of the 300HX base configuration contained in CSB A and CSB B cabinets:
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The following illustration shows the rear of the 300HX base configuration:
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300HX compute layer base configuration

The base configuration for the 300HX compute layer consists of the following components. These components are located in the CSB A and CSB B cabinets: Four Cisco UCS 5108 chassis. Each chassis includes: Two fabric extenders (FEXs) Four power supplies
Four Cisco UCS blades (two blade packs), installed in the chassis Two Cisco UCS 6248UP Series Fabric Interconnects or two Cisco UCS 6140XP Series Fabric Interconnects
Four licenses to the following software packages are included in the base configuration: Note: Cisco UCS Manager VMware ESXi Cisco Nexus 1000v virtual switch EMC Ionix UIM EMC PowerPath/VE If the customer already has site licenses for one or more of these software packages, the licenses can be omitted from the base configuration.
300HX storage layer base configuration (block storage)

The base configuration for the 300HX storage layer consists of an EMC VNX 7500 storage array. The storage array is configured as follows: Dual storage processors. Each storage processor has a six-core 2.8 GHz Intel Westmere CPU and 24 GB cache. Each storage processor has eight 6 GB BE 4-lane SAS buses. Dual standby power supplies (SPS) Eight DAEs Drives for storage, and for Vault and Boot RAID groups Licenses for the following software: FAST cache VNX Operating Environment (OE) for Block
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Optional software: VNX OE for Unified Advanced FAST Suite Local Protection Suite Remote Protection Suite Application Protection Suite Security and Compliance Suite
300HX storage layer base configuration (unified storage)

For a unified storage configuration, the CSB cabinets contain the following additional components: Dual control stations (CS) Data mover enclosures (DMEs) and two data movers (X-Blades) in a 1+1 cluster, plus NFS/CIFS licensing. The X-Blades include: One six-core 2.8 GHz Intel Westmere CPU with 24 GB memory and up to 256 TB of storage per X-Blade One four-port 8 GB FC expansion card per X-Blade (two ports for BE connectivity, two ports for tape backup) Two two-port 10 GB Ethernet expansion cards per X-Blade (FE NFS/CIFS connectivity)
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300HX maximum configuration

To add compute blades or DAEs beyond the capacity of the CSB cabinets, up to two CSE cabinets can be added (CSE 1 and CSE 2). To add DAEs beyond this capacity, up to three SE cabinets can be added (SE 1, SE 2, SE 3). The following illustration shows the front of a fully maximized 300HX with two CSE cabinets and three SE cabinets:
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The following illustration shows the rear of a fully maximized 300HX:
Expanding the 300HX compute layer

The 300HX compute layer can be expanded to up to eight Cisco UCS 5108 chassis, and blade packs can be added for up to 32 full-width or 64 half-width blades. To add blades beyond the four chassis in the base configuration, CSE cabinets can be added. To activate the chassis within the CSE cabinets, you must purchase chassis activation kits. Each kit contains eight fabric interconnect port licenses, to connect the FEXs in the chassis to either the two Cisco UCS 6248UP Series Fabric Interconnects or to the two Cisco UCS 6140XP Series Fabric Interconnects. Refer to Chassis activation kits (CAK).
Expanding the 300HX storage layer

300HX storage capacity can be expanded in any of the following ways: Add ESX or bare metal Boot LUN RAID groups (five drives per RAID group) to upgrade the boot capacity. Each RAID group accommodates 32 ESXi hosts. Upgrade FAST cache from 100 GB to 2000 GB, in mirrored pairs of EFD drives. Add RAID packs to one or more tiers. The EMC VNX 7500 maximum growth is 64 DAEs/960 drives. In a unified configuration, as storage capacity grows, X-Blades and DMEs must be added, plus NFS/CIFS licensing. X-Blades are supplied in DME packs (two X-Blades per pack), including
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NFS/CIFS licensing. An HX configuration can expand to up to eight X-Blades in a 7+1 active-standby cluster configuration. The expansion DMEs and X-Blades are installed in the SE cabinets. For information about the components contained in these cabinets, refer to 300HX maximum CSB cabinets, 300HX maximum compute/storage expansion cabinets, and 300HX maximum storage expansion cabinets.
300HX maximum CSB cabinets

This topic shows the components in fully maximized 300HX CSB A and CSB B cabinets. The illustrations show the Cisco UCS 6248UP Series Fabric Interconnect. A Cisco UCS 6140XP Series Fabric Interconnect is also a valid option.
300HX CSB A cabinet

The following illustration shows the components in a fully maximized 300HX CSB A cabinet:
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300HX CSB B cabinet

The following illustration shows the components in a fully maximized 300HX CSB B cabinet:
The location of the RecoverPoint appliances (RPAs) depends on the Vblock system configuration. If there are more than two RPAs in the cluster, the RPAs are not located in the CSB cabinet. The RPAs are located in the last CSE or SE cabinet with space available.
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300HX maximum compute/storage expansion cabinets

This topic shows the components in fully maximized 300HX CSE 1 and CSE 2 cabinets.
300HX maximized CSE 1 cabinet

The following illustration shows the components in a fully maximized 300HX CSE 1 cabinet:
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300HX maximized CSE 2 cabinet

The following illustration shows the components in a fully maximized 300HX CSE 2 cabinet:
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300HX maximum storage expansion cabinets

The following illustration shows the components in a maximized 300HX SE 1 cabinet:
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Vblock Series 300 model GX
Vblock Series 300 model GX 300GX overview

The Vblock Series 300 model GX (300GX) is a slightly smaller version of the 300HX, with identical compute capacity but a different storage array: Compute capacity is expandable from four blades to 64 half-width blades or 32 full-width blades. The 300GX includes an EMC VNX 5700 storage array. 300GX storage capacity is expandable up to 32 DAEs/480 drives, depending upon drive type mixture and DAE model.
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300GX base configuration

The following illustration shows the front of the 300GX base configuration contained in CSB A and CSB B cabinets:
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The following illustration shows the rear of the 300GX base configuration:
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300GX compute layer base configuration

The base configuration for the 300GX compute layer matches that of the 300HX: Four Cisco UCS 5108 chassis. Each chassis includes: Two fabric extenders (FEXs) Four power supplies
Four Cisco UCS blades (two blade packs), installed in the chassis Two Cisco UCS 6248UP Series Fabric Interconnects or two Cisco UCS 6140XP Series Fabric Interconnects These components are located in the CSB A and CSB B cabinets
Four licenses to the following software packages are included in the base configuration: Note: Cisco UCS Manager VMware ESXi Cisco Nexus 1000v virtual switch EMC Ionix UIM EMC PowerPath/VE If the customer already has site licenses for one or more of these software packages, the licenses can be omitted from the base configuration.
300GX storage layer base configuration (block storage)

The base configuration for the 300GX storage layer consists of an EMC VNX 5700 storage array. The storage array is configured as follows: Dual storage processors. Each storage processor has a four-core 2.4 GHz Intel Westmere CPU and 18 GB cache. Each storage processor has four 6 GB BE 4-lane SAS buses. Dual standby power supplies (SPS) Four DAEs Drives for storage, and for Vault and Boot RAID groups Licenses for the following software: FAST cache VNX OE for Block
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300GX storage layer base configuration (unified storage)

For a unified storage configuration, the CSB cabinets contain the following additional components: Dual control stations (CS) Data mover enclosures (DMEs) and two data movers (X-Blades) in a 1+1 cluster, plus NFS/CIFS licensing. The X-Blades include: One 4-core 2.4 GHz Intel Westmere CPU with 12 GB memory and up to 256 TB of storage per X-Blade One four-port 8 GB FC expansion card per X-Blade (two ports for BE connectivity, two ports for tape backup) Two two-port 10 GB Ethernet expansion cards per X-Blade (FE NFS/CIFS connectivity)
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300GX maximum configuration

To add compute blades or DAEs beyond the capacity of the CSB cabinets, up to two CSE cabinets can be added (CSE 1 and CSE 2). To add DAEs beyond this capacity, one SE cabinet can be added (SE 1). The following illustration shows the front of a fully maximized 300GX with two CSE cabinets and one SE cabinet:
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The following illustration shows the rear of a fully maximized 300GX:
Expanding the 300GX compute layer

The 300GX compute layer can be expanded to up to eight Cisco UCS 5108 chassis, and blade packs can be added for up to 32 full-width or 64 half-width blades. To add blades beyond the four chassis in the base configuration, CSE cabinets can be added. To activate the chassis within the CSE cabinets, the customer must purchase chassis activation kits. Each kit contains eight fabric interconnect port licenses, to connect the FEXs in the chassis to either the two Cisco UCS 6248UP Series Fabric Interconnects or to the two Cisco UCS 6140XP Series Fabric Interconnects. Refer to Chassis activation kits (CAK).
Expanding the 300GX storage layer

The 300GX storage capacity can be expanded in any of the following ways: Add ESX or bare metal Boot LUN RAID groups (5 drives per RAID group) to upgrade the boot capacity. Each RAID group accommodates 32 ESXi hosts. Upgrade FAST cache from 100 GB to 1400 GB, in mirrored pairs of EFD drives. Add RAID packs to one or more tiers. The EMC VNX 5700 maximum growth is 32 DAEs/480 drives. In a unified configuration, as storage capacity grows, add another DME pack that contains two X-Blades, including NFS/CIFS licensing. The X-Blades are configured in a 3+1 active-standby cluster.
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For information about the components contained in these cabinets, refer to 300GX maximum CSB cabinets, 300GX compute/storage expansion cabinets and 300GX storage expansion cabinet.
300GX maximum CSB cabinets

This topic shows the components in fully maximized 300GX CSB A and CSB B cabinets. The illustrations show the Cisco UCS 6248UP Series Fabric Interconnect. A Cisco UCS 6140XP Series Fabric Interconnect is also a valid option.
300GX CSB A cabinet

The following illustration shows the components in a fully maximized 300GX CSB A cabinet:
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300GX CSB B cabinet

The following illustration shows the components in a fully maximized 300GX CSB B cabinet:
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300GX compute/storage expansion cabinets

This topic shows the components in fully maximized 300GX CSE 1 and CSE 2 cabinets.
300GX maximized CSE 1 cabinet

The following illustration shows the components in a fully maximized 300GX CSE 1 cabinet:
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300GX maximized CSE 2 cabinet

The following illustration shows the components in a fully maximized 300GX CSE 2 cabinet:
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300GX storage expansion cabinet

The following illustration shows the components in a maximized 300GX SE 1 cabinet:
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Vblock Series 300 model FX
Vblock Series 300 model FX 300FX overview

The Vblock Series 300 model FX (300FX) is a slightly smaller version of the 300GX, with less compute capacity and a different storage array: Compute capacity is expandable from four blades to 64 half-width blades or 32 full-width blades. The 300FX includes an EMC VNX 5500 storage array. 300FX storage capacity is expandable up to 16 DAEs/240 drives, depending upon drive type mixture and DAE model.
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300FX base configuration

The following illustration shows the front of the 300FX base configuration contained in CSB A and CSB B cabinets:
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The following illustration shows the rear of the 300FX base configuration:
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300FX compute layer base configuration

The base configuration for the 300FX includes the following components: Four Cisco UCS 5108 chassis. Each chassis includes: Two fabric extenders (FEXs) Four power supplies
Four Cisco UCS blades (two blade packs), installed in the chassis Two Cisco UCS 6248UP Series Fabric Interconnects or two Cisco UCS 6140XP Series Fabric Interconnects These components are located in the CSB A and CSB B cabinets
Four licenses to the following software packages are included in the base configuration: Note: Cisco UCS Manager VMware ESXi Cisco Nexus 1000v virtual switch EMC Ionix UIM EMC PowerPath/VE If you already have site licenses for one or more of these software packages, the licenses can be omitted from the base configuration.
300FX storage layer base configuration (block storage)

The base configuration for the 300FX storage layer consists of an EMC VNX 5500 storage array. The storage array is configured as follows: Dual storage processors. Each storage processor has a four-core 2.13 GHz Intel Westmere CPU and 12 GB cache. Each storage processor has two 6 GB BE 4-lane SAS buses. Dual standby power supplies (SPS) Two DAEs (including the DPE) Drives for storage, and for Vault and Boot RAID groups Licenses for the following software: FAST cache VNX OE for Block
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300FX storage layer base configuration (unified storage)

For a unified storage configuration, the CSB cabinets contain the following additional components: Dual control stations (CS) Data mover enclosures (DMEs) and two data movers (X-Blades) in a 1+1 cluster, plus NFS/CIFS licensing. The X-Blades include: One 4-core 2.13 GHz Intel Westmere CPU with 12 GB memory and up to 256 TB of storage per X-Blade One four-port 8 GB FC expansion card per X-Blade (two ports for BE connectivity, two ports for tape backup) One two-port 10 GB Ethernet expansion card per X-Blade (FE NFS/CIFS connectivity)
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300FX maximum configuration

To add blades and DAEs beyond the capacity of the CSB cabinets, CSE cabinets can be added. The following illustration shows the front of a fully maximized 300FX:
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The following illustration shows the rear of a fully maximized 300FX:
Expanding the 300FX compute layer

The 300FX compute layer can be expanded to up to eight Cisco UCS 5108 chassis, and blade packs can be added for up to 32 full-width or 64 half-width blades. To add blades beyond the four chassis in the base configuration, CSE cabinets can be added. To activate the chassis within the CSE cabinets, the customer must purchase chassis activation kits. Each kit contains eight fabric interconnect port licenses, to connect the FEXs to either the two Cisco UCS 6248UP Series Fabric Interconnects or to the two Cisco UCS 6140XP Series Fabric Interconnects. Refer to Chassis activation kits (CAK).
Expanding the 300FX storage layer

The 300FX storage capacity can be expanded in any of the following ways: Add ESX or bare metal Boot LUN RAID groups (five drives per RAID group) to upgrade the boot capacity. Each RAID group accommodates 32 ESXi hosts. Upgrade FAST cache from 100 GB to 1000 GB, in mirrored pairs of EFD drives.
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Add RAID packs to one or more tiers. The EMC VNX 5500 maximum growth is about 16 DAEs/240 drives.
In a unified configuration, as storage capacity grows, add another X-Blade, including NFS/CIFS licensing. The X-Blades are configured in a 2+1 active-standby cluster.
For information about the components contained in these cabinets, refer to 300FX maximum CSB cabinets and 300FX compute/storage expansion cabinets.
300FX maximum CSB cabinets

This topic shows the components in fully maximized 300FX CSB A and CSB B cabinets. The illustrations show the Cisco UCS 6248UP Series Fabric Interconnect. A Cisco UCS 6140XP Series Fabric Interconnect is also a valid option.
300FX CSB A cabinet

The following illustration shows the components in a fully maximized 300FX CSB A cabinet:
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300FX CSB B cabinet

The following illustration shows the components in a fully maximized 300FX CSB B cabinet:
88
300FX compute/storage expansion cabinets

This topic shows the components in fully maximized 300FX CSE 1 and CSE 2 cabinets.
300FX maximized CSE 1 cabinet

The following illustration shows the components in a fully maximized 300FX CSE 1 cabinet:
89
300FX maximized CSE 2 cabinet

The following illustration shows the components in a fully maximized 300FX CSE 2 cabinet:
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Vblock Series 300 model EX
Vblock Series 300 model EX 300EX overview

The Vblock Series 300 model EX (300EX) is an entry-level Vblock system in a single CSB cabinet. Compute capacity is expandable from four blades to 16 half-width blades or eight full-width blades. The 300EX includes an EMC VNX 5300 storage array. 300EX storage capacity is expandable up to eight DAEs/120 drives (including the DPE), depending upon drive type mixture. The 300EX does not include an AMP within the CSB cabinet. The AMP must be installed within an external SE cabinet, aggregation cabinet, or customer-provided cabinet. The standard AMP occupies three rack units (RUs). The HA AMP occupies six RUs.
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300EX base configuration

The following illustration shows the front of the 300EX base configuration contained in a compute/storage/network base cabinet and in a storage expansion cabinet:
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The following illustration shows the rear of the 300EX base configuration:
93
300EX compute layer base configuration

The base configuration for the 300EX includes the following components: Two Cisco UCS 5108 chassis. Each chassis includes: Two fabric extenders (FEXs) Four power supplies
Four Cisco UCS blades (two blade packs), installed in the chassis Two Cisco UCS 6248UP Series Fabric Interconnects or two Cisco UCS 6120XP Series Fabric Interconnects
Two licenses to the following software packages are included in the base configuration: Note: Cisco UCS Manager VMware ESXi Cisco Nexus 1000v virtual switch EMC Ionix UIM EMC PowerPath/VE If the customer already has site licenses for one or more of these software packages, the licenses can be omitted from the base configuration.
300EX storage layer base configuration (block storage)

The base configuration for the 300EX storage layer consists of an EMC VNX 5300 storage array. The storage array is configured as follows: Dual storage processors. Each storage processor has a four-core 1.6 GHz Intel Westmere CPU and 8 GB cache. Each storage processor has two 6 GB BE 4-lane SAS buses. Dual standby power supplies (SPS) Two DAEs (including the DPE) Drives for storage, and for Vault and Boot RAID groups Licenses for the following software: FAST cache VNX OE for Block
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300EX storage layer base configuration (unified storage)

For a unified storage configuration, the CSB cabinet contains the following additional components: Dual control stations (CS) Data mover enclosures (DMEs) and two data movers (X-Blades) in a 1+1 cluster, plus NFS/CIFS licensing. The X-Blades include: One 4-core 2.13 GHz Intel Westmere CPU with 6 GB memory and up to 200 TB of storage per X-Blade One two-port 8 GB FC expansion card per X-Blade (two ports for BE connectivity, two ports for tape backup) One two-port 10 GB Ethernet expansion card per X-Blade (FE NFS/CIFS connectivity)
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300EX maximum configuration

To add DAEs beyond the capacity of the CSB cabinets, an SE cabinet can be added. The following illustration shows the front of a fully maximized 300EX:
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The following illustration shows the rear of a fully maximized 300EX:
Blade packs can be added for up to eight full-width or 16 half-width blades.
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300EX storage capacity can be expanded in any of the following ways: Add ESX or bare metal Boot LUN RAID groups (five drives per RAID group) to upgrade the boot capacity. Each RAID group accommodates 32 ESXi hosts. Upgrade FAST cache from 100 GB to 500 GB, in mirrored pairs of EFD drives. Add RAID packs to one or more tiers. The EMC VNX 5300 maximum growth is eight DAEs (including the DPE) / 120 drives. For information about the components contained in these cabinets, refer to 300EX maximum CSB cabinet and 300EX maximum storage expansion cabinet.
300EX maximum CSB cabinet

The following illustration shows the components in a maximized 300EX CSB cabinet. The illustration shows the Cisco UCS 6248UP Series Fabric Interconnect. Cisco UCS 6120XP Series Fabric Interconnects are also a valid option.
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300EX maximum storage expansion cabinet

The following illustration shows the components in a maximized 300EX SE 1 cabinet:
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Additional references
Additional references References overview

The following tables provide links to documentation provided by Cisco, EMC, and VMware for each of the product lines that are discussed in this document. Virtualization Compute Network Storage
Product VMware vCenter Server VMware vSphere ESXi Description Provides a scalable and extensible platform that forms the foundation for virtualization management. Virtualized infrastructure for Vblock systems. Virtualizes all application servers and provides VMware High Availability (HA) and Dynamic Resource Scheduling (DRS). Link to documentation www.vmware.com/solutions/virtualizationmanagement/ www.vmware.com/products/vsphere/
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Compute components
Product Cisco UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects Description UCS family of linerate, low-latency, lossless, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), and Fibre Channel functions. Provide network connectivity and management capabilities. UCS family of linerate, low-latency, lossless, 10 Gbps Ethernet and Fibre Channel over Ethernet interconnect switches Chassis that supports up to eight blade servers and up to two fabric extenders in a six rack unit (RU) enclosure Bring unified fabric into the blade-server chassis, providing up to four 10 Gbps connections each between blade servers and the fabric interconnect Bring unified fabric into the blade-server chassis, providing up to four 10 Gbps connections each between blade servers and the fabric interconnect Servers that adapt to application demands, intelligently scale energy use, and offer best-in-class virtualization Centralized management capabilities for the Cisco Unified Computing System Link to documentation www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps11544/index.html
Cisco UCS 6100 Series Fabric Interconnects
www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10276/index.html
Cisco UCS 5100 Series Blade Server Chassis
Cisco UCS 2200 Series Fabric Extenders
www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/ps10265/ps10276/data_sheet_c78675243.html
Cisco UCS 2100 Series Fabric Extenders
Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers
Cisco UCS Manager
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Network components
Product Cisco Nexus 1000V Series Switches Cisco MDS 9500 Series Multilayer Directors Description A software switch on a server that delivers Cisco VN-Link services to virtual machines hosted on that server Provides industry-leading availability, scalability, security, and management. The Cisco MDS 9000 family allows deployment of high-performance SANs with the lowest TCO. Provides 48 line-rate 8 Gbps ports and offers cost-effective scalability through on-demand activation of ports Simplifies data center transformation by enabling a standards-based, highperformance unified fabric A single end-to-end platform designed around infrastructure scalability, operational continuity, and transport flexibility Link to documentation www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps9902/index.html
Cisco MDS 9148 Multilayer Fabric Switch Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switches
Storage components
Product EMC VNX 7500, 5700, 5500, 5300 storage arrays Description High-performing unified storage with unsurpassed simplicity and efficiency, optimized for virtual applications Link to documentation www.emc.com/products/series/vnxseries.htm
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ABOUT VCE
VCE, formed by Cisco and EMC with investments from VMware and Intel, accelerates the adoption of converged infrastructure and cloud-based computing models that dramatically reduce the cost of IT while improving time to market for our customers. VCE, through the Vblock system, delivers the industry's only fully integrated and fully virtualized cloud infrastructure system. VCE solutions are available through an extensive partner network, and cover horizontal applications, vertical industry offerings, and application development environments, allowing customers to focus on business innovation instead of integrating, validating, and managing IT infrastructure. For more information, go to www.vce.com.
Copyright 2012 VCE Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Vblock and the VCE logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of VCE Company, LLC. and/or its affiliates in the United States or other countries. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.
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VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

2012 VCE Company, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

1 2012 VCE Company, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

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VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

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VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

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VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

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Accessing VCE documentation

VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

Accessing VCE documentation

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VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

Overview Vblock Systems Series 300 overview

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VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

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VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

Base configurations and scaling

Storage hardware Storage Supported disk drives Supported RAID types

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VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

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VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

Block storage configuration

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VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

SAN boot storage configuration

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VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

Unified storage configuration

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VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

Aggregating multiple Vblock systems

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VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

Aggregation common services

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Compute layer hardware

VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

Compute layer hardware Compute overview

Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS)

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VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

Compute layer hardware

Cisco UCS fabric interconnects

Scaling up compute resources

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Compute layer hardware

VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

Chassis activation kits (CAK)

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VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview

Compute layer hardware

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Storage layer hardware

VCE Vblock Systems Series 300 Architecture Overview