Iscsi Optimization Commands - Dell Networking 2024 Reference Manual

Hide thumbs Also See for Networking 2024:

Table of Contents

iSCSI Optimization Commands

Dell Networking N2000/N3000/N4000 Series Switches

iSCSI Optimization provides a means of performing configuration specific to

storage traffic and optionally giving traffic between iSCSI initiator and target

systems special Quality of Service (QoS) treatment.

iSCSI Optimization is best applied to mixed-traffic networks where iSCSI

packets constitutes a portion of overall traffic. In these cases, the assignment

of iSCSI packets to non-default CoS queues can provide flows with lower

latency and avoid queue resource contention.

If iSCSI frames comprise most of the traffic passing through the switch, the

system provides optimal throughput when all traffic is assigned to the default

queue. An example of this situation is a Storage Area Network (SAN) where

the switch is dedicated to interconnecting iSCSI Targets with Initiators.

Using the default queue for this homogenous traffic provides the best

performance in traffic burst handling and the most accurate 802.3x Flow

Control Pause Frame generation. In these cases, the application of QoS

treatment other than the default policy may result in less overall throughput

or more packet loss.

By default, iSCSI optimization is enabled and iSCSI QoS treatment is

LLDP is used to detect the presence of EqualLogic storage arrays. When

iSCSI optimization is enabled, and LLDP detects an EQL array on a port,

that port configuration is changed to enable portfast and disable unicast

storm control. Configuration changes appear in the running config and are

not removed by disabling the feature or disconnecting the EQl array.

QoS treatment is accomplished by monitoring traffic to detect packets used

by iSCSI stations to establish iSCSI sessions and connections. Data from

these exchanges is used to create classification rules that assign the traffic

between the stations to a configured traffic class. Packets in the flow are

queued and scheduled for egress on the destination port based on these rules.

iSCSI Optimization Commands

Table of Contents