108 Implementing IBM System Networking 10Gb Ethernet Switches
3.1 Overview of the reference architectures
The reference architectures describe a mixed environment of both stand-alone and IBM
BladeCenter embedded switches that are integrated in a fully functional network. These
switches are able to provide end-to-end communication in a data center, for servers that run
different operating systems (Windows and Linux) and IP protocol versions (IPv4 and IPv6).
We follow the three-tier data center design that focuses on the access and aggregation
layers, because those layers are the layers IBM System Networking products use.
Both designs differ in how the Access Layer is implemented:
The Top-of-Rack architecture uses a pair of IBM System Networking stand-alone switches
as the access layer.
The BladeCenter architecture uses a pair of IBM Virtual Fabric 10Gb Switch Modules in
an IBM BladeCenter chassis as the access layer.
The architectures share a common aggregation layer.
The following equipment is used for the network topology described in this chapter:
Two RackSwitches G8264 for the shared aggregation layer
Two RackSwitches G8124 for the access layer in the Top-of-Rack architecture
Two IBM Virtual Fabric 10Gb Switch Modules for the access layer in the
BladeCenter architecture
One IBM System x3550 M3 running Windows Server 2008R2 for the host connected to
the RackSwitch access layer
One IBM BladeCenter HS22 running Red Hat Enterprise Linux for the BladeCenter host
3.2 Top-of-Rack architecture
A Top-of-Rack architecture describes the aggregation and access layers topology by using
stand-alone switches. It has the following components:
Two RackSwitches G8264 were used for the aggregation layer. They are redundantly
connected with 40 Gbps links to each other and 10 Gbps to the access layer switches.
Two RackSwitches G8124 were used for the access layer. They are redundantly
connected with 10 Gbps links to each other and aggregation layer switches.
The server has two 10 Gb uplinks connecting to each access layer switch.
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