Qumulo C-Series Networking

IN THIS ARTICLE

Outlines the various ways a Qumulo C-series cluster can be connected to a network

REQUIREMENTS

• Qumulo C-series 72T or 168T hardware
• Network Switch that meets the following criteria:
  
  • 25Gbps ethernet
  • Fully non-blocking architecture
  • IPv6 capable
• Compatible network cables
• Enough ports to connect all nodes to the same switch fabric
• One static IP per node per defined VLAN

RECOMMENDATIONS

• One set of redundant switches
  • Jumbo Frame support with a minimum of 9000 MTU 
• One physical connection per node to each redundant switch
• One LACP port-channel on each node with the following configuration:
  • Active mode
  • Slow transmit rate
  • Trunk port with a native VLAN
  • IEEE 802.3x flow control enabled (receive only)
• N-1 (N=number of nodes) floating IPs per node per client-facing VLAN
• DNS servers
• Time server (NTP)
• Firewall protocol/ports allowed for Proactive Monitoring

DETAILS

The Qumulo C-series platform uses a networking configuration where both back end and front end traffic are handled by the same NIC. 

For reliability, the recommended configuration is fully-cabled where both ports on each node should be connected. Connecting a single port on the NIC is not recommended, because if the single connection fails, the node will be unavailable. 

CAUTION: Do not use the LOM ports. Only use the external NIC ports for the 25Gb connections as highlighted above. 

Connect to redundant switches 

The details below outline how to connect a 4 node Qumulo C-series cluster to dual switches for redundancy. This is the recommended configuration for Qumulo C-series hardware. If either switch goes down, the cluster will still be accessible from the remaining switch.

• The two NIC ports (2x25Gb) on the nodes are connected to separate switches
• Uplinks to the client network should equal the bandwidth from the cluster to the switch
• The two ports form an LACP port channel via multi-chassis link aggregation group

Connect to a single switch

The details below outline how to connect a 4 node Qumulo C-series cluster to a single switch. Note if this switch goes down, the cluster will not be accessible.

• Each node contains two ports (2x25Gb) that are connected to the switch
• Uplinks to the client network should equal the bandwidth from the cluster to the switch
• The two ports form an LACP port channel 

RESOLUTION

You should now be able to successfully configure a Qumulo C-series cluster to your network

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Quick Start Guide: Qumulo C-Series

IPMI Quick Reference Guide for Qumulo C-Series

QQ CLI: Networks and IP Addresses

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