Build new home network, need some advice

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lazycat

New Member
Aug 15, 2013
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Hello. First, please excuse me for my not good English. ServeTheHome.com is the best forum on home networks, where most of the participants smart and competent people.
I'm building new home network and need you advices.
Now I have:
Dell C6100 - don't use it yet, but probably will use for vsphere
HP DL320s - video surveillance server for 12 IP cameras with RAID5 (P400)
Supermicro Dual Xeon server in 933T chassis - main server
1U Rackable Xeon server with RAID card and expander - for Acronis backups from all PCs and laptops
Raritan 16 port remote IP KVM
Also i have 3 SGI 3016 expanders, which connected to servers. Not yet decided about the software (now it's Win2003, 2008 and Fedora), but most likely Linux on all servers except one (because i have some software only for Windows).
Switches:
HP Procurve 1910-24 and Procurve 3400cl-48, planned to buy another one for Infiniband
Also i have Dell TL2000 LTO4 24 tape autoloader library with FC interface.
I want to connect all servers by Infiniband, here on the forum a lot of answers about Infiniband hardware. But don't imagine the better method to connect all my servers by Infiniband with each other and with TL2000 autoloader, to make it accessible from all servers.
Could I ask for advice how to best combine them? May be there any switch, which allows to connect 4GB FC and Infiniband? Or I need use GBIC for Procurve?
 
Last edited:

Biren78

Active Member
Jan 16, 2013
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You have lots of great hardware.

Use SAS to connect the SGI 3016 to a server or multiple servers.

Do you only have two servers? The Supermicro and the 1U rackable? If so, you can just direct connect those two using infiniband.

Main storage server <-- SAS --> SGI 3016 expander chassis
^
|
Infiniband
|
>Other server

Have the Dell LTO and other machines sit on Ethernet

Does that work?

It may help to draw a diagram of what you are trying to accomplish.
 
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mrkrad

Well-Known Member
Oct 13, 2012
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I replaced two DL320s with DL180's. The DL320s had P812 raid controllers in them and full of drives but the raid card eats up the big slot, and all that is left is pci-e x1 !! so remove the drives and usb stick and move to dl180 G6 with P420/1gb FBWC and back in business (with 10gbe ethernet !!)
 

lazycat

New Member
Aug 15, 2013
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Thanks for the answers!
Biren78
Yes, only 2 yet, but planned to buy one more, therefore need to buy Infiniband switch too. I'm afraid the Dell TL2000 will work only with FC 4GB HBA (or 4GB GBIC), Ethernet port can be used only for management.
Have no idea how to connect it, and how to build a network where servers were connected by IB bus and simultaneously have hi-speed access to Dell TL2000, it use FC 4GB interface. I don't know any switches simultaneously with the IB and 4GB FC ports.

mrkrad
Yeah, the DL320s not the most successful model, I think about replacing P400 to P410 or Adaptec RAID.

If i buy Infiniband module for Procurve 3400cl, like this:
J8434A HP ProCurve CL 10 GbE CX4 Copper 2 Port Module for J8474A J4905A J4906A | eBay
and cards like this:
Mellanox Infiniband HCA Single 4X PCI E Infiniband Adapter MHGS18 XTC 10GB CX4 | eBay
this will allow to connect my two the servers? But I have to buy Infiniband switch with more IB ports.
 

lazycat

New Member
Aug 15, 2013
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And question about Dell C6100 mezzanine IB card. It will work for all 4 nodes simultaneous?
 

mohsinj677

New Member
Aug 16, 2013
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Mohsin

:p This post is so great and nice :p

Yes, only 2 yet, but planned to buy one more, therefore need to buy Infiniband switch too. I'm afraid the Dell TL2000 will work only with FC 4GB HBA (or 4GB GBIC), Ethernet port can be used only for management.
Have no idea how to connect it, and how to build a network where servers were connected by IB bus and simultaneously have hi-speed access to Dell TL2000, it use FC 4GB interface. I don't know any switches simultaneously with the IB and 4GB FC ports.
 

lazycat

New Member
Aug 15, 2013
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mohsinj677
You mean the number of servers or something else? I use one (HP DL320s) for video surveillance recording, second for backups only (1U SGI Rackable with U3016 expander) and third for all other, it runs all software like media server, torrents, sharing my home media files, etc.
Because I have Dell C6100, I want one more server for ESXI.
 

JustinClift

Member
Oct 5, 2014
35
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If i buy Infiniband module for Procurve 3400cl, like this:
J8434A HP ProCurve CL 10 GbE CX4 Copper 2 Port Module for J8474A J4905A J4906A | eBay
and cards like this:
Mellanox Infiniband HCA Single 4X PCI E Infiniband Adapter MHGS18 XTC 10GB CX4 | eBay
this will allow to connect my two the servers? But I have to buy Infiniband switch with more IB ports.
Apologies for the extreme necro-threading, but it's relevant for anyone else doing a search for HP "Procurve 3400cl". ;)

I received 2 of these 2 days ago (had been in storage overseas for a few years), both with J8434A 10GbE (CX4) modules installed in the back. The Mellanox ConnectX-1 VPI adapters I have (set to 10GbE mode) in my FreeNAS 9.10 box work perfectly with them.

So, if someone needs a reasonably cheap 24 or 48 port GigE switch with a few 10GbE ports for old Mellanox cards, these seem to work decently. :)