Category Archives: Networking

Dell Networking S5000: Deployment of a Converged Infrastructure with FCoE

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Humair

Checkout my latest Dell Networking document and learn how to deploy FCoE using the Dell S5000 converged switch: “Dell Networking S5000: Deployment of a Converged Infrastructure with FCoE“.

Posted in Brocade, Dell, Dell Compellent, Fibre Channel, Labs, Network Architecture, Networking, Protocols, Storage, Technology | Tagged Brocade, Compellent, Compellent SC220, Compellent SC8000, converged infrastructure, converged network, converged networks, Dell Compellent SC220, Dell Compellent SC8000, Dell Force10 S5000, Dell Networking S5000, Dell S5000, Dell S5000 configuration, Dell S5000 converged switch, Ethernet-FC bridge, FC, FC Switch, FCF, FCoE, FCoE-FC Bridge, Fibre Channel Forwarder, Fibre Channel over Ethernet, Fibre Channel switch, Froce10 S5000, N_Port_ID Virtualization, NPIV, NPIV Proxy Gateway, S5000, S5000 configuration, S5000 converged switch, SC220, SC8000 | 6 Comments

Dell Networking S5000: The Building Blocks of Unified Fabric and LAN/SAN Convergence

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Humair

Check out my latest Dell Networking whitepaper: Dell Networking S5000: The Building Blocks of Unified Fabric and LAN/SAN Convergence. The whitepaper demonstrates and explains the movement from a traditional non-converged LAN/SAN network to a converged LAN/SAN infrastructure and how the … Continue reading →

Posted in Brocade, Dell, Dell Compellent, Fibre Channel, Labs, Network Architecture, Networking, Protocols, Storage, Technology | Tagged _Port_ID Virtualization, Brocade, Compellent, Compellent SC220, Compellent SC8000, converged infrastructure, converged network, converged networks, Dell Compellent, Dell Compellent SC220, Dell Compellent SC8000, Dell Force10 S5000, Dell Networking S5000, Dell S5000, Dell S5000 converged switch, Ethernet-FC bridge, FC, FC Switch, FCF, FCoE, FCoE-FC Bridge, Fibre Channel Forwarder, Fibre Channel over Ethernet, Fibre Channel switch, Froce10 S5000, NPIV, NPIV Proxy Gateway, S5000, S5000 converged switch, SC220, SC8000 | Leave a comment

Stop by the Dell Networking S5000 Hands-on-Lab at Dell Enterprise Forum 2013

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Humair

If you’re planning to attend the Dell Enterprise Forum in San Jose, CA from June 4th – June 6th 2013, make sure to stop by the Dell Networking S5000 Hands-on-Lab. I’ll be on-site, and you’ll have the opportunity to configure … Continue reading →

Posted in Brocade, Dell, Dell Enterprise Forum 2013, Networking, Tech Events, Technology | Tagged converged LAN/SAN network, convergence, DEF, DEF 2013, Dell Enterprise Forum, Dell Enterprise Forum 2013, Dell Force10 S5000 switch, Dell Networking S5000 Hands-on-Lab, Dell Networking S5000 HOL, Dell S5000, Dell S5000 converged switch, Dell S5000 FCoE switch, Dell S5000 Hands-on-Lab, Dell S5000 HOL, Dell S5000 switch, FCoE, Fibre Channel over Ethernet, Force10 S5000, Force10 S5000 switch, NPIV Proxy Gateway, S5000 converged switch | Leave a comment

Facebook – Not Your Typical Network Engineers

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Humair

A few weeks ago I got an invite to attend a Facebook Open House event which just occurred yesterday. I usually receive invites to several of these types of events from different companies across Silicon Valley. Being an active developer … Continue reading →

Posted in Facebook Open House 2013, Networking, Tech Events, Technology | Tagged coding, Developer Resources, Edge Network, Facebook, Facebook job, Facebook jobs, Facebook Open House, job, network architecture, network engineer, network engineering, network protocols, networking protocols, programmer, SDN, software defined networking | Leave a comment

Buying a Converged/FCoE Switch?

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Humair

I felt the urge to write this article after receiving several inquiries about buying used Cisco Nexus 5010 and Nexus 5020 switches because they are available on some third-party site at large discounts – at least compared to the new … Continue reading →

Posted in Brocade, Cisco, Dell, Juniper, Network Architecture, Networking, Protocols, Technology | Tagged Adapter-FEX, Brocade, Brocade 6720, Brocade 6730, Brocade converged switch, Brocade FCoE switch, Brocade VDX 6720, Brocade VDX 6730, Cisco, Cisco 5010, Cisco 5020, Cisco 5548UP, Cisco 5596UP, Cisco converged switch, Cisco FCoE switch, Cisco Nexus, Cisco Nexus 5010, Cisco Nexus 5020, Cisco Nexus 5548UP, Cisco Nexus 5596UP, Cisco Nexus switches, Converged switch, Data Center Bridging, DCB, Dell, Dell converged switch, Dell FCoE switch, Dell Force10, Dell S5000, Dell S5000 converged switch, Dell S5000 FCoE switch, Dell S5000 switch, FabricPath, FC, FCoE, FCoE-FC bridging, FCoE-FC bridging capabilities, Fibre Channel, Fibre Channel over Ethernet, Juniper, Juniper converged switch, Juniper FCoE switch, Juniper QFX3500, Nexus 5010, Nexus 5020, Nexus 5548UP, Nexus 5596UP, QFX3500, S5000 converged switch, S5000 FCoE switch, TRILL, VDX 6720, VDX 6730, VM-FEX | 1 Comment

Stacking the Dell MXL Blade Switch

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Humair

The Data Center Bridging (DCB) enabled Dell MXL blade switch provides a 1/10/40GbE upstream solution for the Dell PowerEdge M1000e chassis. It comes with two fixed 40 GbE ports but is scalable up to six 40GbE ports via 40GbE FlexIO … Continue reading →

Posted in Dell, Labs, Network Architecture, Networking | Tagged blade switch, Dell, Dell FlexIO modules, Dell Force10 MXL, Dell Force10 MXL switch, Dell M1000e, Dell M1000e chassis, Dell M1000e FlexIO modules, Dell MXL, Dell MXL Blade Switch, Dell MXL stack, Dell PowerEdge M1000e, Dell PowerEdge M1000e chassis, Dell PowerEdge M1000e FlexIO modules, FlexIO modules, Force10 MXL, Force10 MXL switch, Force10 Stack, FTOS, M1000e chassis, M1000e FlexIO modules, MXL, MXL stack, PowerEdge M1000e chassis, redundancy, stack MXL, stack MXL switches, stacking MXL, stacking redundancy | 7 Comments

Dell Bare Metal Provisioning 3.0 Demo [Video]

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Humair

In my last blog post, I discussed Dell’s Bare Metal Provisioning 3.0 (BMP 3.0) technology that just rolled out in the release of FTOS 9.1 for Dell S4810 and Dell Z9000. Well now you can see BMP in action. Just … Continue reading →

Posted in Dell, Dell Force10, Expect, Labs, Network Architecture, Networking, Programming Languages, Tcl | Tagged Automating the Network, Bare Metal Provisioning 3.0, Bare Metal Provisioning 3.0 Demo, Bare Metal Provisioning Demo, BMP, BMP 3.0, BMP 3.0 Demo, BMP 3.0 Demo Video, BMP demo, BMP Demo Video, BMP whitepaper, BMP whitepaper scripts, Dell Bare Metal Provisioning, Dell Bare Metal Provisioning 3.0, Dell BMP, Dell BMP 3.0, Expect, FTOS 9.1, script, scripts, Tcl | Leave a comment

Dell Bare Metal Provisioning 3.0 – Automate the Network

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Humair

Today Dell released FTOS 9.1 for its Z9000 and S4810 data center switches. A lot of cool features have been added to the ubiquitous switch operating system, perhaps most notably the support for OpenFlow. However, in this blog I will … Continue reading →

Posted in Dell, Dell Force10, Expect, Labs, Network Architecture, Networking, Tcl | Tagged automated configuration, bare metal provisioning, Bare Metal Provisioning 3.0, BMP, BMP 3.0, Dell, Dell Force10, Dell Open Automation Framework, Expect, Force10, FTOS, FTOS 9.1, network automation, Open Automation Framework, OpenFlow, Tcl | Leave a comment

Connecting Dell PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator with Dell Force10 S4810 and Cisco Nexus 5548UP

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Humair

The Dell PowerEdge M I//O Aggregator is a slick blade switch that plugs into the Dell PowerEdge M1000e chassis and requires barely any configuration/networking knowledge. Think of it as an advanced layer 2 switch that provides expandable uplink connectivity. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Cisco, Dell, Dell Force10, Force10 Networks, Labs, Network Architecture, Networking, Technology | Tagged 40 GbE, 5548 switch, 5548UP switch, Blade Chassis, blade switch, Chassis Management Controller, Cisco, Cisco Nexus, Cisco Nexus 5548, Cisco Nexus 5548UP, CMC, Dell, Dell Blade Server, Dell Blade Servers, Dell Force10, Dell Force10 S4810, Dell Force10 S4810 switch, Dell I/O Aggregator, Dell M1000e, Dell PowerEdge, Dell PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator, Dell PowerEdge M1000e, Dell S4810, Dell S4810 switch, Dell Server Blade Chassis, Force10, Force10 Networks, Force10 Networks S4810, Force10 Networks S4810 switch, Force10 S4810, Force10 S4810 switch, I/O Aggregator, I/O Aggregator blade switch, M1000e, Nexus 5548, Nexus 5548UP, Nexus 5548UP switch, PowerEdge, PowerEdge I/O Aggregator, PowerEdge I/O Aggregator blade switch, PowerEdge M1000e, S4810 switch, Server Blade Chassis, Twinax, Twinax breakout cable, Twinax breakout cables | 2 Comments

Understanding and Implementing Flow Control on Dell Force10 Switches

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Humair

Ethernet flow control allows for a receiving node to temporarily stop the transmission of data from the sending node. As defined by IEEE 802.3x this is accomplished via the PAUSE frame.

Posted in Dell Force10, Force10 Networks, Labs, Networking, Servers, Technology | Tagged 01-80-C2-00-00-01, 01:80:C2:00:00:01, 802.1Qbb, 802.3x, 802.3x flow control, Class of Service, converged network, converged networks, CoS, DCB, Dell, Dell Force10, Dell Force10 S50N, Dell S50N, Ethernet Pause Frame, Flow Control, Force10, Force10 Networks, Force10 S50N, IEEE 802.1Qbb, IEEE 802.3x flow control, network congestion, pause, PAUSE frame, PAUSE frame capture, PAUSE frame propogation, pause traffic, PFC, priority-based flow control, propogate PAUSE frame, QoS, Quality of Service, wireshark, Wireshark PAUSE frame, Wireshark PAUSE frame capture | 2 Comments