Dell PowerVault MD3000 Hardware Owner's Manual

Also see for PowerVault MD3000: Support Matrix Brochure Information update Configuration Information update

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Dell PowerVault MD3000 Hardware Owner's Manual Manual pdf 20 page image

20 Cabling Your RAID EnclosureCabling the EnclosureYou can cable your enclosure to up to four hosts. The configuration that you choose depends on thenumber of hosts you have, whether you are connecting to a standalone host or a cluster node, and thelevel of data redundancy that you need.Redundancy vs. NonredundancyNon-redundant configurations, configurations that provide only a single data path from a host to theRAID enclosure, are recommended only for non-critical data storage. Path failure from a failed orremoved cable, a failed host bus adapter, or a failed or removed RAID controller module results in loss ofhost access to storage on the RAID enclosure.Redundancy is established by installing separate data paths between the host and the storage array, inwhich each path is to different RAID controller modules. Redundancy protects the host from losingaccess to data in the event of path failure, because both RAID controllers can access all the disks in thestorage array.Figure 2-1 through Figure 2-8 show supported redundant and nonredundant cabling configurations.Redundant ConfigurationsFigure 2-1 and Figure 2-2 show redundant, high-availability cabling configurations for one and two hosts.If any one path fails, at least one HBA is still connected to one RAID controller.