Test Lab – The Plan and Layout with Xsigo, juniper, IOMega, vmware, and HP/Dell servers)
This week I have the pleasure of setting up a pretty cool test lab with Xsigo, juniper, IOMega, vmware, and HP/Dell servers.
I’ll be posting up some more information as the days go on…
The idea and approval for the lab came up pretty quickly and we are still defining all the goals we’d like to accomplish.
I’m sure with time the list will grow, however here are the initial goals we laid out.
Goals…
-
Network Goals
- Deploy the vChissis solution by Juniper (Server Core and WAN Core)
- Deploy OSPF Routing (particularly between sites)
- Multicast Testing
- Layer 2 test for vm’s
- throughput Monitoring
-
VMware Goals
- Test EVC from Old Dell QuadCores Servers to new HP Nehalem
- Test Long Distance vMotion & long distance cluster failures from Site1 to Site 2
- Play around with ESXi 4.1
-
Xsigo Goals
- Test Redundant Controller failover with vmware
- Throughput between sites, servers, and storage
Caveats…
- We don’t have a dual storage devices to test SAN replication, however the IOMega will be “spanned” across the metro core
- Even though this is a “Site to Site” design, this is a lab and all equipment is in the same site
- The Simulated 10Gbs Site to Site vChassis Connection is merely a 10Gbs fibre cable (We are working on simulating latency)
- Xsigo recommends 2 controllers per site and DOES NOT recommend this setup for a production enviroment, however this is a test lab — not production.
The Hardware..
2 x Xsigo VP780’s with Dual 10Gbs Modules, All Server hardware will be Dual Connected
2 x HP DL360 G6, Single Quad Core Nehalem , 24GB RAM, Infinband DDR HBA, gNic’s for Mgt (Really not needed but nice to have)
2 x Dell Precision Workstation R5400, Dual QuadCore, 16GB RAM, Infiniband DDR HBA, gNic’s for Mgt (Really not needed but nice to have)
6 x Juniper EX4200’s (using Virtual Chassis and Interconnect Stacking Cables)
vmexplorer 