Hardware:
Dell R805
1 EqualLogic PS500XV
Dell PowerConnect 5448 Switch
What we have so far:
1. We attached using the 5448 between the 805 ESX and the EQL SAN.
2. Shutdown all but one VM.
3. Installed Iometer on the one running VM (MS iSCSI initiator running).
4. Started Iometer with a single Ethernet connection to the SAN and read approximately 103 Mbytes/sec.
5. Attached a second Ethernet and read approximately 114 Mbytes/sec.
6. Attached a third Ethernet and read approximately 130 Mbytes/sec.
7. Installed Iometer on a lightly loaded PowerEdge 2950 with the same settings and read approximately 320 Mbytes/sec.
Commentary:
Is there an ESX/VM/SAN configuration running that will outperform Iometer's 320 Mbytes/sec our 4 year old 2950 is producing?
Said differently, what is the expected Mbytes/sec of Iometer running on an empty 805 with ESX and an EQL SAN.
How do you have ESX configured? Are you using vmkernel ports to talk to the iSCSI or is the initiator installed within the VM OS? What type of network configurations are you using within the VM?
________________________________
Jason D. Langdon
