5474
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

HCL for network switches

Is there a list of switches that are approved/recommended for Network and iSCSI traffic? I seem to remember one existing in the early

3.0 days but can't seem to find one now.

Tags (1)
Reply
0 Kudos
glynnd1
Expert
Expert

I've never seen one from VMware. I am sure people have strong opinions on what is good and what i bad though.

Reply
0 Kudos
Lightbulb
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

No there is no "HCL" for external network gear. As has been said there a numerous opinions on the functionality of one brand over another, but I would imagine that any switch vendor who wanted to stay in business would have a baseline capability that was compatible with whatever load systems might want to put on it. When you get to the higher end capabilities beyond simple level 2 stuff the Vendors become distinct.

Reply
0 Kudos
depping
Leadership
Leadership

I've never seen an official HCL for switches. Doesn't make sense cause the end point for as far as VMware is concerned is the NIC. who does what to the traffic isn't our concern anymore, well to a certain degree of course.

Duncan

VMware Communities User Moderator | VCP | VCDX

-


Blogging:

Twitter:

If you find this information useful, please award points for "correct" or "helpful".

Reply
0 Kudos
Texiwill
Leadership
Leadership

Hello,

No such list exists. I have never had any problems with any switch I have used. However, when you use some equipment there are special port settings you need for anything attached to an ESX host. Each Vendor and VMware has some of these listings.


Best regards, Edward L. Haletky VMware Communities User Moderator, VMware vExpert 2009
Now Available on Rough-Cuts: 'VMware vSphere(TM) and Virtual Infrastructure Security: Securing ESX and the Virtual Environment'[/url]
Also available 'VMWare ESX Server in the Enterprise'[/url]
[url=http://www.astroarch.com/wiki/index.php/Blog_Roll]SearchVMware Pro[/url]|Blue Gears[/url]|Top Virtualization Security Links[/url]|Virtualization Security Round Table Podcast[/url]

--
Edward L. Haletky
vExpert XIV: 2009-2023,
VMTN Community Moderator
vSphere Upgrade Saga: https://www.astroarch.com/blogs
GitHub Repo: https://github.com/Texiwill
Reply
0 Kudos
AndreTheGiant
Immortal
Immortal

Is there a list of switches that are approved/recommended for Network and iSCSI traffic?

There isn't a list of product.

Instead there is a list of standards that you may need (if you want to use relative feature):

  • 802.1q (VLAN)

  • 802.3ad (link aggregation)

  • CDP (Cisco discovery protocol)

  • RSTP of Fast SPT

  • ...

Andre

**if you found this or any other answer useful please consider allocating points for helpful or correct answers

Andre | http://about.me/amauro | http://vinfrastructure.it/ | @Andrea_Mauro
Reply
0 Kudos
howie
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

we don't have networking switch HCL -- not justified in the past at least.

Reply
0 Kudos
K-MaC
Expert
Expert

Hello Howie. Am I/we to understand that a Network Switch HCL is something that you could justify at this point in time?

Cheers

Kevin

Cheers Kevin
Reply
0 Kudos
howie
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Sorry if I misled you somehow in the earlier post.

Is networking switch HCL on the table moving forward? I do not see it at this point yet, but would love to hear feedback from the forum as always.:) Keep in mind it is not always a net gain for customers either.:)

Reply
0 Kudos