Recommended Switch Configuration

You can use a single VLAN-programmable switch to provide the management, provisioning, and data network infrastructure. However, for ease of management, you should install one VLAN-programmable switch for the management network, and a second VLAN-programmable switch for the provisioning and data network. Each management, provisioning, and data network should be assigned to separate subnets and VLANs.

In order to support firmware updates for the Sun Fire V20z and V40z provisionable servers, the management network switch should be configured to auto-negotiate link speed.

The management switch and the provisioning and data network switch should support the following Ethernet connectivity.

• Management Network Switch

  • 10/100-megabit per second connectivity from the management server to the management switch to provide connectivity to each provisionable server's management port

  • 10/100-megabit per second connectivity from each provisionable server's management port to the management switch

  The management network should be on a private subnet, and must provide connectivity to a management port on each provisionable server

• Provisioning and Data Network Switch

  • 1 gigabit per second connectivity from the management server ETH1 port to the provisioning and data switch

  • 1 gigabit per second connectivity from each provisionable server ETH0 port to the provisioning and data switch

  • 1 gigabit per second connectivity from each provisionable server ETH1 port to the provisioning and data switch

  • 1 gigabit per second connectivity from the provisioning and data switch to the corporate network

  Considerations:

  • The provisioning network should be on a private subnet.

  • The data network should be on a public subnet accessible by the management server, provisionable servers, and the corporate network.

    Due to the use of the DHCP protocol and the bandwidth requirements for OS provisioning, isolating the data network from the provisioning network might be required.

  • OS provisioning of Linux might fail if a delay occurs in the transmission of data between the management server and the provisionable server. A long delay can result if the spanning tree option is enabled for the switch port connected to the ETH0 port of the provisionable server. To address this issue, you can disable the spanning tree option for the switch or for the switch ports connected to the provisionable servers. Refer to your switch documentation for instructions about how to disable the spanning tree feature on your switch.