Selecting Hardware For Your Anvil!: Difference between revisions

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The most fundamental requirement is that the switches support [[VLAN]]s. We strongly recommend stacked switches with 'hitless failover'. That is to say, the switch must allow for members of the stack to leave and be replaced without any interruption to the flow of network traffic.  
The most fundamental requirement is that the switches support [[VLAN]]s. We strongly recommend stacked switches with 'hitless failover'. That is to say, the switch must allow for members of the stack to leave and be replaced without any interruption to the flow of network traffic.  


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|style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;"|[[image:Brocade_icx6610-48_front-left.png|thumb|center|400px|Brocade [http://www.brocade.com/products/all/switches/product-details/icx-6610-switch/index.page ICX6610-48] 8x SFP+, 48x 1Gbps RJ45, 160Gbit stacked switch. Photo by [http://newsroom.brocade.com/Image-Gallery/Product-Images Brocade].]]
|style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;"|[[image:Brocade_icx6610-48_front-left.png|thumb|center|400px|Brocade [http://www.brocade.com/products/all/switches/product-details/icx-6610-switch/index.page ICX6610-48] 8x SFP+, 48x 1Gbps RJ45, 160Gbit stacked switch. Photo by [http://newsroom.brocade.com/Image-Gallery/Product-Images Brocade].]]
|style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;"|[[image:Brocade_icx6450-25_front_01.jpg|thumb|center|400px|Brocade [http://www.brocade.com/products/all/switches/product-details/icx-6430-and-6450-switches/index.page ICX6450-48] 4x SFP+, 24x 1Gbps RJ45, 40Gbit stacked switch. Photo by [http://newsroom.brocade.com/Image-Gallery/Product-Images Brocade].]]
|style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;"|[[image:Brocade_icx6450-25_front_01.jpg|thumb|center|400px|Brocade [http://www.brocade.com/products/all/switches/product-details/icx-6430-and-6450-switches/index.page ICX6450-48] 4x SFP+, 24x 1Gbps RJ45, 40Gbit stacked switch. Photo by [http://newsroom.brocade.com/Image-Gallery/Product-Images Brocade].]]

Revision as of 21:13, 10 November 2016

 AN!Wiki :: How To :: Selecting Hardware For Your Anvil!

This guide's goal is to provide a high-level overview on how to match appropriate hardware for anticipated loads on your Anvil! platform.

System Requirements

To provide full stack redundancy, there are minimum system requirements. These are not performance requirements, but instead, minimum features and capabilities.

Foundation Pack

The foundation pack consists of redundant power and redundant networking which the Anvil! nodes will sit on top of. They play an integral role in providing full stack redundancy.

The foundation pack's ethernet switches inform that maximum sequential write speed and network bandwidth between the hosted servers and the outside world. As such, care must be taken when selecting equipment to ensure required performance is provided.

Finally, a foundation pack can host two or five Anvil! pairs. Deciding how many pairs you expect to use will determine the capacity of the foundation pack equipment.

UPSes

Two network-connected UPSes are required in order for ScanCore to monitor incoming power states, estimated run time remaining during power outage, charge percentage during recovery and to alert on distorted input power.

Currently, any UPS that supports the APC (Schneider) AP9630 or AP9631 network cards are supported.

APC SmartUPS 1500 RM2U 120vAC UPS. Photo by APC.
APC SmartUPS 1500 Pedestal 120vAC UPS. Photo by APC.

If you plan to use a different make or model, please verify that the input voltage and frequency, battery run time and battery charge percentage can be retrieved over the network. If so, please contact us and we'll be happy to work to add support.


Switched PDUs

Two network-switched PDUs are used to provide backup fencing for the Anvil! nodes.

Currently, any APC (Schneider) switched PDU, like the AP7900, are supported. Raritan brand PDUs are also supported, like the PX2-5260A4R.

APC AP7900 8-Outlet 1U 120vAC PDU. Photo by APC.
APC AP7931 16-Outlet 0U 120vAC PDU. Photo by APC.

Other brands may work fine, but may not be ideal due to slow switching times (TrippLite switched PDUs are an example of PDUs that work, but are very slow to switch and confirm states).

If you plan to use a different make or model, please verify that you can turn an outlet on and off, and that you can verify the outlet's current state. If so, please contact us and we'll be happy to work to add support.


Ethernet Switches

Selecting ethernet switches is easier.

The most fundamental requirement is that the switches support VLANs. We strongly recommend stacked switches with 'hitless failover'. That is to say, the switch must allow for members of the stack to leave and be replaced without any interruption to the flow of network traffic.

Brocade ICX6610-48 8x SFP+, 48x 1Gbps RJ45, 160Gbit stacked switch. Photo by Brocade.
Brocade ICX6450-48 4x SFP+, 24x 1Gbps RJ45, 40Gbit stacked switch. Photo by Brocade.

We recommend (and have the most experience with) Brocade ICX-series switches, but any vendor (Cisco, Dell, D-Link, etc) should be fine, provided the above features are provided.

Striker Dashboards

Striker dashboards server two purposes;

  • Host the Striker WebUI
  • Host the ScanCore database

The first job requires very little in the way of system resources. The second one, hosting the database, does require more careful consideration.

Generally speaking, you will want to have 8 GiB of RAM or more, an SSD to help with the random database access an Intel Core i5 or equivalent. The Striker dashboard requires two ethernet connections, one to the IFN and one to the BCN. If you wish, four interfaces can be used. If available, Striker's installer will detect the four interfaces and automatically configure active-passive bonding for the two connections.

A server? An appliance!

The Striker dashboard runs like your home router; It has a web-interface that allows you to create, manage and access new highly-available servers, manage nodes and monitor foundation pack hardware.

Fujitsu Primergy RX1330 M1; Photo by Fujitsu.
Intel NUC NUC5i5RYH; Photo by Intel.

We have used;

Striker dashboards are an integral part of the Anvil! platform and are critical in the delivery of Intelligent Availability. As such, you must have two of them. If the machines you use do not have redundant power and/or networking, be sure to connect the first dashboard to the first power rail and ethernet switch and the second dashboard to the second power rail and ethernet switch.

Anvil! Nodes

 

Any questions, feedback, advice, complaints or meanderings are welcome.
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