Abstract

Dell commissioned Tolly to evaluate an integrated 32G Fibre Channel enterprise storage solution built around Dell PowerEdge 17th Generation servers, Marvell QLogic 32G FC host bus adapters, Dell Connectrix MDS switches manufactured by Cisco Systems, and Dell PowerStore 3200T storage. The main focus of the project was to validate the “better together” benefits of the combined solution, specifically interoperability, resilience, and congestion-management behavior in a realistic multipath SAN environment.  

The test environment modeled a practical enterprise SAN using a Dell PowerEdge R760 server running RHEL 9.6, a dual-port Marvell QLogic QLE2772C 32G FC HBA, Dell Connectrix MDS 9148V and 9396V switches running NX-OS 9.4(3b), and a Dell PowerStore 3200T array with dual 32G FC ports. The server used multipath I/O, with each HBA port connected to a different switch and the storage array also attached redundantly across the same fabric. Tolly confirmed seamless interoperability, including automatic link-speed negotiation to 32G, automatic LUN discovery, and correct multipath configuration without manual intervention. The solution also supported Fabric Performance Impact Notification frames across the fabric, enabling standards-based congestion signaling between switch and HBA.  

Resilience testing showed that the integrated solution continued operating through several fault scenarios. Disabling an HBA-connected switch port caused traffic to continue over the remaining path, and re-enabling the port restored it automatically as a backup path. The Marvell dual-port HBA also demonstrated port isolation: removing one PCIe function at the Linux kernel level did not affect the other port. Across the fabric, traffic continued uninterrupted when one link in a dual-link inter-switch port channel was disabled, and also when one of a switch’s redundant power supplies was physically disconnected. On the storage side, PowerStore’s ALUA-based path management shifted traffic from an active port to the standby path in about five seconds after the active port was disabled.  

Tolly also validated advanced congestion management. Using Marvell QLogic Universal SAN Congestion Management with Cisco FPIN notifications, the solution dynamically reassigned traffic into virtual lanes labeled fast, normal, and slow, then automatically throttled oversubscribed traffic to below 50% wire speed until congestion cleared. Once conditions normalized, bandwidth returned automatically and traffic moved back to the normal lane. Overall, the report presents the Dell-Marvell-Cisco 32G FC solution as an enterprise SAN platform that combines seamless interoperability, automated failover, and intelligent congestion control in a unified, mission-critical storage architecture.