March 2013 Dell EqualLogic Configuration Guide v14.1 9-84
9.1 Designing a SAN using blade chassis I/O modules with
arrays directly attached
The following points should be taken into consideration when planning a SAN solution that requires
directly attaching EqualLogic arrays to M-Series blade I/O modules:
• Limited number of externally accessible ports typically available on blade I/O modules
Current M-Series blade I/O modules have limited numbers of externally accessible Ethernet
ports. For a 1GbE SAN solutions each array will require up to four ports per I/O module and
for a 10GbE SAN solution each array will require up to two ports per I/O module. Based on
these maximum requirements, the table below provides a breakdown on the number of
externally accessible ports on each model of PowerConnect M-Series blade I/O modules and
the maximum number of arrays that could be directly attached to a single M1000e blade
chassis.