We are in the midst of RFP hell to build a Cisco infrastructure. I have always been under the understanding that dual 720's is better than single in a 6509E. Most of the RFP's are coming back and only using a single 720 in each of the 4 core network switches.
what is the best practice for this?
We are going to be using 4 6509E at the core in a full mesh.
thanks in advance
tony
The idea is that if you are dependant on a single switch for critical services e.g. Single attached servers or critical users (say dealers in the financial industry, the boss) then conside Dual SE.
For a network core/distribution layer it is possible to have resilient paths and there is no need in that case for Dual SE. The network keeps working even if a whole box goes down. This can also apply where there are dual connected servers.
AH! You say. Don't I gert extra resilience if I just add dual SE everywhere.
No.
Since the extra complexity means:-
There is more to go wrong so failure is more likely. There are more failure modes to evaluate and test. (and it is hard enough to do this in even the simplest cases) Probably more good reasons here but it is nearly time to go to the pub.
Check out posts form Vincent in this forum for a lot of good material. Buy his book too! Look at his papers on his web site. It has a WAN focus IIRC but many of the principles apply everywhere.
I think that cisco have material on their web site that has similar statements to the above.
Look for SRND (Solution Reference Network Design) s.
LOL
I can still remember having to remove a dual sup so I could get a 6500 to come back up ...
Indeed, I considered mentioning that the dual SE installation was perhaps the most complex part of a network and the most likely to go wrong. Then I though that I should keep my cynicism to myself.
Cover blown now!
If you're doing an "all your eggs in one basket" stocked to the eyeballs single 6509 chassis, then yes, redundant everything you can (sups, blades, other linecards). If you're going to have redundant chassis
6509's then single points of failure are less important.m.
Cabling-Design.com Forums website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.