Palo

[e-chuah]

Hi..  We will be receiving our new blades with Palo card and i am reading up the documents to prepare for the installation.  Based on what i read in CCO, Palo is doing VN link in hardware. This means that switching is done at hardware at the Fabric Interconnect. I have the following questions on Palo card:  (1) If i have two VMs in the same ESX and same vlan, communication between the two VM will have to go all the way to the fabric interconnect. Is this understanding correct? If yes, then this will be consuming unnecessary bandwidth compared to if the switiching is done locally in the dvswitch.  (2) If i have Palo card, can i don't use  VN-link in hardware and continue to use the dvswitch in vmware? At the same time i will like to have the capability of having multiple virtualised NIC of Palo.  (3) In the UCS configuration guide v1.2, it mentions about creating an extension file and requires a certificate for communicating with vCenter. How can i generate the certificate?  Rgds Eng Wee

[cpaggen · Accepted solution]

VN_Link in hardware is an optional feature of the Palo adapter. You can decide that you don't want to use VN_Link in hardware and continue using VMware's standard software-based DVS or Cisco's software-based Nexus 1000V and have local switching for VMs located on the same host in the same port-group.

Regarding the extension file, this is downloadable directly from UCSM. You then import this file as a plug-in into vCenter. This allows communications between UCSM and vCenter. Again, this part is only relevant if you decide to go for VN_Link in hardware.

[e-chuah]

thanks Chris,   I think you are right. I also got hold of some internal cisco doc that explains Palo in more detail. I now have a much better understanding.  Thanks for your help