New UCS and VMware setup Questions

Question

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We are currently in the process of migrating out vmware infrastructure from HP to UCS.  We are utilizing the Virtual Connect Adapters for the project.  With the migration we also plan on implementing the cisco nexus v1000 in our environment.  I have demo equipment setup and have had a chance to install a test environment, but still have a few design questions.
When implementing the new setup, what is a good base setup for the virtual connect adapters with the v1000?  How many Nics should I dedicate?  Right now I run 6 nics per server (2 console, 2 Virtual Machines, and 2 Vmotion).  Is this a setup I should continue with going forward?  The only other thing I am looking to implement is another set of nics for nfs access.  In a previous setup at a different job, we had 10 nics per server (2 console, 4 virtual machines, 2 vmotion and 2 iSCSI).  Is there any kind of standard for this setup?
The reason I am asking is I want to get the most out of my vmware environment as we will be looking to migrate Tier 1 app servers once we get everything up and running.
Thanks for the help!

Answer 1

Tim,
Migrating from HP Virtual Connect (VC) -> UCS might change your network design slightly, for the better of course .  Not sure if you're using 1G or 10G VC modules but I'll respond as if you've using 10G modules because this is what UCS will provide. VC modules provide a 10G interface that you can logically chop up into a max of 4 host vNIC interfaces totaling 10G. Though it's handy to divide a single 10G interfaces into virtual NICs for Service Console, VMotion, iSCSI etc, this creates the opportunity for wasted bandwidth.  The logical NICs VC creates provides a max limit of bandwidth to the adapter.  For example if create a 2GB interface for your host to use for vMotion, then 2G of your 10G pipe is wastes when there's no vMotions taking place!
UCS & 1000v offer a different solution in terms of bandwidth utilization by means of QoS.  We feel it's more appropriate to specifiy a "minimum" bandwidth guarantee rather than a hard upper limit - leading to wasted pipe.  Depending on which UCS blade and mezz card option you have, the # of adapters you can present to the Host varies.  B200 blades can support one mezz card (with 2 x 10G interfaces) while the B250 and B440 are full width blades and support 2 Mezz cards.  In terms of Mezz cards now, there's the Intel/Emulex/Qlogic/Broamcom/Cisco VIC options.  In my opinion the M81KR (VIC) is best suited for virtualized environments as you can present up to 56 virtual interfaces to the host, each having various levels of QoS applied.  When you roll the 1000v into the mix you have a lethal combination of adding some of the new QoS features that automatically match traffic types such as Service Console, iSCSI, VMotion etc.  See this thread for a list/explanation of new features coming in the next verison of 1000v due out in a couple weeks https://www.myciscocommunity.com/message/61580#61580
Before you think about design too much, tell us what blades & adapters you're using and we can offer some suggestions for setting them up in the best configuration for your virtual infrastructure.
Regards,
Robert
BTW - Here's a couple Best Practice Guides with UCS & 1000v that you might find useful.