PSC PSC Networking & Host Connectivity 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which host connectivity protocols are natively supported by Pure Storage FlashArray for block storage access?
- FC and iSCSI only
- iSCSI and NFS only
- FC, iSCSI, and NVMe-oF (Correct answer)
- FC and NFS only
Correct answer: FC, iSCSI, and NVMe-oF
FlashArray supports Fibre Channel (FC), iSCSI, and NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-oF via NVMe/FC and NVMe/TCP) for block storage host connectivity.
Question 2: What is the default TCP port used by Pure Storage FlashArray for iSCSI target connections?
- 860
- 3260 (Correct answer)
- 3280
- 443
Correct answer: 3260
iSCSI uses the well-known TCP port 3260 for target connections, which is the default on all Pure Storage FlashArray iSCSI interfaces.
Question 3: What is the recommended MTU setting for iSCSI network interfaces connecting hosts to Pure Storage FlashArray?
- 1500 bytes (standard Ethernet)
- 4096 bytes
- 9000 bytes (jumbo frames) (Correct answer)
- 8192 bytes
Correct answer: 9000 bytes (jumbo frames)
Pure Storage recommends configuring 9000-byte jumbo frames on all iSCSI interfaces and switches to maximize throughput and reduce CPU overhead on the host.
Question 4: In Pure Storage FlashArray, what is a 'host' object used for?
- Defining storage pool capacity limits
- Grouping WWNs or IQNs to identify a server and map volumes to it (Correct answer)
- Configuring network interface VLANs
- Setting per-volume QoS limits
Correct answer: Grouping WWNs or IQNs to identify a server and map volumes to it
A host object in FlashArray registers a server's FC WWNs or iSCSI IQNs (or NVMe NQNs) and is used to create volume connections that present LUNs to that host.
Question 5: What multipathing approach does Pure Storage FlashArray use to present volumes to hosts?
- Active-Passive (only one path active at a time)
- ALUA with preferred paths
- Active-Active symmetric (all paths are equal and active simultaneously) (Correct answer)
- Round-robin with primary/secondary failover
Correct answer: Active-Active symmetric (all paths are equal and active simultaneously)
FlashArray uses an active-active symmetric architecture where all paths to a volume are simultaneously active and equal, eliminating preferred-path complexity and maximizing bandwidth.
Question 6: What is the recommended topology for a Pure Storage FlashArray Fibre Channel deployment?
- FC arbitrated loop (FC-AL)
- Point-to-point direct attach
- Switched fabric (FC-SW) with dual fabrics for redundancy (Correct answer)
- Single switch with NPIV disabled
Correct answer: Switched fabric (FC-SW) with dual fabrics for redundancy
Pure Storage recommends a dual switched-fabric topology (FC-SW) to provide redundant paths from each host HBA to each FlashArray controller port, eliminating single points of failure.
PSC PSC Networking & Host Connectivity 1
Which host connectivity protocols are natively supported by Pure Storage FlashArray for block storage access?