Specifications
DATA CENTER BEST PRACTICES
SAN Design and Best Practices 6 of 84
INTRODUCTION
This document is a high-level design and best practices guide based on Brocade products and features,
focusing on Fibre Channel SAN design. Covered topics include the early planning phase, understanding possible
operational challenges, and monitoring and improving an already implemented SAN infrastructure.
Emphasis is given to in-depth information on how the data ows between devices affect a SAN infrastructure at
a design and operational level.
The guidelines in this document do not apply to every environment but will help guide you through the decisions
that you need to make for successful SAN design. Consult your Brocade representative or reference the
documents in Appendix E for details about the hardware and software products, as well as the interoperability
features mentioned in text and illustrations.
Note: This is a “living” document that is continuously being expanded, so be sure to frequently check MyBrocade
(my.brocade.com) for the latest updates of this and other best practice documents.
Audience and Scope
This guide is for technical lT architects who are directly or indirectly responsible for SAN design based on the
Brocade® 8 and Gen 5 Fibe Channel SAN platforms. It describes many of the challenges facing SAN designers
today in both “greeneld” and legacy storage environments. While not intended as a denitive design document,
this guide introduces concepts and guidelines to help you avoid potential issues that can result from poor
design practices. This document describes best-practice guidelines in the following areas:
•Architecting a core data center infrastructure
•Capacity planning
•SAN topology
•Inter-switch connectivity
•Data ows
•Device connections
•Workloads/virtualization
•Distance extension
•Fibre Channel routing
Note: A solid understanding of SAN concepts and Brocade Fibre Channel technology is assumed. Please refer to
Appendix E for recommended additional publications.
Approach
While some advanced features and specialized SAN applications are discussed, these topics are covered
in greater detail in separate documents. The primary objective for this guide is to provide a solid foundation
to facilitate successful SAN designs—designs that effectively meet current and future requirements. This
document addresses basic administration and maintenance, including capabilities to identify early warning signs
for end-device (initiator or target) latency, which can cause congestion in the SAN fabric. However, you should
consult product documentation and documents in Appendix E for more details. A comprehensive discussion of
SAN fabric administration best practices is covered in a separate document.
Overview
Although Brocade SAN fabrics are plug-and-play and can function properly even if left in a default state with
ad hoc connections, Fibre Channel networks clearly benet from a well thought out design and deployment
strategy. In order to provide reliable and efcient delivery of data, your SAN topology should follow best practice
guidelines based on SAN industry standards and considerations specic to Brocade.