Specifications

DATA CENTER BEST PRACTICES
SAN Design and Best Practices 68 of 84
Some topics to consider for backup and restore as you plan for SAN expansion or a new design are these:
•If the backup site is local, what is the window to complete the backup? If the backup site is remote, what is
the window to complete the backup? How much of the bandwidth pipe is available?
•Is there a dedicated backup server, or do other applications share the server? Is the backup SAN on a
separate SAN or a shared network?
•How often are full backups completed, and how long does it take? How often are backups checked for the
integrity of the backup? How often do the backups fail to complete? What are the primary reasons (link down,
tape drive failure, low throughput, other)? What is the restore time for Tier 1 and 2 applications?
•In a VM environment, is there a centralized proxy backup management, or does each VM have its own
backup agent?
•Is a tiered backup implemented (disk, VTL, tape)?
•Is backup validation a regulatory requirement? If so, what processes are in place to ensure compliance?
Note: Brocade offers certification courses in Open Systems and Mainframe SAN Design and management.
Facilities
Facility requirements are often overlooked as SANs grow due to business expansion or data center consolidation
after mergers. Even when a SAN design meets application requirements, if physical plant, power, cooling, and
cable infrastructure are not available, a logically designed SAN may have to be physically distributed, which can
impact application performance and ongoing servicing.
Consider the following:
•Is there existing space for new SAN devices (servers, switches, and storage)? What is the physical real estate
(oor space, number of racks, rack dimensions), and do the racks have internal fans for cooling?
•What is the available power (AC 120/240), and what is the in-cabinet power and plug type? Is it the same as
existing types, or do you need new power supplies?
•What method of cooling is available (hot/cool aisle, other), and what is the worst-case temperature that the
data center can tolerate?
•What is the cable infrastructure (OM-3, other), and are cables already installed?
•Is there a structured cable plant with patch panels, and so forth? If so, how many patch panels will the
data traverse?
Finance
Once the technical specications have been determined, a reasonable cost estimate can be calculated based
on available equipment, new purchases required, manpower, and training. Financial metrics for a total cost
analysis should include the following:
•Lease versus buy
•Budget for equipment
•Budget for service and support (is 24x7 required?)
•Budget for daily operation