Specifications

DATA CENTER BEST PRACTICES
SAN Design and Best Practices 28 of 84
fig17_SAN_Design
E_Port
E_Port
E_Port
EX Ports
IFL
IFL
Long Distance IFL
FC Router
Fiber
Channel
Switch
Fiber
Channel
Switch
Edge
Fabric 3
Edge
Fabric 2
Edge
Fabric 1
Host Target Target
Figure 17. Typical MetaSAN topology.
The implementation and conguration of ISLs (and IFLs, in the case of FCR) should be based on the expected
data ow between the switches and/or fabrics in question and the desired level of redundancy between edge
switches and across the routed SAN. Below are some architectural examples of MetaSAN topologies.
fig18_SAN_Design
Backbone
A
Edge fabric
A2
Edge fabric
A1
Backbone
B
Edge fabric
B2
Edge fabric
B1
Figure 18. Example of a simple core-to-core attached backbone in a redundant routed fabric topology.