Switch User Manual

Cisco Systems, Inc.
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VSANs apply proven technologies in Ethernet networking to the performance and isolation requirements of Fibre
Channel storage networks to deliver best-in-class solutions. Zoning is very useful in restricting the access and traffic
flow between devices within the fabric by securing access at the edge. VSANs offer a complimentary capability of
isolating all services provided a fabric and “encapsulate” them within a VSAN therefore enabling a logically
independent fabric.
Figure 5
The storage networkdomains createdby VSANsnot onlyleap frogthe existing security mechanisms but also deliver
the ability to segregate even a single switch into multiple virtual environments. They provide complete separation
among different VSANs and guarantee that a device outage or fabric instability is segregated to a single VSAN and
doesn’t cause a fabric-wide interruption. All of this is available without the need to implement expensive solutions
requiring multiple physically-isolated fabric switches. VSANs also lower the storage network TCO by maximizing
port utilization and thereby lowering the effective per-port cost. This type of implementation is quite efficient as
multiple user communities can be grouped together thereby allowing a single fabric switch to service them using
fewer overall devices. Cisco MDS 9000 Family delivers leading edge security and services while lowering capital and
operational expenditures.
This architecture reduces the total number of SANs or fabrics deployed in the data center while maintaining status
quo in terms of separating backup/recovery and remote data mirroring domains from the application SAN.
Considering the data center real estate and storage consolidation model customers are adopting, VSANs enable a
lower TCO solution for the enterprise.
Multiprotocol Support
The MDS 9000Family ofMultilayer Directorsand FabricSwitches integrateFCIP andiSCSI ontoa singleswitching
module for integrated Multiprotocol capability. The multiprotocol solution provides connectivity options over IP for
applications such as disaster recovery. Theintegration ofmultiprotocol servicesalong with high speed, high capacity
Fibre Channel switching into a single platform allows customers to address their corporate-wide and departmental
application requirements independently of each other however leveraging the same platforms. The integrated FCIP
capabilityprovides access toaremote data centeroverTCP/IP for seamlesstransitionin case of amajor failure. While
Cisco MDS 9000 Family
Collapsed Fabric with VSANs
EISL
Trunks
Two DWDM
Transponders
VSAN2
VSAN1
DWDM
Fiber Channel
Services for Fabric #1
Fiber Channel
Services for Fabric #2