Product specifications
Deploying a Converged Storage Network Using a Cisco FCoE Switch
4
Planning
Selecting a Test Architecture
When planning to install a converged network, it is important to choose both Fibre Channel and
traditional Ethernet-based traffic flows. Combining a test SAN infrastructure and a test LAN
infrastructure is often the easiest and most available option for a pilot project. Alternatively, a critical
business application test system can closely simulate a production environment. The architecture you
choose to start with must demonstrate that a converged network improves efficiency and performance
in your environment. You will need to substitute your own equipment and modify the installation
process accordingly.
Organizational Ownership
A critical factor for successfully implementing a converged data center fabric is the stability of network
and storage management practices. Cooperation between the system, network, and storage
management teams is important in configuring the converged data center fabric.
Where and How to Deploy
A unified fabric has two components:
10 Gb Ethernet switches that support Data Center Bridge (DCB) and FCoE—These switches
support the connection of traditional Ethernet and Fibre Channel infrastructures. These switches
are known as top-of-rack (TOR) switches, implementing DCB and encapsulating Fibre Channel
frames into Ethernet frames for transport over 10 Gb Ethernet media.
10 Gb converged network adapters that support both Ethernet LAN and Fibre Channel SAN over
10 Gb Ethernet media—These adapters replace the NIC and Fibre Channel host bus adapter, and
connect to a DCB-enabled 10 Gb Ethernet switch.
Currently, a converged network adapter must always be connected to a switch that has DCB. There are
two types of switches that have DCB: a DCB switch and an FCoE switch. The DCB switch has
enhanced Ethernet support, but does not have Fibre Channel forwarder (FCF) capabilities and does
not support the conversion of Fibre Channel frames to FCoE frames. A DCB switch supports
converging-Ethernet-based protocols, but does not support Fibre Channel protocols. The DCB switch
requires an external device to manage Fibre Channel and FCoE functions. An FCoE switch supports
both DCB and Fibre Channel.