FW 07.00.00/HAFM SW 08.06.00 McDATA Products in a SAN Environment Planning Manual (620-000124-500, April 2005)

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Introduction to McDATA Multi-Protocol Products
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Introduction to McDATA Multi-Protocol Products
Figure 1-4 Intrepid 10000 Director
The director supports McDATA’s non-blocking nScale™ architecture
that allows the product to be flexibly partitioned into multiple
(up to four) separate directors (FlexPar™ feature), each with its own
management and Fibre Channel services subsystems. In addition, the
director supports concurrent firmware downloads through HotCAT
technology. FlexPar-specific software can also be independently and
concurrently upgraded. The combination of high port count and the
FlexPar feature enables an enterprise to use the director at the core of
both small and large SAN fabrics. For example:
• Large fabrics built around the director require fewer fabric
elements (directors and switches) and ISLs. Large fabrics benefit
from deterministic non-blocking performance, less ISL
congestion, and better cable management. This performance is
not possible from a fabric constructed with smaller port-count
switches interconnected with multiple ISLs. Refer to General
Fabric Design Considerations for information.