Data Center iSCSI: Building next generation storage networks

Data-Center iSCSI – Building next generation storage networks

IndustryTrendsDrivingiSCSIAdoption

iSCSIToday

ThecurrentlevelofmaturityallowsiSCSItocompetefornewdata‐centerstoragebuild‐outs,while

industrytrendsaredrivingincreasedinterest.DuetotheabilitytodeployaniSCSISANwithout

dedicatedhardwareequipment,itsgrowthhasbeenparticularlystrongwithsmallandmid‐sized

businesses.However,thishasledtothemisconceptionthatiSCSIisnotsuitable forenterprise

deployments.

Today,iSCSISANsofferthebestofbothworlds;thecapabilitytousesharedswitchedEthernetnetworks

insmallerITcenters,withtheabilitytosegmentLANandSANtrafficonEthernetforlargeITdata‐

centers.EthernetisabletodeliveraconsolidatedSANandLANtransporttoday,andwiththe

emergenceofnewEthernettechnologies, offersenhanced SANcapabilities.

OneofthebiggestadvantagesiSCSIhasoveralternativeblockstorageprotocolsistheuseofEthernet

andTCP/IPnetworks.Thematurityofthesetechnologies,combinedwiththeabilitytodynamically

segmentdata,providestheabilitytoseparatetraffic,whilesharinginfrastructure.

ThebreadthofsupportforEthernetandIPnetworking,coupledwiththedepthoftechnicalfeatures

availableprovideoneofthebestfoundationsfordatatransportavailable.Byleveragingthese

technologies,iSCSIisabletosimplifymanagementbyprovidingsynergyandconsistencywithother

data‐centernetworksalreadyinplace.

EvaluatorGroupComment:Reducingoverheadandgainingflexibilityarekey

factorsforover‐burdenedITadministratorstaskedwithmanagingvirtualserver

andstorageenvironments.iSCSIisabletoleveragenetworkfeaturessuchas

virtualIPaddressing,dynamicrouting,andlongdistanceWANca pabilitiesto

provideflexibilitywhilesimplifyingmanagement.

Therearenumerousoptionsforachievingbothhighperformance andhighavailabilitywithiSCSISAN’s.

TheiSCSIprotocolitselfsupportsmultipleconnectionsessions(MCS)toenhancebothperformanceand

availability.TheIPlayerprovidesmultiplenetworkpathsbetweenhostsandtargets,andtheEthernet

layerallowsforteamingorgroupingconnectionsforbothperformanceandavailability.Additionally,

mostiSCSIinitiatorssupporthighavailabilityconfigurationsthroughdevicedriversthatallowmultiple

pathsandfailovercapabilities,oftenknownasMPIO.

Modern,bestofbreediSCSIde ploymentshavemanyofthesamecharacteristicsasotherSAN

deployments.Theseincludededicatednetworksthatarecorrectlysized,alongwithastaffof

professionalswhoaretaskedwithmanagingtheavailabilityandperformanceofthenetwork.

AlloftheseoptionsprovideamultitudeofchoicesforITarchitectslookingtoimplementhighly

performingandreliableiSCSISANs.ThecurrentgenerationofiSCSIproductsincludesabroadportfolio

ofserveroptimizedadaptercardsatboth1and10Gb,anextremelymatureEthernetswitchmarket

alongwithanextensivesetofiSCSIcapablestorageproducts.

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