Specifications

Planning Considerations for Fibre Channel Topologies

4-1

Implementing SAN

Internetworking Solutions

Enterprise-level information technology (IT) departments often

deploy storage configurations that include direct-attached storage,

network-attached storage (NAS), and small, isolated storage area

networks (SANs). These configurations often result in:

• Isolated and inefficiently-used applications, data storage, and

computing resources.

• Costly, decentralized, and complex asset management.

• Slow transactions and data access.

• Inability to comply with government regulations that dictate data

retention and security policies.

The solution for these problems is to implement a internetworking

strategy that consolidates IT resources and deploys an enterprise-

wide fabric. This chapter describes planning considerations for

implementing SAN internetworking solutions using McDATA switch

products. The chapter specifically describes:

• SAN island consolidation.

• Implementing business continuance and disaster recovery

(BC/DR) solutions.

• Consolidating and integrating Internet small computer systems

interface (iSCSI) servers and storage.