Specifications

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3-12
McDATA Products in a SAN Environment - Planning Manual
Planning Considerations for Fibre Channel Topologies
• Improved resource manageability. Distributed resources are
consolidated and managed through Fibre Channel connectivity
instead of physical relocation. One management server manages
the operation and connectivity of multiple fabric directors, fabric-
attached devices, arbitrated loop switches, and FC-AL devices.
• Improved security of business applications and data. Fabric
directors and a loop switch allow fabric-attached and FC-AL
devices to be partitioned into restricted-access zones to limit
unauthorized access. Refer to Zoning for information.
When using a f
abric switch to provide loop-to-switched fabric
connectivity and incorporate FC-AL devices into the enterprise SAN
environment, attach the device to any switch port. The port senses
the FC-AL device and initializes itself as an FL_Port. The loop device
can communicate with fabric devices attached directly to the switch
(connected through F_Ports), or with fabric devices connected to
another switch and communicating through an E_Port (ISL).
Server
Consolidation
Providing fabric connectivity for multiple low-bandwidth servers
(Windows NT or Unix-based) by attaching them individually to an
expensive Fibre Channel director is not a cost-effective solution. A
practical solution is to consolidate servers on an inexpensive loop
switch, then connect the switch to a director E_Port. Figure 3-7
illustrates the consolidation of ten servers on a Sphereon 4500 Fabric
Switch (using two unmanaged hubs) through one E_Port connection
to a fabric director.
Each server has a ten MBps bandwidth, therefore the sum of the
bandwidths of all consolidated servers equals the E_Port bandwidth
of 1.0625 Gbps. Connecting another server to the switch would
exceed the E_Port capability and adversely impact director-to-switch
link performance. Other devices (such as tape drives) should not be
connected to a switch used for server consolidation.