Fibre Channel Storage area Network

An effective information management solution must provide

Just-in-time information to business users

Integration of information infrastructure with business processes:
Flexible and resilient storage architecture

Components of SAN
A SAN consists of three basic components: servers, network infrastructure, and
storage. These components can be further broken down into the following key
elements: node ports, cabling, interconnecting devices (such as FC switches or
hubs), storage arrays, and SAN management software.

1. Node port
In fibre channel, devices such as hosts, storage and tape libraries are all
referred to as nodes.
Each node is a source or destination of information for one or more
nodes. Each node requires one or more ports to provide a physical interface
for communicating with other nodes. These ports are integral components of
an HBA and the storage front-end adapters. A port operates in full-duplex
data transmission mode with a
transmit (Tx) and a receive (Rx)link.

2. Cabling
SAN implementations use optical fiber cabling. Copper can be used for shorter

distances for back-end connectivity, as it provides a better signal-to-noise ratio

for distances up to 30 meters. Optical fiber cables carry data in the form of light.
There are two types of optical cables, multi-mode and single-mode.
Multi-mode fiber (MMF) cable carries multiple beams of light projected at
different angles simultaneously onto the core of the cable (see Figure
6-4 (a)).
Based on the bandwidth, multi-mode fibers are classified as OM1 (62.5μm),
OM2
(50μm) and laser optimized OM3 (50μm). In an MMF transmission, multiple
light beams traveling inside the cable tend to disperse and collide. This collision
weakens the signal strength after it travels a certain distance
—
a process known
as
modal dispersion
. An MMF cable is usually used for distances of up to 500
meters because of signal degradation (attenuation) due to modal dispersion.
Single-mode fiber (SMF) carries a single ray of light projected at the center of
the 6-4 (b)). These cables are available in diameters of 7–11 microns;
the most common size is 9 microns. In an SMF transmission, a single light beam
travels in a straight line through the core of the fiber. The small core and the
single light wave limits modal dispersion. Among all types of fibre cables,
single-mode provides minimum signal attenuation over maximum distance (up
to 10 km). A single-mode cable is used for long-distance cable runs, limited
only by the power of the laser at the transmitter and sensitivity of the receiver.

Connector
A Standard connector (SC) (see Figure 6-5 (a)) and a Lucent connector (LC)
are two commonly used connectors for fiber optic cables. An
SC is used for data transmission speeds up to 1 Gb/s, whereas an LC is used
for speeds up to 4 Gb/s. Figure
6-6 depicts a Lucent connector and a Standard
connector.A
Straight Tip (ST)
is a fiber optic connector with a plug and a socket that is
locked with a half-twisted bayonet lock (see Figure
6-5 (c)). In the early days
of FC deployment, fiber optic cabling predominantly used ST connectors. This
connector is often used with Fibre Channel patch panels.

Interconnect Devices
Hubs, switches, and directors are the interconnect devices commonly used in
SAN.
Hubs are used as communication devices in FC-AL implementations. Hubs
physically connect nodes in a logical loop or a physical star topology.

Switches are more intelligent than hubs and directly route data from one
physical port to another. Therefore, nodes do not share the bandwidth.

Directors are larger than switches and are deployed for data center
implementations. The function of directors is similar to that of FC switches, but
directors have higher port count and fault tolerance capabilities.

Storage array
SAN implementations complement the standard features of storage arrays by
providing high availability and redundancy, improved performance, business
continuity, and multiple host connectivity.

SAN Management software

SAN management software manages the interfaces between hosts, interconnect
devices, and storage arrays. The software provides a view of the SAN environ-
ment and enables management of various resources from one central console.
Fibre Channel Architecture
The FC architecture represents true channel/network integration with standard
interconnecting devices.
Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP)is the implementation of serial SCSI-3 over an
FC network.

FC-Protocol stack

FC-4 Upper Layer Protocol

FC-4 is the uppermost layer in the FCP stack. This layer defines the application
interfaces and the way Upper Layer Protocols (ULPs) are mapped to the lower
FC layers. The FC standard defines several protocols that can operate on the
FC-4 layer Some of the protocols include SCSI, HIPPI Framing
Protocol, Enterprise Storage Connectivity (ESCON), ATM, and IP.

FC-2 Transport Layer

The FC-2 is the transport layer that contains the payload, addresses of the
source and destination ports, and link control information. The FC-2 layer pro-
vides Fibre Channel addressing, structure, and organization of data (frames,
sequences, and exchanges). It also defines fabric services, classes of service,
flow control, and routing.

FC-1 Transmission Protocol

This layer defines the transmission protocol that includes serial encoding and
decoding rules, special characters used, and error control. At the transmitter
node, an 8-bit character is encoded into a 10-bit transmissions character. This
character is then transmitted to the receiver node. At the receiver node, the
10-bit character is passed to the FC-1 layer, which decodes the 10-bit character
into the original 8-bit character.
FC-0 Physical Interface
FC-0 is the lowest layer in the FCP stack. This layer defines the physical
interface, media, and transmission of raw bits. The FC-0 specification includes
cables, connectors, and optical and electrical parameters for a variety of data
rates. The FC transmission can use both electrical and optical media.

FC Frame
An FC frame (Figure 6-17) consists of five parts:
start of frame (SOF)frame header datafield
cyclic redundancy check(CRC) and endofframe(EOF).
The SOF and EOF act as delimiters. In addition to this role, the SOF is a flag
that indicates whether the frame is the first frame in a sequence of frames.
The frame header is 24 bytes long and contains addressing information for
the frame. It includes the following information: Source ID (S_ID), Destination
ID (D_ID), Sequence ID (SEQ_ID), Sequence Count (SEQ_CNT), Originating
Exchange ID (OX_ID), and Responder Exchange ID (RX_ID), in addition to
some control fields.
The S_ID and D_ID are standard FC addresses for the source port and the
destination port, respectively. The SEQ_ID and OX_ID identify the frame as a
component of a specific sequence and exchange, respectively.
The frame header also defines the following fields:
Routing Control (R_CTL)
: This field denotes whether the frame is a link
control frame or a data frame. Link control frames are nondata frames
that do not carry any payload. These frames are used for setup and mes-
saging. In contrast, data frames carry the payload and are used for data
transmission.
Class Specific Control (CS_CTL)
: This field specifies link speeds for class
1 and class 4 data transmission.
TYPE
: This field describes the upper layer protocol (ULP) to be carried
on the frame if it is a data frame. However, if it is a link control frame,
this field is used to signal an event such as ―fabric busy.‖ For example, if
the TYPE is 08, and the frame is a data frame, it means that the SCSI will
be carried on an FC.
Data Field Control (DF_CTL)
: A 1-byte field that indicates the existence
of any optional headers at the beginning of the data payload. It is a mechanism
to extend header information into the payload.
Frame Control (F_CTL)
: A 3-byte field that contains control information
related to frame content. For example, one of the bits in this field indicates
whether this is the first sequence of the exchange.

FC topologies
Fabric design follows standard topologies to connect devices. Core-edge fabric
is one of the popular topology designs. Variations of core-edge fabric and mesh
topologies are most commonly deployed in SAN implementations.

1.Core-Edge Fabric
In the core-edge fabric topology, there are two types of switch tiers in this
fabric. The edge tier usually comprises switches and offers an inexpensive
approach to adding more hosts in a fabric.
The core tier usually comprises enterprise directors that ensure high fabric
availability.
The core tier usually comprises enterprise directors that ensure high fabric
availability.

A dual-core topology can be expanded to include more core switches. However,

to maintain the topology, it is essential that new ISLs are created to connect
each edge switch to the new core switch that is added.
Mesh Topology
In a mesh topology each switch is directly connected to other switches by using
ISLs. This topology promotes enhanced connectivity within the SAN. When
the number of ports on a network increases, the number of nodes that can par-
ticipate and communicate also increases.

A mesh topology may be one of the two types: full mesh or partial mesh. In
a full mesh every switch is connected to every other switch in the topology. Full
mesh topology may be appropriate when the number of switches involved is
small. A typical deployment would involve up to four switches or directors,
with each of them servicing highly localized host-to-storage traffic. In a full
mesh topology, a maximum of one ISL or hop is required for host-to-storage
traffic.
In a partial mesh topology, several hops or ISLs may be required for the traffic
to reach its destination. Hosts and storage can be located anywhere in the fabric,
and storage can be localized to a director or a switch in both mesh topologies.
A full mesh topology with a symmetric design results in an even number of
switches, whereas a partial mesh has an asymmetric design and may result in
an odd number of switches.
NETWORK ATTACHED STORAGE

Network-attached storage (NAS)is an

IP-based file-sharing device attached to
a local area network. NAS provides the
advantages of server consolidation by eliminating the need for multiple file
servers. It provides storage consolidation through file-level data access and
sharing. NAS is a preferred storage solution that enables clients to share files
quickly and directly with minimum storage management overhead. NAS also
helps to eliminate bottlenecks that users face when accessing files from a
general-purpose server.

NAS uses network and file-sharing protocols to perform filing and storage
functions. These protocols include TCP/IP for data transfer and CIFS and NFS
for remote file service. NAS enables both UNIX and Microsoft Windows users
to share the same data seamlessly.

A NAS device uses its own operating system and integrated hardware, soft-
ware components to meet specific file service needs. Its operating system is
optimized for file I/O and, therefore, performs file I/O better than a general-
purpose server.
NAS benefits

NAS offers the following benefits:

Supports comprehensive access to information:
Enables efficient file
sharing and supports many-to-one and one-to-many configurations. The
many-to-one configuration enables a NAS device to serve many clients
simultaneously. The one-to-many configuration enables one client to connect
with many NAS devices simultaneously.
Improved efficiency:
Eliminates bottlenecks that occur during file access
from a general-purpose file server because NAS uses an operating system
specialized for file serving. It improves the utilization of general-purpose
servers by relieving them of file-server operations.
Improved flexibility:
Compatible for clients on both UNIX and Windows
platforms using industry-standard protocols. NAS is flexible and can serve
requests from different types of clients from the same source.
Centralized storage:
Centralizes data storage to minimize data duplication on client workstations,
simplify data management, and ensures
greater data protection.
Simplified management:
Provides a centralized console that makes it
possible to manage file systems efficiently.
Scalability:
Scales well in accordance with different utilization profiles
and types of business applications because of the high performance and
low-latency design.
High availability:
Offers efficient replication and recovery options, enabling
high data availability. NAS uses redundant networking components that
provide maximum connectivity options. A NAS device can use clustering
technology for failover.
Security:
Ensures security, user authentication, and file locking in conjunction with
industry-standard security schemas.
Components of NAS
A NAS device has the following components
NAS head (CPU and Memory)
One or more network interface cards (NICs), which provide connectivity
to the network. Examples of NICs include Gigabit Ethernet, Fast Ethernet,
ATM, and Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI).
An optimized operating system for managing NAS functionality
NFS and CIFS protocols for file sharing
Industry-standard storage protocols
to connect and manage physical disk resources, such as ATA, SCSI, or FC
IP –SAN

Traditional SAN environments allow block I/O over Fibre Channel, whereas
NAS environments allow file I/O over IP-based networks. Organizations need
the performance and scalability of SAN plus the ease of use and lower TCO of
NAS solutions. The emergence of
IP technology that supports block I/O over IP has positioned IP for storage
solutions.

Two primary protocols that leverage IP as the transport mechanism are iSCSI
and Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP).
iSCSI Protocol Stack
The architecture of iSCSI is based on the client/server model. SCSI is the
command protocol that works at the application layer of the OSI model. The
initiators and targets use SCSI commands and responses to talk to each other.
The SCSI command descriptor blocks, data, and status messages are
encapsulated into TCP/IP and transmitted across the network between initiators
and targets.
iSCSI is the session-layer protocol that initiates a reliable session between a
device that recognizes SCSI commands and TCP/IP. The iSCSI session-layer
interface is responsible for handling login, authentication, target discovery, and
session management. TCP is used with iSCSI at the transport layer to provide
reliable service.
TCP is used to control message flow, windowing, error recovery, and retrans
mission. It relies upon the network layer of the OSI model to provide global
addressing and connectivity. The layer-2 protocols at the data link layer of this
model enable node-to-node communication for each hop through a separate
physical network.

FCIP
Organizations are now looking for new ways to transport data throughout the
enterprise, locally over the SAN as well as over longer distances, to ensure that
data reaches all the users who need it. One of the best ways to achieve this goal
is to interconnect geographically dispersed SANs through reliable, high-speed
links. This approach involves transporting FC block data over the existing IP
infrastructure used throughout the enterprise.
The FCIP standard has rapidly gained acceptance as a manageable, cost-
effective way to blend the best of two worlds: FC block-data storage and the
proven, widely deployed IP infrastructure. FCIP is a tunneling protocol that
enables distributed FC SAN islands to be transparently interconnected over
existing IP-based local, metropolitan, and wide-area networks. As a result,
organizations now have a better way to protect, store, and move their data
while leveraging investments in existing technology.
FCIP uses TCP/IP as its underlying protocol. In FCIP, the FC frames are
encapsulated onto the IP payload. FCIP does not manipulate
FC frames (translating FC IDs for transmission).
When SAN islands are connected using FCIP, each interconnection is called
an FCIP link.
FCIP Topology
. An FCIP environment functions as if it is a single cohesive SAN environment.

Before geographically dispersed SANs are merged, a fully functional layer 2

network exists on the SANs. This layer 2 network is a standard SAN fabric.
These physically independent fabrics are merged into a single fabric with an
IP link between them.
An FCIP gateway router is connected to each fabric via a standard FC
connection (see Figure 8-10). The fabric treats these routers like layer 2 fabric
switches.
The other port on the router is connected to an IP network and an IP address is
assigned to that port. This is similar to the method of assigning an IP address
to an iSCSI port on a gateway. Once IP connectivity is established, the two
independent fabrics are merged into a single fabric. When merging the two
fabrics, all the switches and routers must have unique domain IDs, and the
fabrics must contain unique zone set names. Failure to ensure these require
ments will result in a segmented fabric. The FC addresses on each side of the
link are exposed to the other side, and zoning or masking can be done to any
entity in the new environment.