The Cisco storage solution set comprises a network Disk subsystems reside

in both active VSANs to MDS 9000 Family of Multilayer Intelligent Storage

Switches enabled with fabric HA features
Each host is multi-homed
to two virtually isolated
(Multi-Vendor) disk subsystems
are pooled together to form
Legend
architecture of products, tools, and intelligent services provide isolated redundant VSANs for high availability a virtualization disk pool Virtual array ports are
Two primary HA features within the MDS 9000 access to common Storage virtualization at its most basic Application host
coupled with strategic design to provide the foundation Family of intelligent storage networking storage targets
instantiated within the fabric
Logical Port-Channel of definition represents the ability to pool storage through registration and loaded with an iSCSI Mainframe system
for today and tomorrow’s storage requirements. switches are Virtual SANs (VSANs) and ISL two links (16 max) to from multiple (multi-vendor) arrays together while become host-accessible software driver running (eg. IBM S/9000 or
provide fast fail-over and
Port Aggregation. VSAN services offer the masking the physical details in terms of spindles, on top of any 100Mbps S/360 systems)
The Cisco MDS 9000 Family of Multilayer Directors ability to optimize fabric build-outs while
a logical 4 Gbps pipe
Hosts are zoned or 1Gbps Ethernet NIC
LUN boundaries, etc. Once pooled, virtual
and Fabric Switches lowers the total cost of ownership adhering to HA and security requirements of as normal within
storage arrays are created matching exactly an
two virtual
of today's most demanding storage environments. By applications. VSANs alleviate the need to build fabrics application's requirements in terms of protection
combining the industry's most robust and flexible mutiple SAN islands to achieve isolation between Hosts discover the Application host Cisco SN5420 iSCSI
and speed (RAID) using storage from the disk
applications within the SAN. VSANs provide a virtual array, its loaded with optimized Storage Router
hardware architecture with multiple layers of network pool. Due to the virtual nature of the virtual
Virtual registered ports, iSCSI driver and a providing iSCSI
way to create isolated virtual fabrics within the array, storage can then be quickly grown, Virtua
Virtual
al
and storage-management intelligence, the Array
Array
A
Arra
Arr
rray
and the created TCP Offload Engine to Fibre Channel
same physical fabric. Traffic is tagged and reallocated, or removed without having to make virtual LUNs. (TOE) Ethernet NIC routing services
Cisco MDS 9000 Family enables you to build highly forwarded only to members of a VSAN and fabric Hosts then log into
modifications to the actual (multi-vendor)
available, scalable storage networks with advanced services including zone and name services are physical arrays. Virtual arrays follow all the rules
the virtual array
as if it were an actual
security and unified management. replicated per VSAN to further isolate fault Multipathing of the fabric in that they are registered and can be physical subsystem. Application host Cisco SN5428 iSCSI
domains. software such as discovered by hosts or SAN management loaded with optimized Storage Router with
Cisco’s portfolio of storage networking products along ISL Port Aggegation provides a way to DMP or Powerpath
applications. Virtual storage can also be in the iSCSI driver and an an embedded 8-port
are used for
with its existing LAN switching, routing, metro area, logically bundle up to 16 ISL links together (any VSAN-tagged trunks added resiliency target for advanced services including data A virtual array is iSCSI Ethernet HBA 2Gbps Fibre Channel
line card, any port) to form a logical larger pipe created to model a disk with full offload switch
and management products allow for the creation of created through replication, 3rd party copy servcies, and subsystem and contain
while providing for fast fail-over within the negotiation of TE_Port
unique solutions that offer extensive functionality for No awareness of mode (trunked E_Port)
VSAN membership split mirroring hosted within the intelligent virtual LUNs and targets MDS 9000 Family of
bundled links. VSANs is required by is based on Disk subsystems can be fully or created through the
enterprises and service providers alike. storage network. partially virtualized on a defined
Multilayer Intelligent
disk subsystems physical port virtualization process
No awareness of LUN-by-LUN basis within the array
Storage Switches enabled Application host Cisco MDS 9500
VSANs is required by with Storage Virtualization loaded with Fibre Series multilayer
host systems feature set Channel Host Bus intelligent
High Availability: Virtual SAN (VSAN) and ISL Port Aggregation Services Network-Enabled Storage Virtualization Services Adapter (HBA) director-class switch

Catalyst 6500
Highly scalable enterprise storage network Series Ethernet Switches Network-Attached- Cisco MDS 9200
High-end and/or mid-range A disaster recovery site provides business continuance capability
implemented using a consolidated-core design Storage (NAS) system Series multilayer
Fibre Channel storage
which optimizes usable ports, reduces number of subsystems supporting
by creating a 'standby' application environment. Data and possibly providing NFS and intelligent
devices to manage, and minimizes ISL requirements. remote replication services host boot images are remotely replicated. If the primary site fails, CIFS services fabric switch
iSCSI is used to tie in midrange servers to standby servers are engaged at the standby site to recover the
FCIP (Ethernet)
the multilayer storage network Metro Ethernet or Transparent LAN application. Geo-clustering provides an automated application
Services (TLS) provide Ethernet layer-2 recovery capability.
HDS 9900 Lightening
Workgroup Ethernet
transport between two data centers. switch (eg. Catalyst
Storage Subsystem with Basic web server
Truecopy Remote Cost, bandwidth, and latency profiles 2900/3500/3550 Family
High-end and/or mid-range
Replication Services make it quite suitable for synchronous Fibre Channel storage
of Ethernet switches)
remote data replication over FCIP HDS 9900 Lightening subsystems supporting
Storage Subsystem with remote replication services
Truecopy Remote
iSCSI (Ethernet) Replication Services Fibre Channel or
Cisco MDS 9000 Family of HDS Truecopy Cisco IOS-based edge
SCSI (with Fibre
Synchronous or router (eg. Cisco 3600/
Multilayer Directors and Fabric Switches Channel bridge)
Asynchronous Data 3700/7200/7300/7400
tape array - single or
Replication Family of routers)
multiple drive

Metro Ethernet or Transparent LAN Services

SMB storage network Mid-range Fibre Channel
storage and tape Mid-range Fibre Channel Cisco ONS Series of
leveraging iSCSI and array(s) for workgroup/ iSCSI-enabled mid-range
disk array or 'Just SONET/SDH switches
servers leveraging iSCSI High-end tape silos
Ethernet to enable departmental applications providing remote a bunch of disks' JBOD (eg. ONS15454 and
software drivers and TCP- MDS 9216 2-Slot Multilayer
small/medium offload Ethernet NICs for backup capability
Intelligent Fabric Switches with basic features ONS15327 switches)
business to reap iSCSI reduced CPU usage FCIP (Ethernet)
(Ethernet)
the benefits of Fabric
networked storage
FCIP (Ethernet)
High-end Fibre Channel Cisco ONS Series of
Cisco SN5428 iSCSI
Router with embedded ONS15327 Optical disk subsystem with DWDM switches
Optical SONET/SDH network providing
8-port Fibre Channel SONET Switch advanced RAID options (eg. ONS15540 and
iSCSI-Enabled mid-range transport for Fibre-Channel-Over-IP and LUN management ONS15530 switches)
switch (HA-enabled pair)
servers leveraging iSCSI (FCIP) traffic across a metro or wider
software drivers area. SONET's TDM-based transport
Fibre
FCIP (Ethernet)
Channel
Fabric
allows other traffic including voice and Standby application servers
MDS 9513 13-Slot Multilayer video to utilize the same transport. ONS15327 Optical that may be geo-clustered or
Ethernet
Cisco Catalyst Cisco IOS-based router
Application hosts Intelligent Director-Class SONET Switch configured as disk-less boot
(iSCSI) Cisco 3600/3700 Series Switches comprising high-density Multilayer LAN switch equipped with a
Fabric
requiring higher 2 Gbps systems that will boot from a
IOS-Enabled Fibre Channel I/O rates Fibre Channel, iSCSI, and replicated boot image (eg. Catalyst 4000/ Fibre Channel-Over-IP
Access Router eg. databases FCIP connectivity 4500/6500 Family) (FCIP) port adapter

ONS15454 Optical
SONET/SDH Switch
Cisco OSR7600 Series
Large Enterprise Consolidated-Core Multilayer Storage Network Optical router
SONET/SDH Transport Network Disaster Recovery Site Management
supporting high speed
Workstation
Cisco Catalyst 3500 Series LAN/MAN/WAN
Workgroup 10/100/1000 services
Ethernet Switches Enterprise-owned or leased IP WAN High-end Fibre Channel storage
services providing transport for iSCSI/FCIP Highly scalable enterprise storage network implemented using a common core-edge design. subsystems supporting Small enterprise storage network
traffic between workgroup/satellite storage This design begins with a set of highly scalable director-class MDS 9513 switches in the remote replication services driving cost reduction through
networks and a centralized data center core. These core switches are used to collapse edge switches and tie in remote the optimization of connection
SMB iSCSI Storage Network connectivity via Fibre-Channel-over-IP (FCIP) and Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM). technologies leveraging iSCSI Lower-end application Fibre Channel IP/iSCSI/FCIP
iSC

In addition, storage devices such as disk subsystems and tape arrays can be connected hosts leveraging
SI

and Fibre Channel

(H

software-based iSCSI
to the core or to larger edge switches in the case of a very large SAN design.
DL

I/O services with standard

C)

ISL PortChanneling and enhanced load balancing are used to maximize SAN resources 100Mb or 1Gb Ethernet NICs
Workgroup storage network leveraging iSCSI, Ethernet, and between the edge switches and the core.
Fibre Channel to service all I/O and network connectivity needs
for workgroup applications. Fibre Channel and iSCSI are selected
Cisco Fabric Manager - A power set of
based on cost and performance goals and assessments iSCSI (Ethernet)
tools embedded in the Cisco MDS 9000
MDS 9509 Family of Multilayer Directors and Fabric
Front-end web servers providing access to Mid-range application
9-Slot Multilayer Cisco Catalyst 6500 Multilayer Switches that provides a fabric discover,
workgroup applications hosts leveraging TCP-
Intelligent Switches with high density
Director-Class Gigabit Ethernet interfaces Offloaded Ethernet (TOE) monitoring, and configuration through
Switches adapters for accelerated an easy-to-use graphic interface.
iSCSI I/O services

Network-Attached Storage Cisco Fabric Analyzer - A remote protocol

(NAS) providing filer services analyzer that helps troubleshoot storage
for front-end web servers
MDS 9216 2-Slot networks remotely. Full protocol capture and
Multilayer decode for Fibre Channel, iSCSI, and FCIP
Intelligent assist the user with diagnosing difficult faults
High-end application
Fabric Switch
hosts leveraging iSCSI- remotely through a powerful GUI.
) Application hosts Offloaded Ethernet
LC
H
D EMC Symmetrix requiring higher 2 Gbps adapters for accelerated
(
IP Disk Subsystem Fibre Channel I/O rates iSCSI I/O services
FC with SRDF remote Cisco Resource Manager Essentials - As
Cisco 7200/7400 Series data replication
IOS-Enabled Router
part of the CiscoWorks suite, CiscoWorks RME
Mid-range application
hosts leveraging TCP- with FCIP port adapter provides software image and configuration file
Offloaded Ethernet (TOE) Small Enterprise Multilayer Storage Network management and reporting. In addition,
adapters for accelerated MDS 9509 9-Slot Multilayer CiscoWorks RME provides complete inventory
iSCSI I/O services Intelligent Director-Class
Cisco OSR7600 Series Cisco 3600/3700 Series management of a Cisco-Powered network.
IOS-Enabled Switches comprising high-density High-end Fibre Channel storage
high performance optical EMC Symmetrix Remote Remote backup site EMC Symmetrix
Access Router Fibre Channel, iSCSI, and ONS15540 and/or ONS15530 subsystems supporting
MAN and WAN router
el

FCIP connectivity Data Facility (SRDF) - leveraging synchronous Disk Subsystem remote replication services
nn

Cisco Catalyst 3500 Series Optical DWDM Switch

a

Synchronous Replication with SRDF

Ch

Workgroup 10/100/1000 remote data replication

re

Ethernet Switches to provide synchonized

Fib

Ethernet connection
Ethernet
for cluster heartbeat Private IP WAN or VPN Service iSC
copy of data for backup
(if required) SI
(E MDS 9513 13-Slot Multilayer
(iSCSI)
Fabric
the
rne Intelligent Director-Class
Network Operations Center
t)
Fibre
Switches comprising high-density Optical DWDM network providing
Chan Fibre Channel, iSCSI, and
nel
Intra-campus or inter-building fiber plant FCIP connectivity
transparent low-latency transport for
leveraged to provide SAN-to-SAN
connectivity. Ideal for connecting
Cisco 7200/7400 Series Fibre Channel
Fabric
protocols including Fibre Channel Cisco Storage Networking Solutions
IOS-Enabled Router Fibre Channel across a metro area. DWDM offers Fibre Channel
departmental SAN to main data center with FCIP port adapter a transport that is conducive to
Cisco SN5428 iSCSI
Coupling latency-sensitive synchronous Coupling
For more information on Cisco Storage
Router with embedded
8-port Fibre Channel Link data replication between remote Link Networking solutions, go to:
IBM S/390 disk subsystems IBM S/390 MDS 9216 2-Slot
switch (HA-enabled pair)
Mainframe Mainframe Intelligent Multilayer http://www.cisco.com/go/storagenetworking
Fibre Channel Fabric Switches

Sysplex
Mid-range Fibre Channel
High-end
Fibre Channel Timer
IBM Geographically Sysplex
Timer
For more information on Cisco Optical
Dispersed Parallel
storage and tape Data Center 'A' Data Center 'B'
array(s) for workgroup/
storage subsystems Sysplex (GDPS) High-end tape solutions, go to:
and tape silos for ES Synchronous Peer-to-Peer N
CO silos providing
departmental applications
centralized large-
CO
N Remote Copy (PPRC) ES
remote backup
http://www.cisco.com/go/comet
scale data center capability
IBM ESS IBM ESS
applications
Disk Disk
Subsystem Subsystem
Workgroup Storage Network Inter-Bldg Fiber or Dark Fiber Large Enterprise Core-Edge Multilayer Storage Network DWDM Optical Network Remote Backup Site
Designed by Tom Nosella ([email protected])