About Inter-VSAN Routing
Virtual SANs (VSANs) improve storage area network (SAN) scalability, availability, and security by allowing multiple Fibre Channel SANs to share a common physical infrastructure of switches and ISLs. These benefits are derived from the separation of Fibre Channel services in each VSAN and isolation of traffic between VSANs. Data traffic isolation between the VSANs also inherently prevents sharing of resources attached to a VSAN, such as robotic tape libraries. Using IVR, you can access resources across VSANs without compromising other VSAN benefits.
Data traffic is transported between specific initiators and targets on different VSANs without merging VSANs into a single logical fabric. Fibre Channel control traffic does not flow between VSANs, nor can initiators access any resource across VSANs other than the designated ones. Valuable resources such as tape libraries are easily shared across VSANs without compromise.
IVR supports the following features:
- Accesses resources across VSANs without compromising other VSAN benefits.
- Transports data traffic between specific initiators and targets on different VSANs without merging VSANs into a single logical fabric.
- Shares valuable resources (like tape libraries) across VSANs without compromise.
- Provides efficient business continuity or disaster recovery solutions when used in conjunction with FCIP.
- Is in compliance with Fibre Channel standards.
- Incorporates third-party switches, however, IVR-enabled VSANs may have to be configured in one of the interop modes.
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