CISCO MDS 9000 FAMILY OF MULTILAYER DIRECTORS AND FABRIC SWITCHES
CISCO MDS 9000 FAMILY
The Cisco® MDS 9000 Family lowers the total cost of ownership (TCO) for storage networking by combining the industry's most robust and flexible hardware architecture with multiple layers of network and storage intelligence. This powerful combination enables organizations to build highly available, scalable storage networks with comprehensive security and unified management.
Figure 1. Cisco MDS 9000 Family of Multilayer Directors and Fabric Switches: The Cisco MDS 9500 Series of Multilayer Directors, the Cisco MDS 9200 Series and 9100 Series of Multilayer Fabric Switches, and the Cisco MDS 9020
COMPREHENSIVE FAMILY OF MULTILAYER STORAGE NETWORKING PRODUCTS
Consisting of the Cisco MDS 9500 Series of Multilayer Directors, the Cisco MDS 9200 Series of Multilayer Fabric Switches, the Cisco MDS 9100 Series of fixed configuration fabric switches, and the Cisco MDS 9020, the Cisco MDS 9000 Family provides a full line of products to meet requirements for storage networks of all sizes and architectures. The Cisco MDS 9000 Family delivers intelligent network services such as virtual storage-area networks (VSANs), comprehensive security, advanced traffic management, sophisticated diagnostics, and unified SAN management. In addition, the Cisco MDS 9500 Series and the Cisco MDS 9200 Series of Multilayer Fabric Switches provide multiprotocol and multitransport integration and an open platform for embedding intelligent storage services such as network-based virtualization. With its multilayer approach to network and storage intelligence, the Cisco MDS 9000 Family ushers in a new era in storage networking.
CISCO MDS 9500 SERIES-DEFINING THE MULTILAYER DIRECTOR
The Cisco MDS 9500 Multilayer Director elevates the standard for director-class switches. Providing industry-leading availability, scalability, security, and management, the Cisco MDS 9500 Series allows you to deploy high-performance SANs with lowest TCO. Layering a rich set of intelligent features onto a high-performance, protocol-agnostic switch fabric, the Cisco MDS 9500 Series of Multilayer Directors addresses the stringent requirements of large-data-center storage environments. Available in 6- and 9-slot configurations, the Cisco MDS 9500 Series supports up to 224 2 / 1-Gbps autosensing Fibre Channel ports in a single chassis and up to 768 Fibre Channel ports per rack. And with an industry-leading 1.44 Tbps of system bandwidth, the Cisco MDS 9500 Series is ready for integration of future 10-Gbps modules.
CISCO MDS 9200 SERIES-MULTILAYER FABRIC SWITCHES WITH ROOM TO GROW
The Cisco MDS 9200 Series Multilayer Fabric Switches brings new features and investment protection to the fabric switch market. Sharing a consistent architecture with the Cisco MDS 9500 Series, the Cisco MDS 9200 Series combines multilayer intelligence with a modular chassis, making it the industry's most intelligent and flexible fabric switch. Starting with either fourteen or sixteen 2 / 1-Gbps autosensing Fibre Channel ports and/or two Gigabit Ethernet ports, the expansion slot of the Cisco MDS 9216 allows for the addition of any Cisco MDS 9000 Family module for up to 48 total ports. As the storage network expands further, Cisco MDS 9000 Family modules can be removed from Cisco MDS 9200 Multilayer Fabric Switches and migrated into Cisco MDS 9500 Series Multilayer Directors, providing smooth migration, common sparing, and outstanding investment protection.
The Cisco MDS 9100 Series elevates the standard for Fibre Channel fabric switches, bringing Cisco Intelligent Networking to small and medium-scale SANs and data-center edge applications. The Cisco MDS 9100 Series provides the ideal balance of cost, performance, and enterprise-class features in a compact, one-rack-unit (1RU) form factor. Available in 20- and 40-port configurations, the Cisco MDS 9100 Series offers the port densities required for a wide variety of storage environments. Providing class-leading scalability, availability, security, and management, the Cisco MDS 9100 Series allows you to deploy high-performance SANs with low TCO. Layering a rich set of intelligent features onto a cost-effective, small-profile switching platform, the Cisco MDS 9100 Series addresses the cost, performance, ease-of-management, and connectivity requirements of small and medium-scale storage environments and provides full-feature compatibility with Cisco MDS 9500 Series directors for transparent, end-to-end service delivery in large data-center core-edge deployments.
CISCO MDS 9020-EXTENDING THE BENEFITS OF SAN TO SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES
The Cisco MDS 9020 offers advanced storage networking capabilities at new price points, allowing organizations of all sizes to enjoy the benefits of intelligent SANs. With twenty 4 / 2 / 1-Gbps Fibre Channel ports, the Cisco MDS 9020 is well suited for small to medium businesses that want to deploy cost effective but scalable high performance SANs. The MDS 9020 is also ideal for branch offices and departments in large enterprises. It can be used as the foundation of small standalone SANs or as an edge switch in larger core-edge SAN infrastructures.
CISCO MDS 9000 PORT ANALYZER ADAPTER-REDUCING TIME TO PROBLEM RESOLUTION
The Cisco MDS 9000 Port Analyzer Adapter enables effective, low-cost analysis of Fibre Channel traffic anywhere in the network at any time, simplifying debug of network problems and reducing time to problem resolution. The device is a "plug-and-play" accessory for the Cisco MDS 9000 Family of Directors and Fabric Switches that enables simple, transparent analysis of Fibre Channel traffic in a switched fabric, eliminating the need for expensive standalone protocol analyzers. The Cisco MDS 9000 Port Analyzer Adapter encapsulates the Fibre Channel frames from a Cisco MDS 9000 SPAN destination port into Ethernet frames that may be analyzed using a locally attached PC running open-source Ethereal software that has been enhanced by Cisco to enable decoding of Fibre Channel and Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) protocols.
CISCO MDS 9000 OPTICAL MODULES-OPTIMIZING SAN INTERCONNECT
Cisco MDS 9000 Family optical interface modules offer a broad range of SAN connectivity solutions for both local and extended reach. Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) modules for the Cisco MDS 9000 are available in either short-wave or long-wave options supporting Fibre Channel and Gigabit Ethernet connections over distances of up to 500 meters and 10 kilometers, respectively. Cisco Coarse Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (CWDM) products provide cost-effective, multiprotocol, extended-distance connectivity by optimizing the use of the existing optical infrastructure. The Cisco CWDM SFP solution has two main components: wavelength-specific SFPs and a completely passive optical add/drop multiplexer (OADM). The Cisco CWDM solution increases the data capacity of existing fiber by up to eight times that of standard optical modules while extending the reach of Inter-Switch Links (ISLs) to up to 100 kilometers, significantly lowering cost of SAN connectivity.
CISCO MDS 9000 FAMILY HIGHLIGHTS
• High-availability director-The Cisco MDS 9500 Series combines nondisruptive software upgrades, stateful process restart and failover, and full redundancy of all major components for a new standard in director-class availability. It supports up to 224 2 / 1-Gbps autosensing Fibre Channel ports in a single chassis and up to 768 Fibre Channel ports in a single rack-1.44 Tbps of internal system bandwidth ensures smooth integration of future 10-Gbps modules.
• Industry's most flexible fabric switch-The Cisco MDS 9200 Series supports up to 48 2 / 1-Gbps autosensing Fibre Channel ports in a fabric switch configuration. Its modular design provides a 3RU base system consisting of fourteen or sixteen 2 / 1-Gbps autosensing Fibre Channel ports and/or two Gigabit Ethernet ports, and it can be expanded with a variety of optional Cisco MDS 9000 Family switching modules up to 48 total Fibre Channel ports.
• Cost-effective intelligent fabrics-The Cisco MDS 9100 Series provides the ideal balance of cost, performance, and enterprise-class features in a compact, 1RU form factor. Available in 20- and 40-port configurations, the Cisco MDS 9100 Series addresses the cost, performance, ease-of-management, and connectivity requirements of small and medium-scale storage environments while providing full-feature compatibility with Cisco MDS 9500 Series directors for transparent, end-to-end service delivery in large data-center core-edge deployments.
• Extending SAN benefits beyond Data center-The Cisco MDS 9020 offers advanced storage networking capabilities at new price points, allowing organizations of all sizes to enjoy the benefits of intelligent SANs. With twenty 4 / 2 / 1-Gbps Fibre Channel ports, the Cisco MDS 9020 is well suited for small to medium businesses that want to deploy cost effective but scalable high performance SANs.
• Advanced architecture-The Cisco MDS 9000 Family architecture provides common switching modules that can be migrated to any chassis within the Cisco MDS 9500 Series or the Cisco MDS 9216 Multilayer Fabric Switch.
• TCO-driven design-The Cisco MDS 9000 Family offers advanced management tools for overall lowest TCO. It introduces VSAN technology for hardware-enforced, isolated environments within a single physical fabric for secure sharing of physical infrastructure, further decreasing TCO.
• Multiprotocol and multitransport architecture-The multilayer architecture of the Cisco MDS 9000 Family enables a consistent feature set over a protocol-agnostic switch fabric. Cisco MDS 9500 Series and MDS 9200 Series switches transparently integrate Fibre Channel, SCSI over IP (iSCSI), and Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP) in one system. The flexible architecture of these switches allows integration of future storage protocols.
• Intelligent network services-The Cisco MDS 9000 Family introduces VSAN technology, access control lists (ACLs) for hardware-based intelligent frame processing, and advanced traffic management features such as Fibre Channel Congestion Control (FCC) and fabric-wide quality of service (QoS) to enable migration from SAN islands to enterprise-wide storage networks.
• Open platform for intelligent storage services-The Cisco MDS 9000 Family provides an open platform for hosting intelligent storage services such as network-based virtualization and replication.
• Comprehensive security framework-The Cisco MDS 9000 Family supports RADIUS authentication, Simple Network Management Protocol Version 3 (SNMPv3), role-based access control, Secure Shell Protocol (SSH), Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), Fibre Channel Security Protocol (FC-SP), VSANs, hardware-enforced zoning, LUN zoning, read-only zones, ACLs, port security, and VSAN-based access control.
• Sophisticated diagnostics-The Cisco MDS 9000 Family provides industry-first intelligent diagnostics, protocol, decoding, and network analysis tools as well as integrated call-home capability for added reliability, faster problem resolution, and reduced service costs.
• Unified storage management-The Cisco MDS 9000 Family includes built-in storage management with all features available through a command-line interface (CLI) or Cisco Fabric Manager, a centralized management tool that simplifies management of multiple switches and fabrics.
• Industry's highest-performance ISLs-The Cisco MDS 9000 Family supports up to sixteen 2-Gbps links in a single PortChannel-links may span any port on any module within a chassis for added scalability and resilience.
• Flexibility and investment protection-The Cisco MDS 9000 Family shares common switching modules across all Cisco MDS 9500 Series products as well as the Cisco MDS 9216 Multilayer Fabric Switch. Infrastructure protection is offered through common software releases across all Cisco MDS 9000 Family platforms.
SERVICES FOR CISCO STORAGE NETWORKING
Delivered through an ecosystem of best-of-breed storage service partners or directly by Cisco, storage networking services provide high-touch services to enable you to successfully assess, plan, design, implement, and operate storage networks while helping to ensure high availability.
