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A switch designed for virtual SANs
Ideal for efficient, secure SAN consoli-
dation, ANSI T11 compliant VSANs
allow more efficient storage network uti-
lization by creating hardware-based iso-
lated environments within a single
physical SAN fabric or switch. Each
VSAN can be zoned as a typical SAN,
maintaining its own fabric services for
added scalability and resilience. VSANs
allow the cost of SAN infrastructure to
be shared among more users, while
ensuring absolute segregation of traffic
and retaining independent control of
configuration on a VSAN-by-VSAN
basis. Through unique virtualization fea-
tures, VSAN benefits can be extended
to virtualized servers, providing the
foundation for an end-to-end virtualized
data center. VSANs also greatly reduce
the probability that a misconfiguration
or component failure in one VSAN will
affect other VSANs. VSAN-based man-
agement access controls enhance
security by simplifying partitioning of
SAN management responsibilities
between mainframe and open systems
environments.
Each 8 Gbps switching module sup-
ports Inter-VSAN Routing (IVR) on every
Fibre Channel port. IVR allows selective
transfer of data traffic between specific
initiators and targets of different VSANs
while maintaining isolation of control
traffic within each VSAN, thereby main-
taining fabric stability and availability.
Simplified storage network management
The Cisco MDS 9506 supports three
principal modes of management: the
Cisco MDS 9000 Family command-line
interface (CLI), Cisco Fabric Manager
and integration with third-party storage
management tools. The Cisco
MDS 9506 presents the user with a
consistent, logical CLI. Adhering to the
syntax of the widely known Cisco IOS®
CLI, the Cisco MDS 9000 Family CLI
has broad functionality.
Multiservice support and traffic
management features
IP and Multiservice 18/4 Module fea-
tures offer Gigabit Ethernet ports for
iSCSI or FCIP connectivity, software
configurable on a port-by-port basis.
The IP Storage Services Module fea-
ture provides eight iSCSI ports.
Multiservice 18/4 Module feature
offers four Gigabit Ethernet iSCSI ports
and eighteen 4 Gbps Fibre Channel
ports. The SAN Extension over IP
Package for IP Services Modules and
Multiservice Module features add Fibre
Channel over IP support. SAN
Extension over IP Package helps
improve performance with FCIP
Compression, Write Acceleration and
Tape Acceleration and helps improve
security with Inter-VSAN Routing
for FCIP.
Security for large enterprise SANs
Because storage networks require
security, the Cisco MDS 9506 for
IBM System Storage is designed to
provide extensive security measures at
possible points of attack to help pre-
vent unauthorized management access
and snooping.
Additionally, data plane traffic is secured
through VSANs, which are designed to
segregate traffic between multiple vir-
tual fabrics within the single physical
fabric infrastructure, and through
hardware-enforced zoning, which fur-
ther segregates traffic within each
VSAN.
Advanced security and management
The Enterprise Package feature is
designed to provide advanced security
and management capabilities. The
package helps improve management