Cisco Systems MDS 9000 manual

application requirements dictate the solutions that are deployed, FCIP is suitable for a large majority of remote data mirroring applications. FCIP is ideal for wide area connectivity between two data centers over a WAN link of varying speeds.

The integrated iSCSI capability is a low-cost host connectivity option leveraging an existing IP/Ethernet infrastructure. The iSCSI technology helps to optimize the use of expensive storage and tape subsystems by fanning the scope of the storage network to midrange and low-end servers in a cost-effective manner. This integration represents the industry’s first Fibre Channel and IP storage integrated solution in a highly available director platform. Low-end servers with departmental or workgroup applications can easily be integrated into the same storage network fabric to provide easier access to corporate resources. Now workgroup applications are not tied to limited storage capacity or suffer from downtime caused during capacity upgrades. In addition, performance is not compromised, rather now delivered at a much lower cost. Furthermore, iSCSI provides centralized, shared tape option, LAN-free, and server-less capable backup and recovery solutions for departmental or workgroup application.

It is clear that Cisco’s intelligent storage network feature set coupled with a focus on data center availability requirements delivers a breadth of solutions unmatched in the industry today. Cisco’s products deliver enhanced management features to address enterprise concerns of reducing downtime caused by unplanned outages as well as planned upgrades. Technologies such as FCIP and iSCSI allow enterprises to reduce infrastructure costs while still providing integrated management across the two technologies.

Figure 6

	DWDM
SAN	Synchronous Remote Replication
	Over Optical
	Primary Site

TCP/IP

SAN

Primary Site

Synchronous Remote Replication

Over FCIP

Backup

Application

	Tape
	Silo
SAN
	Real-Time
	Replicated
Backup Site	Data

Backup

Application

	Tape
	Silo
SAN
	Real-Time
	Replicated
Backup Site	Data

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