Cisco Cisco MDS 9000 SAN-OS Software Release 3.x Datenbogen
Data Sheet
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Cisco MDS 9000 SAN-OS Software 3.1(1)
The Cisco
®
MDS 9000 SAN-OS Software is the underlying system software that powers
the award-winning Cisco MDS 9000 family multilayer switches. Cisco MDS 9000 SAN-OS
Software is designed for storage area networks (SANs) in the best tradition of Cisco IOS
®
Software to create a strategic SAN platform with superior reliability, performance,
scalability, and features.
In addition to providing all the features that the market expects of a storage network
switch, the Cisco MDS 9000 SAN-OS Software provides many unique features that help
the Cisco MDS 9000 family deliver low total cost of ownership (TCO) and a quick return
on investment (ROI).
Flexibility and Scalability
The Cisco MDS 9000 SAN-OS Software is a highly flexible and scalable platform for enterprise
SANs.
Common Software Across All Platforms
The Cisco MDS 9000 SAN-OS Software runs on all Cisco MDS 9000 family switches, from
multilayer fabric switches to multilayer directors. Using the same base system software across the
entire product line helps Cisco provide an extensive, consistent, and compatible feature set across
the Cisco MDS 9000 family.
Multiprotocol Support
In addition to supporting Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP), the Cisco MDS 9000 SAN-OS Software
supports IBM Fibre Connection (FICON), Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI), and
Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP) in a single platform. Native iSCSI support in the Cisco MDS 9000
family helps customers consolidate storage for a wide range of servers into a common pool on the
SAN. Native FCIP support allows customers to take advantage of their existing investment in IP
networks for cost-effective business-continuance solutions for both Fibre Channel and FICON
environments. With Cisco MDS 9000 SAN-OS Software multiprotocol support, customers can
better use their enterprise resources, thereby lowering costs.
Virtual SANs
Virtual SAN (VSAN) technology partitions a single physical SAN into multiple VSANs. The Cisco
MDS 9000 family switches are the first SAN switches on the market with VSAN support built into
the switch hardware. VSAN capabilities allow the Cisco MDS 9000 SAN-OS Software to logically
divide a large physical fabric into separate, isolated environments to improve Fibre Channel SAN
scalability, availability, manageability, and network security. For FICON, VSANs facilitate true
hardware-based separation of FICON and open systems.
Each VSAN is a logically and functionally separate SAN with its own set of Fibre Channel fabric
services. This partitioning of fabric services greatly reduces network instability by containing fabric
reconfigurations and error conditions within an individual VSAN. The strict traffic segregation
provided by VSANs helps ensure that the control and data traffic of a given VSAN are confined