Cisco Cisco MDS 9000 NX-OS Software Release 7.3 Datenbogen

 

 

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Data Sheet 

Cisco MDS 9000 NX-OS Software Release 7.3 

Product Overview 

Cisco

®

 MDS 9000 NX-OS Software powers the award-winning Cisco MDS 9000 Family of multilayer switches. It 

enables data center switches to create a strategic platform with superior reliability, performance, and scalability. 

Cisco has expanded its unified fabric storage portfolio with enhanced Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and 

Fibre Channel options, unified management, and new fabric services for MDS 9000 Family products and Cisco 

Nexus

®

 Family switches. These new capabilities enable convergence, scalability, and intelligence across LAN and 

SAN environments in large, virtualized data centers. 

In addition to essential SAN switching features, MDS 9000 NX-OS provides many unique features that help the 

MDS 9000 Family deliver low total cost of ownership (TCO) and a quick return on investment (ROI). 

Note:   This document discusses the features and capabilities supported by Cisco MDS 9000 NX-OS Software 
Release 7.3 across all Cisco MDS 9000 Family platforms, but not all features may be available on every hardware 

platform. To determine the features supported on a particular MDS 9000 Family platform, please refer to the data 

sheet for that specific hardware platform. 

Flexibility and Scalability 

MDS 9000 NX-OS is a highly flexible and scalable platform for enterprise SANs. 

MDS 9000 NX-OS runs on all MDS 9000 Family switches, including multilayer fabric switches and multilayer 

directors. Using the same base system software across the entire product line helps provide an extensive, 

consistent, and compatible feature set across the MDS 9000 Family. NX-OS also runs on Cisco Nexus Family 

switches, providing a common software infrastructure for evolving a unified fabric. 

In addition to Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP), MDS 9000 NX-OS supports IBM Fibre Connection (FICON), Small 

Computer System Interface over IP (iSCSI), FCoE, and Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP). Native iSCSI support in the 

MDS 9000 Family lets you consolidate storage for a wide range of servers into a common pool on the SAN. FCoE 

allows an evolutionary approach to I/O consolidation by preserving all Fibre Channel constructs and maintaining 

the latency, security, and traffic management attributes of Fibre Channel, while preserving investment in Fibre 

Channel tools, training, and SANs. 

FCoE recognizes Fibre Channel as the dominant storage protocol in the data center while offering customers a 

viable I/O consolidation solution. It simplifies customer environments by using Ethernet and allowing the industry to 

avoid creation of another, separate protocol for I/O consolidation. Native FCIP support lets you use existing 

investments in IP networks for cost-effective business-continuity solutions in both Fibre Channel and FICON 

environments. With MDS 9000 NX-OS multiprotocol support, customers can use their enterprise resources better, 

thereby lowering costs and reducing business risk.