Cisco Cisco Catalyst Blade Switch 3020 for HP White Paper

 

Design Guide 

Figure 6.    Alternative Network Configuration 

 

Data Center Network Architecture 

The architecture of the data center infrastructure must address the requirements necessary to 
create a highly available, scalable, and secure network. This section describes the basic 
architecture necessary to meet these goals. It is a synopsis of the Cisco Data Center Network 
Architecture; for details about this architecture, visit: 

. 

The terms front-end network and back-end network define the devices that comprise the 
infrastructure of the data center and their general role. The front-end network is the IP routing and 
switching environment. It provides client-to-server, server-to-server, and server-to-storage network 
connectivity. The back-end network supports the storage-area-network (SAN) fabric and 
connectivity between servers and other storage devices such as storage arrays and tape drives.  

The front-end network contains two distinct functional areas called the aggregation and access 
layers. Figure 7 depicts the front-end network and the services available at each layer. 

 

© 2008 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. 

Page 10 of 28