Cisco MDS 9100 Series Fabric Switches

HIGHLIGHTS

• Cost-effective, intelligent storage networking-Advanced features in a compact, cost-effective design simplify deployment and administration of small and medium-scale storage-area networks (SANs).

• Scalability and consistent service delivery-Common platform architecture and intelligent services across all Cisco MDS 9000 Family switches ensures scalability and consistent service delivery as your SAN grows.

• Simplified storage management-The Cisco MDS 9100 Series includes built-in storage network management with all features available through a command-line interface (CLI) or Cisco Fabric Manager, a centralized management tool that simplifies management of multiple switches and fabrics.

• Intelligent network services: Introduces Virtual SAN (VSAN) technology for hardware-enforced, isolated environments within a single physical fabric; Access Control Lists (ACLs) for hardware-based intelligent frame processing; and advanced traffic management features such as Fibre Channel Congestion Control (FCC) and fabricwide QoS to enable migration from SAN islands to enterprise-wide storage networks.

• Total cost of ownership (TCO)-driven design-The Cisco MDS 9100 Series offers advanced management tools for overall lowest TCO. VSAN technology for hardware-enforced, isolated environments within a single physical fabric for secure sharing of physical infrastructure further decreases TCO.

• Comprehensive security framework-Supports RADIUS and TACACS+, FC-SP, SFTP, SSH and SNMPv3 implementing Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), VSANs, hardware-enforced zoning, Access Control Lists, and per-VSAN role-based access control.

• Sophisticated diagnostics-This feature provides industry-first intelligent diagnostics, protocol decoding, and network-analysis tools as well as integrated call-home capability for added reliability, faster problem resolution, and reduced service costs.

• Industry-leading port density-Up to forty 2/1-Gbps autosensing Fibre Channel ports are incorporated in a compact design for environments that require maximum port density per rack unit.

• Two options-Twenty- and forty-port configurations (Cisco MDS 9120, MDS 9140), packaged in a one rack unit (1RU) form-factor chassis with dual hot-swappable power supplies and fans, provide the flexibility needed to address a broad range of deployment requirements.

Figures 1 and 2 show the Cisco MDS 9100 Series Fabric Switches. These switches layer intelligent features onto a cost-effective compact form factor.

Figure 1. Cisco MDS 9120 20-Port Intelligent Fabric Switch	Figure 2. Cisco MDS 9140 40-Port Intelligent Fabric Switch

CISCO MDS 9100 SERIES-BUILDING COST-EFFECTIVE INTELLIGENT FABRICS

The Cisco MDS 9100 Series elevates the standard for Fibre Channel fabric switches, bringing Cisco Intelligent Networking to small and medium-scale SANs and data-center edge applications. The Cisco MDS 9100 Series provides the ideal balance of cost, performance, and enterprise-class features in a compact 1RU form factor. Available in 20- and 40-port configurations, the Cisco MDS 9100 Series offers the port densities required for a wide variety of storage environments. Providing class-leading scalability, availability, security, and management, the Cisco MDS 9100 Series enables users to deploy high-performance SANs with low TCO. Layering a rich set of intelligent features onto a cost-effective, small-profile switching platform, the Cisco MDS 9100 Series addresses the cost, performance, ease of management, and connectivity requirements of small and medium-scale storage environments and provides full-feature compatibility with Cisco MDS 9500 Series Multilayer Directors and the Cisco MDS 9200 Series Multilayer Fabric Switches for transparent, end-to-end service delivery in large data-center core-edge deployments.

OPTIMIZED CONNECTIVITY

Cisco MDS 9100 Series switches optimize connectivity by matching switch-port performance to the requirements of connected devices. Target-optimized ports are configured to meet the bandwidth demands of high-performance storage devices, servers, and Inter-Switch Links (ISLs). Host-optimized ports deliver best-in-class port density and optimal bandwidth for host-attach. The Cisco MDS 9120 model switch is configured with 16 host-optimized ports and 4 target-optimized ports. The Cisco MDS 9140 model switch is configured with 32 host-optimized ports and 8 target-optimized ports. Cisco MDS 9100 Series switches include hot-swappable, Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP), LC interfaces. Individual ports can be configured with either short- or long-wavelength SFPs for connectivity up to 500m and 10 km, respectively. Available coarse wavelength-division multiplexing (CWDM) SFPs support aggregation of multiple links onto a single optical fiber through a low-cost, passive, optical multiplexer/demultiplexer. All interfaces are 2 Gbps compatible. Up to 255 buffer credits per port are supported on target-optimized ports for maximum extensibility without the requirement for additional licensing. Host-optimized ports support 12 buffer credits per port.

Advanced Traffic Management for High-Performance, Resilient Fabrics

Advanced traffic management capabilities integrated into the Cisco MDS 9100 Series simplify deployment and optimization of large-scale fabrics.

• Virtual Output Queuing ensures line rate performance on each port, independent of traffic pattern, by eliminating head-of-line blocking

• 255 Buffer-to-Buffer credits are assigned to each port for optimal bandwidth utilization across distance. When extended distances are required, up to 3,500 credits can be allocated to a single port within a group of four Fibre Channel ports.

• PortChannels allow users to aggregate up to 15 physical ISLs into a single logical bundle, providing optimized bandwidth utilization across all links. The bundle can consist of any port from any module in the chassis, ensuring that the bundle remains active even in the event of a module failure.

• Fabric Shortest Path First (FSPF)-based multi pathing provides the intelligence to load balance across up to 15 equal cost paths and, in the event of a switch failure, dynamically reroute traffic.

• Quality of Service (QoS) can be used to manage bandwidth and control latency, in order to prioritize critical traffic.

• Fibre Channel Congestion Control (FCC), an end-to-end feedback-based congestion control mechanism, augments the Fibre Channel's Buffer-to-Buffer credit mechanism to provide enhanced traffic management.