Multilayer Storage Products provide security for enterprise SANs.

Press Release Summary:



Model MDS 9506 features 16-128 ½ Gbps autosensing fiber channel ports and IP ports supporting iSCSI and FCIP. It consists of 7-rack unit chassis with redundant power supplies, and requires selection of 2 Supervisor Modules with at least one 16-port or 32-port fiber channel line card. CWDM Extended Distance Solution transmits multiple Fibre Channel or IP traffic streams over shared fiber optic cable. Port Adapter Analyzer helps protocol analysis within MDS 9000 fabrics.




Original Press Release:



IBM Expands Multiprotocol Storage Offerings with New Products from Cisco Systems



At a glance
o Cisco MDS 9506 (2062-D04/T04) Multilayer Director with 16 to 128 1/2 Gbps autosensing Fibre Channel ports, and IP Ports supporting iSCSI and FCIP
o CWDM Extended Distance Solution (2062-CW1) designed to transmit multiple Fibre Channel or IP traffic streams over shared fiber optic cable
o Port Adapter Analyzer (2061-PA1) helps protocol analysis within MDS 9000 Fabrics

The Cisco Systems MDS 9000 family is designed to provide:
o Virtual SAN (VSAN) hardware for SAN environments with added scalability and resilience
o Security for large enterprise SANs

For ordering, contact:
Your IBM representative, an IBM Business Partner, or the Americas Call Centers at 800-IBM-CALL (Reference: YE001).

Overview
The Cisco MDS 9000 family is designed for investment protection, flexibility, scalability, robustness, advanced diagnostics, and integration for workgroup and enterprise SANs.

New models are now available within the Cisco Systems Multilayer Switch and Director Product family, including the Cisco MDS 9506 Multilayer Director (2062-D04/T04), Course Wavelength Division Multiplex (CWDM) Extended Distance Solution (2062-CW1), and Port Analyzer Adapter (2061-PA1). The Cisco MDS 9000 family provides products that help users implement a multiprotocol-capable SAN infrastructure with advanced intelligence to help address demands for the security, performance, and manageability required to consolidate geographically dispersed SANs.
Additionally, the Cisco MDS 9000 family supports additional integrated storage configurations, helping to address the needs of both low-cost workgroup and high-performance enterprise resources.

Along with new models, new features for the Cisco MDS family, include an 8-Port IP Services Module, Tri-Rate Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) Transceivers, Fiber Optic Convenience Cables, and Flash Memory Card options. The 8-Port IP Services Module is designed to provide Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) and Fibre Channel over Internet (FCIP) capabilities, bringing to the marketplace the multiprotocol-capable SAN infrastructure highlighted in IBM's Statement of Direction announced in Hardware Announcement 103-044, dated February 17, 2003.

Key Prerequisites
Cisco Systems Multilayer Switch and Directors are designed to support:
Servers
o IBM pSeries(TM) and selected RS/6000® servers
o IBM xSeries® and selected Netfinity® servers
o Other Intel®-based servers with Linux, Microsoft(TM) Windows NT®, and Windows® 2000
o Selected Sun and HP servers

Storage systems
o IBM TotalStorage(TM) Enterprise Storage Server(TM) (ESS)
o IBM TotalStorage FAStT Family of Storage Servers
o IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Tape System 3590 and IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Tape Library 3494
o IBM Ultrium Tape Library 3583 and IBM UltraScalable Tape Library 3584
o Other selected storage systems

For specific configuration support dates and other details on availability, server models, operating system levels, and storage attachment capabilities, visit: www.ibm.com/storage/cisco

Support for some configurations may not be available on the initial planned availability date.

Planned availability date
August 1, 2003

Description
Cisco MDS 9506 Multilayer Director (2062-D04/T04): The Cisco Multilayer Director MDS 9506 (IBM 2062-D04/T04) supports director-class management, serviceability, and availability, including hot-swap support and redundancy of active hardware components, as well as non-disruptive software upgrades of active components. The Cisco MDS 9506 consists of a seven-rack-unit chassis with redundant power supplies, and requires selection of two Supervisor Modules with at least one 16-Port or 32-Port Fibre Channel Line Card. The Cisco MDS 9506 supports up to a total of four Fibre Channel and IP Services Line Cards.

Each Supervisor Module internally is capable of providing the ability to automatically restart failed processes. In the event that a Supervisor Module is reset because of a hardware failure or service action, synchronization between the active and standby Supervisor Modules helps support stateful process failover while avoiding traffic disruption.

Selection of optional 16-Port or 32-Port Fibre Channel Switching Line Cards are designed to provide support for 16 to 128 Fibre Channel ports per MDS 9506 chassis. Selection of optional 8-Port IP Services Line Cards provides connection to Gigabit Ethernet networks and support for iSCSI host initiators to access Fibre Channel storage. The optional FCIP Activation feature allows the 8-Port IP Services Line Card to extend native Fibre Channel Fabric over LAN and WAN infrastructure.

IBM offers two versions of the Cisco MDS 9506:
o IBM Model 2062-D04 includes ac power supplies in the base, suitable for IT data centers
o IBM Model 2062-T04 includes dc power supplies in the base, suitable for Telecom installations.

Hot-swappable components include Supervisor Modules, optional line card modules, Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) optics, power supplies, and fan trays with integrated temperature and power management. Optional line card modules are designed to be interchanged or shared between all Cisco MDS 9000 Directors and Fabric Switches.

Fibre Channel ports on the Cisco MDS 9506 Director may be configured to accept either Short Wave SFP or Long Wave SFP optic transceivers; however, when ordering, all available Fibre Channel ports must be populated with SFP optic transceivers. Fibre Channel line cards are compatible with both Fibre Channel specific SFPs (#5230 and #5240) and Tri-Rate SFPs (#5210 and #5220). A variety of lengths of optional Fibre Channel multimode (50 um) fiber optic cables and couplers are provided for connection convenience.

The 8-Port IP Services Line Card may be ordered with either Short Wave SFP or Long Wave SFP optic transceivers; however, only one SFP is required as a minimum configuration. The 8-Port IP Services Line Card is compatible with Tri-Rate SFPs (#5210 and #5220) only.

Supervisor Modules on the Cisco MDS 9506 Director are designed to accept an external 512 Mb Compact Flash (CF) Module to download or upload software images, configuration files, or saving log files. This capability is designed to facilitate service maintenance operations.

Cisco Coarse Wavelength-Division (CWDM) (2062-CW1): The Cisco CWDM Extended Distance Solution (2062-CW1) is designed to transmit multiple 1/2 Gbps Fibre Channel and/or Gigabit Ethernet traffic streams over a single, shared fiber optic cable. The CWDM solution consists of a two slot (1RU) CWDM Chassis, which accommodates up to two passive optic CWDM Mux plug-in modules. Two types of modules are available: an 8-wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer module and a 4-wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer module with add/drop capabilities. The active CWDM wavelength-specific SFPs are installed into available Fibre Channel and IP ports within one or more MDS Directors. Up to 8 CWDM wavelength-specific SFPs may be connected to the passive optic CWDM Mux plug-in module, using the 1 meter or 5 meter single mode Lucent Connector (LC)/Standard Connector (SC) fiber optic jumper cables (#5220 and #5221). Each wavelength-specific SFP represents a color or channel, and up to 8 channels are transmitted simultaneously between sites, over a single, shared fiber optic cable, helping reduce the costs for Extended Distance Solutions. Each site must include at least one CWDM Chassis. A maximum of 16 wavelength-specific SFPs are supported in any one MDS Director.

Cisco Port Analyzer Adapter (2061-PA1): The Cisco Port Analyzer Adapter (2061-PA1) is designed to provide encapsulation of Fibre Channel frames into Ethernet frames, and to enable low-cost analysis of Fibre Channel traffic while leveraging existing Ethernet infrastructure. The Port Analyzer Adapter is lightweight, portable, and supports "plug-and-play" operation to facilitate troubleshooting procedures. The Port Analyzer Adapter helps non-disruptive traffic analysis, local monitoring of Fibre Channel protocol layers and Enhanced Inter-Switch Link (EISL) headers, with no interruption to traffic flow.

The Port Analyzer Adapter draws upon the Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN) feature, included in the MDS 9000 family of Directors and Fabric Switches. SPAN allows storage network administrators to non-disruptively view the traffic between two Fibre Channel ports on a Cisco MDS 9000 Director or Fabric Switch, by replicating traffic to a SPAN Destination Port (SD-Port).

The Port Analyzer Adapter encapsulates the Fibre Channel frames from the SD-Port into Ethernet frames that may be analyzed using a locally attached PC.

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