Cisco in storage switch revamp
Cisco in storage switch revamp
Cisco has released a new version of its SAN operating system, bringing with it enhanced functionality to its MDS 9000 range of switches.
Incorporated within version 1.3 of the Cisco SAN O/S is a feature called Inter-VSAN Routing, which will allows servers in different virtual SANs (VSANs) to share common storage resources (disk and tape) located either locally or remotely. While each VSAN provides an independent set of SAN services and strict traffic isolation, Inter-VSAN Routing enables selective transfer of data traffic between devices on different VSANs without merging VSANs into a single logical fabric.
The new software also offers Fibre Channel over IP write acceleration and compression, as well as support for intermixing of open systems protocols.
"Improving storage utilisation and application availability are high priorities for today's enterprises. To meet this goal, IT managers need to boost the scalability, reliability and manageability of their storage area networks," said Richard Villars, Vice President of storage research at IDC. "SAN interconnect and manageability features like those that Cisco is adding to its Cisco MDS 9000 products will help IT managers build and operate a more intelligent, reliable and sophisticated networked storage environments while reducing administrative burdens."
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