Cisco MDS 9000 Series Configuration Guide

MDS-Specific FICON Advantages
This section explains the additional FICON advantages in Cisco MDS switches and includes the following
topics:
Fabric Optimization with VSANs
Generally, separate physical fabrics have a high level of switch management and have a higher implementation
cost. The ports in each island also may be over-provisioned depending on the fabric configuration.
By using the Cisco MDS-specific VSAN technology, you can have greater efficiency between these physical
fabrics by lowering the cost of over-provisioning and reducing the number of switches to be managed. VSANs
also help you to move unused ports nondisruptively and provide a common redundant physical infrastructure
(see Figure 55: VSAN-Specific Fabric Optimization, on page 247).
Figure 55: VSAN-Specific Fabric Optimization
VSANs enable global SAN consolidation by allowing you to convert existing SAN islands into virtual SAN
islands on a single physical network. It provides hardware-enforced security and separation between applications
or departments to allow coexistence on a single network. It also allows virtual rewiring to consolidate your
storage infrastructure. You can move assets between departments or applications without the expense and
disruption of physical relocation of equipment.
Cisco MDS 9000 Series Fabric Configuration Guide, Release 8.x
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Configuring FICON
MDS-Specific FICON Advantages

Cisco MDS 9000 Series Specifications

General

Category	Switch
Operating System	Cisco NX-OS
Ports	Varies by model
Protocols	Fibre Channel (FC), Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP), iSCSI
Redundancy	Redundant supervisors, power supplies, and fans
Management	Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM), CLI, SNMP
Virtualization Support	VSANs (Virtual SANs)
Security Features	Fibre Channel Security Protocol (FC-SP)
Hot Swappable Components	power supplies, fans
Power Supply Options	AC and DC options available