Cisco MDS 9000 Series Configuration Guide

While you can configure VSANs in any Cisco MDS switch, you only can enable FICON inupto eight of these
VSANs. The number of VSANs configured depends on the platform.
Note
Mainframe users can think of VSANs as being like FICON LPARs in the MDS SAN fabric. You can partition
switch resources into FICON LPARs (VSANs) that are isolated from each other, in much the same way that
you can partition resources on a zSeries or DS8000. Each VSAN has its own set of fabric services (such as
fabric server and name server), FICON CUP, domain ID, Fabric Shortest Path First (FSPF) routing, operating
mode, IP address, and security profile.FICON LPARs can span line cards and are dynamic in size. For example,
one FICON LPAR with 10 ports can span 10 different line cards. FICON LPARs can also include ports on
more than one switch in a cascaded configuration. The consistent fairness of the Cisco MDS 9000 switching
architecture means that “all ports are created equal,” simplifying provisioning by eliminating the “local
switching” issues seen on other vendors’ platforms.Addition of ports to a FICON LPAR is a nondisruptive
process. The maximum number of ports for a FICON LPAR is 255 due to FICON addressing limitations.
FCIP Support
The multilayer architecture of the Cisco MDS 9000 Family enables a consistent feature set over a
protocol-agnostic switch fabric. Cisco MDS 9500 Series and 9200 Series switches transparently integrate
Fibre Channel, FICON, and Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP) in one system. The FICON over FCIP feature
enables cost-effective access to remotely located mainframe resources. With the Cisco MDS 9000 Family
platform, storage replication services such as IBM PPRC and XRC can be extended over metro to global
distances using ubiquitous IP infrastructure which simplifies business continuance strategies.
Refer to the Cisco MDS 9000 Family NX-OS IP Services Configuration Guide .
PortChannel Support
The Cisco MDS implementation of FICON provides support for efficient utilization and increased availability
of Inter-Switch Links (ISLs) necessary to build stable large-scale SAN environments. PortChannels ensure
an enhanced ISL availability and performance in Cisco MDS switches.
Refer to the Cisco MDS 9000 Family NX-OS Interfaces Configuration Guide for more information on
PortChannels.
VSANs for FICON and FCP Mixing
Cisco MDS 9000 Family FICON-enabled switches simplify deployment of even the most complex mixed
environments. Multiple logical FICON, Z-Series Linux/FCP, and Open-Systems Fibre Channel Protocol
(FCP) fabrics can be overlaid onto a single physical fabric by simply creating VSANs as required for each
service. VSANs provide both hardware isolation and protocol specific fabric services, eliminating the
complexity and potential instability of zone-based mixed schemes.
By default, the FICON feature is disabled in all switches in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family. When the FICON
feature is disabled, FC IDs can be allocated seamlessly. Mixed environments are addressed by the Cisco
NX-OS software. The challenge of mixing FCP and FICON protocols are addressed by Cisco MDS switches
when implementing VSANs.
Switches and directors in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family support FCP and FICON protocol mixing at the port
level. If these protocols are mixed in the same switch, you can use VSANs to isolate FCP and FICON ports.
Cisco MDS 9000 Series Fabric Configuration Guide, Release 8.x
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Configuring FICON
FCIP Support

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