Access Gateway a “Virtual Server/SAN connect”
Ing. Thomas MitrovitsMail: [email protected]: +43 676 844013200
Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.Oktober 2007
1995-2000Early SANs- Isolated
Evolution of the Data CenterBrocade Platforms Provide The Foundation & Services
Homogenous“SAN Islands”
SAN 2
SAN 1
SAN 4
SAN 3
2000-2005SAN Consolidation
EnhancedStorage Network
Enterprise Apps
Security
Scalability
Routing
Mgmt
HAExtension with FCIP
Multi-tieredApplications
Virtual SANs
2005-2010File & Block Merges
The Data Center Fabric
File ServicesData
Mobility
Storagetiers
Virtual Servers
Application Recovery
SAN
Traditional Block Data
Servers
DCFFANVolume
Brocade’s Data Center FabricConverged Fabric For The Data Center
Users & Applications
File Based Data
Filers
Remote Office
Management
Data Center Consolidation
Storage Consolidation
Information Management
Business Continuity
Brocade’s Next-Generation Data Center FabricDelivering Essential Services in the Fabric
• Extending our Connectivity Leadership
• Highest performance (8G FC, 10GE)
• Multi-Protocol (FC, FICON, iSCSI)
• Scale and Virtual Fabric Partitioning
• Distance Extension (FC, FCIP)
• Policy-based Routing & QoS IP
Branch
Corporate
Campus
Traditional Block Storage
Servers
Low Cost
HPCVolume
DCF
Data Recovery Site
• Redefining Fabric Services
• Application-aware Data Mobility (DMM)• Application-aware Business Continuity
(Snapshot, Replication, Continuous Data Protection (CDP))
• Application Aware Server Management• Security (access control, encryption)• Performance, Fault, Change, Distance
• Today less than 15% of Servers are SAN attached
• 7-10 million servers being refreshed this year
• Server Virtualization is here, leverage it
• Within the next 3-5 years 85% of servers are SAN/NAS
Bladed Servers and SANs in ActionReduce Cost, Complexity, Space, Power, OpEx
Setup Items70 Servers
140 HBA ports10 Standalone 16-port switches
160 Optical SFPs in switches160 Fiber cables
Becomes
Setup Items5 Blade Chassis
10 Embedded Switch Modules2 Standalone 16-port switches
48 Optical SFPs in switches24 Fiber cables
8Gbit/sec ISL Trunk (2x 4Gb)
Embedded Switches – The Challenges
Scalability: How to scale SAN with numerous switch modules?• Small port-count switches add to the complexity of a SAN
– More domains introduce the potential for scalability issues– More elements to manage
Who manages the integrated switch?• Server administrator? Storage administrator?
How to increase fault isolation?• Minimize server and switch module fault events affecting SAN fabric
Fabric connections made easier• Connect to multiple fabrics simultaneously• Connect to switches from different vendors
Access Gateway BenefitsClearer Management Responsibilities
ServerLand Responsibilities:
• Servers, BladeCenters and Applications
• Relatively narrow constituency
• SLAs tied to workload
ServerLand
StorageLand
StorageLand Responsibilities:• SAN fabric and storage• Providing LUNs to the server admins• Maintain very high SLAs tied to infrastructure• Satisfying numerous apps and functional areas
StorageLand Headaches: • Numerous low port count switch modules in
embedded switches • Complicates the SAN• Server admins that “touch” SAN fabric
Brocade Access Gateway Technical/OEM Overview
9January 2007
N-Port ID Virtualization (NPIV)
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Single Virtual Machine
Shared HBAor I/O channel
Brocade Switch
NPIV was initially targeted for Mainframe Environments
Access Gateway modeConnecting Server Blades to SANs
Brocade FC SAN Switch in Access Gateway mode
connects server blades to fabrics through NPIV edge
switches
Functionality comes in FOS 5.2.1b updated on existing
switch hardwareNPIV capable switches •Brocade FOS 5.1 &>•Cisco OS 3.0 & >•McDATA OS 9.0 &>
Solves Interoperability & Scalability challenges
F-port F-port
Blade Server Chassis
N-port N-port
Access Gateway in Blade Chassis
Access Gateway Technology Overview
• External ports appear to fabric as N-port devices
• Hides server HBA (internal) ports• Does not take up a domain
Improve Manageability • Mgt of AG = mgt of n-port devices• Separates Server Admin privileges
Improve Fault-isolation• Reduces RSCN traffic/fabric config• Zoning is enforced by the fabric• N-port failover capability
Multi-vendor interoperability• Multi-fabric capable (future)
Blade N
Blade 7
Blade 6
Blade 5
Blade 4
Blade 3
Blade 2
Blade 1
Fabric 2Fabric 1
N-Port ID Virtualization (NPIV)
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Blade Chassis
AcessGateway
SAN Switch
NPIV was initially targeted for Mainframe Environments
HBA HBA HBA HBA HBA HBA
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NPIV – Multiple Connections/Single Link
WWN0
WWN1
WWN2
WWN3
Single NPIV Switch Connection
FDisc instead of Flogi
Single Switch F-Port
Access Gateway Isolates the SAN from Disruptions in Serverland
Server maintenance has minimal effect on the SAN• Disconnecting an NPIV cable doesn’t disrupt the fabric in
the same way disconnecting an ISL would• Most RSCNs in the AG are not propagated to the
Fabric– Most, if not all, switch-to-switch management traffic is
eliminated between the edge switch and the AG.
• Blade management upgrades may affect the embedded switch (But not the SAN)
Dynamic Workload Management
Edge Switch
Virtual Machine
OS Instance
OS Instance
OS Instance
OS Instance
Virtual Machine
OS Instance
OS Instance
OS Instance
OS Instance
Virtual Machine
OS Instance
OS Instance
OS Instance
OS Instance
Virtual Machine
OS Instance
OS Instance
OS Instance
OS Instance
Transparent Fail-overVia F-Port Trunking
Access gateway
Access Gateway CharacteristicsMulti-fabric capable• Interoperable via NPIV-enabled N-port• The Access Gateway can be connected to multiple fabrics via any NPIV-enabled
port
Manageable• Nothing to manage in-band • All management is via a special version of Web Tools, the CLI or through the
management provided by the embedded switch vendor
Highly Scalable• No domain solves the scalability problem of a large number of low port-count
switches. Scalable to very high port counts with Directors in the core
Acts more as a device, not a switch. • Reduces RSCN traffic – virtually no inter-switch RSCNs• No direct connectivity to storage• Reduces fabric rebuilds
NPIV Enables Increased Virtualized Server Consolidation Benefits
Reduces the apparent cost of Fibre Channel HBAs• Depends on the consolidation ratio – at 10:1 the cost of an HBA is shared across
10 VMs/Applications• Traditionally the cost of HBAs have been the major impediment to putting Wintel
servers into a SAN• No iSCSI equivalent to NPIV
Compelling Business Case (ROI)• Less rack space, energy consumption and required cooling when compared to 1U
servers for bladed servers• Embedded switches reduce cable costs, SFPs and fabric edge port requirements• Access Gateway eliminates the scalability issues• Less platforms to manage
The situation only improves as the processing capacity of the bladed servers increase
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