QLogic SAN Solutions Guide

G U I D ESAN Solutions GuideThe Only Source for Multi-Vendor InteroperabilityV2AUG 2007

QLogic SAN Solutions GuideVersion 2.0

Copyright © 2003-2007 QLogic Corporation. All rights reserved.SN0054652-00 Rev B 8/07THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDINGANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, INTEROPERABILITY, ORCOMPATIBILITY. All of the Partners' products are warranted in accordance with the agreements under which the warranty for theproducts are provided. Unless otherwise specified, the product manufacturer, supplier, or publisher of non-Partner products provideswarranty, service, and support directly to you. THE PARTNERS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES REGARDINGTHE PARTNERS’ PRODUCTS OR NON-PARTNER PRODUCTS, AND NO WARRANTY IS PROVIDED FOR EITHER THEFUNCTIONALITY OR PROBLEM RESOLUTION OF ANY PRODUCTS.The inclusion of the Partners' products on an interoperability list is not a guarantee that they will work with the other designatedstorage products. In addition, not all software and hardware combinations created from compatible components will necessarilyfunction properly together. The following list includes products developed or distributed by companies other than the Partners. ThePartners do not provide service or support for the non-Partner products listed, but do not prohibit these products from being usedtogether with Partner storage products. During problem debug and resolution, the Partners may require that hardware or softwareadditions be removed from products to provide problem determination and resolution on the supplied hardware/software. For supportissues regarding non-Partner products, please contact the manufacturer of the product directly.This information could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. The Partners do not assume any liability for damagescaused by such errors as this information is provided “AS IS” for convenience only; readers use this information at their own risk andshould confirm any information contained herein with the associated vendor. Changes are periodically made to the content of thisdocument. These changes will be incorporated in new editions of the document. The Partners may make improvements and/orchanges in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this document at any time without notice.Any references in this information to non-Partner websites are provided for convenience only and do not in any manner serve as anendorsement of those websites. The materials at those websites are not part of the materials for this interoperability guide, and theuse of those websites is at your own risk. Information concerning non-Partner products was obtained from the suppliers of thoseproducts, their published announcements, or other publicly available sources. The Partners have not tested those products andcannot confirm the accuracy of performance, compatibility, or any other claims related to those products. Questions about thecapabilities of non-Partner products should be addressed to the suppliers of those products.All statements regarding the Partners' future direction or intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice and represent goalsand objectives only. This information is for planning purposes only; any use of the information contained herein is at the user's solerisk. The information herein is subject to change before the products described become available.QLogic, the QLogic logo, QLogic Press, the QLogic Press logo, Powered by QLogic, QLA, SANblade, SANbox, SANbox2, SAN Pro,and SANtrack are trademarks or registered trademarks of QLogic Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. Othercompany, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.The QLogic home page on the Internet can be found at http://www.qlogic.com. Updated versions of this guide can be downloadedfrom the following QLogic website: http://www.qlogic.com/interopguide.QLogic Corporation26650 Aliso Viejo ParkwayAliso Viejo, California 92656Tel: 949.389.6000Fax: 949.389.6114

Table of ContentsIntroduction............................................................................................................... 7How to Use this Guide.................................................................................................................. 7QLogic Products ........................................................................................................................... 7For More Information.................................................................................................................. 10Statement of Services and Support ...................................................................... 11Backup and Restore Solutions.............................................................................. 13Data Protection with SAN-based Backup and Restore ........................................................... 13SAN-based LAN-free Backup and Restore Solution................................................................ 14SAN-based Server-free Backup and Restore Solution............................................................ 14Additional Information................................................................................................................ 14Business Continuance Solutions.......................................................................... 15Business Continuance in a SAN Environment......................................................................... 15Remote Mirroring Solution......................................................................................................... 16Distance Solution Using Fibre Channel Technology............................................................... 17MAN Using DWDM Solution ....................................................................................................... 18Additional Information................................................................................................................ 18High-Availability Solutions .................................................................................... 19Clustering Servers Provide Higher Availability........................................................................ 19High-Availability Solution Using Storage Hardware................................................................ 19Additional Information................................................................................................................ 20Storage Consolidation and Data Sharing Solutions ........................................... 21Storage and Data Consolidation in SAN Environments.......................................................... 21Storage Consolidation Solution ................................................................................................ 23Data Sharing Solution................................................................................................................. 24Additional Information................................................................................................................ 24QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDE PAGE 5VERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

IntroductionThe QLogic SAN Solutions Guide provides you with solutions that incorporate the advanced features ofQLogic SANbox switches and SANblade host bus adapters (HBAs). These solutions address the mostcommon objectives of today's information technology (IT) departments. Today, efficiency and managingthe bottom line are paramount to success. You need your IT infrastructure to do more than ever beforeunder tighter budgets. You need to do it in less time, with less space. You need to meet increasing userdemands for greater availability and higher quality of services. And you need to get it all done with asmaller and less-skilled staff. QLogic can help.The QLogic SAN Solutions Guide offers many powerful SAN solutions with QLogic SANbox switches andSANblade host bus adapters. If you are interested in deploying a QLogic solution, please contact QLogiccustomer service (see “Contacting QLogic” on page 30). Resources can be found at the following QLogicWeb site: http://www.qlogic.com/interopguide.The introduction is organized as follows:• How to Use this Guide (page 7)• QLogic Products (page 7)• For More Information (page 10)How to Use this GuideThe QLogic SAN Solutions Guide provides the general procedures for the following solutions:• Backup and Restore Solutions (page 13)• Business Continuance Solutions (page 15)• High-Availability Solutions (page 19)• Storage Consolidation and Data Sharing Solutions (page 21)Updated versions of this guide can be downloaded from the QLogic website at:http://www.qlogic.com/interopguide.If you are interested in deploying a QLogic solution, please contact QLogic customer service (see“Contacting QLogic” on page 30).QLogic ProductsQLogic products provide cost-effective Fibre Channel and iSCSI SAN solutions for enterprises of all sizes.This section describes the following:• QLogic Network Platform (see page 8)• QLogic product line (see page 8)QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDE PAGE 7VERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

IntroductionThe QLogic Network PlatformThe QLogic Network PlatformThe QLogic Network Platform consists of the following components, as indicated by the list on the left. Forinformation about the QLogic products, see “The QLogic Product Line” on page 8.QLogic Product1 SANblade 200/2300/2400 FC HBAs2 SANblade 4000 iSCSI HBAs3 InfiniPath 7000 InfiniBand HBAs4 SANbox 1000 Switches5 SANbox 5000 Switches6 SANbox 6140 Routers7 SANbox 6142 Routers8 SANbox 8000 SSPs9 SANbox 9000/SANbox2-64 Switches10 SilverStorm Switches11 Blade Server Expansion Cards12 Blade Server Switch Modules11WANEdge127DistributionCore5910WAN836142The QLogic Product LineThe QLogic product line includes of the following. For the complete product line as well as detailinformation, refer to the QLogic website at http://www.qlogic.com/products/.• SAN Pro Products. SAN Pro products help enterprise customers achieve significant, quantifiableresults from their storage investment. With 4Gb or 2Gb data rates, cutting edge bus architectures,99.999% uptime, and ironclad data protection, SAN Pro provides the best performance and valuefor today’s largest businesses. SAN Pro products include:SANblade Fibre Channel HBAs. 4Gb and 2Gb adapters for PCI-X 2.0, PCI Express, andSBus Solutions for Windows, Linux, NetWare, Solaris, and Mac OS X.SANblade iSCSI HBAs. Full TCP/IP offload (TOE) for maximum CPU performance.InfiniPath Infiniband Adapters. Host channel adapters (HCAs) that accelerate clusterperformance.SANbox2-64 Switch. Modular fabric Fibre Channel switch with bladed architecture expandseasily to 64 ports per chassis.SANbox 5200 Stackable Switch Series. 2Gb Fibre Channel switches with 10Gb trunk ports.PAGE 8QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDEVERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

IntroductionThe QLogic Product LineSANbox 5600 Stackable Switch Series. 4Gb Fibre Channel switches with 10Gb trunk ports.SANbox 6000 Series Intelligent Storage Router. Multi-protocol routers with two 2Gb FibreChannel ports and two 1Gb iSCSI ports.SANbox 8200 Series Storage Services Platform (SSP). 2Gb Fibre Channel intelligentswitch.SANbox 9000 Series Stackable Chassis Switch. Core switches with up to 256 4Gb FibreChannel ports and the availability, performance, and multi-function/multi-protocol intelligenceof a Director.• SAN Express Products. Designed from the ground up for the unique needs of small tomedium-sized businesses, QLogic SAN Express products offer big company SAN power in alow-cost, easy-to-install package.SANblade Express 200 HBA Series. Designed for small to medium-sized businesses.• 2Gb Fibre Channel to PCI-X• 4Gb Fibre Channel to x4 PCI ExpressSANbox Express 1400 Switch. Affordable and extremely easy to use, entry-level 10-port, 2GbFibre Channel switch.SANbox 3050 Switch. Extremely easy to use entry-level or workgroup 8-port, 2Gb FibreChannel switch.• SAN Connectivity Kits. The power of a SAN in an all-inclusive, easy-to-implement singlepackage. QLogic SAN Connectivity Kits include QLogic SANbox switches, SANblade HBAs, and allthe necessary cables and accessories. 2Gb SAN Express Starter Kit 1000 2Gb SAN Connectivity Kit 3000 2Gb SAN Connectivity Kit for Windows Server 2003 4Gb SAN Connectivity Kit 4000• Blade Server Products. Blade server products with QLogic technology are available from partnerOEMs.Blade Server Fibre Channel and iSCSI Expansion CardsBlade Server Fibre Channel Switch ModulesQLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDE PAGE 9VERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

IntroductionFor More InformationFor More InformationQLogic is a leading supplier of high-performance storage networking solutions, producing the controllerchips, host bus adapters (HBAs), and fabric switches that are the backbone of storage networks for mostGlobal 2000 corporations. The company delivers a broad and diverse portfolio of products that includesFibre Channel HBAs, blade server embedded Fibre Channel switches, Fibre Channel stackable switches,iSCSI HBAs, iSCSI routers, and storage services platforms for enabling advanced storage managementapplications. The company is also a leading supplier of InfiniBand switches and InfiniBand host channeladapters for the emerging High Performance Computing Cluster (HPCC) market. QLogic products aredelivered to small-to-medium businesses and large enterprises around the world via its channel partnercommunity. QLogic products are also powering solutions from leading companies like Cisco, Dell, EMC,Hitachi Data Systems, HP, IBM, NEC, Network Appliance, and Sun Microsystems. QLogic is a member ofthe S&P 500 Index.Additional QLogic resources can be found at the following locations:Fibre Channel Host Bus Adaptershttp://www.qlogic.com/products/fc_san_hostadapers.aspFibre Channel Switcheshttp://www.qlogic.com/products/fc_san_switchs.aspQLogic Technical Supporthttp://www.qlogic.com/support/Interoperability Guides from QLogic Presshttp://www.qlogic.com/interopguide/PAGE 10QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDEVERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

Statement of Services and SupportThe QLogic SAN Pro Service and Support Program allows customers to choose from a variety of serviceplans designed to meet specific business requirements. SAN Pro covers a diverse range of services,including remote technical assistance, on-site support and advanced hardware replacement. Best of all, nomatter which plan is selected, customer satisfaction is guaranteed by QLogic and its network of authorizedservice partners.QLogic switch products allow a wide range of organizations to exploit the power of a SAN. Whether it's afast growing small firm implementing a network with 10–20 devices or a Fortune 100 Corporation creatinga large infrastructure with thousands of devices, QLogic SANtrack Service and Support Programeffectively addresses either set of business requirements.The SAN Pro Service and Support Program offers a diverse range of services including SAN Pro Prime,SAN Pro Select, and SAN Pro Exchange. Customers may choose among the services that best meet thedemands of their business. Most importantly, customers are assured complete satisfaction since QLogicand its qualified partners fully guarantee all products and services.links below.For additional information on support, please see the QLogic website at:http://support.qlogic.com/support/service_programs.asp.For warranty information, please visit QLogic at:http://support.qlogic.com/support/warranty.asp.QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDE PAGE 11VERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

Statement of Services and SupportPAGE 12QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDEVERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

Backup and Restore SolutionsData Protection with SAN-based Backup and RestoreAs your company's data becomes a crucial business asset, ensuring its stability and protection with SANspowered by QLogic is more critical than ever. Many organizations have faced the challenge of backing upmore and more data while backup windows continue to be reduced. Most IT departments have come to theconclusion that a cost-effective and efficient backup strategy must be put into place to protect vitalbusiness data. Not having such a strategy could result in complete loss of data and business.Traditionally, most backup and restore solutions revolved around a backup strategy that included adedicated backup server that used a LAN to transfer data from the various servers to the tape backupservers. This approach has many drawbacks, including poor resource utilization, increased traffic on yourcompany's Ethernet LAN, and, in most cases, straining the existing IT infrastructure by not keeping up withthe amount of data that is being generated.To solve this problem, SANs powered by QLogic can be implemented to dramatically increase backupperformance as well as increased bandwidth, virtually eliminating the need for the Ethernet LAN. SANscan speed up and simplify the data backup process. Two solution models that can be implemented usingQLogic SANbox switches and SANblade host bus adapters are as follows:• SAN-based LAN-free backup and restore• SAN-based Server-free backup and restoreThe following figure depicts a SAN powered by QLogic backup and restore configuration.QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDE PAGE 13VERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

Backup and Restore SolutionsSAN-based LAN-free Backup and Restore SolutionSAN-based LAN-free Backup and Restore SolutionWith this approach, the backup traffic on your Ethernet LAN moves to the SAN. The existing LAN is usedonly for meta data communication traffic between the servers, which frees up the LAN for other businessapplications. The SAN attached tape drives and libraries can be implemented so that each server sends itsown backup data directly to the shared tape resources, making use of the advanced features in today'sbackup applications. This approach results in a faster, more scalable, and more reliable backup andrestore solution that has more effective utilization of storage, server, and LAN resources.SAN-based Server-free Backup and Restore SolutionThis model is a more advanced approach. Data is transferred directly between storage devices (i.e., fromFibre Channel disk to Fibre Channel tape) without requiring host server intervention. This process isenabled by a technology called Third-Party Copy. The server-free backup and restore model significantlyreduces application host CPU cycles — freeing up these CPU cycles to improve operating efficiency andenable higher workloads across the enterprise.Additional InformationVisit the QLogic SAN Interoperability website at www.qlogic.com/interopguide to view the current certifiedbackup and restore solutions and partners.PAGE 14QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDEVERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

Business Continuance SolutionsBusiness Continuance in a SAN EnvironmentDisaster recovery has never been more important than it is today. In the wake of recent global events,companies are scrambling to implement viable, cost-effective solutions to ensure data integrity and reduceor eliminate vulnerabilities.Until recently, disaster planning for businesses focused on recovering centralized data centers following acatastrophe. While these measures remain important to disaster planning, the protection they provide is farfrom adequate for today’s distributed computing environments. The goal for companies today is to achievea state of business continuity, where critical systems and networks are always available. To attain andsustain business continuity, companies must engineer availability, security, and reliability into everyprocess from the outset. System downtime can be caused by a number of factors, including hardwareerrors, operation error, application failure, or disaster (see the figure below).System Downtime FactorsAs organizations search for ways to improve the availability of critical enterprise data, they are turning toQLogic. Many features deemed necessary for disaster recovery configurations are native to QLogic SANsolutions — QLogic-supported configurations, simplified implementation, seamless integration, and a widerange of application and end-to-end management support. Disaster recovery configurations can beintegrated into existing data center infrastructure, increasing return on investment (ROI) and reducing totalcost of ownership (TCO).A viable SAN powered by QLogic solution addresses the following business continuance requirements:• Eliminating single points of failure• Utilizing multi-pathing failover software• Streamlining data backup and recovery processes• Enabling high-performance remote backup, electronic vaulting, and mirroring at or between datacenters separated by long distancesQLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDE PAGE 15VERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

Business Continuance SolutionsRemote Mirroring SolutionThe remainder of this chapter discusses business continuance solutions that can be implemented usingSANs powered by QLogic, including:• Remote mirroring• Distance solution using Fibre Channel technology• MAN using WANRemote Mirroring SolutionRemote mirroring is an automated method of making your storage entirely redundant in a remote location.Mirroring key data center infrastructure at a disaster recovery site helps protect against complete datacenter outage in the event of a disaster — business can be re-routed to the replicated secondary site in theevent of a primary site outage.In data mirroring, data is written to two separate physical devices (such as disks) within a RAID arraysimultaneously. This mirroring technology helps protect an organization’s data against disk subsystem lossor, in worst case, complete site failure. Remote mirroring also allows data failover from the primary site tothe remote site and to fail back to the primary site once it has been restored. For example, if one of themirrored drives fails, the data is available via the remaining disk. A hot-spare drive (a physical drive definedfor automatic use when a similar drive fails) can then be used to reestablish the mirror relationship and theredundancy that results while the failing drive is being replaced.The following figure illustrates remote mirroring using a wide area network (WAN) connection.A SAN with Remote Mirroring Using a WAN ConnectionPAGE 16QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDEVERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

Business Continuance SolutionsDistance Solution Using Fibre Channel TechnologyDistance Solution Using Fibre Channel TechnologyA sensible disaster recovery plan incorporates a distance solution in the event of a disaster. Data accessover long distances is necessary for any business continuance solution. Fibre Channel technology canprovide distance connectivity of up to 120 km, enabling enterprise customers to maintain geographicallyseparate disaster recovery facilities or mirroring operations. SANs powered by QLogic can utilize widearea networks (WANs) or metropolitan area networks (MANs) to cover even longer distances.See the figure below for a sample configuration of a viable SAN powered by QLogic solution thataddresses business continuance.A MAN with Native Fibre Channel Connectors Over Longer DistancesQLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDE PAGE 17VERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

Business Continuance SolutionsMAN Using DWDM SolutionMAN Using DWDM SolutionCompanies are expanding their infrastructure even in the current economic downturn. Data growthcontinues to expand at an unprecedented pace. Companies are diversifying their localities and looking forways to mitigate geographical distances while controlling infrastructure costs.Dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) is the solution to these issues. Wave division multiplexing(WDM) is an optical technology that combines many wavelengths of light onto the same strand of fiber,increasing the total bandwidth of the fiber to the sum of the bit rates associated with individualwavelengths. DWDM might allow for more than 40 wavelengths to be coupled on to the same fiber. UsingDWDM header equipment, data can traverse distances of up to 100 km with little or no impact onperformance. The following figure illustrates a SAN solution using DWDM.A SAN with Remote Mirroring Using a DWDM ConnectionUtilizing dark fibre, which is available in most metropolitan areas, greater geographic distances can beachieved, and at lower cost, than similar solutions. DWDM technology allows multiple SAN links to bemultiplexed into a single fiber strand, lowering communications infrastructure cost. Multiple sites can beconnected through DWDM, allowing flexibility in scalability and better utilization of resources. Resourcesonce geographically separated can now be easily shared across the SAN.Additional InformationVisit the QLogic SAN Interoperability Web site at www.qlogic.com/interopguide to view the current certifiedbusiness continuance solutions and partners.PAGE 18QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDEVERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

High-Availability SolutionsClustering Servers Provide Higher AvailabilityA cluster is two or more interconnected servers (sometimes called nodes) that create a solution to providehigher availability, higher scalability, or both. The advantage of clustering servers for high availability isseen if one server fails, another server in the cluster can assume the workload of the failed server andusers see no interruption of access. The advantages of clustering servers for scalability include increasedapplication performance and a greater number of users that can be supported. You can think of a cluster ofservers as if they were a single, unified computing resource. With the total redundancy of multiple servers,the cluster can help achieve greater system uptime.Clustering can be implemented at different levels of the system, including hardware, operating systems,middleware, systems management, and applications. The more layers that incorporate clusteringtechnology, the more reliable, scalable and manageable the cluster. The layers are:• "Cluster-aware" applications can offer failover/failback capability. Some also offer workloadbalancing and parallel support features.• Systems management helps maximize cluster uptime by monitoring and managing applications,operating system and hardware. All the servers in a cluster are managed from a single point ofcontrol.• Middleware for clusters provides improved data protection, data recovery and failovertransparency to end users.• Operating system cluster implementations usually offer improved management of clusteroperations and greater uptime.• Servers, interconnect hardware, and storage hardware in a clustered configuration can providedata mirroring, component redundancy, component self-monitoring and alerting, and resourcesharing to virtually eliminate any single point of hardware failure.High-Availability Solution Using Storage HardwareIn today’s competitive environment, information is the lifeblood of any corporation. Data must be keptavailable, reliable, and safe at all times — 24/7/365. To reduce ongoing maintenance costs, datamanagement must be integrated and centralized data networks must be fault-tolerant and self-healing. NoIT solution can deliver on these stringent requirements better than a SAN.No matter how reliable the system, redundancy is a must when it comes to the protection of data. NativeSAN solutions support multiple switch elements within the SAN, as well as redundant connections fromhosts and storage to switch. However, these redundant elements do not sit idle waiting for a failure tooccur. Using multi-pathing software, SANs powered by QLogic can take advantage of redundant datapaths; in the event of a failure, traffic is transparently rerouted to the next available open path. In addition,a SAN is tolerant of component failures and self-healing in case of a switch or HBA failure, provided theSAN was designed with redundancy.QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDE PAGE 19VERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

High-Availability SolutionsAdditional InformationFor example, with a high-availability SAN, all components have redundant elements. There are multipleservers, storage subsystems, HBAs, and switches. The SAN is able to tolerate a failure of any one of thesecomponents.Additional InformationVisit the QLogic SAN Interoperability Web site at www.qlogic.com/interopguide to view the current certifiedhigh availability solutions and partners.PAGE 20QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDEVERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

Storage Consolidation and Data Sharing SolutionsStorage and Data Consolidation in SAN EnvironmentsTraditionally, organizations have paired storage resources with specific servers, primarily because oftechnical restrictions. As a result, free disk space on one server cannot be used by otherstorage-constrained servers. The following figure shows a site with storage directly attached to theservers. Data is then accessed through the LAN.Direct-attached Storage Across Multiple HostsSANs powered by QLogic offer a powerful solution for consolidating storage resources to boost storagemanagement, flexibility, and cost effectiveness. SANs link multiple storage systems and servers over asecure, high-speed network that is data-centric rather than server-centric. Storage devices, such as tapelibraries and disk arrays, can be shared. With SANs powered by QLogic, storage capacity can growindependently of server usage, helping companies grow their storage environments much more quicklyand without system disruption. SANs can improve data availability, reduce downtime costs, significantlydecrease management and administrative costs, and improve asset utilization. More specifically, benefitsof SANs powered by QLogic storage solutions and data consolidation include:• Improved productivity, by reducing retrieval time to data content• Reduced infrastructure and storage costs through more efficient data management• Online storage configuration and administration• Logical views of storage for easy monitoring of disk configurations• Increased server availability and eliminated associated server downtimeQLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDE PAGE 21VERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

Storage Consolidation and Data Sharing SolutionsStorage and Data Consolidation in SAN Environments• Zero downtime for storage growth and administrationGrow volumes dynamically with no downtimeReduces storage costs by combining the unused space on multiple arraysProtects investment and lowers total cost of ownershipSee below for a sample diagram of a SAN powered by QLogic that has heterogeneous server and storageresources.A Simplified SAN with Heterogeneous Server and Storage ResourcesThe remainder of this chapter discusses the following solutions that can be implemented using SANspowered by QLogic:• storage consolidation• data sharingPAGE 22QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDEVERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

Storage Consolidation and Data Sharing SolutionsStorage Consolidation SolutionStorage Consolidation SolutionStorage consolidation is the practice of transforming direct-attached host storage to networked SANstorage. Direct-attached storage spread across multiple hosts poses several problems. Management isdifficult and valuable resources are not as easily shared. In addition, sharing data over a congestedEthernet LAN can cause resource bottlenecks. Unused “white space” on storage volumes leaves valuableresources unutilized.With storage consolidation, the problems of direct attachment are eliminated. Storage is de-coupled fromthe server to which it was traditionally attached. With storage moved to a SAN powered by QLogic, thebenefits of this are numerous and immediate — simplified and cost-effective management, seamlessscalability, increased reliability, added redundancy, and enhanced performance. These benefits translateinto quantifiable return on investment (ROI) and reduced total cost of ownership (TCO). This results ingreater end-user satisfaction with the corporation’s IT department. In the following example, storage hasbeen moved to a shared SAN.Storage consolidation can be viewed as two consecutive tasks:1. Physical consolidation. Data from disparate storage subsystems can be combined on to large,enterprise class shared disk arrays, which can be located some distance from the servers. Thecapacity of these disk arrays can be shared by multiple servers, and users may also benefit fromthe advanced functions typically offered with such subsystems. This may include RAID capabilities,remote mirroring, and instantaneous data replication functions, which might not be available withsmaller, integrated disks. The array capacity may be partitioned, so that each server has anappropriate portion of the available storage. Available capacity can be dynamically allocated to anyserver requiring additional space. Capacity not required by a server application can be re-allocatedto other servers. This avoids the inefficiency associated with free disk capacity attached to one servernot being usable by other servers. Extra capacity can be added in a non-disruptive manner.2. Logical consolidation. It is possible to achieve shared resource benefits from the SAN withoutmoving existing equipment. A SAN relationship can be established between a client and a group ofstorage devices that are not physically co-located (excluding devices that are internally attached toservers). A logical view of the combined disk resources can allow available capacity to be allocatedand reallocated between different applications running on distributed servers, to achieve betterutilization.Storage consolidation is not a simple task. Each platform, along with its operating system, treats datadifferently at various levels in the system architecture. Considerations include:• Different data formats, such as Extended Count Key Data (ECKD), blocks, clusters, and sectors• Different file systems, such as Virtual Storage Access Method (VSAM)• Journal File System (JFS), Andrew File System (AFS), and Windows NT File System (NTFS).• Different file system structures, such as catalogs and directories• Different file naming conventions, such as AAA.BBB.CCC and DIR/Xxx/Yyy• Different data encoding techniques, such as EBCDIC, ASCII, floating point, and little or big endianQLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDE PAGE 23VERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

IndexBBackup and restore solutions 13additional information on the QLogicwebsite 14data protection with SAN-based backup andrestore 13SAN-based LAN-free backup and restoresolution 14SAN-based server-free backup and restoresolution 14Business continuance solutions 15additional information on the QLogicwebsite 18business continuance in a SANenvironment 15distance solution using Fibre Channeltechnology 17MAN using DWDM solution 18remote mirroring solution 16CContacting QLogic 30DData sharing solutions See Storage consolidationand data sharing solutionshigh-availability solutions using storagehardware 19How to use this guide 7IIntroduction to this guide 7QQLogicabout 29company information 29contacting 30products 7resources 10websites 4SStorage consolidation and data sharingsolutions 21additional information on the QLogicwebsite 24data sharing solution 24storage and data consolidation in SANenvironments 21storage consolidation solution 23HHigh-availability solutions 19additional information on the QLogicwebsite 20clustering servers provide higheravailability 19QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDE PAGE 25VERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

IndexPAGE 26QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDEVERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

QLogic Press ReviewThe QLogic Press authors value your feedback. We are especially interested in situations where a QLogicPress publication has made a difference. Please review the document, addressing value, subject matter,structure, depth, and quality as appropriate.Please use one of the following methods to provide feedback so we can make this document better suit yourneeds:■Visit the QLogic website at http://www.qlogic.com/go/qlogic-press-review and complete the online form; or■ Print both pages of this Press Review form and fax completed pages to: 949.389.6114.Your Contact InformationThe data you provide here may be used to provide you with information from QLogic about our products,services, or activities.Name:Title:Company Name:Email Address:Phone Number:Address:City, State, Zip:Please identify yourself as belonging to one of the following groups: Customer Business Partner Solution Developer QLogic Employee Other (please specify):QLogic Press Document TitlePlease rate your overall satisfaction with the document: Very Satisfied Satisfied Somewhat Satisfied Not SatisfiedQLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDE PAGE 27VERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

QLogic Press ReviewReview CommentsWhat other subjects would you like to see QLogic Press address?PAGE 28QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDEVERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

QLogic Company InformationPowered by QLogicQLogic is a leading supplier of high-performance storage networking solutions, producing the controllerchips, host bus adapters (HBAs), and fabric switches that are the backbone of storage networks for mostGlobal 2000 corporations. The company delivers a broad and diverse portfolio of products that includesFibre Channel HBAs, blade server embedded Fibre Channel switches, Fibre Channel stackable switches,iSCSI HBAs, iSCSI routers, and storage services platforms for enabling advanced storage managementapplications. The company is also a leading supplier of InfiniBand switches and InfiniBand host channeladapters for the emerging High Performance Computing Cluster (HPCC) market. QLogic products aredelivered to small-to-medium businesses and large enterprises around the world via its channel partnercommunity. QLogic products are also powering solutions from leading companies like Cisco, Dell, EMC,Hitachi Data Systems, HP, IBM, NEC, Network Appliance, and Sun Microsystems. QLogic is a member ofthe S&P 500 Index.To learn more about QLogic, visit the QLogic website at www.qlogic.com or refer to the contact informationon the following page.QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDE PAGE 29VERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

QLogic Company InformationContacting QLogicCorporate HeadquartersQLogic Corporation26650 Aliso Viejo ParkwayAliso Viejo, CA 92656Phone: 949.389.6000Fax: 949.389.6009Germany – Sales OfficeQLogic CorporationTerminalstr. Mitte 1885356 MuchenGermany(49) 89 97007-427UK – Sales OfficeQLogic CorporationSurrey Technology Centre40 Occam RoadGuildford GU2 5YGSurrey, UKPhone: (44) 1483-295825Fax: (44) 1483-295827QLogic Asia – Sales OfficeQLogic Corporation23F, 105 Dun Hua S. RoadSec 2, Taipei 106, Taiwan, R.O.C.886-2-2755-0000 Ext. 501Partner ProgramsChannel Programs877.975.6442reseller@qlogic.comInteroperability Testingsolutions@qlogic.comBusiness Alliances Programs949.389.6557santrackpartner@qlogic.comSales Education and Technical TrainingTechnical Trainingtech.training@qlogic.comSales Information800.662.4471Technical Support952.932.4040support@qlogic.comSales Trainingsales.training@qlogic.comPAGE 30QLOGIC SAN SOLUTIONS GUIDEVERSION 2.0, AUGUST 2007

SAN Solutions Guide AUG 2007G U I D EAbout QLogicQLogic is a leading supplier of high-performance storage networking solutions, producing the controller chips, host bus adapters (HBAs) andfabric switches that are the backbone of storage networks for most Global 2000 corporations. The company delivers a broad and diverse portfolioof products that includes Fibre Channel HBAs, blade server embedded Fibre Channel switches, Fibre Channel stackable switches, iSCSI HBAs,iSCSI routers and storage services platforms for enabling advanced storage management applications. The company is also a leading supplier ofInfiniBand switches and InfiniBand host channel adapters for the emerging High Performance Computing Cluster (HPCC) market. QLogic productsare delivered to small-to-medium businesses and large enterprises around the world via its channel partner community. QLogic products are alsopowering solutions from leading companies like Cisco, Dell, EMC, Hitachi Data Systems, HP, IBM, NEC, Network Appliance and Sun Microsystems.QLogic is a member of the S&P 500 Index. For more information go to http://www.qlogic.com.Recent accolades include:- S&P 500 Index- Forbes’ Best 200 Best Small Companies- Fortune’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies- Business Week Hot Growth Company- Network Computing Well Connected- 2005 Storage Magazine “SAN Product of the Year”- 2005 SANbox 5602 InfoStor and ASNP “Most Valuable Product Finalist”Corporate Headquarters QLogic Corporation 26650 Aliso Viejo Parkway Aliso Viejo, CA 92656 949.389.6000Europe Headquarters QLogic (UK) LTD. Surrey Technology Centre 40 Occam Road Guildford Surrey GU2 7YG UK +44 (0)1483 295825SN0054652-00 Rev B 8/07