Datasheet

Data Sheet
© 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 3 of 11
FICON Support
The Cisco MDS 9134 supports IBM zSeries FICON and Linux environments. Qualified by IBM for attachment to all
FICON-enabled devices in an IBM zSeries operating environment, the switch supports transport of the FICON
protocol in cascaded fabrics, as well as intermix of FICON and open systems Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) on the
same switch.
VSANs simplify intermix of SAN resources between z/OS, mainframe Linux, and open systems environments,
enabling increased SAN utilization and simplified SAN management. VSAN-based intermix mode eliminates the
uncertainty and instability often associated with zoning-based intermix techniques. VSANs also greatly reduce the
probability that a misconfiguration or component failure in one VSAN will affect operation in other VSANs.
VSAN-based management access control simplifies partitioning of SAN management responsibilities between
mainframe and open systems environments, enhancing security. FICON VSANs can be managed using the
integrated Cisco Fabric Manager; the Cisco CLI; or IBM CUP-enabled management tools, including IBM SA/390,
Resource Measurement Facility (RMF), and Dynamic Channel Path Management (DCM).
Advanced Traffic Management for High-Performance, Resilient SANs
Advanced traffic management capabilities integrated into the Cisco MDS 9134 simplify deployment and optimization
of core-edge fabrics.
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Virtual output queuing helps ensure line-rate performance on each port, independent of traffic pattern, by
eliminating head-of-line blocking.
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For 4-Gbps ports, each port group consisting of 4 ports has a pool of 64 buffer credits, with a default of 16
buffer credits per port. When extended distances are required, up to 64 buffer credits can be allocated to a
single port within the port group. This extensibility is available without additional licensing. Each of the 10-
Gbps ports has 64 buffer credits.
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PortChannels allow users to aggregate up to 16 physical ISLs into a single logical bundle, providing
optimized bandwidth use across all links. The bundle can consist of any port from the switch, helping ensure
that the bundle remains active even in the event of a port failure.
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Fabric Shortest Path First (FSPF)-based multipathing provides the intelligence to load balance across up to
16 equal-cost paths and, in the event of a switch failure, dynamically reroute traffic.
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QoS can be used to manage bandwidth and control latency, to prioritize critical traffic.
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Comprehensive port and flow statistics facilitate sophisticated performance analysis and service-level
agreement (SLA) accounting.
Advanced Diagnostics and Troubleshooting Tools
Management of storage networks requires proactive diagnostics, tools to verify connectivity and route latency, and
mechanisms for capturing and analyzing traffic. The Cisco MDS 9134 integrates the industry's most advanced
analysis and debugging tools. Power-on self-test (POST) and online diagnostics provide proactive health monitoring.
The Cisco MDS 9134 provides the integrated hardware functions required to implement diagnostic capabilities such
as Fibre Channel Traceroute to detail the exact path and timing of flows, and SPAN to intelligently capture network
traffic. After traffic has been captured, it can be analyzed with the Cisco Fabric Analyzer, an embedded Fibre
Channel analyzer. With the Cisco MDS 9134, Cisco delivers a comprehensive toolset for troubleshooting and
analysis of an organization's storage network.
Comprehensive Security
In recognition of the need for unassailable security in storage networks, the Cisco MDS 9134 offers an extensive
security framework to protect highly sensitive data crossing today's enterprise networks.