IBM TotalStorage SAN06B-R for System Storage

Highlights of IBM TotalStorage SAN06B-R for System Storage

• Delivers high performance with 8 Gbps FC ports and hardware-assisted traffic processing for line-rate performance.
• Utilizes existing Internet, IP-based infrastructures for metro and global SAN extension for business continuity solutions. Up to eight virtual FCIP tunnels are available to help maximize scalability and utilization of metropolitan area network (MAN) or wide area network (WAN) resources
• Provides hardware-based compression, large window sizes and selective acknowledgement of IP packets designed to optimize performance of SAN extension over IP networks
• Enables consolidation of Storage Area Network (SAN) islands for infrastructure simplification without compromising security. Integrated IBM® System Storage® SAN b-type (Brocade) switch management helps simplify installation and administration and helps provide fabric investment protection

A wide range of IBM System Storage mid-range and enterprise SAN infrastructure simplification and business continuity solutions can be created with the IBM System Storage SAN06B-R multiprotocol extension router. Infrastructure simplification solutions for the IBM Power Systems™ and IBM System x® families of products include disaster tolerance over metropolitan and global IP networks with System Storage disk arrays, tape libraries and IBM Tivoli® Storage Manager data protection software. Separate SAN islands can also be consolidated using FC routing. Support for IBM System z® servers is provided via the optional 8 Gbps Advanced Extension and IBM FICON® CUP Activation features.

Local site infrastructure simplification solutions may be extended to one or more remote sites for enhanced data protection and disaster tolerance. The IBM System Storage SAN06B-R multiprotocol extension router provides FCIP and FCIP Tunneling Service for distance extension, which can enable cost-effective and manageable metro and global business continuity solutions. This extended distance connectivity can help create consolidated remote tape vaulting data protection plus metro mirror and global mirror disk-based, disaster-tolerant solutions.

Since the introduction of SANs, customers have built multiple SAN networks (or islands) for different applications, often with fabric switch components from different manufacturers. Some islands were built by different departments within a company, while other islands resulted from mergers, acquisitions or reorganizations. Dissimilar SAN equipment with different capabilities or a desire to isolate important applications has constrained opportunities for enhanced infrastructure simplification and vital business continuity solutions.

The optional IBM System Storage SAN06B-R multiprotocol extension router Integrated Routing feature can provide Fibre Channel FC-FC Routing Service, which allows the interconnection of multiple SAN islands without requiring that the separate fabrics be merged into a single large SAN. This capability can help create a tiered or extended enterprise SAN infrastructure without having to redesign or reconfigure the entire environment. The Server Application Optimization (SAO) license is now available as an optional feature.