Overview of the SAN42B-R switch
The IBM® System Storage SAN42B-R switch is intended as a platform for Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP). This enables transmission of Fibre Channel data over long distances by way of IP networks by wrapping Fibre Channel frames in IP packets. Each end of the FCIP communication path must be a compatible FCIP device. The switch can operate independently or in a fabric containing multiple extension switches.
SAN42B-R software features
The SAN42B-R provides the following software features.
- Multiple logical FCIP tunnels with maximum tunnel bandwidth up to 20 Gbps allow for scalable connectivity between sites. Note that the SAN42B-R does not support FCIP connectivity with any other products including the SAN06B-R and the FX8-24 blade.
- FCIP Trunking feature allows multiple IP source and destination address pairs (defined as FCIP circuits) via multiple 1/10 GbE or 40 GbE interfaces to provide high bandwidth FCIP tunnel and lossless failover resiliency. In addition, each FCIP circuit supports four QoS classes (Class-F, High, Medium and Low Priority), each as a TCP connection.
- ARL feature meets minimum bandwidth guarantee for each tunnel while making the full utilization of the available network bandwidth without adverse throughput performance impact at high traffic load.
- Hardware-based compression delivers the ability to maximize throughput over lower bandwidth links in the wide area network, optimizing the cost efficiencies of FCIP. The SAN42B-R compresses FC frames before they are encapsulated into FCIP packets.
- Key protocol features are enabled in the FCIP implementation to optimize performance of Extension over IP networks, including FX8-24 and WAN Optimized TCP (WO-TCP), 9K jumbo frame and end-to-end Path MTU auto discovery.
- Hardware-based IPsec supports mix of secure and non secure tunnels on the same Ethernet port, jumbo frames, and VLAN tagged connections. The IPsec function is capable of supporting both IPv4 and IPv6.
- FastWrite, Open Systems Tape Pipelining and Advanced Accelerator for FICON® mitigate the latency effect of a long distance FCIP distance connection over IP WAN.
- FCIP HCL (Hot Code Load) provides In-service firmware upgrade for supporting 24/7 nonstop business operations.
- Built-in WAN link tester generates traffic over an IP connection to test for maximum throughput, congestion, loss percentage, out of order deliver, latency, and other network conditions. It helps determine the health of a WAN link before deploying it for use.
- Fabric Vision advanced monitoring provides the following functions:
- Policy based monitoring monitors FCIP connectivity and WAN anomalies using multi-layer metrics.
- Flow monitoring reports IOPS and data rate of individual I/O flows of inter-DC replication and tape backup operations.
- Flow generator generates FC frames for a defined flow with default or custom size and pattern and sent across FCIP tunnel to help validate end-to-end network setup and configuration.
- Fabric OS delivers distributed intelligence throughout the network and enables a wide range of value-added applications.
Attention: This product may not be certified in your country
for connection by any means whatsoever to interfaces of public telecommunications
networks nor to be used in a public services network. Further certification
may be required by law prior to making any such connection. Please
contact IBM for information.
SAN42B-R hardware features
The SAN42B-R provides the following hardware features:
- 24 Fibre Channel ports with link speeds of 2, 4, 8, and 16 Gbps, compatible with short wavelength (SWL), long wavelength (LWL) and extended long wavelength (ELWL) SFP+ transceivers
- Rack-mountable 2U chassis
- Sixteen 1-GbE/10-GbE ports, compatible with copper, ultra short reach (USR), short reach (SR) and long reach (LR) SFP/SFP+ transceivers
- Two 40-GbE ports, compatible with short reach (SR) and long reach (LR) QSFP transceivers
- One RJ-45 Ethernet management port with 10/100/1000 Mbps autonegotiation capability
- One USB port for connecting a USB device for firmware updates, output of the supportSave command, and uploads and downloads of configuration settings
- Two redundant, hot-swappable 1100 W ac/dc power supply units (PSUs) with integral fans
- Three port-side exhaust dc fan FRUs
Attention: QSFPs used in the FC16-64 blades (and
2499 core blades) are not compatible with the SAN42B-R.
SAN42B-R feature licensing
The SAN42B-R provides the following licensing features:
- Tiered WAN throughput licensing provides coverage of multiple
customer segments with one physical platform:Note: The application throughput numbers shown in the following table assume that some degree of data compression is occurring. However, IBM makes no promises, guarantees, or any indication that some level of compression is possible for customer-specific data. Some data is highly compressible and some data cannot be compressed. The amount of application throughput varies depending on data compressibility and the selected compression mode.
Table 1. WAN throughput licensing Product configuration FC ports Ethernet ports WAN rate limiting Approximate application throughput Base configuration 24 16-Gbps ports 16 1/10 GbE ports 5 Gbps 15 Gbps (see note above) Medium configuration (Base + WAN Rate Upgrade 1) 24 16-Gbps ports 16 1/10 GbE ports 10 Gbps 30 Gbps (see note above) Max configuration (Base + WAN Rate Upgrade 1 and WAN Rate Upgrade 2) 24 16-Gbps ports 16 1/10 GbE + two 40-GbE ports Unlimited 80 Gbps (see note above) - Two base unit SKUs:
- One SKU with SWL SFPs (Enterprise Bundle and Advanced Extension are included)
- One SKU with LWL SFPs (Enterprise Bundle and Advanced Extension are included)
- Streamlined feature licensing:
- The SAN42B-R uses common licenses with other midrange products (for example, SAN48B-5) for IR and CUP.
- A new SKU for Advanced Acceleration for FICON license on the SAN42B-R is introduced
- All ports and interfaces on the switch are active except for the 40 GE interfaces. The 40 GE interfaces are enabled as part of WAN Rate Upgrade 2.
Available licenses
The following features are available with the purchase of a specific license key for the SAN42B-R
- Integrated Routing (IR)
- Advanced Acceleration for FICON
- FICON CUP
- WAN Rate Upgrade 1
- WAN Rate Upgrade 2
For information on these features, see the Fabric OS Administrator's Guide.