IBM SAN products provide reliable, scalable and high-performance Fibre Channel connectivity
The industry's broadest range of offerings
Choose from a wide range of tiered storage systems, policy-based automation and intelligent information management systems
Cost-optimized storage
Align and move data based on policies that match storage with SLAs and data value in growing environments
Highly rated, patented technology
Confidently protect strategic information assets and efficiently comply with regulatory and security requirements
IBM SAN offerings
IBM provides flexible, scalable, and open standards-based intelligent SAN switches, directors and routers to connect your servers and storage systems throughout your global enterprise
IBM Storage Networking SAN b-type family
Gen 5 and Gen 6 Fibre Channel switches, directors, and extension appliances. You can start small and scale to thousands of devices, connecting tens of thousands of applications to network storage.
Cisco MDS 9000 Family for IBM Storage Networking
High-performance and scalability at an affordable price. Choose from enterprise SAN directors, mid-range SAN switches, and an entry SAN offering for cloud-scale applications.
Enterprise SAN directors
Cisco MDS 9718 Multilayer Director for IBM Storage Networking
Deployed in large-scale storage networks to enable enterprise clouds and meet the needs of large virtualized data center storage environments.
IBM Storage Networking SAN512B-6 and SAN256B-6
Deployed in enterprises that require increased capacity, greater throughput and higher levels of resiliency. Meets relentless growth and critical application demands.
Cisco MDS 9710 Multilayer Director for IBM System Networking
Deployed in large-scale storage networks to enable enterprise clouds and deliver a high performing and reliable FICON infrastructure to support IBM z servers.
Cisco MDS 9706 Multilayer Director for IBM System Storage
Deployed in small to midsized storage networks that can support enterprise clouds. Layers intelligent features onto a high-performance, protocol-independent switch fabric.
IBM System Storage SAN768B-2 and SAN384B-2
Advanced Fibre Channel switching infrastructure offerings provide the foundation for reliable, scalable, high-performance storage with enterprise connectivity options.
Mid-range SAN switches
IBM Storage Networking SAN64B-6
Designed for hyper-scale virtualization, larger cloud infrastructures and flash-based storage. Delivers b-type Gen 6 Fibre Channel technology.
IBM System Networking SAN96B-5
High-density, purpose-built, foundational building block for large and growing SAN infrastructures. Delivers Gen 5 Fibre Channel technology with 16 Gbps performance.
Cisco MDS 9396S 16G Multilayer Fabric Switch for IBM System Storage
Next generation of the powerful, dense and reliable Cisco MDS Series combines high performance, flexibility and cost effectiveness in a two rack-unit (2RU) switch.
IBM System Storage SAN48B-5
Designed for hyper-scale private or hybrid cloud storage environments. Delivers Gen 5 Fibre Channel technology with 16 Gbps performance.
Cisco MDS 9148S 16G Multilayer Fabric Switch for IBM System Storage
Next generation of the reliable, flexible and low-cost Cisco MDS 9100 Series combines high performance with exceptional flexibility in a one rack-unit (1RU) switch.
Entry SAN switches
New! Cisco MDS 9132T 32G Fabric Switch for IBM Storage Networking
Next-generation switch empowers organizations that are rapidly deploying cloud-scale applications using highly dense virtualized servers, by providing higher bandwidth and consolidation. Designed to benefit both small-scale and large-scale SAN deployments, it delivers outstanding flexibility through a unique port expansion module that provides a cost-effective, field swappable port upgrade option.
IBM Storage Networking SAN24B-6
High-performance 4, 8, 16 and 32 Gbps combined with point-and-click simplicity, enterprise-class functionality and low-cost access to Gen 6 Fibre Channel.
IBM System Networking SAN24B-5
Designed to meet the needs of highly virtualized, private cloud storage environments with outstanding price to performance value, flexibility and simplicity.
IBM System Storage SAN24B-4 Express
Designed specifically for high performance and scalability in small to midsized SAN environments. Supports server virtualization.
Extension switches
Cisco MDS 9250i Multiservice Fabric Switch for IBM System Storage
Optimized platform for deploying high performance SAN extension solutions, distributed intelligent fabric services, and cost-effective multiprotocol connectivity for open systems and mainframe environments.
IBM System Storage SAN42B-R extension switch
Addresses the most demanding disaster recovery needs. Maximizes performance over WAN links with 16 Gbps Fibre Channel, 1/10 and 40 Gbps ports. Easily scales with capacity-on-demand upgrades.
IBM System Storage SAN06B-R multiprotocol router
Leverages advanced Fibre Channel and Fibre Channel over IP to provide a fast, highly reliable and cost-effective network infrastructure for remote data replication, backup and migration.
Resources
Introduction to Storage Area Networks: An IBM Redbooks publication
Get an in-depth description of each of the IBM SAN offerings. This IBM Redbook also defines SAN and Ethernet networking, and how these storage networks help to achieve a smarter data center.