In this hands-on course, you will gain advanced skills in designing Cisco storage networks. You will learn about the key features of the Cisco MDS 9000 platform and how to use these features to build highly available, extensible, intelligent storage area networks (SANs) with connectivity to Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switches and Cisco Unified Computing System in a unified fabric.
Hands-on labs will familiarize you with basic MDS 9000 configuration procedures. In design workshops, you will learn to design multiprotocol enterprise SANs and SAN extension solutions.
What You'll Learn
Components, services, and features of the MDS 9000 Series platform that can be used to improve the availability, scalability, performance, and manageability of the SAN
Integrate the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series and Cisco Unified Computing System components in a unified fabric
How the MDS 9000 Series switches and directors can be used to design scalable, highly available, and secure SAN fabrics
Host and storage connectivity and performance requirements
Deploy MDS 9000 Series switches and directors in a variety of redundant and scalable topologies to meet customer requirements
Key requirements for business continuity and disaster recovery
Design a SAN extension solution between data centers by using appropriate WAN interconnections
Improve SAN performance and availability using MDS 9000 Series features
Identify security vulnerabilities in a SAN environment
Design a SAN based upon MDS 9000 Series switches and directors to provide added protection against unauthorized access and to protect data while in transit and at rest
Who Needs to Attend
Systems engineers
Cisco engineers
Prerequisites
Basic understanding of data storage hardware components and protocols, including SCSI and Fibre Channel
CCNA certification and/or Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) certification are highly recommended
Follow-On Courses
ICSNS - Implementing Cisco Storage Networking Solutions 4.2
IASNS - Implementing Advanced Cisco Storage Networking 4.2
Certification Programs and Certificate Tracks
This course is part of the following programs or tracks:
Cisco Data Center Storage Networking Design Specialist
CCIE Storage Networking
Cisco Unified Fabric Technology Design Specialist
Cisco Data Center Architecture Design Specialist
Course Outline
1. Cisco MDS 9000 Series Platform Fundamentals
Cisco MDS 9000 Series Platform Components
Directors and Switches
Line Card Modules
Supervisor Modules
Crossbar Fabric Modules
Cisco MDS 9000 Series System Architecture
Supervisor and Crossbar Module Architecture
Line Card Module Architecture
Virtual Output Queues
Port Bandwidth Reservation
Credits and Buffers
Line Card Recommended Practices
Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches
I/O Consolidation
Switch Expansion Modules
Converged Network Adapters
Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender
Cisco Nexus 4000 Series Blade Switch
Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS)
UCS Development
B-Series and C-Series Components
Deployment
Intelligent Fabric Services
SAN Scalability Features
VSAN and Virtual Fabrics
DPVM Membership
NPV Mode
N Port ID Virtualization
SDV Features
FlexAttach Configuration Management
Multiprotocol Support
High Availability Features
Traffic Engineering Features
MDS 9000 Series Security Features
Cisco Fabric Services Infrastructure
Implementing Software Packages and Licensing
Standard License
Cisco MDS 9000 Series Optional Licenses
License-Free Period
Implementing Integrated Management
Cisco NX-OS
Command-Line Interface
Cisco Fabric Manager and Fabric Manager Server
Cisco Device Manager
Cisco Performance Manager and Cisco Traffic Analyzer
Configuring the Initial Switch Setup
System Memory Areas
Cisco MDS 9000 Series Boot Sequence
Initial Setup Process
Installing Cisco Fabric Manager
2. SAN Design
SAN Design Process
Business Requirements
Flows and Dependencies
Major Design Factors
N-Tier Application Architectures
Application Tiers
Presentation Tier Design
Application Tier Design
Data Storage Tier Design
Designing Host Connectivity
Applications and Latency
IOPS Measurement
Host I/O Bottlenecks
PCI Bus Limitations
Optimum Port Type Selection
Virtual Server
Design Requirements
Designing Storage Connectivity
Storage Array Architecture
Storage Array Bottlenecks
RAID Overview
Optimum Port Type Selection
FCoE-Compliant Storage Devices
LUN Masking and LUN Mapping
Single Initiator Zoning
LUN Zoning
Building a SAN
Single-Tier Design
Multitier Design
Core-Edge Topology
Collapsed Core Architecture
PortChannels
Switch Port Type Selection
Designing Redundant Fabrics
Redundancy and High Availability
Load-Balancing Methods
Throughput Calculation
Restricted Bandwidth
Virtual Fabrics
IVR
Using IVR for Sharing Resources
SAN Migration and Interoperability
SAN Migration Strategies
Interoperability
Data Migration Solutions
Cisco DMM
Consolidation and Virtualization
Storage, Network, and Server Basics
Storage Consolidation
Storage Virtualization
FAIS Overview
Traffic Engineering
Cisco Trunking Feature
Path Selection
Fibre Channel QoS
SAN Design with Unified I/O
File-Based and Block-Based Protocols
iSCSI
Host Connection via iSCSI Gateway
Cisco MDS 9000 Series iSCSI Options
Unified I/O and DCB
Multiprotocol Host Connection via Unified I/O
Unified Storage Device Connection
Performance Comparisons
3. SAN Extension Design
Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
RTO and RPO
Recovery Methods
Latency and Distance Limitations
Data Protection
Array-Based Replication
Synchronous and Asynchronous Replication
Appliance-Based Replication
Designing SAN Extension Connectivity with Optical Networks
Dark Fiber
Coarse Wavelength-Division Multiplexing
CWDM Topologies
Dense Wavelength-Division Multiplexing
DWDM Topologies
SONET and SDH
Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP
Designing SAN Extension over FCIP
FCIP Protocol
Gigabit Ethernet Port Logical Structure
FCIP Topologies
SAN Extension Solutions Comparison
Improving Performance and Availability
FCIP Performance Tuning
FCIP Write Acceleration
Tape Acceleration
Tape Read Acceleration
I/O Accelerator Feature
TCP Performance Tuning
Packet Shaping
FCIP Compression
Availability Improvement
WAN Security Improvement
4. SAN Security
Securing the SAN Fabric
SAN Security Vulnerabilities
Management Security
Role-Based Access Control
AAA Overview
Centralized Authentication
Storage Security Features
Fibre Channel Zoning
Read-Only Zoning and LUN Zoning
Port Security
Fabric Security
Fibre Channel Link-Level Encryption
Encryption of Data at Rest
Labs
Exercise 1: Selecting the Optimum Line Card
Lab 1: Quick Start Switch Configuration
Case Study 1: Designing a Fibre Channel SAN
Case Study 2: Designing an Enterprise SAN
Lab 2: Configuring FCIP High Availability
Lab 3: Implementing IVR for SAN Extension
Case Study 3: Designing a SAN Extension Solution