Configuring And Managing Vsans - Cisco DS-C9216I-K9 Configuration Manual

Configuring and Managing VSANs

You can achieve higher security and greater stability in Fibre Channel fabrics by using virtual SANs
(VSANs). VSANs provide isolation among devices that are physically connected to the same fabric.
With VSANs you can create multiple logical SANs over a common physical infrastructure. Each VSAN
can contain up to 239 switches and has an independent address space which allows identical Fibre
Channel IDs (FCIDs) to be used simultaneously in different VSANs. VSANs offer the following
advantages:
Traffic isolation-Traffic is contained within VSAN boundaries and devices reside only in one
•
VSAN ensuring absolute separation between user groups, if desired.
Scalability-VSANs are overlaid on top of a single physical fabric. The ability to create several
•
logical VSAN layers increases the scalability of the SAN.
Per VSAN fabric services-Replication of fabric services on a per VSAN basis provides increased
•
scalability and availability.
Redundancy-Several VSANs created on the same physical SAN ensure redundancy. If one VSAN
•
fails, redundant protection is provided (to another VSAN in the same physical SAN) by a configured
backup path between the host and the device.
• Ease of configuration-Users can be added, moved, or changed between VSANs without changing
the physical structure of a SAN. Moving a device from one VSAN to another only requires
configuration at the port level, not at a physical level.
This chapter contains the following topics:
How VSANs Work, page 11-2
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VSANs Versus Zones, page 11-4
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• Default and Isolated VSANs, page 11-5
VSAN Membership, page 11-6
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• VSAN Attributes, page 11-6
Adding and Configuring VSANs, page 11-7
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• Deleting VSANs, page 11-7
Default Settings, page 11-8
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C H A P T E R
Cisco MDS 9000 Fabric Manager Switch Configuration Guide
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