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Chapter 1. Introduction
This chapter provides an overview of the IBM TotalStorage SAN Switch 2109 Model
M12 and the Model M14. For the remainder of this document, these switches will
be referred to as the Model M12 and Model M14, or simply the M12 and M14.
These two switches will also be referred to as switches, when appropriate.
Information that is common for both the M12 and M14 switches will be presented
together, and information that applies to only one of the switches will be identified
specifically.
Product overview
The 2109 Model M12 and M14 switches are advanced fibre-channel switches that
are used to intelligently interconnect storage devices, hosts, and servers in a
storage area network (SAN). They are revolutionary fibre-channel switch products,
providing up to 128–ports that deliver unprecedented performance, scalability,
flexibility, functionality, reliability, and availability. See Figure 1 on page 3 and
Figure 2 on page 4.
v The M12 and M14 both deliver a very high-density port, rack-ready solution to
v The dual switch capability allows either one or two 64–port switches per chassis.
v The switches support 1 Gbps and 2 Gbps auto-sensing fibre-channel ports.
v Universal ports self-configure as E_ports, F_ports, or FL_ports.
v Small form-factor pluggable (SFP) optical transceivers support any combination
v The switches offer a high availability platform for mission-critical SAN-designed
v Dual redundant CPs provide high availability and enable nondisruptive software
v Both switches offer forward and backward compatibility with all IBM SAN
v The Fabric operating system (OS) delivers distributed intelligence throughout the
v High availability redundant design, extensive diagnostics, and system monitoring
The switches are nonblocking core fabric switches. They never prevent a server
from being able to connect to storage, even under congestion. The backplane
bandwidth between ports on the switches is sufficient to allow traffic to flow at full
bandwidth.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2004
drive cost-effective SAN.
The switches can be interconnected to create a high port count solution, or they
can be used in a dual fabric, high availability topology.
Trunking technology groups up to four ports together to create high performance
8 Gbps ISL trunks between switches.
of short wavelength (SWL) and long wavelength (LWL) optical media on a single
switch module.
applications.
upgrades.
switches.
network and enables a wide range of value-added applications including
Extended Fabrics, Fabric Access, Fabric Watch, Remote Switch, Web Tools, and
Advanced Zoning.
capabilities integrated with Fabric OS management tools deliver unprecedented
reliability, availability, and serviceability.
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