Chapter 1 Svc Product Overview; About Svc - Cisco MDS 9216 Configuration Manual

SVC Product Overview
The Cisco MDS 9000 Family SAN Volume Controller User Guide provides information on how to set up
and configure the SAN Volume Controller (SVC) storage software using a Cisco MDS 9000 Family
Caching Services Module (CSM).
For more information about IBM TotalStorage
to the IBM TotalStorage SAN Volume Controller Storage Software for Cisco MDS 9000 Configuration
Guide or the IBM TotalStorage SAN Volume Controller Storage Software for Cisco MDS 9000
Command-Line Interface User's Guide.
This chapter describes the SVC and explains the supported features. It includes the following sections:
•
•

About SVC

IBM and Cisco combine the IBM TotalStorage
the Cisco MDS 9000 Caching Services Module (CSM) to reduce complexity and to reduce the cost of
managing SAN-based storage. This solution implements a cache-based, clustered architecture and
provides a highly available, scalable alternative that is necessary in today's demanding storage
environments.
The combined SVC storage software along with the Cisco MDS 9000 Series CSM is delivered as a
feature of the Cisco MDS 9000 Family. The SVC software runs on a clustered pair of CSMs within the
switch.
Based on virtualization technology, this solution is designed to support a virtualized pool of storage from
the storage subsystems attached to a SAN. It manges the combined storage volumes from a central point,
avoids downtime for planned outages, increases capacity utilization, and implements copy services from
a single license across multiple storage devices.
This storage pool helps tap unused storage capacity by increasing efficiency. It is designed as an
integrated solution supporting high performance and continuous availability in open-system
environments. Storage volumes are represented to applications as virtual disks (VDisks). These VDisks
are created from the pool of managed disks residing behind the storage engines. Storage administrators
can scale performance by adding storage engines and scale capacity by adding disks to the managed
storage pool.
78-16119-01, Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 1.3
About SVC, page 1-1
SVC Features, page 1-2
C H A P T E R
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SAN Volume Controller (SVC) Storage Software, refer
TM
SAN Volume Controller (SVC) Storage Software with
Cisco MDS 9000 Family SAN Volume Controller Configuration Guide
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1-1