Chapter 37
Configuring and Managing VSANs
S e n d f e e d b a c k t o n x 5 0 0 0 - d o c f e e d b a c k @ c i s c o . c o m
Figure 37-2
H1
The four switches in this network are interconnected by VSAN trunk links that carry both VSAN 2 and
VSAN 7 traffic. You can configure a different inter-switch topology for each VSAN. In
inter-switch topology is identical for VSAN 2 and VSAN 7.
Without VSANs, a network administrator would need separate switches and links for separate SANs. By
enabling VSANs, the same switches and links may be shared by multiple VSANs. VSANs allow SANs
to be built on port granularity instead of switch granularity.
group of hosts or storage devices that communicate with each other using a virtual topology defined on
the physical SAN.
The criteria for creating such groups differ based on the VSAN topology:
•
•
VSAN Advantages
VSANs offer the following advantages:
OL-16597-01
Example of Two VSANs
H2
H3
FC
FC
SA1
SA2
Link in VSAN 2
Link in VSAN 7
Trunk link
VSANs can separate traffic based on the following requirements:
Different customers in storage provider data centers
–
Production or test in an enterprise network
–
Low and high security requirements
–
–
Backup traffic on separate VSANs
–
Replicating data from user traffic
VSANs can meet the needs of a particular department or application.
AS1
AS2
AS3
FC
FC
SA3
SA4
Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch CLI Software Configuration Guide
Information About VSANs
Figure 37-2
illustrates that a VSAN is a
Figure
37-2, the
37-3