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CHAPTER 4
FCIP over IP/MPLS Core
This chapter discusses the transport of Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP) over IP/Multiprotocol Label
Switching (MPLS) networks and addresses the network requirements from a service provider (SP)
perspective. This chapter also describes service architectures and storage service offerings using FCIP
as a primary storage transport mechanism.
Overview
Storage extension solutions offer connectivity between disparate storage “islands,” and promote
transport solutions
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core Typical Customer Requirements Typical Customer Requirements Small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) represent about 90 percent of all companies in the United States. These companies typically employ a few hundred employees and are highly focused on their core services or products. They usually lack IT expertise and manpower to develop, deploy, and maintain LAN, WAN, and SAN infrastructures. A typical SMB may have one or two offices in multiple metro areas
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core Typical Customer Requirements The requirements are as follows: • FCIP transport over an optimized IP/MPLS network Some type of compression mechanism (software or hardware) Security mechanism (IPSec, encryption, and VPN networks) End-to-end management of FCIP traffic Compression The primary objective of compression is to reduce the amount of ov
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core Typical Customer Requirements Hardware-based compression is available with SAN-OS version 2.0 and with new hardware (MDS 9216i/MLS14/2). Compression is applied per FCIP interface (tunnel) with a variety of modes available. Beginning with SAN-OS 2.0, three compression modes are configurable with additional support for the MPS-14/2 module. Compression Modes and Rate In SAN-OS 1.3, the following two compression modes can be enabled per FCIP interface on
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core Typical Customer Requirements Figure 4-2 Cisco Compression Solutions 200 150 100 50 SA-VAM SA-VAM2 IPS MPS 2001 2003 2003 2004 The following performance data applies to Figure 4-2: VAM—9.9–12 MB/sec –10.9 MB/sec average VAM2—19.7–25.4 MB/sec – 19 MB/sec average IPS—18.6–38.5 MB/sec – 24.6 MB/sec average MPS—136–192 MB/sec – 186.5 MB/sec average Security The security of the entire Fibre Channel fabric is only as good as the security of the entire
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core Typical Customer Requirements SPs providing VPN service to transport FCIP traffic to provide additional security Using an MPLS extranet for application-specific security Cisco Encryption Solutions For selecting compression solutions for FCIP SAN extension, a user needs to determine the requirements for the encryption solution. These requirements may include the speed of the link that needs encryption, the type of encryption required, and the securi
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core Using FCIP Tape Acceleration Write Acceleration Write Acceleration is a configurable feature introduced in SAN-OS 1.3 that enhances FCIP SAN extension with the IP Storage Services Module. Write Acceleration is a SCSI protocol spoofing mechanism that improves application performance by reducing the overall service time for SCSI write input/output (I/O) operations and replicated write I/Os over distance. Most SCSI Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) write I/O
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core Using FCIP Tape Acceleration FCIP Tape Acceleration maintains data integrity in the event of a variety of error conditions. Link errors and resets are handled through Fibre Channel-tape Ethernet LAN services (ELS) recovery mechanisms. Should the remote tape unit signal an error for an I/O that the status has already been returned to “good”, a Deferred Error is signaled to the tape backup application. The backup application either corrects the error a
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core Using FCIP Tape Acceleration TCP window size TCP maximum bandwidth TCP minimum available bandwidth Round Trip Time (RTT) TCP Window Size TCP uses a sliding window to control the flow of data from end to end. The TCP maximum window size (MWS) is the maximum amount of data the sender allows to be outstanding without acknowledgment at one time. The minimum MWS is 14 KB; the maximum is 32 MB. The sender can use a larger window size to allow more o
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core Using FCIP Tape Acceleration The min-available-bw parameter provides the necessary control. Even in the presence of drops, the sender tries aggressively to reach the value configured for this parameter. Even if the congestion window is decreased because of drops, it is increased again on every send so that it is not less than the configured minimum bandwidth. Round Trip Time RTT is a measure of the latency or delay back and forth over the FCIP tunnel.
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core Using FCIP Tape Acceleration Simplified management—Provides a unified management environment independent of whether servers use FCIP to connect to the storage network. Comprehensive security—Combines the ubiquitous IP security infrastructure with Cisco virtual SANs (VSANs), hardware-based zoning, and hardware-based access control lists (ACLs) to provide robust security. Cisco FCIP Cisco FCIP offers the following functions: Simplifies data protec
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core Using FCIP Tape Acceleration Multiprotocol Services Module The Cisco MDS 9000 Family 14/2-port Multiprotocol Services Module delivers the intelligence and advanced features required to make multilayer SANs a reality, by integrating in a single module the functions offered by the Cisco 16-Port Fibre Channel Switching Module and the Cisco IP Storage Services Module. The Cisco MDS 9000 Family 14/2-port Multiprotocol Services Module doubles both the Fibr
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core QoS Requirements in FCIP QoS Requirements in FCIP Currently, most of the FCIP links are dedicated for pure Fibre Channel traffic. But in most cases if QoS is enabled, most of the SAN applications can be transported across the same traffic engineered infrastructure shared with traditional IP traffic. Because there are several QoS models, make sure the right Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) is applied to get the assumed results. To ensure that
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core Applications Figure 4-4 Using the GUI to Apply QoS Applications Disaster recovery and business continuance plans drive the need for solutions that protect critical business information and provide continuous access to important data in case of disaster. Disaster recovery applications are intended to replicate data to a remote backup location. The backup site can be located in the same metro area, such as New York and New Jersey, or at transcontinental
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core Service Offerings over FCIP Service Offerings over FCIP Figure 4-5 shows a typical service architecture for deploying FCIP over IP/MPLS. Figure 4-5 FCIP over IP/MPLS Architecture Remote Local Data Center Data Center SAN SAN Gateway Gateway IP/MPLS FCIP FCIP The FCIP gateway is the key component of the overall architecture. Some typical uses of FCIP to provide SAN extension services are as follows: Asynchronous data replication—Enables low recovery poi
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core Service Offerings over FCIP Figure 4-6 FCIP over SP IP/MPLS Core for Disaster Recovery Solutions Remote Sites FC Fabrics Corporate HQ FC IP/MPLS Cisco 7206 VXR Network with FCIP PA Cisco MDS 9216 FCIP FCIP FC multi-layer edge FC FC Fabric switch Fabrics Cisco 7206 VXR with FCIP PA FC Bandwidth options: DS1 – OC3 TDM Facilities FC FastE and GigE Facilities Fabrics Service Offering Scenario B—Connecting Multiple Sites In certain cases, customers pref
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core Service Offerings over FCIP Figure 4-7 FCIP Connectivity between Second Site and Third Site Third Site FC FCIP FC Fabric SP MPLS Network Cisco MDS 9216 Cisco MDS 9216 Multi-layer FC Optical Multi-layer Edge Edge Fabric Switch Switch Secondary Site Primary Site Service Offering Scenario C—Host-based Mirroring IP/MPLS networks can be used to implement host-based mirroring based on iSCSI. A typical network setup is shown in Figure 4-8. Figure 4-8 Host-base
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core MPLS VPN Core Table 4-1 Possible Service Provider Offerings Transport Storage Service Target Customers Storage Platform Protocol Options CPE Synchronous Require no data loss CLARiiON Ethernet DWDM DWDM Data replication High volume/rev. impact Symmetrix Fibre SONET ONS 15530 Channel (Real-time ext. Finance/banking/brokerage Hitachi ONS 15540 distance data FICON Telecom/federal defense And so on ONS 15454 mirrorin
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core MPLS VPN Core Figure 4-9 MPLS VPN for Storage Architecture SAN 9216 SAN 9216 1 14+2 1 14+2 VRF SAN VRF SAN spse 7606-60 spse 7609-45 1/1 1/2 1/2 1/1 GE GE GE 2/1 2/2 2/2 2/1 GSR12410 GSR12410 2/3 2/4 2/4 2/3 GE GE GE GE 1/1 2/2 2/1 1/2 spse 12408-51 spse 7609-46 2/1 2/4 2/3 VRF SAN VRF SAN SAN 9216 SAN 9216 1 14+2 1 14+2 Multiple storage customers can be supported on the same MPLS network. Customer 1 cannot see the customer 2 network because there are s
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Chapter 4 FCIP over IP/MPLS Core Testing Scenarios and Results When a PE router forwards a packet received from a CE router across the provider network, it labels the packet with the label learned from the destination PE router. When the destination PE router receives the labeled packet, it pops the label and uses it to direct the packet to the correct CE router. Label forwarding across the provider backbone is based on either dynamic label switching or traffic engineered paths. A VR
