The high-density, highly flexible Cisco MDS 9222i Multiservice Modular Switch provides 18 4 Gb/sec Fibre channel ports and 4 Gigabit Ethernet storage services ports, as a well as a modular expansion slot to host Cisco MDS 9000 Family switching and service modules.
The Cisco MDS 9222i provides an open platform that delivers the intelligence and advanced features required to make multilayer intelligent SANs a reality, including hardware-enabled innovations to host or accelerate applications for data migration, data replication, serverless backup, and network-hosted volume management.
Hosting or accelerating these applications in the network can dramatically improve scalability, availability, security, and manageability of the storage environment, resulting in increased utility and lower total cost of ownership (TCO).
Integrated multiprotocol support
The Cisco MDS 9222i's cost-effective, multiprotocol connectivity offers 18 4 Gb/sec Fibre Channel interfaces for high-performance SAN connectivity and 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports for Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP) and Small Computer System Interface over IP (iSCSI) storage services. The flexible switch also scales up to a 66-port Fibre Channel switch with the use of the Cisco 48-Port 4 Gb/sec Fibre Channel Switching Module.
Mainframe-ready
The Cisco MDS 9222i is mainframe-ready, with full support for IBM zSeries FICON, and Linux environments. Qualified by IBM for attachment to all FICON-enabled devices in an IBM zSeries operating environment, Cisco MDS 9222i switches support transport of the FICON protocol in both cascaded and noncascaded fabrics, as well as an intermix of FICON and open systems Fibre Channel Protocol traffic on the same switch.
Simplified SAN management
VSANs simplify intermixing of SAN resources among z/OS, mainframe Linux, and open systems environments, enabling increased SAN utilization and simplified SAN management. VSAN-based intermix mode eliminates the uncertainty and instability often associated with zoning-based intermix techniques. VSANs also eliminate the possibility that a misconfiguration or component failure in one VSAN will affect operation in other VSANs.
VSAN-based management access controls simplify partitioning of SAN management responsibilities between mainframe and open systems environments, enhancing security. FICON VSANs can be managed using the integrated Cisco Fabric Manager; the Cisco command-line interface (CLI); or IBM CUP-enabled management tools, including SA/390, Resource Measurement Facility (RMF), and Dynamic Channel Path Management (DCM).
Secure SAN consolidation
Ideal for efficient, secure SAN consolidation, VSANs enable more efficient storage network utilization by creating hardware-based isolated environments with a single physical SAN fabric or switch. Each VSAN can be zoned as a typical SAN and maintains its own fabric services for added scalability and resilience. VSANs allow the cost of SAN infrastructure to be shared among more users, while helping ensure complete segregation of traffic and retaining independent control of configuration on a VSAN-by-VSAN basis.
Enables Remote SAN Extension
Breaking the distance barrier
Building on Cisco expertise and knowledge of IP networks, the Cisco MDS 9222i switch uses open-standard FCIP to break the distance barrier of current Fibre Channel solutions, enabling interconnection of SAN islands over extended distances.
The switch simplifies data protection and business continuance strategies by enabling backup, remote replication, and other disaster recovery services over WAN distances using open-standard FCIP tunneling.
Enhanced FCIP compression
The switch dramatically enhances hardware-based FCIP compression performance for both high-bandwidth and low-bandwidth links, providing immediate cost savings for expensive WAN infrastructure. The Cisco MDS 9222i achieves up to a 43:1 compression ratio, with typical ratios of 4:1 over a wide variety of data sources.
IPsec ensures high performance
The Cisco MDS 9222i supports hardware-based IPsec encryption for secure transmission of sensitive data over extended distances. Hardware enablement of IPsec helps ensure high throughput. Used together, hardware-based compression and hardware-based encryption provide high-performance, highly secure SAN extension capabilities.
FCIP Write Acceleration
Additionally, the Cisco MDS 9222i supports FCIP Write Acceleration, a feature that can significantly improve application performance when storage traffic is extended across long distances.
FCIP Write Acceleration optimizes WAN throughput by reducing the latency of command acknowledgments. Similarly, the Cisco MDS 9222i supports FCIP Tape acceleration, which allows operation at nearly full throughput over WAN links for remote tape backup and restore operations.
Easy to Manage
Choice of storage management tools
The Cisco MDS 9222i provides three principal modes of management: the Cisco MDS 9000 Family CLI, Cisco Fabric Manager, and integration with third-party storage management tools.
Cisco MDS 9000 family CLI
Adhering to the syntax of the Cisco IOS Software CLI, the Cisco MDS 9000 Family CLI is easy to learn and delivers broad management capabilities. It provides an extremely efficient and direct interface designed to provide optimal capabilities to administrators in enterprise environments.
Cisco Fabric Manager
Cisco Fabric Manager is included with the Cisco MDS 9222i for integrated, comprehensive management of larger SAN environments. Cisco Fabric Manager is a responsive, easy-to-use Java application that allows administrators to perform vital tasks such as topology discovery, fabric configuration and verification, provisioning, monitoring, and fault resolution.
Integrates with third-party tools
The Cisco MDS 9222i provides an extensive API for integration with third-party and user-developed management tools. The APIs are based on industry-standard protocols, including SNMP and the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S).
Advanced diagnostics and troubleshooting tools
Managing storage networks requires proactive diagnostics, tools to verify connectivity and route latency, and mechanisms for capturing and analyzing traffic.
Analysis and debugging
The Cisco MDS 9222i integrates the industry's most advanced analysis and debugging tools. Power-on self-test (POST) and online diagnostics provide proactive health monitoring.
The Cisco MDS 9222i provides the integrated hardware functions required to implement diagnostic capabilities such as Fibre Channel Traceroute to detail the exact path and timing of flows and SPAN to intelligently capture network traffic.
After traffic has been captured, you can analyze it with the Cisco Fabric Analyzer, an embedded Fibre Channel analyzer. With the Cisco MDS 9222i, Cisco delivers a comprehensive toolset for troubleshooting and analysis of an organization's storage network.
Robust Security
Protects highly sensitive enterprise data
Recognizing the need for bulletproof security in today's storage networks, the Cisco MDS 9222i offers an extensive security framework to protect highly sensitive data crossing your enterprise networks.
VSANs provide complete isolationVSANs help achieve higher security and greater stability by providing complete isolation
VSANs help achieve higher security and greater stability by providing complete isolation among devices that are connected to the same physical SAN.
Intelligent packet inspection
The Cisco MDS 9222i also provides intelligent packet inspection at the port level, including the application of access control lists (ACLs) for hardware enforcement of zones, VSANs, and advanced port security features.
Extended zoning capabilities
Extended zoning capabilities help ensure that broadcasts are restricted to the selected zones (the broadcast zones).
FC-SP provides switch-to-switch and host-to-switch Diffie-Hellman Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (DH-CHAP) authentication supporting RADIUS or TACACS+, ensuring that only authorized devices access protected storage networks.
This feature, in conjunction with management access and control plane security, makes the Cisco MDS 9000 Family among the most secure platforms of its kind.
Secure authentication
The comprehensive IPsec protocol suite delivers secure authentication, data integrity, and hardware-based encryption for both FCIP and iSCSI deployments.
