A wide range of IBM System Storage mid-range and enterprise Storage Area
Network (SAN) infrastructure simplification and business continuity solutions
can be created with the IBM System Storage SAN04B-R multiprotocol router.
Infrastructure simplification solutions for the IBM Power Systems™ and System x™
families include disaster tolerance over metropolitan and global IP networks
with IBM System Storage disk arrays, tape libraries, and IBM Tivoli® Storage
Manager data protection software. Separate SAN islands can also be consolidated
using Fibre Channel routing. Support for System z® servers is provided via the
optional High-Performance Extension andFICON CUP Activation features.
Local site infrastructure simplification solutions may be extended to one or
more remote sites for enhanced data protection and disaster tolerance. The IBM
System Storage SAN04B-R multiprotocol router provides Fibre Channel over IP and
FCIP Tunneling Service for distance extension, which can enable cost-effective
and manageable metro and global business continuity solutions. This extended
distance connectivity can help create consolidated remote tape vaulting data
protection plus metro mirror and global mirror disk-based, disaster-tolerant
solutions.
Since the introduction of Storage Area Networks, customers have built
multiple SAN networks (or islands) for different applications, often with fabric
switch components from different manufacturers. Some islands were built by
different departments within a company, while other islands resulted from
mergers, acquisitions or reorganizations. Dissimilar SAN equipment with
different capabilities or a desire to isolate important applications has
constrained opportunities for enhanced infrastructure simplification and vital
business continuity solutions.
The IBM System Storage SAN04B-R multiprotocol router can provide Fibre
Channel FC-FC Routing Service, which allows the interconnection of multiple SAN
islands without requiring that the separate fabrics be merged into a single
large SAN. This capability can help create a tiered or extended enterprise SAN
infrastructure without having to redesign or reconfigure the entire environment.