Learning about VSAN

VSAN is a Cisco proprietary security mechanism which can be compared to VLANs for the networks. VSAN can further increase security for storage and servers by allowing only the physical member ports of storage and servers to physically access each other. Like VLANs, if a port on the same Fabric switch is not part of a VSAN, it will not have access to SAN. There are a number of ways that SAN could be connected with UCS servers which include the following:

• Cisco Fiber Channel MDS switches: MDS switches are Cisco Fiber Channel SAN connectivity switches. These switches deal with the SAN protocols and are recommended in large-scale environments requiring a dedicated SAN infrastructure.

• FC module expansion or Unified ports in Cisco Nexus switches: Cisco Nexus 5000 series switches provide FC module expansion to provide FC ports with SAN connectivity. The newer 5500 series switches have unified ports like the Fabric Interconnects which can be configured as Ethernet, FC, or FCoE...