Multiple Xsans on one Fibre Switch

pr0d1gy · partially protected Joined: 04 May 2008 Posts: 5

HI !

some Brief :

I got working setup on site : two Brocade 4100 fibre Switch and two separate Xsan on each Fibre switch.
We plan to make trunk between the two switches and build one of the Xsans from scratch .

my questions are :

1. which layer Brocade 4100 works ? I mean, can I setup the two Xsans on the same trunked switches? ( as far as I think it should work )
2. is there any way to make separate the switch ports into two groups for do this ? ( does it needed)
3. How many ports should I do trunk with ? 4 or 8 ? is it possible to do 5 ports trunk?

Many Thanks ,
Jarry

JSamuel · Xsan Master Joined: 05 Jan 2011 Posts: 177

Hi Jarry,

Wasn't the 4100 discounted on 2009?

1. Yes, use zoning.
2. Yes, use zoning, and it does need this, otherwise all LUNs from all storage units will be visible by all clients (Across both Xsan instances) which you don't want.
3. 10G uplinks are ideal, but plan your ports carefully, theres no point in attaching storage to the 2nd 4100, when the clients using it are connected to the 1st 4100.

Why do you need to change the setup, is there a reason why you now need to mesh the switches? Run out of ports on one?

pr0d1gy · partially protected Joined: 04 May 2008 Posts: 5

Thanks for your fast reply .

I don't mind if the luns will be visible by all clients (Across both Xsan instances) in disk utility as long as it won't be mounted on their station .
anyway I'll checkout the zone thing .

I doing it cause our two areas are become one and the 2 Xsans setup is just crucial for copying the volume to other new storage , in the end there will be one big Xsan Storage .

the Brocade trunking is needed for speeding up the connection of working big HD video files on Xsan .
so do you suggest me do trunking from 4 links on each switch?

thanks ,
Pr0d

JSamuel · Xsan Master Joined: 05 Jan 2011 Posts: 177

pr0d1gy · partially protected Joined: 04 May 2008 Posts: 5

many thanks for your help and tips.

just one more question ,
what is the difference by doing 6port trunk to 8port trunk?
I know it will increase the bandwith speed , but how can I translate it into numbers? and will it affect more than the bandwith speed?

Thanks again
pr0d

JSamuel · Xsan Master Joined: 05 Jan 2011 Posts: 177

xsanguy · Xsan Master Joined: 24 Sep 2012 Posts: 92

It's absolutely possible, if you want some help email or PM me.

Ideally best practices say you zone everything.

abstractrude · Xsan Master Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 881

Yep xsanguy has you pointed in the right direction. Zoning will solve your problems. I have had an AVID unity and an Xsan on the same fabric, both worked perfectly.