Cisco added to its storage networking portfolio today with a 96-port 16 gigabit per second Fibre Channel (FC) switch and 40 gigabit converged Ethernet support across its Nexus 7700 and 7000 switches.
Cisco maintains the new rollouts show it remains committed to FC as well as IP storage based on Ethernet.
The new 2U MDS 9396S scales from 48 to 96 ports in 12-port increments, or can be purchased with 96 ports. All 96 ports run at 16 gigabits per second (Gbps) line rate performance. Enterprise features include dual fans and power supplies for redundancy, non-disruptive upgrades and support for 4,095 buffer to buffer credits per port. It supports 32 Cisco Virtual SANs (VSANs). It also includes automated provisioning, a configuration wizard and the same operating system as other MDS switches and directors.
The MDS 9396S combines with the 1U MDS 9148S -- which shipped in late 2014 and scales from 12 to 48 ports -- to give Cisco 16 Gbps FC coverage from 12 to 96 multilayer fabric switch ports.
Cisco's FC switch rival Brocade has 24-port and 48-port edge switches, but requires customers to buy a 96-port enterprise switch or trunk smaller switches to get from 48 ports to 96 ports.
Nitin Garg, senior manager of product management for Cisco's data center group, said he expects the MDS 9396S to have a list price of approximately $120,000 for 96 ports. However, final prices for many sales will be set by Cisco's storage array and channel partners.
The MDS 9396S can be used for mid-range SANs in the 60- to 96-port range, or as a middle-of-row switch connected to the end-of-row MDS 9700 Director switch.
Cisco is also now supporting 40 gigabit Ethernet (GbE) connectivity for Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), NAS, iSCSI, IP-based object storage and LAN connectivity on its Nexus 7700 and 7000 switches. The 40 GbE was previously available on smaller Nexus 5600 and 2300 platforms. The expanded 40 GbE support provides 16 Gbps FC on Cisco MDS at the storage core and 40 GbE leaf-spine architecture for IP storage traffic. Customers can mix and match MDS, Nexus and UCS server products to build a unified fabric.
