Cisco Storage Networking iSCSI James Long Storage Networking Systems Engineer jalong@cisco.com

Why use iSCSI? Performance/cost benefits provided by competition in Internet marketplace Economies of scale from installing and operating a single type of network Lower TCO via unified management architecture Plethora of IP management, security, troubleshooting and QoS solutions Extended distance Connectivity to carrier-class services Ubiquitous supply of skilled personnel

What does iSCSI do for me? iSCSI Enabled Servers Provides storage accessibility from many server operating systems across the IP network. Provides an alternative to Fibre Channel island problem. Utilizes existing IP network security, quality of service, and prioritization features. Allows usage of existing management infrastructure. “IP/SAN boot” NT 4.0 Win2K Linux Solaris (G:) (F:) (K:) (L:) Gigabit Ethernet iSCSI Fibre Channel (G:) (F:) (K:) (L:) Catalyst Switch IP

iSCSI Adds Connectivity Options for Mid-Range Servers iSCSI hosts are discovered, displayed and configured through Fabric Manager iSCSI hosts are bound to virtual WWNs creating a static relationship enabling: Zoning of iSCSI initiators Accounting against iSCSI initiators Topology mapping of iSCSI initiators iSCSI offers HA features such as GEC, VRRP and FC port trespass iSCSI connectivity is ‘fanned-out’ using Ethernet switches Ratio is determined by application I/O requirements CHAP-based authentication iSCSI driver is loaded onto hosts No additional cost for host adapter OS native iSCSI drivers available today from every major OS vendor Cisco also provides free iSCSI drivers Cisco IP Storage Switching Module IP-VRRP support for redundant IP gateway services iSCSI iSCSI-enabled hosts iSCSI Login registering iQN iSCSI qualified names are defined within iSCSI client iQN1 iQN2 Cisco Catalyst 6500 Multilayer LAN Switches iQN2 is mapped to an allocated pWWN and registered in the fabric iQN2 = pWWN2

Integrated iSCSI Benefits Bolt-on Built-in Complex HA or none Interop issues Finger pointing Convoluted management Separate roadmaps Inherent HA No interop concerns No finger pointing Simplified management Synchronized roadmaps

Internet Storage Name Server (iSNS) iSNS Server Automates iSCSI device discovery, configuration and management Directory-based protocol for management of IPS devices Device registration Device discovery Zoning via Discovery Domains State Change Notification (SCN) iSNS client in MDS registers FC information with external iSNS servers FC Devices Zoning membership SCN relay iSNS server in MDS imports FC information from FC Name Server (FCNS) iSCSI Servers iSCSI Servers IP Network iSNS Client MDS + IPS8 FC Fabric FC Storage FC Storage FC Servers

iSCSI secured with IPsec IPSec for iSCSI iSCSI secured with IPsec iSCSI Server LAN MDS w/ MPS-14/2 Standards-based IPsec protocol suite for comprehensive security of iSCSI traffic End-to-end authentication, data integrity and confidentiality Hardware based, high performance solution MDS 9216i and MPS-14/2 module

iSCSI Network Boot Protocol (iNBP) Fibre Channel Master host IP Network FC Host 1 image iSCSI Ethernet Host 1 MDS 9000 w/ IPS Module Cisco iSCSI Drivers Install Windows 2000 on master host C: drive Install Cisco iSCSI driver on master host Configure & mount iSCSI target Run Cisco copy utility which does the following: Copies boot image from Master host to iSCSI target Configures Windows for the new host Set PXE boot option in host 1 Repeat for additional hosts

Additional iSCSI Features Proxy-iSCSI Initiator Mode Presents all iSCSI Initiators to storage subsystem as a single initiator Minimizes the configuration tasks required to enable large scale iSCSI deployment: Storage device configuration Zoning Auto-trespass command can be issued when IPS module detects failures on active path iSCSI topology mapping via Fabric Manager LUN re-mapping

iSCSI Software Drivers Qual Status IBM Windows (MSFT & CSCO) Solaris 8, 9 (CSCO) AIX 5.2 and 5.3 (IBM) HDS Linux HP HP-UX 11.23 (HPQ) EMC Windows (MSFT) Linux (TBD) Cisco iSCSI software drivers Microsoft: Win2000 and Win2003 HP: HPUX 10.2 and 11.0 IBM: AIX 4.3.3, 5.1, and 5.2 SUN: Solaris 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9 Linux: Kernel 2.4.20 or higher and 2.6.1 Native iSCSI software drivers Microsoft: Windows 2000/Server 2003 HP: HPUX 11.23 IBM: AIX 5.2 and 5.3

iSCSI Impact on CPU Microsoft Exchange is representative of messaging/collaboration applications Requires large volume of storage, but relatively little throughput Minimal CPU utilization for iSCSI software driver vs. FC HBA Use iSCSI TOE for high throughput applications - current vendors include Adaptec, Alacritech, Emulex, Qlogic, et alia Storage Network Throughput Server CPU Utilization MB/s Theoretical Maximum Throughput of 100Mbps Ethernet % CPU Utilization # of Users # of Users

iSCSI Design Option 1: Shared Ethernet, Shared NIC Pros: Inexpensive Easy to implement Fast deployment time Cons: Could overload ISL bandwidth Could impact other apps Jumbo frames QoS policy changes Support becomes entangled Switch/router patches Scheduled downtime Weak security Troubleshooting is complex Low host performance Poor host monitoring/trending iSCSI Servers Existing IP Network MDS IPS-8 FC Fabric FC Storage FC Servers

iSCSI Design Option 2: Dedicated VLAN, Shared NIC Pros: Potentially inexpensive Somewhat easy to implement Fast deployment time Troubleshooting is somewhat simplified Cons: Could overload ISL bandwidth Could impact other apps Jumbo frames QoS policy changes Support becomes entangled Switch/router patches Scheduled downtime Medium security Troubleshooting is still complex Low host performance Poor host monitoring/trending Could require host upgrades iSCSI Servers VLAN Enabled Existing IP Network MDS IPS-8 FC Fabric FC Storage FC Servers

iSCSI Design Option 3: Dedicated VLAN, Dedicated NIC Pros: Potentially inexpensive Somewhat easy to implement Potentially fast deployment time Troubleshooting is somewhat simplified Medium host performance Good host monitoring/trending Cons: Could overload ISL bandwidth Could impact other apps Jumbo frames QoS policy changes Support becomes entangled Switch/router patches Scheduled downtime Medium security Troubleshooting is still complex Could require host upgrades iSCSI Servers VLAN Enabled Existing IP Network MDS IPS-8 FC Fabric FC Storage FC Servers

iSCSI Design Option 4: Dedicated LAN Pros: Troubleshooting is simplest Best host performance Good host monitoring/trending No additional load on existing ISLs No impact to other Apps Jumbo frame capable No QoS policy changes Separate support model Strong security Cons: Most expensive Laborious to implement Slow deployment time Could require host upgrades iSCSI Servers New Ethernet LAN Existing IP Network MDS IPS-8 FC Fabric FC Storage FC Servers

Best Current Practice for iSCSI Redundancy