IBM 86596ry Setup Guide - Page 9

Chapter 1. SAN solutions overview The IBM SAN initiative provides a complete range of services, infrastructure, and technology required to successfully implement a Storage Area Network (SAN). Servers, storage devices, software, and Fibre Channel interconnect components are the building blocks used to construct, use, and manage a SAN. Because of the complexity of heterogeneous, multi-platform environments, service and system integration are critical to the success of a SAN implementation. Building blocks The following building blocks are included in a typical SAN configuration: v Operating systems ® ® This guide details configurations using Microsoft Windows 2000. v Device configuration and management software programs and tools This guide discusses programs to configure and manage switches, managed hubs, redundant array of independent disks (RAID) controllers, host bus adapters (HBAs), and SAN routers. v Storage management applications Applications to manage tape libraries and hard disk enclosures are included in the IBM SAN Solutions configurations. v Storage, HBAs, other options This guide discusses hard disk drive enclosures, Fibre Channel (FC) HBAs, and tape drives and libraries. v Servers This guide details configurations using IBM xSeries servers. v Fibre Channel interconnect This guide discusses Fibre Channel switches and managed hubs, Fibre Channel routers, Gigabit Interface Converters (GBICs), and Fibre Channel cables. Configuration types The following sample configurations are described in this chapter: v Basic storage partitioning v Cluster and non-cluster shared storage pool v SAN with partitioned storage v High-capacity storage configuration v Multiple clusters in a switched fabric environment v Direct attach multiple cluster configuration © Copyright IBM Corp. 2001 1