Designing Cisco Storage Networking Solutions (DCSNS) - 5-day Hands-on Cisco Authorized Course
Course Description
DCSNS is a 5-day hands-on workshop that starts with the basics of the MDS 9000 platform and covers everything you’ll need to prepare for the Cisco Storage Networking Design Specialist (CSNDS) certification exam. You will learn about the key features of the MDS 9000 platform, and how to leverage these features to build highly available, extensible, intelligent SANs. This course includes hands-on labs to familiarize you with basic MDS 9000 configuration procedures, and design workshops where you will learn to design multiprotocol SANs and SAN extension solutions.
Course Objectives
After you complete this course, you will be able to:
- Select MDS 9000 platform components to meet SAN design objectives
- Describe the MDS system architecture
- Identify host and storage connectivity and performance requirements
- Design a SAN topology that optimizes fan-in and fan-out, oversubscription, port usage, and redundancy
- Simplify device management with FCID assignment and DDAS
- Explain the options for interoperating with Brocade and McDATA fabrics
- Discuss how key MDS 9000 technologies enable and simplify SAN consolidation
- Explain how to segregate, load-balance, and prioritize application data flows to improve performance
- Design an MDS 9000 iSCSI configuration for mid-range application hosts
- Describe common SAN security vulnerabilities and mitigation techniques
- Discuss key concepts in disaster recovery and business continuity planning
- Design SAN extension solutions using FCIP, WDM, and TDM networks
- Design SAN extension solutions to meet application reliability and performance requirements
Intended Audience
This course provides in-depth technical training for pre-sales engineers, system engineers, and network engineers who need to design SAN fabrics using MDS 9000 Series switches.
Prerequisites
Understanding of basic data storage components and protocols and Fibre Channel SANs is recommended.
Course Outline
Module 1: MDS 9000 Platform Overview
Lesson 1: MDS 9000 Platform Components
- The MDS 9000 Platform
- MDS Supervisor
- MDS 9000 Modules
- Modular Design Scalability
Lesson 2: Intelligent Network Services
- SAN Scalability Features
- VSAN Overview
- DPVM Overview
- Multiprotocol Support
- High Availability Features
- Traffic Engineering Features
- Security Features
- Interoperability Features
Lesson 3: Integrated Management
- Command Line Interface
- CLI Modes and Help
- Useful CLI Commands
- Cisco Fabric Manager
- Cisco Device Manager
- Fabric Manager Server
- Performance Manager and Traffic Analyzer
- Software Packages and Licensing
Lesson 4: Initial Switch Configuration
- System Memory Areas
- Boot Sequence
- Installing Fabric Manager
- Initial Setup
Lesson 5: Software Licensing
- Standard License
- Optional Licenses
- License-Free Period
Lesson 6: System Architecture
- Crossbar and Supervisor Architecture
- MDS Line Card Module Architectures
- Virtual Output Queues
- Oversubscription
- Port Bandwidth Reservation
- Out-of-Service Ports
- Exercise: Selecting Linecard Modules
- Buffer Credit Overview
- Credits and Buffers
- Linecard Best Practices
- Exercise: Calculating Buffer Credits
Module 2: Designing SAN Fabrics
Lesson 1: Designing Host Connectivity
- Applications and Latency
- Measuring IOPS
- Host I/O Bottlenecks
- PCI Bus Limitations
- Host I/O Throughput
- Selecting the Optimum Port Type
- RSCN Considerations
- Exercise: Calculating Host I/O requirements
Lesson 2: Designing Storage Connectivity
- Array Architecture Overview
- Array Bottlenecks
- RAID overview
- Selecting the Optimum Port Type
- LUN Masking on the Array
- LUN Mapping on the Host
- Single Initiator Zoning
- LUN Zoning
Lesson 3: Building the SAN
- Single-Tier Designs
- Multi-Tier Fabrics
- Core Edge Topology
- Collapsed Core Architecture
- Collapsed Fabric Architecture
- PortChannels
- Comparing Link Aggregation Solutions
- Selecting the Correct Switch Port Type
- Exercise: Calculating User Ports
Lesson 4: Simplifying Device Management
- FCID Assignment
- Distributed Device Alias Service (DDAS)
- CFS Infrastructure
Lesson 5: Designing Redundant Fabrics
- Redundant Fabrics
- Redundancy and High Availability
- Active/Passive Redundant Fabrics
- Active/Active Redundant Fabrics
- Load Balancing Methods
- Trespass
- Calculating Throughput
- Restricted Bandwidth
- Virtual Fabrics
- IVR Overview
- Using IVR to Share Resources
Lesson 6: Designing Interoperable SANs
- Interop Modes
- Multi-Vendor SAN
- Data Migration
- Migrating from Brocade and McData Fabrics
Lesson 7: Consolidating Storage in the Data Center
- The Benefits of Consolidation
- Where can we consolidate resources?
- Server Virtualization
- N_Port Identifier Virtualization (NPIV)
- Network Consolidation
- Storage Virtualization
- Fabric Virtualization Overview
- Symmetric Virtualization
- Assymetric Virtualization
- FAIS Overview
- Symmetric Virtualization Example
- Snapshots and Replication
- Array-Based Replication
- SANTap Overview
- SANTap Replication Example
- Backup Overview
- NASB Overview
Lesson 8: Engineering SAN Traffic
- Trunking
- Path Selection
- Port Tracking
- QoS
- Ingress-Based and Egress-Based QoS
- Congestion
- Fibre Channel Congestion Control (FCC)
Lesson 9: Attaching iSCSI Hosts
- Addressing Mid-Range Application Requirements
- iSCSI Overview
- iSCSI Performance
- When to Deploy iSCSI
- Native iSCSI Deployment
- iSCSI Gateways
- iSCSI Gateway Function
- MDS 9000 iSCSI Options
Module 3: Securing the SAN
Lesson 1: Securing the SAN Fabric
- Discussion: How Secure is a SAN?
- Loss of Privacy
- Secure Protocols
- Data Theft
- Using IPsec in a Multiprotocol SAN
- Zoning overview
- LUN Masking and LUN Zoning
- Data Integrity
- Read-Only Zoning
- Impersonation
- DC-CHAP
- Port Security
- Denial of Service
- Fabric Security
Lesson 2: Securing Management Interfaces
- Locking Down Management Ports
- Using SSH Certificates
- Role-Based Access Control
- SNMP and CLI Security
- AAA Overview
- Enhanced AAA Services
- Centralized Administration
Module 4: Designing SAN Extension Solutions
Lesson 1: Analyzing Business Objectives
- RTO and RPO
- Discussion: Recovery Time
- Recovery Methods
- RDBMS Recovery process
- Synchronous and Asynchronous Replication
- Latency and Distance Limitations
- Snapshots and Continuous Data Protection
- Using SANTap for Data Replication
Lesson 2: Connecting SANs with Optical Networks
- Dark Fibre
- DWDM
- DWDM Topologies
- CWDM
- CWDM Topologies
- SONET/SDH
- SONET/SDH Topologies
- ONS 15454 MSTP
Lesson 3: Connecting SANs with IP Networks
- Common SAN Extension Drawbacks
- FCIP Protocol Overview
- FC Frame Encapsulation
- FCIP Specifications
- FCIP Implementation on the IPS Modules
- Logical Structure
- FCIP Topologies
- Extended Credits
- Comparing SAN Extension Solutions
- Exercise: Selecting an Appropriate Platform
Lesson 4: Improving Performance, Availability, and Security
- Flapping Links
- Protecting Remote SANs with IVR
- High Availability Solutions
- Planning for High Availability
- Performance Overview
- FC Write Acceleration
- FCIP Write Acceleration
- FCIP Tape Acceleration
- FCIP Tape Read Acceleration
- FCIP Compression
- Encrypting Data
Appendix & Course Labs
Appendix: Storage and Fibre Channel Primer
SCSI Overview
- SCSI Protocol
- SCSI Addressing
- SCSI-3 Architecture Model
- SCSI Phases
- Command Descriptor Block (CDB)
- SCSI Commands
- Building an I/O Request
- Error Handling
Fibre Channel Overview
- FC Topologies
- FC Ports and Cisco MDS Ports
- Fibre Channel Layers
- FC Frame Structure
- FC Data Constructs
- FC Flow Control
- Allocating Buffer Credits
- FC Addressing and FCID Allocation
- FC Login
- Zoning Overview
- MDS Advanced Zoning
- Fabric Services
- FC Name Server
- FC Domain Server
- FSPF Routing
- FC Well Known Addresses
- FC Error Handling
Course Labs
- Lab 1: Completing the Initial Switch Configuration
- Lab 2: Accessing Disks via Fibre Channel
- Case Study 1: Designing a Multiprotocol SAN
- Lab 3: Configuring HA SAN Extension Solutions
- Lab 4: Configuring IVR for SAN Extension
- Case Study 2: Designing a SAN Extension Solution
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Designing Cisco Storage Networking Solutions 
