Complex, ergo simpler

If you have the feeling that the intelligent SAN switch space is getting crowded -- well, join the party. From where I stand, the market is filling up faster than a stadium parking lot before the big ballgame.

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The latest entrant is Maxxan, which recently announced that its MXV320 director class switch is shipping to the masses. Before you stop reading and assume the MXV320 is just another FC (Fibre Channel) switch, bear with me and read what I have to say.

With the MXV320, Maxxan is proposing a new architecture: SANe, (Storage Applications Network Engine). SANe promises to simplify storage networks by combining protocol routing and application servers, and supporting a bunch of storage services such as mirroring, snapshots, virtualization and file serving in a single large box. Doesn’t sound so simple, does it? Well, often, the best way to simplify things is to organize disparate elements into a single spot. Think of the MXV320 as a functional backplane for your storage network; depending on requirements, you can plug in additional ports, protocols, or storage services.

In fact, the switch can host up to 320 1Gbps FC ports or 160 2Gbps ports; 16 protocol cards or eight application cards. The protocol cards connect the FC network to other networks that run protocols such as IP and iSCSI. These connections help with disaster recovery and remote replication scenarios or for connecting with an IP SAN. 

However, for those services to work you need more than just physical connections. That’s where the application cards of the MXV320 kick in.

In essence, the application cards are blade servers with dual Intel Xeon processors and 10 FC ports. They can be ordered with pre-installed Maxxan Storage Appliance Manager and FalconStor IPStor virtualization software. With this software loaded, administrators can then start turning on various storage services. The rich palette of services offered by IPStor includes snapshots and synchronous or asynchronous mirroring. For data protection, you can have Veritas NetBackup installed also. 

Maxxan suggests that an MXV320 with 64 FC ports and two application cards sporting the IPStor suite and replication should retail for about $168K. For remote departments and entry level customers, Maxxan offers the same application cards in a self-standing, 2U rack-mountable appliance, the SA100F, at about $38 — a much more affordable sticker price.

Maxxan's SANe approach to storage networks is similar to a closet organizer system: Create proper slots for disparate components and group them for easy access and control. This approach will crowd your switch closet, but at the least it should bring order and discipline to your SAN.