Smart switch for smaller SANs

Most SAN administrators are interested in adding more capabilities -- including replication, mirroring, virtualization, FCoIP (Fibre Channel over IP), iSCSI, NAS, and so forth -- to their networks. You can add each of these to a SAN via software or a specialized appliance, or you can get them all in one shot with an intelligent FC switch.

Free IT resource Virtualization Insights from Top Experts - Learn how virtualization gets real! Sponsored by Dell Free IT resource TechNet: More ways to know it, share it, and keep it running. Sponsored by Microsoft Maxxan MXV250 Intelligent Application Switch Maxxan Systems, maxxan.com Very Good  8.0 criteria score weight Manageability 7 25% Performance 9 25% Scalability 8 25% Setup 8 15% Value 8 10% Cost: An MXV250 with FC switch ports and an application card with integrated IPStor software starts at $62,500 Bottom Line: The MXV250 offers all the sophistication and features of Maxxan’s larger MXV500, but in a smaller and less expensive package suitable for smaller SANs. The wide array of available features gives admins plenty of flexibility in meeting business requirements for a SAN. The two separate management apps for configuration and management may give pause. About our Reviews and Scoring Methodology

I reviewed the Maxxan MXV320 a couple of years ago and came away impressed. That product, now named the MXV500, is an enterprise-class intelligent switch offering a wide variety of SAN applications, as well as up to 256 switch ports in one chassis or 512 ports in two chassis. It also stands just under three feet high, weighs more than 140 pounds, has redundant everything, requires two 220-volt circuits, and sports a starting price of $100,000.

The MXV250 is the MXV500’s little brother, coming in at about 5U high and 87 pounds with support for 64 ports; it runs on two standard 110-volt circuits. Though it’s smaller, it’s no slouch, lacking only the MXV500’s redundant backplane architecture -- the MXV250’s system control cards, power supplies, and fans are all redundant.

Also like its big brother, the MXV250 boosts functionality with IPStor, FalconStor’s application suite, which Maxxan has ported to its embedded application cards. The IPStor suite includes local and remote synchronous or asynchronous replication, mirroring, virtualization, snapshots, active-active fail-over, NAS, iSCSI, FCoIP, and TimeMark, which provides for scheduled incremental snapshots of a specified volume.

Optional LUN (logical unit number) features round out the MXV250. LUN Masking provides additional security and access control by specifying exactly which hosts can see or access specific storage targets, while LUN remapping allows a specific storage system to be presented as a different LUN number from what the disk subsystem is initially configured with. These are features that not everyone will want, but they do add considerable flexibility.

Dueling Management Apps
Initial configuration of the MXV250 is simple, requiring only a standard serial terminal. Once the network information is set up, the rest of the configuration involves the two management applications, SANCruiser and IPStor, and is done via browser.

SANCruiser is the basic SAN management application that maps the entire SAN and shows each connected device and its associated information. It is used for basic configuration of the FC fabric and for naming, troubleshooting, LUN masking, and so forth.

IPStor is used to configure all of the higher-level functions, such as replication and virtualization. It’s easy to use, with wizards that take you through the process of setting up replicas, snapshots, virtualization, and most of the other high-level functions. Even people who aren’t full-time storage administrators should be able to get what they want out of the system without days of research or training.