How do you build a SAN to last 10 years?
How do you build a SAN to last 10 years?
Originally published in the Tegile web site.
When it comes to data center business, demands are growing, but budgets are not. With the explosive use of Cloud and Big Data applications, it’s a challenge to build a Storage Area Network (SAN) that will scale for future needs. When you buy storage for the long term, how do you cover your bets? 
Consider multi-protocol Storage for a multi-protocol Data Center
You may know that Cisco supports multiple data center protocols. But did you know that Tegile supports multiple storage protocols? In the table below, see the broad coverage of this technology match:
Flexibility in storage and networking protocols
gives enterprise companies investment protection
for new workloads and media that may surface in the future.
When you choose Tegile in combination with Cisco, not only is the technology investment safe, but you also get a network architecture that scales, and operational simplicity from the Cisco MDS platform.
A technology match that scales – and lasts
Tegile welcomes Cisco’s expansion of the MDS 9000 family to include the MDS 9178 Director switch into the Cisco MDS 9700 Series, the first SAN director to support RESTful APIs.
With the growth in bandwidth needed to run Cloud and Big Data applications, Tegile has partnered with Cisco’s Data Center Group to simplify storage and network management. Companies that rely on this combination of technologies reduce the cost to consolidate all of their workloads onto one flash platform.
Tegile and Cisco have worked closely to deploy state-of-the-art SAN solutions that support a wide variety of application workloads that demand specific infrastructure service-level agreements. When the MDS 9718 is connected to Tegile storage, the infrastructure is easy to use, fully redundant, and highly scalable.
Additionally, all Tegile arrays come complete with the following features:
- Built-in auto-snapshot
- Auto-replication
- Near-instant recovery
- On-site or off-site failover
- Virtualization management features
Enterprise companies are rapidly expanding their use of Tegile flash solutions for virtualized applications, databases, and virtual desktop applications. Tegile welcomes this architectural innovation, the MDS 9178, from our strategic datacenter partner, Cisco. For Cisco datacenter news, follow their blog here.
Cisco enhanced its storage networking portfolio to grow, consolidate and simplify operations for SMBs, Enterprise and Cloud customers.
- Cisco offers the industry’s highest port density with its 16G SAN Director, MDS 9718, which enables consolidation, and is ideal for mid-sized to large-sized flash-based storage network deployments.
- Cisco also announced the new Nexus 5672UP-176G, which offers 16G Fiber Channel (FC), Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), and Ethernet convergence from a single platform.
- And Cisco offers the complementary Nexus 2348UPQ Fabric Extender, with support for multi-protocol storage and LAN connectivity.
Why Tegile + Cisco MDS
Both Tegile and Cisco are laser focused on customer choice and infrastructure scalability. Tegile’s unique support of multiple storage protocols is complemented by Cisco’s multiple protocol coverage in the datacenter. Tegile’s synergy with Cisco UCS and MDS makes for easy management of one platform for any workload. In fact, the product portfolio of Cisco MDS is an extension to Intellistack and Cisco’s Integrated Infrastructure solutions portfolio. 
Winning enterprises cover their bets
When planning a SAN to last 10 years, it’s impossible to cover all scenarios of future workloads. Winning enterprises cover their bets by eliminating concerns about feature compatibility and interoperability. The high port density provided by Cisco MDS and Tegile allows users to connect host and storage on the same director and avoid hops, thus further reducing latency.
Knowing that the combination of Tegile storage with Cisco MDS has been validated in the marketplace gives buyers peace of mind. For a real-world example of Tegile working with Cisco, see this Case Study of what we did for a professional sports business, the Minnesota Wild hockey team.
In this case study, we share how the IT Department needed to streamline infrastructure management; manage infrastructure growth; and follow sustainability processes to promote environmental goals. Tegile plus Cisco UCS helped the Minnesota Wild scale for current needs — and prepare for the future.
Enterprise companies like the Minnesota Wild know that flexibility in storage and networking protocols gives them investment protection for new workloads and media that may surface in the future.
Planning a SAN to last 10 years?
Request a demo — and find out what Tegile can do for you. Our team of flash storage experts are eager to hear your plans — and show what flash arrays can do for your network environment today and into the future.
Sponsored by Tegile.