I
N
S
PEED
M
ODEL
350 E
MBEDDED
S
TORAGE
S
WITCH
U
SER
’
S
G
UIDE
C
HAPTER
1: I
NTRODUCTION
E
MULEX
C
ORPORATION
3
P
ART
N
UMBER
00041410-002 R
EV
. B
•
Half-rack, 1U size for easy installation (optional 19" rack-mounting kits available).
•
Fibre Channel ANSI Standards Compliance
I
N
S
PEED
™ T
ECHNOLOGY
InSpeed technology is an advanced switching architecture that couples a non-blocking crossbar switch
with a unique switch port logic and per-port SERDES. This results in the industry’s highest density Fibre
Channel switch on a chip (SOC). The port logic is based on Fibre Channel-Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL), an
ANSI standard (X3T11) designed to provide shared bandwidth over low-cost media.
This architecture enables the switch’s router to send data directly from one port to another, allowing for
multiple, simultaneous conversations between ports – effectively multiplying bandwidth. InSpeed™
provides the same performance as complex fabric switches that support FC-SW2.
S
WITCH
A
PPLICATIONS
The InSpeed Model 350 Embedded Storage Switch is ideal for embedded applications in storage or tape
library systems, where improvements to the reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) and
performance of systems is critical. The following sections provide examples of these applications.
Embedded Root Switch in Disk Storage Systems
In this configuration, the switch connects controllers to the disk shelves. See
Figure 1-1
and
Figure 1-2
for two examples of this type of application.
Benefits include:
•
Improved performance and RAS (Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability) over shared loop
architectures.
•
Improved isolation and diagnostics down to a shelf level.
•
Up to a 250% performance improvement over shared loop-based architectures.
•
Requires no design changes to the disk shelves or the storage controllers.
Figure 1-1: Embedded Root Switches in a Disk Storage System
