A. First of all, the ST 9985V does not have an embedded switch like a
Brocade on the back end. The back end is still predominately based on
Fibre-Channel Arbitrated Loop. However, there are some
significant/subtle changes that those of your who are more technically
inclined may be interested in. The technically inclined sales
representative may also be interested in that this architecture in
that it will support sales claims about *improved reliability and
diagnosability* .
The key point is that new switching capability in the FSW allows only
one HDD to be active on the loop at a particular point of time. This
means that if there are any issues associated with sending/receiving
data to that particular drive, those issues will be pretty clear that
they are associated with that particular drive.
The paragraph above can be specifically linked to a benefit claim
about improved diagnosability. The challenge associated with
diagnosing HDDs on a FCAL is that there are some much noise (e.g. Many
HDDs active) and it is difficult to know where the problem is. The new
"Switched FCAL" (yes, quite an oxymoron) contains additional logic in
the FSW switch to allow only one drive to be active at a time. This
literally makes this a point to point architecture. To use a ST 9900V
system metaphor, the FCAL Loop is data cache, and the FSW acts like
Shared Memory in that is contains meta data about the other HDDs on
the FCAL, and when the data packet comes around, the header in the
packet will know to drop its payload/activate a particular HDD. And
the key is that only that HDD will be active on the loop.
So with only one active HDD on the loop, diagnosability is improved.
One can also make the argument that Reliability is improved. Since the
"Switch FCAL" is more diagnosable, problems can be pin pointed and
resolved more quickly, resulting in a more reliable back end
architecture in the ST 9985V.
Q. Is E-Copy Serverless Backup still available?
A. E-Copy Serverless Backup has been withdrawn from sale and is no longer
price listed and is no longer available for sale.
Q. At GA (General Availability) is there a NAS Blade available for the
ST9985V ?
A. At GA, there is no NAS Blade available for the ST9985V. However, in
November 2007, C-NAS will be available.
Q. Does Sun resell the HDS Blue ARC NAS Gateway?
A. Sun does not resell the HDS Blue ARC NAS Gateway.
Q. Is DB Validator still price listed?
A. No, DB Validator is withdrawn from market.
Q. How many spares can be placed in a ST9985V?
A. 16 can be ordered through PX Tool.
Q. How many microprocessors on a FED or BED?
A. There are 8 at 800 mhz. Please note that these are dedicated micro
processors (MP) to specific tasks. Avoid getting in clock speed wars.
In many cases, the competition will claim a single, shared MP has a
much faster clock speed. But it is a shared device. Whereas the
ST9985V has many non-shared MPs dedicated to specific tasks.
Q. What kind of power is available in various regions of the world?
A. ST 9985 V supports single phase 30 amp only.
Just the Facts
October 2007
133
Sun Confidential – For Internal Use and Authorized Partner Use Only
