Q&A for Cisco MDS 9710 Multilayer Director for IBM System Networking

July 2013

Q&A for Cisco MDS 9710 for IBM System Networking

IBM System Networking

IBM Systems and Technology Group

FOR IBM AND IBM BUSINESS PARTNER USE ONLY

Q&A for Cisco MDS 9710 Multilayer Director for IBM System Networking
July 2013
Page 2

Q1.

What is new in the MDS 9710?

A. The new Cisco MDS 9710 Multilayer Director for IBM System Networking establishes a new
benchmark for performance delivering three times the backplane bandwidth of previous Cisco
MDS and other Directors future-proofing storage connectivity for mission-critical applications,
massive amounts of data: Flash and Solid State Drives (SSD) environments; and cloud-based
environments, while preserving current IT operations and knowledge.
The new MDS 9710 Director delivers a platform for high density Fibre Channel.
a. With the new line rate 48 port 16Gbps Fibre Channel (FC) line card, MDS 9710 Director
supports up to 384 line rate 16 Gbps Fibre Channel ports in a single 14 RU. It also
supports the port speeds of 2/4/8Gbps and 10Gbps FC.
b. The MDS 9710 provides 24 Tbps of backplane bandwidth Fibre Channel switching
capability and up to 1.5 Tbps switching capability per slot.
The new MDS 9710 brings the most efficient airflow of front-to-back, enabling ease of data center
planning and layout. It has 3 fan trays in the back.
MDS 9710 48-port FC line card will support Slow Drain resolution functionality implemented in
hardware.

Q2.

How is MDS 9710 different from MDS 9513?

A. MDS 9710 Multilayer Director builds on the architecture and features of the existing MDS
9513. It shares the same ASICs with higher performance, scale and integration. It runs the same
NX-OS and can be managed by DCNM. The management interface remains the same with
limited changes.
The table below lists the differences between the MDS 9513 and MDS 9710:
MDS 9513

MDS 9710

Airflow
Depth
Power
Cables

Side to Side
28
Connections in back
2 Cables per power supply

Fabrics

2 fabrics mandatory
No redundancy

Front Door

None

Fans

Front Fans and Rear Fans

Oversubscription

On some modules

Front to Back
34
Connections in front
1 Cable per power supply
6 Fabric Slots, 3 fabric cards provided in chassis
in standard config., N+1 redundancy with 4
fabric cards
Optional
3 Fan trays in the back
Each power supply has its own fan
Line Rate - No oversubscription with the 48-port
16Gbps line card

Services

Fixed fabric switch as well as

Services modules

Backplane FC
Bandwidth

Max 256Gbps per line card

Memory

2G

Delivered by MDS 95xx and MDS 92xx

Depends on number of fabric cards deployed

3 fabric cards provide 768Gbps per line card
6 fabric cards will provide 1.5Tbps per line card
Supervisor Details
8G

Q&A for Cisco MDS 9710 Multilayer Director for IBM System Networking
July 2013
Page 3
# of Cores
Clock Speed
Instruction

Q3.

1
1.4 GHz
32-bit

4
2.1 GHz
64-bit

Are the components backwards or forwards compatible?

A. MDS 9710 chassis is designed to support next generation of high performance speed
connectivity across backplane for the decade ahead, so the components are not backwards
compatible with MDS 9500 Series. Additionally, MDS 9500 Series components cannot be
installed in the MDS 9710.

Q4.

Can I connect MDS 9513 to MDS 9710 ports?

A. Yes, using 8/4/2-Gbps FC or 10-Gbps FC optics.

Q5.

What optics will be supported on the Line Card?

A. The MDS 9710 FC line card will support the following optics at GA:
Feature Code

Q6.

Description

5602

16 Gbps Fibre Channel SW SFP+, LC

5611

16 Gbps Fibre Channel LW SFP+, LC

5020

10 Gbps Fibre Channel SW SFP+, LC

5022
5830
5850

10 Gbps Fibre Channel LW SFP+, LC

8 Gbps Fibre Channel SW SFP+, LC
8 Gbps Fibre Channel LW SFP+, LC

5855

8 Gbps Fibre Channel ER SFP+, LC

5410
5420
5480

10GBASE-SR SFP Module

10GBASE-LR SFP Module
10GBASE-ER SFP Module

Rate
16/8/4-Gbps FC SFP+
10-Gbps FC SFP+

8/4/2-Gbps FC SFP+

10GE SFP+

Will the SFPs from MDS 9513 director work in MDS 9710?

A. Yes, customers can use 8Gbps FC and 10Gbps FC optics from MDS 9500 family.

Q7.
How many fabric cards are needed to support N+1 Fabric
Redundancy?
A. Four fabric cards are required to provided N+1 fabric redundancy while delivering 768Mbps
bandwidth to each slot.

Q8.
A. Yes.

Are all fabrics active in N+1 fabric protection mode?

Q&A for Cisco MDS 9710 Multilayer Director for IBM System Networking
July 2013
Page 4

Q9.

Can I run MDS 9710 at line rate?

A. MDS 9710 runs the 16Gbps FC ports at line rates as long as at least 3 fabric cards are
installed.

Q10.
How many power supplies are needed? Why does the
chassis have 8 power bays?
A. Fully populated, the MDS 9710 needs 3 power supplies. The system ships with 6 power
supplies to provide grid redundancy (3+3). There are two additional slots for future growth as
higher speed line cards are introduced.

Q11.

Does MDS 9710 support FCoE?

A. MDS 9710 is a multiprotocol Director switch and is designed to support multiprotocol

environments.

Q12.
Will the ports between two directors auto-negotiate at
correct speed?
A. Yes

Q13.

Can I upgrade MDS 9710 NX-OS without disruption?

A. Yes, the 9710 can load and activate NX-OS without disruption.

Q14.
Why do I need so many power supplies and do I have to
use them all?
A. MDS 9710 provides more power supply bays than needed at GA for future growth, as next
generation of high-density higher speed line cards are supported. MDS 9710 needs 3 power
supplies to support a fully loaded chassis. 4 power supplies provide N+1 redundancy; 6 power
supplies provide grid redundancy.

Q15.

What type of rack do I need to deploy MDS 9710?

A. MDS 9710 can be installed in both 2 port and 4 port racks in the same way as MDS 9513.
Note that the MDS 9710 features front to back airflow, making it compatible with many data
center environments, while the MDS 9500 Series requires side to side airflow. Because of these
airflow differences, the MDS 9710 and MDS 9500 Series typically must be installed in separate
racks delivering different airflows.

Q16.

What licenses are available on MDS 9710?

A. The MDS 9700 Enterprise Package and DCNM SAN Advanced Edition MDS 9700 licenses
are available on MDS 9710.

Q17.

Does the MDS 9710 support FICON?

A. The MDS 9710 does not currently support FICON attachments.

Q&A for Cisco MDS 9710 Multilayer Director for IBM System Networking
July 2013
Page 5

For More Information

IBM System Networking SAN
IBM System Networking
Other Technical Support Resources

http://ibm.com/networking/switches/san/
http://ibm.com/networking/
http://ibm.com/systems/support