Planning the Ethernet TCP/IP Network
Ethernet connections are used in several ways in an Xsan SAN:
Xsan clients and metadata controllers use Ethernet to exchange volume metadata.
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Xsan clients can use Ethernet for access to networks outside the SAN (campus or
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corporate intranet or the Internet).
Xsan metadata controllers can use Ethernet connections for remote management.
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RAID systems can use Ethernet connections for system management.
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Fibre Channel switches can use Ethernet connections for switch management.
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You have two options:
Use one Ethernet network for all traffic. This is the less expensive option, but is also
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less secure and might not provide the best performance.
Use two separate networks—one for metadata and another for all other IP traffic.
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This configuration is slightly more expensive (requiring two Ethernet adapters for
each computer and an additional switch) but offers greater security and better
performance because routine network traffic doesn’t interfere with SAN volume
metadata traffic.