Get an Intelligent SAN for Small Environments
Deploy a flexible, intelligent SAN for your virtualized data center with the Cisco MDS 9506 Multilayer Director. This director-class SAN switch is designed for small, mission-critical environments, and helps you meet server virtualization challenges such as:
- Increased need for servers to access data on the network
- Higher bandwidth density per server
- Different security profiles for multitenancy, cloud computing, and heterogeneous environments
- Loss of insight into individual applications for the SAN administration team
The Cisco MDS 9506 Multilayer Director helps you meet these challenges with:
- Convergence
- Scale
- Intelligence
Feature and Capabilities
- Scalable expansion with outstanding investment protection
- Multiprotocol architecture and convergence with multihop Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)
- Business transformation with Enterprise Cloud Deployment
- Platform for intelligent storage applications
- Enterprise-class availability
Converge Networks to Simplify SAN Connectivity
Using the Cisco MDS 9506 Multilayer Director, you can easily connect a Cisco MDS-based SAN infrastructure to large converged networks with multihop FCoE. In addition, the operating system and management interface are the same as for all other Cisco data center switches.
Easily Scale Your SAN
This SAN switch lets you consolidate highly virtualized servers and high-end storage in a SAN, with up to 192 Fibre Channel ports of 1, 2, 4, and 8 Gbps in one chassis.
Deploy Intelligent Storage Services
The Cisco MDS 9506 Multilayer Director offers intelligence for heterogeneous environments with:
- Fibre Channel or Fibre Channel over IP SAN extension and I/O acceleration
- Cisco Storage Media Encryption
- Cisco Data Mobility Manager
- Third-party application for continuous data protection
Cisco Data Center Network Manager offers end-to-end virtual-machine-aware path analytics and trending, to help you simplify management of your data center virtual infrastructure.
Specifications at a Glance
| Software compatibility |
Cisco MDS SAN-OS Software Release 3.0(1) or later |
|---|---|
| Performance and scalability |
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| Advanced functionality |
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| Reliability and availability |
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Featured Content
Reliable, Scalable SAN Platform
Cisco MDS 9000 NX-OS Software Release 5.2 runs on Cisco MDS 9000 Switches.
Create an Ideal SAN
Gain intelligent, multilayer services that help fulfill your business needs.
Additional Resources
(All Cisco MDS 9500 Series Multilayer Directors At-a-Glance)
(PDF - 440 KB)Cisco MDS 9500 and 9700 Series Multilayer Directors
(PDF - 380 KB)(All Cisco MDS 9500 Series Multilayer Directors Brochures)
Data Sheets
(All Cisco MDS 9500 Series Multilayer Directors Data Sheets)
Cisco MDS 9000 16-Port Storage Services Node
Cisco MDS 9000 18/4-Port Multiservice Module
Cisco MDS 9000 Family 4-Port 10-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module
Cisco MDS 9000 Family 8-Gbps Advanced Fibre Channel Switching Modules
Cisco MDS 9000 Family 8-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Modules
Cisco MDS 9000 Family Pluggable Transceivers Data Sheet
Cisco MDS 9506 Multilayer Director Data Sheet
Cisco MDS 9509 Multilayer Director Data Sheet
Cisco MDS 9513 Multilayer Director Data Sheet
(All Cisco MDS 9500 Series Multilayer Directors White Papers)
Cisco MDS 9000 10-Gbps 8-Port FCoE Module
(PDF - 280 KB)Cisco MDS 9000 Family Investment Protection
High-Availability Storage Networks with Cisco MDS 9500 Series Multilayer Directors
Intelligent Traffic Services with the Cisco MDS 9000 Family Modules
Large SAN Design Best Practices