Cisco's 9216i

I configured the 9216i to perform FC backups from Green Bay to Syracuse using FCIP functionality over the Internet. I then connected the FC card in our backup server to the 9216i and ran some connectivity tests. After validating that all was running well, I performed a 1-GB backup using EMC's Legato NetWorker backup-and-recovery software. The tape drive in Syracuse acted exactly like a local tape device--NetWorker detected the tape drive and let us label, format and back up to the tape.

Here and There

Configuring the 9216i to perform backups requires some specialized knowledge. FCIP uses Fibre Channel command structures, so you must be familiar with setting up FC devices. Because the server being backed up uses a Fibre Channel card, I configured it to see the FC backup devices at the other end. I also used VSAN (virtual SAN) routing to span between the source and destination networks. Because VSAN is an adaptation of VLANs, any knowledge of IP routing and VLANs will serve you well. The connections communicate over IP, which means you'll have some firewall and possibly DNS configuration to do before your servers can talk to each other.

We spent two days getting the boxes mounted at both labs, configuring our firewalls so they could talk (each requires two IP addresses--one for management, one for data), and configuring FCIP to communicate over them. We had the benefit of a Cisco engineer on-site--something you're not likely to have unless you're a large customer or willing to pay for professional services. Both ends must be configured from an IP perspective and the hardware installed before you can begin. Trying to accomplish this task without staff on each end will mean several trips between locations as you try to work out any stumbling blocks.

We had some problems--including a tape that was accidentally ejected after business hours (there was no one at Syracuse to put the tape back in)--that slowed our testing. If travel to the remote site had been required, it would have meant at least two round trips from Green Bay to Syracuse to get the system up and running. Of course, you could configure the 9216i for the remote site and ship it out, but you'll still need to configure IP addressing for the two ports. Once the two devices are communicating, you can use the GUI to set up VSANs, configure FCIP and--according to Cisco--complete any other configuration that can be done through Cisco's IOS. We looked at VSANs and used the GUI for troubleshooting, and that lightened the load. Although you still need some FCIP knowledge, having the 9216i might let untrained staff create VSANs.

Quicker Backups

Our performance comparisons focused on how well Cisco's hardware and software could speed the backup process. Because our connection was over the Internet, we couldn't achieve the results that the cleaner and more controlled testing in a lab would have yielded. Still, even over the Internet, we transferred data at 110 KB per second when performing a simple tape backup. This is based on the total time required to back up 1 GB of image data. When we turned on compression and ran the same test, we averaged 250 KBps, a marked improvement considering that image data does not lend itself to compression very well. Finally, we left compression on and turned tape acceleration on to run the test one last time. During the course of this test, we saw an average of 308 KBps over several runs--nearly three times the performance of the initial baseline test.

With both compression and acceleration on, we were able to hit 1 GB per hour. Given a larger pipe than our T1, you should obtain higher speeds, but if you are running less than a T1, you probably won't be pleased with the performance. Note that any test involving the Internet is not necessarily an indication of the performance you will see in your setting. The amount of traffic on the branches of the Internet used and the quality and type of connections all factored into these numbers and were out of our control (and will be out of yours as well, if you perform backup over the Internet).

The 9216i lets you back up remote data centers and remote offices, and even lets you back up between data centers, but you must ensure that you have the expertise or can hire Cisco experts. If you know IOS and VLANs, you should be comfortable configuring the 9216i for anything it's capable of, and you might get by using just the GUI if you are not knowledgeable in IOS.

Don MacVittie is a Network Computing technology editor. Write to him at [email protected].Thanks to EMC's Legato software division for loaning us a copy of Legato NetWorker and a sales engineer, who helped us configure NetWorker and perform this testing. And to Storage-Tek for loaning us two identical tape drives--one for Green Bay and one for Syracuse-- so that we could make an apples-to-apples comparison.