What are the best practices for designing and implementing a FC mesh topology?

1 Define the scope and objectives

Before you start designing and implementing a FC mesh topology, you need to define the scope and objectives of your SAN project. What are the business and technical requirements, such as availability, performance, scalability, security, and budget? How many devices and switches do you need to connect, and what are their characteristics and capabilities? How will you monitor and manage the SAN? How will you handle backup and recovery, disaster recovery, and maintenance? By defining the scope and objectives, you can determine the appropriate size, complexity, and configuration of your FC mesh topology.

2 Choose the right switches and devices

The selection of switches and devices for your FC mesh topology is essential for achieving the desired performance, reliability, and efficiency. When choosing the right switches and devices, you should consider factors such as port speed and bandwidth, port count and density, and features and functionality. The port speed and bandwidth determine the data transfer rate and throughput of your SAN, so you should use switches and devices that support the same or higher port speed and bandwidth than your SAN needs. The port count and density of the switches should be sufficient to support the FC mesh topology without wasting resources or creating bottlenecks. Furthermore, you should use switches and devices that offer features such as zoning, routing, encryption, compression, load balancing, quality of service, and diagnostics to manage and optimize your SAN.

3 Design the link layout and redundancy

A FC mesh topology offers multiple paths between any two switches or devices in the SAN, enhancing redundancy and resiliency. However, it is important to design the link layout and redundancy carefully to optimize performance. Factors to consider include the number and distribution of links between switches, which determine bandwidth and availability. It is important to not use too many links, as this could create complexity and cost. Link aggregation and failover mechanisms should be compatible and consistent among the switches, and should handle link failures and congestion gracefully. Further, link quality and distance should be taken into account when selecting cables and connectors, as this will affect signal strength and latency. The distance between switches and devices should be limited to the maximum supported by the FC standards and specifications.

5 Monitor and troubleshoot the network

The final best practice for designing and implementing a FC mesh topology is to monitor and troubleshoot the network regularly and proactively. To ensure the performance, reliability, and security of your SAN, you should monitor the link status, quality, and utilization of your FC mesh topology for link failures or degradation. Additionally, monitor the device status, configuration, and behavior of your FC mesh topology for device failures or misconfiguration. Furthermore, monitor the network traffic, load, and balance of your FC mesh topology for network congestion or imbalance. To troubleshoot any issues or problems that may arise, use tools such as ping, traceroute, FC analyzer, FC discovery, FC login, FC name server, FC flow control, FC buffer credit, or FC quality of service.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?