To ensure fast, reliable, ISL communications in Brocade FC fabrics there is a little known mechanism called Virtual Channels that logically partitions the physical bandwidth within an ISL into many different streams of virtual bandwidth. The result being that, when architected into the fabric properly, ISLs become multi-lane Super Highways for the I/O traffic that flows between switching devices. This helps to avoid Head-of-Line Blocking (HoLB) and minimize the impact of slow draining devices on fabric connections. Open Systems users can even prioritize the I/O traffic (high, medium, low) which flows across an ISL link to optimize performance.
This technical session, suitable for FCP and FICON users, will provide information about deploying good I/O fabric architecture practices to make the best use of Brocade ISL virtual channels. Customers who use fibre channel links to connect switches and data center sites together will benefit from the information in this session.