Apple Xsan 1.1 - Manual (Page 22)

22 Chapter 2 Setting Up a Storage Area Network
Supported Operating Systems
 Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server v.10.3.9 (Xsan 1.1 for Mac OS X v10.3)
 Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server v10.4 or later (Xsan 1.1 for Mac OS X v10.4)
Windows, AIX, IRIX, Linux, and Solaris clients must be running ADIC’s StorNext File
System version 2.4 or 2.5. For complete compatibility information, see “Version
Compatibility” on page 11.
Supported Storage Devices
Although you can use any standard LUN storage device, this guide assumes you are
using Xserve RAID systems for your storage devices.
Important: Be sure to install the latest firmware update on your Xserve RAID systems
before you use them with Xsan.
For demanding applications such as video editing, use Xserve RAID systems that have:
 A full set of 14 Apple Drive Modules
 512 MB of cache in each controller (1 GB total)
Fibre Channel Fabric
Unlike file system metadata, which controllers and clients exchange over Ethernet,
actual file content in an Xsan SAN is transferred over Fibre Channel connections (as is
metadata that controllers access on a volume). To set up the connections, you need:
 Apple Fibre Channel PCI or PCI-X cards for each client and controller computer
 One or more supported Fibre Channel switches
 Fibre Channel cables connecting computers and storage devices to the switches to
form a Fibre Channel fabric
Fibre Channel PCI Cards
Install Apple Fibre Channel PCI or PCI-X cards in all Macintosh computers that will
connect to the SAN.
Fibre Channel Switches
The following Fibre Channel switches have been tested with Xsan, Xserve RAID
systems, and the Apple Fibre Channel PCI and PCI-X cards:
 Brocade Silkworm 3200, 3800, 3900, and 12000 series
 QLogic SANbox 2–8, SANbox 2–16, SANbox 2–64, and SANbox 5200
 Emulex SAN Switch 355, 375, and 9200
 Cisco MDS 9000 family
For the latest additions to this list of qualified switches, see the Xsan webpages at
www.apple.com/xsan.