The Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches Overview (DCMDSO) v1.5 course gives you a technical overview of how Cisco Multilayer Director Switch (MDS) 9000 Series, can be used to build highly available and scalable storage networks with advanced security and unified management. The course is for technical decision makers and IT professionals who architect, implement, and manage data center Storage Area Network (SAN) environments. In this course, you’ll learn about key capabilities of the MDS 9000 Series, including platforms, architecture, software, management, and key features that contribute to performance, high availability, flexibility, and operational simplicity of storage environments.

This course will help you:

• Learn how you can use Cisco MDS Series 9000 Multilayer Switches to manage your enterprise SAN environment
• Understand the common platform architecture and key features of the MDS 9000 Series, which provide a consistent set of provisioning, management, and diagnostic capabilities and lead to flexibility, speed, lower operational costs and more benefits

After taking this course, you should be able to:

• Describe Cisco MDS SAN features and advantages
• Define fixed and modular platforms
• Understand Cisco MDS architecture and high-availability mechanisms
• Identify technologies used in modern SANs
• Describe SAN management with Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM)
• Explain key value-add features that distinguish Cisco MDS switches

• Define Cisco MDS Platform Overview
• Introduction and Advantages of Cisco MDS
• Fixed Platforms
• Modular Platforms
• Describe Cisco MDS Architecture
• Store-and-Forward Architecture
• High Availability
• Redundancy
• Explore Cisco MDS Key Features
• Virtual Storage Area Networks
• Port Channels
• Slow Drain Device and Path Analysis Using Congestion Control Mechanisms
• Cisco DCNM SAN Insights for SAN Analytics
• Zoning
• Smart Zoning
• Other Differentiating Features
• Examine Cisco MDS Management
• Cisco Data Center Network Manager

IT professionals interested in understanding the capabilities of the MDS 9000 Series, including:

• Data center architects
• Data center engineers
• IT directors
• IT managers
• Network architects
• Network engineers
• Solutions architects
• Systems engineers

Understanding the following information can help you get the most from this course:

• Experience managing data center deployments
• Grasping the fundamentals of SAN technologies
• Understanding business and application requirements