Storage Networking Cards | Building Multiservice Transport Networks

The SL-Series Fibre Channel(FC)/FICON (Fiber Connection) interface card for the ONS 15454 MSPP, also referred to as the FC_MR-4 card, is a four-port card used to provide storage-area networking (SAN) extension services over a SONET/SDH ring. This card can be installed in Slots 5, 6, 12, or 13 in a shelf equipped with XCVT cross-connect cards, or in any slot in a shelf equipped with XC10G or XC-VXC-10G cross-connect cards. Each of the four client ports can be independently equipped with 1-Gbps single-rate or 1-Gbps/2-Gbps dual-rate GBICs. Each port can support 1.0625 Gbps or 2.125 Gbps of FC/FICON connections. A maximum bandwidth of STS-48 is supported per card.

The SL-Series card supports both contiguously concatenated (CCAT) and virtually concatenated (VCAT) SONET/SDH circuits, as follows:

1 Gbps FC/FICON can be mapped into this:

STS-1, STS-3c, STS-6c, STS-9c, STS-12c, STS-18c, STS-24c, and STS-48c (minimum SONET CCAT size for line-rate service is STS-24c)
VC4-1c, VC4-2c, VC4-3c, VC4-4c, VC4-6c, VC4-8c, and VC4-16c (minimum SDH CCAT size for line-rate service is VC4-8c)
STS-1-nv, where n=1 to 24 (n = 19 for line-rate service)
STS-3c-nv, where n=1 to 8 (n = 6 for line-rate service)
VC4-nv, where n=1 to 8 (n = 6 for line-rate service)

2-Gbps FC/FICON can be mapped into:

STS-1, STS-3c, STS-6c, STS-9c, STS-12c, STS-18c, STS-24c, and STS-48c (minimum SONET CCAT size for line-rate service is STS-48c)
VC4-1c, VC4-2c, VC4-3c, VC4-4c, VC4-6c, VC4-8c, VC4-12c, and VC4-16c (minimum SDH CCAT size for line-rate service is VC4-16c)
STS-1-nv, where n = 1 to 48 (n = 37 for line-rate service)
STS-3c-nv, where n = 1 to 16 (n = 12 for line-rate service)
VC4-nv, where n = 1 to 16 (n = 12 for line-rate service)

The SL-Series cards also support advanced SAN distance extension features, including the use of buffer-to-buffer (B2B) credits, which are supported by the connected FC switching devices, to overcome distance limitations in 1-Gbps and 2-Gbps line-rate SAN extension applications. Additionally, distance extensions functions enabled by Receiver Ready (R_RDY) spoofing enables the SL Series to serve as an integrated FC extension device, reducing the need for external equipment.