iSCSI and FCoE Testings: What are the Test Challenges Under the Hood of a 10 Gb iSCSI and a 10G FCoE Storage Array Product Certification?

The certification of a 10 Gb iSCSI and a 10 Gb FCOE RAID Storage System on the same network elicits a lot of challenges at the development level and the Test / Quality Assurance level. The challenges are due to the fact that both 10 Gb iSCSI and 10Gb FCOE are newly deployed host interfaces in the RAID Storage environment. As a result, development module test for both interfaces on the same network should be designed very carefully to establish test coverage beyond basic operations with a RAID Storage system, standard RAID testing, or an Ethernet plug fest. These module level must tackle the timing differences associated with a network being accessed by two different protocols with the following common and different characteristics: : 1. Device discovery for both protocols on the same network 2. 10GB CNA which is common to both protocols 3. 10 GB switch traffic control and congestion which is common for both interfaces 4. Security mechanisms with different Operating systems, 5. Operational parameters associated with I/O retries and recovery 6. Management, Administration, and Integration with Storage products 7. Design For Testability “DFT” mechanisms 8. Debugging, Diagnostics, and problem Isolations 9. IPV4 vs. IPV6

Learning Objectives

Testing of service discovery for both protocols on the same network
Testing of 10GB CNA which is common to both protocols
Testing of security mechanisms with different Operating systems
Testing of operational parameters associated with I/O retries, recovery and Management, Administration, and Integration with Storage products, and Debugging, Diagnostics, and problem Isolations
There is not much leverage between 1 Gbit and 10 Gbit operation due to differences in chip set and driver firmware.- may be somewhat true for IP level. Again there are considerable differences between 10Gbit iSCSI and 10Gbit FCOE (Chipset, driver, and protocols). Common part is IP layer. There are specific features such as backup, snapshot, remote mirroring, and cluster application compatibility that must be supported by the RAID product and must be verified during the testing of the RAID controller host interface types. As with any inter connected usage, device operation, such as RAID Storage Subsystem, has direct dependency on proper operation of interfaces.