NXG07-3: Multicast Support for a Storage Area Network Switch

Efficient support of multicast traffic in storage area networks (SANs) enables applications such as remote data replication and distributed multimedia systems, in which a server must access concurrently multiple storage devices or, conversely, multiple servers must access data on a single device. In this paper we extend an innovative switching architecture, proposed in a previous paper, to support multicast traffic. We describe the most important aspects, focusing in particular on the mechanisms that permit to achieve lossless behavior. We then use simulation to analyze system performance and the impact of such mechanisms under various traffic patterns. Although the work is inspired by a specific switch architecture, results have a more general flavor and permit to highlight interesting trends in flow controlled architectures.