iSCSI Routing Modes

Cisco MDS 9000 Family switches support multiple iSCSI routing modes. Each mode negotiates different operational parameters, has different advantages and disadvantages, and is suitable for different usages.

Pass-thru mode

In pass-thru mode, the port on the IPS module or MPS 14/2 module converts and forwards read data frames from the Fibre Channel target to the iSCSI host frame-by-frame without buffering. This means that one data-in frame received is immediately sent out as one iSCSI data-in PDU.

In the opposite direction, the port on the IPS module or MPS 14/2 module limits the maximum size of iSCSI write data-out PDU that the iSCSI host can send to the maximum data size that the Fibre Channel target specifies that it can receive. The result is one iSCSI data-out PDU received sent out as one Fibre Channel data frame to the Fibre Channel target.

The absence of buffering in both directions leads to an advantage of lower forwarding latency. However, a small maximum data segment length usually results in lower data transfer performance from the host because of a higher processing overhead by the host system. Another benefit of this mode is iSCSI data digest can be enabled. This helps protect the integrity of iSCSI data carried in the PDU over what TCP checksum offers.

Store-and-forward mode (default)

In store-and-forward mode, the port on the IPS module or MPS 14/2 module assembles all the Fibre Channel data frames of an exchange to build one large iSCSI data-in PDU before forwarding it to the iSCSI client.

In the opposite direction, the port on the IPS module or MPS 14/2 module does not impose a small data segment size on the host so the iSCSI host can send an iSCSI data-out PDU of any size (up to 256 KB). The port then waits until the whole iSCSI data-out PDU is received before it converts, or splits, the PDU, and forwards Fibre Channel frames to the Fibre Channel target.

The advantage of this mode is higher data transfer performance from the host. The disadvantages are higher transfer latency and that the iSCSI data digest (CRC) cannot be used.

Note The store-and-forward mode is the default forwarding mode.

Cut-through mode

Cut-through mode improves the read operation performance over store-and-forward mode. The port on the IPS module or MPS 14/2 module achieves this by forwarding each Fibre Channel data-in frame to the iSCSI host as it is received without waiting for the whole exchange complete. There is no difference for write data-out operations from store-and-forward mode.

Table 4-1 compares the advantages and disadvantages of the different iSCSI routing modes.

Table 4-1 Comparison of iSCSI Routing Modes
Mode	Advantages	Disadvantages
Pass-thru	Low-latency Data digest can be used	Lower data transfer performance.
Store-and-forward	Higher data transfer performance	Data digest cannot be used.
Cut-thru	Improved read performance over store-and-forward	If the Fibre Channel target sent read data for different commands interchangeably, data of the first command is forwarded in cut-thru mode but the data of subsequent commands is buffered and the behavior is the same as store-and-forward mode. Data digest cannot be used.