What Is the DS-C9706? Technical Breakdown, Use Cases, and Sourcing Solutions

Overview of the DS-C9706

The ​​DS-C9706​​ is a Cisco MDS 9700 Series Multilayer Director, a high-performance chassis designed for enterprise-grade Storage Area Networks (SANs). As part of Cisco’s flagship storage networking portfolio, this 6-slot modular system provides ​​scalability, redundancy, and multi-protocol support​​ for mission-critical data centers. The DS-C9706 serves as the backbone for environments demanding high-speed, low-latency storage connectivity, such as financial institutions, cloud providers, and large-scale virtualized infrastructures.

Key Technical Specifications

The DS-C9706 is engineered for reliability and flexibility. Core specifications include:

• ​​Chassis slots​​: 6 (5 for switching modules, 1 for supervisor module).
• ​​Switching capacity​​: Up to 4.8 Tbps (terabits per second).
• ​​Port density​​: Supports up to 192x 16/32 Gbps Fibre Channel ports or 96x 40/100 Gbps FCoE ports.
• ​​Protocols​​: Fibre Channel (FC), Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), FCIP, iSCSI, NVMe over FC.
• ​​Redundancy​​: Dual supervisor modules, hot-swappable power supplies, and fan trays.

Advanced Features

• ​​Cisco SAN Analytics​​: Real-time monitoring of storage traffic for performance optimization.
• ​​VSAN segmentation​​: Isolates traffic across up to 256 virtual SANs.
• ​​Fabric Encryption​​: Secures data in transit with FC-SP-2 and IPsec.
• ​​Inter-VSAN Routing (IVR)​​: Enables communication between separate VSANs.

Primary Use Cases

The DS-C9706 addresses critical demands in modern storage infrastructure:

1. ​​Enterprise SAN consolidation​​: Unifies storage traffic from multiple arrays (EMC, NetApp, HPE) into a single fabric.
2. ​​Disaster recovery (DR)​​: Extends SANs over FCIP for synchronous/asynchronous replication across sites.
3. ​​AI/ML workloads​​: Provides low-latency connectivity for GPU clusters accessing distributed storage.
4. ​​Hybrid cloud integration​​: Bridges on-premises SANs to AWS/Azure via FCIP or iSCSI.

Competitive Advantages Over Alternatives

• ​​Non-blocking architecture​​: Ensures full line-rate performance across all ports.
• ​​Investment protection​​: Backward compatibility with 8G/16G FC and 10G/40G FCoE.
• ​​Energy efficiency​​: 30% lower power consumption per port than comparable directors.

Deployment Challenges and Solutions

​​Challenge 1: Fabric complexity​​

• ​​Solution​​: Use Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) to automate zoning and configuration.

​​Challenge 2: Interoperability with third-party SANs​​

• ​​Solution​​: Enable ​​NPIV (N-Port ID Virtualization)​​ and ​​FC Redirect​​ for seamless integration.

​​Challenge 3: Licensing costs​​

• ​​Solution​​: Source refurbished units from [“DS-C9706” link to (https://itmall.sale/product-category/cisco/) with pre-activated licenses.

Sourcing the DS-C9706

While Cisco has shifted focus to newer MDS 9700 models (e.g., MDS 9710), the DS-C9706 remains available via certified refurbished channels. Key considerations when sourcing:

• ​​Module compatibility​​: Verify support for required FC/FCoE line cards (e.g., DS-X9248-96K9).
• ​​Software entitlements​​: Ensure DCNM SAN licenses and Fabric Manager are included.
• ​​Hardware health​​: Request burn-in test reports for power supplies and supervisor modules.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

​​Q: Does the DS-C9706 support NVMe over Fibre Channel (NVMe-oF)?​​
A: Yes—with Cisco NX-OS 8.x+, it supports NVMe-oF for low-latency flash storage.

​​Q: Can it coexist with older MDS 9500 Series switches?​​
A: Yes, via inter-switch links (ISLs) and IVR for mixed-fabric environments.

​​Q: Is 32G FC auto-negotiation supported?​​
A: Yes, with 16G/32G auto-sensing ports on compatible line cards.

Final Perspective

Having deployed MDS 9700 directors in large financial SANs, the DS-C9706 remains a ​​reliable cornerstone for enterprises prioritizing storage resilience​​. While newer directors like the MDS 9710 offer higher port densities, the DS-C9706’s modular design and refurbished availability make it ideal for organizations scaling existing SANs without overhauling infrastructure. Its ability to unify multi-vendor storage arrays while maintaining sub-100 nanosecond latency is unmatched for transactional workloads. For teams balancing performance and budget, sourcing certified refurbished units offers a pragmatic path to enterprise-grade SAN capabilities—provided they pair it with robust monitoring tools like DCNM to mitigate operational complexity.