To enable native IP replication, SAN Volume Controller/Storwize implements the Bridgeworks  SANSlide network optimization technology. For more information about this solution, see  IBM  SAN Volume Controller and Storwize Family Native IP Replication , REDP-5103.  If you have free ports on your core switch, you can place tape devices (and their associated  backup servers) on the SAN Volume Controller/Storwize SAN. However, do not put tape and  disk traffic on the same FC HBA. Do not put tape ports and backup servers on different switches. Modern tape devices have  high-bandwidth requirements. Placing tape ports and backup servers on different switches  can quickly lead to SAN congestion over the ISL between the switches.  SAN Volume Controller/Storwize is flexible as far as switch vendors are concerned. All of the  node connections on a particular SAN Volume Controller/Storwize clustered system must go  to the switches of a single vendor. That is, you must not have several nodes or node ports  plugged into vendor A and several nodes or node ports plugged into vendor B. SAN Volume Controller/Storwize supports some combinations of SANs that are made up of  switches from multiple vendors in the same SAN. However, this approach is not preferred in  practice. Despite years of effort, interoperability among switch vendors is less than ideal  because FC standards are not rigorously enforced. Interoperability problems between switch  vendors are notoriously difficult and disruptive to isolate. Also, it can take a long time to obtain  a fix. For these reasons, run only multiple switch vendors in the same SAN long enough to  migrate from one vendor to another vendor, if this setup is possible with your hardware.  You can run a mixed-vendor SAN if you have agreement from both switch vendors that they  fully support attachment with each other.  Interoperability between Cisco switches and Brocade switches is not recommended, except  during fabric migrations, and then only if you have a back-out plan in place. Also, when  connecting BladeCenter switches to a core switch, consider the use of the N-Port ID  Virtualization (NPIV) technology. When you have SAN fabrics with multiple vendors, pay special attention to any particular  requirements. For example, observe from which switch in the fabric the zoning must be  performed. 48  IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller, IBM Storwize V7000, and IBM FlashSystem 7200 Best Practices 1.7 Switch interoperability 1.6 Tape and disk traffic that share the SAN