Fibre Channel vs. iSCSI
Does Fibre Channel compare with iSCSI? Which one is better?

    Requires Free Membership to View

    Login

    When you register for SearchStorage.com, you’ll also receive targeted emails from my team of award-winning editorial writers. Our goal is to keep you informed on the hottest topics, the latest news and the biggest challenges you face as a storage professional today.

    Rich Castagna, Editorial Director

    By submitting your registration information to SearchStorage.com you agree to receive email communications from TechTarget and TechTarget partners. We encourage you to read our Privacy Policy which contains important disclosures about how we collect and use your registration and other information. If you reside outside of the United States, by submitting this registration information you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Your use of SearchStorage.com is governed by our Terms of Use. You may contact us at webmaster@TechTarget.com.

Fibre Channel- and iSCSI-based SANs have things in common, for example they both support block based access of storage. Fibre Channel is better posited for higher bandwidth, lower latency applications, while iSCSI over GB Ethernet works better for tiered access of smaller and distributed servers. Contrary to some marketing hype, iSCSI and Fibre Channel are very complimentary, yet address different markets and needs. Another comparison to make is between iSCSI and NAS, both of which enable IP-based storage, the difference being block vs. file.

This was first published in March 2005