Storage Management Strategies for the CIOI would say no, for several reasons, the most important reason being the market segment requirements of enterprise data centers with guaranteed performance and response times and the fact that the Fibre Channel infrastructure is already built out in those data centers and dominates. SearchStorage.com: What impact is iSCSI having on traditional Fibre Channel SANs in terms of costs, functionality and where it plays in real-world environments?
There has been some movement lately to reduce the price of Fibre Channel [host bus adapters]. It's about time, because the prices have not followed a traditional price reduction curve based on technology maturity and volume. This has been suspicious, but now the movement to lower prices is very welcome. I think that iSCSI becoming available helped to break this loose. Other hardware, most notably switch ports, has been on a progressive price decline, and I don't believe iSCSI is having any effect there. I don't see any functionality reaction and do not expect any. SearchStorage.com: What are some of the limitations of iSCSI?
Performance determinism is probably one issue. There are a few others, but that is a lengthier, involved discussion that includes consideration for organizational dynamics and who supports storage. SearchStorage.com: Based on your experience talking to early adopters, would you
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say there have been any common or notable hiccups among those implementing iSCSI? There have been some, and I think we'll get some interesting responses from our panel discussion. The biggest thing I've heard is the surprise that customers have had in understanding that they have the same storage administration and management tasks as they do with Fibre Channel. For some reason, they didn't understand that, which I found amazing. SearchStorage.com: What can users expect to learn from your upcoming presentation at Storage Decisions?
I think the panel discussion should be illuminating. Hearing real-world experience is great information. We plan on asking questions regarding the business requirements, the alternatives chosen and the actual experiences encountered with iSCSI. The panelists will also share some of their lessons learned and offer suggestions.
For more information:
Experts: What's the buzz on iSCSI?
Emulex predicts sub-$500 Fibre Channel HBAs
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