DATA STORAGE MANAGEMENT
SD2003: Rate the switch vendors
Rich Friedman, features editor, Storage magazine
09.19.2003
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At Storage Decisions 2003, one panel on rating the vendors became somewhat vocal. Panelists involved in "Rating the [Fibre Channel] switch vendors" were decidedly critical of the leading switch vendor, Brocade. They cited issues with the company's frequent changes in its future product roadmap. They also found Brocade falling short against products by competitors McData and Cisco Systems. "It will be a McData and Cisco market unless Brocade responds," one panelist said.
Panelists included end-users managing SANs with a high number of switch port counts, such as:
Sanjay Mandloi, vice president of J.P. Morgan Chase's LabMorgan technology division
Michael Passe, senior systems engineer for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston
Troy Brick-Margelofsky, senior systems and storage administrator for Land's End, Inc.
All panelists agreed that the three key criteria for selecting a switch include:
1. A high number of ports and ease of expandability
2. The amount and flexibility of fabric services
3. Volume management at the fabric level
Also on the switch wish list are iSCSI, more security, zero downtime, and reduced ISL usage. Said Chase's Mandloi, "The vendors have to figure out how to give us more bandwidth without punts to ISLs."
Another problem, according to the three panelists, is operability issues between switch vendors. "It's a big problem for us," Mandloi said, adding that "I'm not even thinking about a two-switch vendor environment today."
Presentation slides and other links to the full session proceedings are available here.
About the moderator: Nancy Marrone-Hurley is a senior analyst at Enterprise Storage Group. She has a 16-year history in the computer and networking business with companies such as Hewlett Packard and Tektronix. A recognized IP expert, Nancy joined ESG in late 2000 and focuses on Storage and Networking convergence.
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