In the beginning, there was SAN and NAS...

In the beginning, there was SAN and NAS...
By Alan Earls

The more things change, the more they stay the same. For a long time, the Storage Networking Industry Association (http://www.snia.org/) has been focused on making the world a better

    Requires Free Membership to View

    Login

place through Fibre Channel. So, presumably have its members. Now, that same SNIA (with the apparent blessing of its members) has announced the formation of its first marketing-focused industry forum called the SNIA IP Storage Forum. According to SNIA, the IP Storage Forum is supposed to "market and promote standards-based block storage networking solutions using IP networks."

What happened to bring IP into such prominence? According to Analyst Arun Taneja of Enterprise Storage Group, Inc., Milford, Mass., the Fibre Channel industry didn't develop as fast as it could have due to "vendor infighting," resulting in a slowness of standards creation and endorsement. "Hopefully, there was a lesson here," says Taneja, "SNIA recognized this and expanded their focus and is taking all technologies at the intersection of storage and networking under its wing."

At its inception, the SNIA IP Storage Forum will consist of 40 SNIA member companies. The Forum?s governing body includes Doug Ingraham of Cisco Systems, Inc. and Paul Mattson of IBM who will serve as co-chairmen; Brice Clark of Hewlett- Packard who is marketing chair; Bill Lynn of Adaptec, secretary; and Jon Conover of Platys Communications, the budget chair.

On balance, says Taneja, "this is very good for the industry and ultimately for the end user."

About the author: Alan Earls is a freelance writer in Franklin, Mass.

Learning Zone Related Book

IP Fundamentals: Addressing, Routing and Troubleshooting, 1/e
Author: Thomas A. Maufer
Summary: Topics covered in this book are: IP Basics; IP Addressing/Internet Address Conventions/Scaling Issues/Subnetting; Relationship between IP Addressing and Routing; LAN Subnets Under IP: Ethernet and Token Ring; WAN Subnets Under IP: PPP, Frame Relay, ATM, x.25; Standards-based IP Routing Protocols: Distance Vector Protocol, RIP, OSPF, Using Troubleshooting Tools.


This was first published in March 2001

Join the conversationComment

Share
Comments

    Results

    Contribute to the conversation

    All fields are required. Comments will appear at the bottom of the article.

    Disclaimer: Our Tips Exchange is a forum for you to share technical advice and expertise with your peers and to learn from other enterprise IT professionals. TechTarget provides the infrastructure to facilitate this sharing of information. However, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or validity of the material submitted. You agree that your use of the Ask The Expert services and your reliance on any questions, answers, information or other materials received through this Web site is at your own risk.

    Back to top