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iFCP vs. FCIP
This article is part of the Storage magazine issue of Vol. 4 No. 4 June 2005
What switches support which protocol Brocade Communications Systems Inc.: Now supports FCIP, but had relied on Computer Network Technology (CNT) Corp. partnerships to provide distance solutions. Cisco Systems Inc.: Heavily invested in FCIP with a rich but proprietary feature set. CNT: Supports FCIP. McData may support both protocols after its acquisition of the firm. McData: iFCP after buying Nishan Systems. Growth is one of the most difficult challenges facing storage managers with Fibre Channel (FC) SANs because the FC protocol, by design, sacrificed scalability for speed. The Internet Protocol (IP) and the Ethernet network offer scalability that two variations of the FC protocol--iFCP and FCIP--use to connect SAN islands and overcome FC networking limitations. Unfortunately, each switch vendor supports only a proprietary version of iFCP or FCIP (see What switches support which protocol, this page). Storage managers need to understand the high-level differences between these two protocols to make better decisions on which ...
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Features in this issue
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DAS: The last bastions
DAS holdouts
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Midrange arrays get a makeover
Two fixtures of the midrange modular array scene have received substantial makeovers, and more are on the way.
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HIPAA spurs interest in replication
HIPAA driving replication interest
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iFCP vs. FCIP
Two protocols—iFCP and FCIP—tap the scalability of the Internet Protocol and Ethernet networks, and can be used to overcome Fibre Channel networking limitations when connecting SAN islands. But iFCP and FCIP operate very differently; find out which one is right for your environment.
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Is the time right for optical storage?
Optical storage has languished on the periphery of enterprise storage, but new technologies with higher capacities and more competitive per-gigabyte prices are moving optical into the mainstream.
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EMC expelled over maintenance fees
A school district in Dallas chooses between EMC, IBM and Xiotech midrange arrays and discovers a huge difference in maintenance fees between the vendors.
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Survey Says: Mixed-disk tiers not for everyone
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New backup strategies
In the final installment of his series on disk-based data protection, W. Curtis Preston describes how options such as snapshots, replication, continuous data protection and data reduction backup can improve the backup process.
Columns in this issue
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Performance indicators to help you hone your storage environment
Metrics can improve your organization's service and user satisfaction. Here are some key performance indicators that will help you hone your storage environment.
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Storage Bin: Not invented where?
The single biggest hurdle to IT professionals getting their hands on new technology is the "Not Invented Here" syndrome.
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Snapshot: Snapshots for data protection
Do you take snapshots?