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Is Low-Cost Fibre Channel Finally Here?
This article is part of the Storage magazine issue of Vol. 2 No. 10 December 2003
A lot can happen in a couple of years. Two years ago, storage salespeople's unofficial modus operandi was to ignore storage area network (SAN) buyers that didn't have at least $250,000 to spend. (See "SAN Vendors Cater to Frugal Crowd"). Now, a new Fibre Channel (FC) switch from QLogic, the SANbox 5200, has a street price of under $500/port. The SANbox 5200 is a 20-port switch, 16 of which run at 2Gb/s, the other four at 10Gb/s to join multiple 5200s. Up to four 5200s can be connected via the 10Gb/s inter-switch links (ISLs), for a total of 64 useable ports. In contrast, to combine multiple Brocade switches, for example, you have to trunk multiple ports together. This helps prevent oversubscription--when hosts require more bandwidth than a port can provide--but wastes ports and requires additional software licenses. But the 5200 does have its limits, says Frank Berry, QLogic vice president of marketing; for example, it doesn't feature redundant power supplies. "For high-end applications, you still need a high-end switch." Its ...
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Features in this issue
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Is Low-Cost Fibre Channel Finally Here?
The Fibre Channel flood
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Backup On a Shoestring
Backup on the cheap.
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The pitfalls of smart switches
Do you want to centralize storage management, cut costs and make your life a whole lot easier? There are a number of storage vendors promising these very things by creating products that move intelligence into the fabric, but smart fabrics will have their own issue.
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Hot technologies in 2004
In 2004, flexible, affordable new technologies are beginning to emerge that will open the door for smaller companies and allow them to sample some advanced storage strategies.
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Information lifecycle management (ILM) data storage in an Oracle environment
There are many data storage options -- including information lifecycle management (ILM) storage -- in an Oracle environment, each uniquely beneficial to varying business and application needs. Data storage expert Greg Schulz outlines the basics.
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E-mail Archiving: A Storage Problem After All
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Starting the ILM process
Information life cycle management (ILM) is the buzz right now. But too much emphasis is being put on products and not enough on understanding that ILM is really a process. Before you buy in, here's how to analyze what it means for you.
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Sunny Day for Storage Consolidation
Avant-garde storage consolidation
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Information lifecycle management
Information lifecycle management (ILM)
Columns in this issue
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EMC and NetApp still think they're competitors
Storage Bin: EMC and NetApp still think they're competitors; they spend time and money planning defense strategies. Maybe if they paused to think for a minute, they'd see that they're two successful companies growing in vastly different directions.
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Tiered storage: Heterogeneous vs. homogeneous
Tiered storage is a hot idea, but implementing it can be trickier than appears. This article defines the two different approaches--heterogeneous and homogeneous--and helps you choose the strategy you should employ.
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Snapshot: Single initiator zoning
Do you practice single-initiator zoning?
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How to manage your data storage growth
The growth seen by Hopkinton, MA, the home of EMC, is similar to the challenges faced by IT professionals. Here's how to manage your growing storage town.