In this section, the term "software" refers to drivers and utilities, diagnostics, storage and network management software, and integrated code such as firmware and ASIC state machine integration of software functionality such as CPU and protocol offload engines. While hardware physically connects the fabric, firmware manages and monitors the fabric. The fabric is divided into [...]
Fibre Channel hardware interconnects storage devices with servers and forms the Fibre Channel fabric. The fabric consists of the physical layer, interconnect devices, and translation devices. The physical layer consists of copper and fiber-optic cables that carry Fibre Channel signals between transceiver pairs. Interconnect devices, such as hubs, switches, and directors, route Fibre Channel [...]
Advanced-Level Case Studies (Old Generation) Large corporations, government institutions, and service providers require highly scalable storage that spans large areas and are highly available. Fibre Channel offers solutions for high-end SANs that meet regulatory requirements for off-site storage and disaster recovery. Typical applications of advanced SANs include banking, insurance, online transaction processing (OLTP), and service [...]
The benefits of SANs are most apparent in real-world applications. Entry-level SANS typically result when a company moves directly attached SCSI storage to storage pools connected by Fibre Channel. When the basic Fibre Channel infrastructure is in place, the performance of the storage network increases while management costs decrease. Entry-level Fibre Channel SAN solutions are [...]
The fundamental problem that SANs solve is how to connect terabytes of information to hundreds of servers reliably. Directly attached storage works well for a few servers with a few hundred gigabytes of storage, but the complexity of managing and backing up terabytes of captive storage is a nightmare. With exponential storage growth, IT staff [...]
In this section we explore four typical applications that show how Fibre Channel is meeting the growing data needs of different companies. Solutions are as varied as the companies, institutions, and governments that Fibre Channel supports. A list of other applications is just a beginning: Digital Libraries — A digital library can supply content for [...]
Fibre Channel SANs help IT staff solve one of their greatest challenges today, managing exponentially growing terabytes of data. As new or upgraded applications store new data in new ways, the control of and access to this information is crucial. Corporate information is the one irreplaceable feature of a company. Applications, computers, networks, and individuals [...]
