FICON (Fibre Channel Connection) is an upper-level protocol supported by mainframe servers and attached enterprise-class storage controllers that utilize Fibre Channel as the underlying transport. Our FICON 101 webcast described some of the key characteristics of the mainframe and how FICON satisfies the demands placed on mainframes for reliable and efficient access to data. FCIA experts [...]
Flash is really fast, and performance-hungry applications must be able to access it wherever it is located. In our recent FCIA webcast “How to Expand the Power of Flash Storage with FC-NVMe,” we received great questions that you may also have on your mind. If you missed the webcast can you find a PDF of [...]
At our last live FCIA webcast “Will You Still Love Me When I Turn 64GFC” our expert speakers, Dean Wallace and Barry Maskas, provided a technical session on T11 standards which define 64GFC serial Fibre Channel. It was a deep dive into backwards speed auto-negotiation compatibility, compatible form factors, and more, while having some fun [...]
Fibre Channel’s speed roadmap defines a well-understood technological trend: the need to double the bit rate in the channel without doubling the required bandwidth. In order to do this, PAM4 (pulse-amplitude modulation, with four levels of pulse modulation), enters the Fibre Channel physical layer picture. With the use of four signal levels instead of two, [...]
Protocol Analysis Expert Q&A A few weeks ago, the FCIA hosted a live webcast on Protocol Analysis for High-Speed Fibre Channel Fabrics in the Data Center. For those of us within the FCIA, we also referred to it as “Saving You SAN and Your Sanity!” Well, you get the picture. If you missed the [...]
Flash is really fast, and performance-hungry applications must be able to access it wherever it is located. Luckily, NVMe can take advantage of flash throughout a computer system. However, accessing flash over a network can introduce problems which designers must solve. Accesses can take much longer than local flash, latency can rise significantly, networking issues can [...]
Got questions about Fibre Channel (FC) interoperability? You’re not alone. At our recent FCIA webcast “Fibre Channel Interoperability” we received many great questions as our experts discussed the many dimensions of FC interoperability. If you missed the live webcast, it’s now available on-demand. We encourage you to watch it at your convenience before or after [...]
The driving force behind adopting new tools and processes in test and measurement practices is the desire to understand, predict, and mitigate the impact of Sick but not Dead (SBND) conditions in datacenter fabrics. The growth and centralization of mission critical datacenter SAN environments has exposed the fact that many small yet seemingly insignificant problems [...]
Upgrading to a next-gen Fibre Channel network provides the added performance needed to meet the demands of evolving technologies and workloads, along with other benefits. Robert Sheldon Are you wondering if it's time to upgrade to a 32 Gbps Gen 6 Fibre Channel network? Click here to access Tech Target and read the full article
The Fibre Channel Industry Association (FCIA) took on the topic of FICON (Fibre Channel Connection) in a FICON 101 webcast now available on demand. During the presentation, our experts Patty Driever, IBM; Howard Johnson, Broadcom and J Metz, Cisco, answered questions, some of which are presented in this blog. To receive more in-depth information, read [...]
