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As the demand for bandwidth grows, so does the reach of networks. Users need to access data globally, from multiple locations around the world, quickly and transparently without breaking budgets. Data centers locked into servicing only local users unnecessarily constrain growth and expansion. These five factors ? cost, bandwidth, reach, latency, and ease-of-access ? are the driving metrics behind today's storage area networks (SAN).
Fibre Channel has served the early SAN market well. However, iSCSI and Ethernet technology have reached a maturity where replacing Fibre Channel with iSCSI is a compelling proposition. IETF RFC 3720 introduces complete error recovery mechanisms to iSCSI, providing robust and highly-available system operation across geographically diverse enterprise networks. With immediate availability of 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapters and switches, SANs can push to higher performance levels than ever before, as mass adoption drives costs down. This whitepaper will demonstrate, using off-the-shelf hardware and software components available today, how iSCSI can outperform comparable Fibre Channel implementations by up to 6x.
While virtually a single network, today's enterprise networks are often physically located in multiple locations. Compounded by the rising need of mobile users to access the network from anywhere in the world, storage area networks (SAN) are being called upon to provide access on a global basis. Providing global access requires a network that can minimize latency successfully while increasing available bandwidth and decreasing system cost without creating a network that is difficult to manage.
Many SAN deployments today are based on Fibre Channel technology. However, the distance limitations of Fibre Channel negatively impact network cost and make it impossible to cost effectively globally scale access to an organization's storage area network. Fibre Channel was designed as a campus-wide network, not to exceed 100 miles, and there are many difficult barriers to transporting Fibre Channel over the WAN because of Fibre Channel's sensitivity to delay. Additionally, while there are established protocols such as IFCP (Internet Fibre Channel Protocol) and FCoIP (Fibre Channel over IP) to allow Fibre Channel to extend further, Fibre Channel is a closed network and these alternatives are piecemeal approaches that require specialized hardware and introduce additional complexity and vulnerabilities into the network.
The Internet Small Computer Systems Interface (iSCSI) was created to extend the reach of storage area networks by enabling SAN functionality over the IP network. iSCSI uses SCSI over TCP/IP, enabling any requesting node on the IP network (initiator) to contact any remote dedicated server (target) and perform block I/O on it just as it would using a local hard drive. Because it is a native IP protocol, iSCSI has no distance limitations, can utilize existing network infrastructure, does not require specialized operator or administrator training, and can leverage the vast economies of scale of the enormous Ethernet market.
Force10 Networks
Force10 Networks is the pioneer in building and securing high performance switching and routing. Based on a revolutionary system architecture that delivers best-in-class resiliency and massive scalability, Force10's TeraScale E-Series switch/ routers ensure predictable application performance, increase network availability, and reduce operating costs. Today, many of the world's largest Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks depend on Force10 Networks.
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