Storage area networks, or SAN’s are developing into a very viable modern technology, and this is influenced by the success of the Fibre-Channel SAN. Just like a local area network is designed to give computers access to each other’s resources in a localized section, a storage area network allows a group of computers community access to a system of block data storage. At first glance it might not seem like a major step, but when you consider the benefits that a storage area network gives to a corporate workplace and how it can be implemented across a wide area network, you begin to grasp the power that this technological advance really has. Here we take a look at the Fibre-Channel SAN in detail.
What is Fibre-Channel?
Fibre-channel is ground-breaking new technology that allows data transfer rates of up to 4Gbps at current. There are plans in he works to increase this capacity all the way up to 10 Gbps within the coming years. This technology is approximately three times as fast as the current industry standard, the small computer system interface (SCSI). It also grants a number of benefits that SCSI devices are unable to match such as connection over long distances (as much as ten kilometers [six miles]) if the physical connection is done via optical fibre. Fibre channel doesn’t require optical fibre in order to work as shorter distances, since it works just as well using coaxial cabling or regular twisted pair. Because it is emerging technology, critics have said that it is not compatible with many hardware devices. However, it should be noted that when SCSI first came out the same criticisms were levelled at it.
SCSI and Fibre-Channel
The most obvious comparison that is made where fibre-channel is concerned is how it performs in regards to the current industry standard, the SCSI. Fibre-channel has two major improvements over SCSI, namely speed and flexibility. SCSI technology can currently transfer data at around 3Gbps at best (running on full-duplex mode). The fibre-channel system outperforms that at current and if the upgrades that are expected take place, it could mean that fibre-channel could provide more than twice the best current transfer rate that SCSI is capable of. SCSI devices require particular cables in order for connections to work, but the wide array of cable types that are compatible with the fibre-channel system makes it far more flexible in terms of usage.
It is possible that we are seeing a change in the paradigm of area network computing. Just like the LAN revolutionized offices in the early nineties and the WAN developed into larger networks which eventually became the internet, the SAN is poised to be a major force in the growth and development of the computer industry. Over time, we will see the SAN grow and evolve to become a more viable working technology.
