Hewlett-Packard has announced that it is preparing to unveil
products based on recent advances in networked storage
technology.
Starting in the first quarter of 2002, the company will begin
shipping a variety of storage products centred around the emerging
Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCS) standard for
linking data storage systems over Internet Protocol (IP).
Many companies currently rely on Fibre Channel or SCSI technology
for sending information between storage devices and servers in a
SAN (storage area network) environment. The iSCSI standard,
however, has garnered wide industry support and should create more
options for users looking to link storage boxes with servers.
The introduction of the iSCSI standard allows storage devices to
connect to existing IP networks, making more information available
to more parts of the network. In addition, the use of iSCSI makes
it easier for administrators to manage their SAN systems
remotely.
Hewlett-Packard said it had no immediate plans to abandon its Fibre
Channel business in the near future, but the vendor plans to launch
an iSCSI assault early next year, hoping to attract customers who
have yet to decide how they will move from a direct-attached to a
networked storage architecture.
The company acknowledged that some customers would always feel
comfortable dealing with Fibre Channel and would tend toward
improvements made with Fibre Channel over Internet Protocol (FCIP)
instead of embracing iSCSI.
"A year ago we had the hypothesis that it was small and medium
companies that would go after iSCSI," said a company spokesman.
"But now we are seeing large and small companies getting interested
in it."
Work is still under way to refine version one of the iSCSI
specification and make it available by January 2002 at the latest.
The lack of a finished specification, however, did not stop IBM
from announcing the arrival of one of the first iSCSI products
earlier this year - the IP Storage 200i appliance.
HP claims its broad product line can compete with the top-tier
storage vendors such as IBM and EMC while at the same time
competing against low-cost storage players such as Dell.