Sprint, Hitachi Data Systems and Cisco Systems have set
up an experimental storage area network (San) which demonstrates a
less expensive way of backing up storage data over long
distances.
The Internet Protocol-based network, which connects servers
1,800 miles apart, uses the fibre channel over IP (FCIP)
standard.
The pilot project is significant, because it transfers data over
a much greater distance than FCIP networks typically encompass.
"This is the first time that a distance of this kind has been
accomplished with fibre channel over IP," said Audrey Harman,
Sprint's manager of technical staff.
FCIP is one of a number of networking protocols designed to move
data between servers and storage devices using Internet Protocol
(IP) networks.
Unlike the older fibre channel protocol, which is popular in the
enterprise, FCIP uses less expensive networking equipment and does
not require a special line for networking.
Sprint's pilot connected Hitachi Freedom Storage Lighting 9900 V
Series systems using private Sprint circuits and Cisco MDS 9000 San
switches.
Sprint's Global Markets group is looking at developing the
long-distance fibre channel over IP service into a product, the
company said, but such an offering was likely to be six to nine
months away, according to Richard Villars, an analyst with IDC.
A fibre channel over IP service offering would be less expensive
than Sprint's long-distance storage networking offering, a leased
Dense Wave Division Multiplexing line, said Harman, because it
could be run over commodity IP lines.
"We have been asked by customers to do [fibre channel over IP
across] distances of 200 to 700 miles. Now that we've proved we can
do this using fibre channel over IP, we can offer our customers a
lower-cost option," she said.
More pilots will be needed, and Sprint will need to support a
lot more hardware and software, however, before it can begin
offering fibre channel over IP services to a wide range of
customers, said Villars.
Robert McMillan writes for IDG News Service