Is iSCSI turning a corner?
(Continued from page 3)While the overall buying plan for iSCSI technology was unchanged
in last spring's tallies, there was a striking change in how
companies plan to use iSCSI- based systems (see "Planned iSCSI
deployments," at right). In both the earlier survey and the most
recent one, 31% of companies indicated plans to implement iSCSI.
Last spring's number represents a significant jump in interest in
iSCSI, and the current number suggests companies are carrying
through on their buying plans.
Because iSCSI is easier to install and less expensive than Fibre
Channel it remains more popular among SMBs, with 35% of midsized
companies and 34% of smaller firms saying they're implementing
iSCSI systems. Only 24% of large organizations say they're on the
iSCSI bandwagon.
However, the strongest indicator that iSCSI storage may be
approaching some level of maturity is the types of applications it
now hosts. While iSCSI is still used primarily for end-user storage
and backup, more companies are starting to use it for their
mission-critical applications and e-mail. Forty-two percent say
they'll deploy mission-critical apps on iSCSI vs. 30% only six
months ago (see "iSCSI SAN applications," at right). Similarly,
e-mail is gaining favor as an iSCSI app, with 37% indicating
they'll deploy their e-mail on iSCSI storage--a nine percentage
point jump from last spring.
Creative Benefits' Taylor didn't opt for an all-iSCSI array in
his move from DAS, but he did the next best thing. "We went with a
mix and got iSCSI and Fibre Channel," says Taylor, describing the
dual-protocol capabilities of his Compellent system, although he
may not be quite confident enough of iSCSI performance to put the
company's key apps on it. "Our main production stuff is on the
Fibre Channel," says Taylor, "and anything that's back end is
running on iSCSI."
Next: Networking infrastructure outlook