GRAPEVINE, Texas -- Storage infrastructure vendors are pushing the
nascent
Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) standard as the quickest
path to 10 Gbps Ethernet connectivity, although
iSCSI proponents obviously disagree.
QLogic Corp. kicked off the latest round of FCoE hype yesterday
with a press conference at Storage Networking World (SNW) to launch
its new 8 Gbps switches and host bus adapters (HBA) and to pledge
support for the new FCoE standard. At SNW, QLogic, Network
Appliance Inc. (NetApp) and Nuova Systems Inc. ran a demonstration
system using QLogic FCoE adapters, NetApp storage and Nuova
technology.
The
FCoE standard, proposed last April, allows
the creation of converged networks combining Fibre Channel and
enhanced Ethernet. The key is widespread adoption of 10 Gigabit
Ethernet (10 GigE), which would allow enough bandwidth to
effectively combine network protocols. But 10 Gbit has also been
seen as the tipping point for widespread adoption of iSCSI,
which has been chugging along at 1 Gbit compared to Fibre
Channel's 4 Gbit bandwidth.
Converged FCoE networks
In converged FCoE networks, servers would use the same interface
for the storage area network (SAN) and LAN, and both networks would
use one set of cables and switches, and would consume less
power.
But adoption of FCoE will take time. QLogic forecasts that 10%
of SAN ports will be FCoE by 2010, and also that all Global 2000
companies will be using FCoE by 2012.
"We don't think CIOs will be jumping up and down, and lay off
half the staff overnight," said QLogic president Jeff Benck. "We
see two separate teams with common resources."
The press conference was a coming out of sorts for Nuova, whose
majority owner is Cisco Systems Inc. Nuova has licensing agreements
to provide FCoE technology for QLogic and its HBA rival Emulex
Corp., but it hasn't disclosed any products or a timeframe for
delivering them.
Nuova positioning papers maintain that FCoE will perform better
than iSCSI, require less CPU overhead and provide more security.
"It reduces data center cost," said Nuova marketing vice president
Soni Jiandani. "It requires fewer cables, adapters and switches,
and reduces power consumption."
Still, no one is sounding the death knell for iSCI. IP SANs have
been making strides in recent years, particularly in the mid-market
and departments of large enterprises.
Although Fibre Channel drives the lion's share of NetApp
revenues, NetApp is also the iSCSI market leader, according to IDC.
So NetApp is backing FCoE but not abandoning iSCSI, according to
Joel Reich, senior director of the company's SAN/iSAN business
unit.
"This [FCoE] gives customers a clearer path to 10 Gbit and moves
the market faster for 10 Gigabit Ethernet," he said. "I view this
as important for large embedded Fibre Channel SANs. If you can
reduce the number of server cards and connections in half, that's a
huge win."
Brocade Communications Systems Inc., Cisco, EMC Corp., IBM,
Intel Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. are also backing the FCoE
standard. But Reich said the adoption rate of FCoE and iSCSI could
ultimately be decided by operating system and server vendors.
"Microsoft enabled the iSCSI market, and HP [Hewlett-Packard Co.]
and IBM enabled the Fibre Channel market," he said.
IDC analyst Rick Villars said iSCSI will remain popular for new
storage implementations while Fibre Channel SAN shops will want to
protect their investment with the new standard. "iSCSI isn't going
anywhere," Villars said. "ISCSI has a long life for new
applications. At the same time, you have to recognize there is an
existing world of Fibre Channel" that will probably welcome
FCoE.
Except for NetApp, Fibre Channel SAN vendors were slow to adopt
iSCSI until newcomers such as EqualLogic Inc. and LeftHand Networks
Inc. offered customers viable IP options. Now even large storage
vendors say iSCSI is here to say.
HP StorageWorks marketing director Patrick Eitenbichler said he
expects iSCSI to continue to drive the growth of midrange storage,
and he's not sure there will be demand for FCoE. "The customers I'm
seeing say they want to keep storage on a separate network than the
LAN," he said.
FCoE versus 10 Gbit iSCSI
LSI Corp., which recently rolled out its first IP SAN, will move
along with plans to add native iSCSI connectivity to its entire
line. LSI storage general manager Phil Bullinger said FCoE will
"blunt 10 Gbit iSCSI's encroachment into the data center," but
thinks the new standard is a long way from mainstream adoption.
"This has to perform in the data center, and history shows it takes
longer than expected for standards to harden for the data center,"
he said.
Dell enterprise storage general manager Darren Thomas said he
still sees 10 GigE as the driving force for iSCSI. "10 Gbit is
going to drive iSCSI and make it equal to Fibre Channel in terms of
importance for greenfield opportunities where somebody doesn't have
networked storage," he said.
At least one enterprise customer said he would welcome FCoE if
it reduces his cabling and connections. CNBC vice president of
commercial operations Steve Fastook, whose shop uses QLogic SANbox
9000 switches and Apple XSAN storage and is currently evaluating
QLogic's new switches, can see the potential of FCoE.
"We have a couple hundred miles of cables," Fastook said. "Any
reduction in heat, space, cabling and power is huge for us."