Okay, I really don’t have a tie-in for the Kate Plus 8 thing. I have never watched the show, but I read People Magazine. Sad, but true. However, it gave me a title with “8” in it, so I was happy. Also, I am sure some Fibre Channel customers feel a bit like Kate, jilted by their vendors who have fallen in love with network convergence and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE). While I have certainly got up on the network convergence soapbox, it does not mean that we have abandoned Fibre Channel. In fact, we continue to make significant investments in Fibre Channel, including our new 8Gb encryption Host Bus Adapters (HBAs), OneCommand Vision software for I/O management and our new 16Gb products coming to a Storage Area Network (SAN) near you next year.
In October, we announced the industry’s first 16Gb Fibre Channel HBA design win with IBM. While it won’t ship until CY2011, it shows our long-term commitment to Fibre Channel technology and innovation. Key new technologies such as PCI Express 3.0, Encryption, SR-IOV and MR-IOV will continue to drive Fibre Channel forward for years to come. Emulex is leading the market with solutions in these spaces and working with our ecosystem partners to deliver these solutions.
Based on much of the hype, you might be feeling a like a kid without the newest toys, but the reality is that Fibre Channel is not passé at all. It continues to be the leading form of enterprise storage and there are some very good reasons to keep using Fibre Channel for years to come. Here are our top eight:
Eight Great Reasons to Stay with Fibre Channel
- Fibre Channel Already Works – Fibre Channel works today, your people are trained and you have made the investment already. Many vendors would try to push the fact that the network convergence requires rip-and-replace of Fibre Channel and push some FUD here. Don’t let them play on your fears. Fibre Channel makes sense because it is proven, reliable and works today.
- 8Gb Has Enough Bandwidth – Most people who are moving to 10Gb Ethernet (10GbE)-based network convergence are not doing it for the extra bandwidth; they are doing it because of virtual I/O features and other items that help support server virtualization. Fibre Channel has enough bandwidth for most applications today.
- You Don’t Need to Move to 10GbE on the Sever – If you are not going to 10GbE for your servers, then you probably won’t be moving to FCoE. In speaking to most of our customers who have installed 10GbE FCoE, it was the move to 10GbE that drives the decision.
- 16Gb Is Coming and It’s Backwards-compatible – You have a road map to 16Gb and you like that. If so, stay with 8Gb Fibre Channel and you will be covered for years to come, and you protect your current Fibre Channel investments.
- My Backup and Data Protection Runs on Fibre Channel – Most of us vendor types tend to talk about the host connect or the switch connection and declare protocol transitions complete. However, the data center has many appliances and technologies that leverage Fibre Channel from deduplicatoin to virtual tape library (VTL) to tape automation and more. Also, let’s not forget the software and policies that run all of your data protections and back demands. Fibre Channel has a robust infrastructure that should not be discounted just for a shiny new protocol.
- Blocks Are for Big Databases – When it comes to databases that run most of our businesses, block data is still the big hitter. From our SNIA Data Integrity Initiative investments with Oracle to TPC benchmarks to faster backups and snapshots, blocks still rule storage and Fibre Channel moves, stores and protects more of those blocks than anything else today.
- Server Refresh with 8Gb Fibre Channel – A server refresh does not have to mean an I/O refresh. If you like Fibre Channel, then move from 4Gb to 8Gb Fibre Channel on your next server refresh. Emulex’s vEngine off-load technology will allow you to run 20% more virtual machines (VMs) than competitive Fibre Channel cards.
- 8Gb is under 50% of Fibre Channel Host Shipments – According to Dell’Oro Group’s latest Fibre Channel report, 8Gb Fibre Channel is still well under 50% of new Fibre Channel shipments on the host. This means that we have years to recoup the investments made in 8Gb Fibre Channel and then be ready to move to 16Gb in the future. The bottom line is that you can place for the future with Fibre Channel and make a solid bet if you are not ready to jump on the network convergence bandwagon.
Sometimes installing new technologies can be like trying to watch eight young kids all at once by yourself: it’s never dull, but it can be nerve-wracking. Fibre Channel, on the other hand, is like having eight kids who are now adults; you still love them and give them some guidance now and then, but they are mostly self-sustaining and know how to function in real the world without breaking things or causing new problems.
The purpose of our blog are to facilitate an ongoing conversation on what's going on in our industry, with our partners and customers. We encourage your comments. Your ideas and feedback are what makes our blogs interesting, timely and useful for our readers.
We want to publish your comments, however, all comments are moderated. Offensive, off-topic or fraudulent comments won't be approved. We also expect a basic level of civility; disagreements are expected, but mutual respect is a must. We will not post comments that contain vulgar or abusive language; personal attacks of any kind; or offensive terms that target specific ethnic or racial groups. Comments that make accusations will also not be posted.
By submitting a comment, you agree to these terms; having your name displayed with your comment and that you are 18 years old or older. Your name and personal information will not be used for any other purpose, and your e-mail address will not be published.