Fibre Channel is faster than parallel SCSI and scalable in speed. Added to this that the Arbitrated Loop functionality allows to connect several devices to one interface on a computer, Fibre Channel seems to be the ideal interface to storage devices.
The FCSI SCSI profile is well defined and stable, which makes that interoperability should not be a problem. See "SCSI Converters" for devices that allow standard SCSI equipment to be used with Fibre Channel.
There are no companies that have announced Tape storage devices with a Fibre Channel attachment, although companies are working on it.
You might have a look at SCSI converters to find devices that allow standard SCSI drives to be connected to Fibre Channel.
Disk storage is available from the following companies:
Contact: Amdahl - 16-Jan-1997
Contact: BoxHill - 7-Jan-1998
Contact: Ciprico - 7-Jan-1998
Contact: CLARiiON - 7-Jan-1998
In the first half of 1997, Compaq plans to have more scaleable out-of-the-box clustered servers that use Fibre Channel interconnection technology to bring together an 8-Terabyte storage cluster.
See also Server Array Strategy for Scalability from the High Availability white paper from Compaq.
Contact: Compaq - 17-Jan-1997
Digital's Storage Business Unit has chosen Fibre Channel as the standard serial SCSI technology for the Storage-Works family. Fibre Channel will provide a long-term solution for users, during a time when long-distance connectivity and enhanced performance requirements are at an all-time high. Digital will offer an array controller followed by Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop devices. Evaluation units of the Fibre Channel controller will be available for the OEM market in the fourth quarter of 1996.
Contact: Digital Equipment Corporation - 17-Jan-1997
Symmetrix EMC Enterprise Storage systems
Contact: EMC - 6-Jan-1998
Fibre Channel storage enclosures
Contact: Eurologic Systems - 8-May-1998
GENROCO's TURBOfibreTM BP-350FC is a Fibre Channel hot pluggable disk backplane compatible with Digital Equipment Corporation StorageWorks packaging. This product allows system and subsystem vendors to integrate Fibre Channel storage solutions using convenient, reliable, and readily available components.
Contact: GENROCO, Inc, 205 Kettle Moraine Drive North, Slinger, WI 53086, USA
Tel: +1 414-644-8700; Fax: +1 414-644-6667; E-m: sales@genroco.com
JMR Electronics is launching its FORTRA line of enclosures that double nearly the storage capacity over standard enclosures.
Models are available for 2,4,6,8 - bays desktop design and rack mount units for 10 bays. Larger pedestal units are available.
JMR Electronics ( home page )
Forta Product Line
Contacts: Debra Ciaramella at JMR Electronics, 20400 Plummer Street, Chatsworth, CA 91311, USA
Tel: 818 993 4801, Fax 818 993 9173
Contact: Sandy Staufenbiel at MAXSTRAT Corporation
Tel: +1 408-383-1600 or 1-800-352-1600 (USA), Fax: 408-383-1616, E-Mail: info@maxstrat.com - 7-Jan-1997
With the FIBRE-ARRAY Meltek has true Fibre Channel solutions for PCI Bus and Sun S-Bus. These fully incorporate the FC-AL (Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop) specifications. They include Controller board, Cables, Device Driver and 8 Drive RAID enclosure.
For more information contact your local Meltek office. - 7-Jul-1997
Contact: OneofUs - 7-Jan-1998
The Quantum Atlas II 3.5-inch, 7,200 RPM hard disk drives are top-performing devices that meet the needs of high-end storage subsystems, video servers, and workstations. The drives feature the most advanced technology for exceptional performance and improved areal density. The Quantum Atlas II XP39100 has the industry's fastest seek time for a 9.1 GB drive (<7.9 ms). The drives are offered with the new Ultra SCSI-3 and fibre channel interfaces.
Contact: Quantum Corporation (Corporate Headquarters); Tel: +1 (408) 894-4000; Fax: +1 (408) 894-3218
Contact: Raidtec - 7-Jan-1998
Contact: Seagate - 7-Jan-1998
Contact: Chris Cuthbert, Storage Concepts (Europe), Tel: +44 1494 442-202, Fax: +44 1494 450-281, E-m: chris@storcon.com or Frank Tasker, Storage Concepts (USA), Tel: +1 714-852-8511 - 24-Jul-1997
Storage Dimensions' SuperFlex provides cross-platform, host-independent support for RS/6000, Sun workstations and servers and HP9000 workstations and servers. It enables companies that use multiple system platforms to standardize on a single storage architecture. A line of I/O modules is planned to support emerging storage and interface technologies, including Fibre Channel.
SuperFlex pricing ranges from $6,185 for a 1 GB entry level system to $39,920 for a complete 24 GB RAID5 solution.
Possibly Storage Dimensions will have tape systems as well.
Contact: Storage Dimensions, Main tel: +1 (408) 954-0710; Sales:+1 (408) 894-1325; Fax: +1 (408) 944-1203; E-m: support@xstor.com
Since the final quarter of 1995 Storagepath has been delivering FC-AL eight bay rack and tower enclosures with passive backplanes for the new fibre channel hard drives. The unique backplane design is completely scalable allowing for later insertion of additional drives or the addition of as many as 125 drives by daisy chaining cabinets. Enclosures may be configured to accept either fibre or copper cable and allow full duplex data transfer rates from 266 Mbit/sec to 1.062 Gbit/sec depending on selection of single FC-AL Loop, Dual Parallel, or Dual Redundant Loop configurations.
Drives, fans, and redundant power supplies are all hot swappable direct plugging. Rugged steel enclosures with special PassThrough cooling technology are especially designed for mission critical applications and have received UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, and CE certifications.
Contact: Storagepath/SWS; Tel: +1 (805) 498-6727; Fax: +1 (805) 489-8834; E-mail: storagepath@vcnet.com - 26-Feb-1997
Sun has a RAID Mass-Storage Subsystem called SPARCstorage Array Model 100/200 Series. For full details see the description from Sun.
The Sun system currently does not run over a fabric. Sun has signed an agreement with Ancor Communications to develop and market jointly the industry's first Fibre Channel attachment to a disk storage array.
Contact: Deeanna Franklin, Sun Microsystems Computer Company at (415) 336- 7226.
With a transfer rate of one gigabit per second, this Series 3 Fibre Channel RAID Controller screams at five times the speed of SCSI. The first Fibre Channel controller specifically designed for OEMs, it uses a Fibre Channel host interface and single-ended Fast-20 SCSI drive channels. It supports point-to-point, switched or arbitrated loop fibre topologies.
Contact: Symbios, Symbios Logic Sales Representatives and Distributors
Tektronix begins delivering Fibre Channel interface solutions in its Profile Disk Recorder and Video Server products in Q2 1997. Using network protocols in a Fibre Channel arbitrated loop topology will allow users to move media among devices at greater than real time. Many of Tektronix VAR's are already developing applications to take full advantage of networked Profile Video Servers.
Contact: Tektronics - 24-Jul-1997
SStudioBOSS FC utilizes the Transoft ProRAID-FC, a single hardware based FC RAID-3 device capable of 75 MB/s speeds. Each ProRAID-FC chassis contains 20 bays and can accommodate from 4 to 180 GB of mass storage. Terabytes of storage are available through multiple ProRAID-FC devices.
Transoft also offers ProTower-FC, a JBOD storage chassis with a 72 GB capacity, for use with software striping.- 15-Apr-1997
Contact: Transoft Technology Corporation (Transoft)
Trimm's SA-H352/2 Enclosure for Eight Fibre Channel Drives
Trimm's SA-H383 Rackmount Enclosure for 24 Fibre Channel Drives
Contact: Trimm Technologies - 24-Jul-1997
Contact: UNISYS - 7-Jan-1998
CERN - High Speed Interconnect - FCS
Erik van der Bij - 8 May 1998 - Disclaimer