Oh. I didn't realize you were talking about Connectrix. That is the product that uses the McData Fibre Channel director product. It is not a switched fabric; therefore, it is not scalable. It's also a VERY high end product as the minimum configuration, according to the data sheets I read at the link you provided, is 32 ports. What EMC refers to as an ESN or Enterprise Storage Network is sort of a first generation SAN.
EMC is going to need to start offering a switched fabric solution that is scalable with as few as eight ports if they want to compete with MTIC, SUN, and even IBM. Rumor has it that they are still evaluating fibre channel switches. My money is on ANCR as a primary switch vendor if for no other reason then because ANCR is a member of the EMC sponsored fibre channel alliance while BRCD is not. BRCD has market share but does not offer a switched fabric director product. In addition, BRCD had, until last week anyway, a rather arrogant attitude towards interoperability. VIXL, ZOOX, and even McData aren't really players as their switches are not fabric switches. In addition, ANCR, to the best of my knowledge, is the only switch maker working on a product to support InfiniBand. Of course, InfiniBand is a year or two away. Regardless, this market is just starting to heat up. The next six months or so should be interesting. |
