EMC has already rejiggered the firmware (and the backplane too though not too sure about this one) so it can put two 32-port ED5000 Directors in one 64-port Connectrix box, which effectively quadruples the numbers of servers that can be attached to the ESN.
Mcdata indicated in their prospectus that they are already testing their next-gen switch, which will further broaden its product line-up from the entry level ($5,000, 8 port) to their current flagship ED5000 Directors ($12,000-$14,000 a port).
Our next generation of fibre channel SAN products provides the highest port density, non-blocking, single stage switch that enables a fabric to scale beyond 8000 ports. In
addition to the support for full duplex 1.0625 Gbps ports at very low latencies, the design supports 2.125 Gbps and future 10 Gbps links.
Note: One can currently use up to 36 32-port ED5000 Directors in a switched fabric so 36 x 32 = 1,152 available ports.
That IBM post is interesting and bullish for everybody overall since this is clearly an early stage market.
Would you know how Inrange defines Class 2 and 3 service level? Typical of early stage market, the metrics are still being worked out. For future reference, I will post the classification that Strategic Research Corporation is using.
Part of Inrange's IN-VSN (Virtual Storage Networking) family, the FC/9000-64 switch supports Class 2 and Class 3 service levels, and includes fully redundant components
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