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Technology Stocks : Son of SAN - Storage Networking Technologies
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To: J Fieb who wrote (342)2/19/1998 9:24:00 PM
From: Edwin S. Lee  Read Replies (2) of 4808
 
Hubs in Fibre Channel are distinctly different from hubs in other technologies. They are related to Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loops..a topology in which everyone is on the same loop (like a token ring system) and passing messages around. The Hub is basically a wiring box that includes some simple "port bypass" repeaters. It enables each node (user) to wire to the hub, rather than running cables from one node to the next. When the loop is operating, the message routing decisions are made jointly through the arbitration among the participating nodes.

FC-AL topologies eliminate most of the costs associated with switches and have made Fibre Channel cost and performance effective in storage systems where there is a Server connected to many disc drives. But there are performance tradeoffs:the loop bandwidth is shared by everyone on the loop, when a node is added to or removed from an operating loop the loop is interrupted and must re-initialize. Switches don't have either of these limitations. So Vixel is probably implying added functionality to their Hubs which might enhance overall bandwidth and enable insertion or removel of nodes without interrupting ongoing conversations.

In a switched system, the routing decisions are made by the switch based on the destination address in the header of each frame sent by a Fibre Channel node. Within two years, the cost differential between switches and hubs will be such that the performance tradeoffs of Arbitrated Loops may not be worth it.
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