Updated: 15-Mar-01
Storage III: Fibre Channel vs. SoIP
[BRIEFING.COM - Robert J. Reid] As part of our ongoing series on the Storage market, we examine the debate between SoIP and Fibre Channel, the current protocol for Storage Area Networks. If SoIP were to win out over Fibre Channel, the stocks for FC-based switch and hub makers like Brocade and Emulex would fall even further. However, the early indications are that the two will compliment each other. The details are still being worked out, but we do not expect FC to become obsolete anytime soon.
Background
As we have discussed in previous Stock Briefs, companies have historically attempted to manage data requirements by directly attaching storage devices to individual servers on a local area network (LAN). The small computer systems interface protocol (SCSI), however, has several drawbacks, including a short transport distance, limited performance and capacity, limited configuration flexibility, low reliability and the inability to support more than a limited number of connections.
As a result, Storage Area Networks (SANs) were developed to enable fast, efficient and reliable transfer of data between multiple storage devices and servers. In order for SANs to be effective, a new protocol was born to replace SCSI: Fibre Channel. FC technology and related industry standards evolved in the early 1990's as a means to facilitate high-performance storage connectivity. The new protocol supports large data transfers at transmission speeds of one billion bits, or one gigabit per second, and is therefore well-suited for data transfers between storage systems and servers, with guaranteed delivery and transmission distances of up to 10 kilometers. In sum, Fibre Channel offers the connectivity, distance and access benefits of a network, combined with the high performance and increased capacity of a channel. Since its introduction, Fibre Channel technology has earned widespread acceptance from industry and independent testing organizations.
The Case For SoIP
Fibre Channel replaced SCSI, but now some are convinced that Storage-over-IP (SoIP) will replace Fibre Channel. Adaptec (ADPT), which was the dominant provider of SCSI, has been all but forgotten by storage sector investors as the stock is off more than 80% over the past 14 months. Nobody is predicting the same fate awaits the Fibre Channel players, however, a credible argument can be made for SoIP which in a nutshell is: storage is increasingly moving into the domain of the network and the people who manage the LAN will manage the SAN.
Internet Protocol (IP) is much more widely understood and familiar to IT personnel. A storage network completely separate from the core IP client/server network adds administrative and capital costs that enterprises and service providers are ill-equipped to support. Ideally, storage over WANs should combine the high performance and low latency delivered by Fibre Channel SANs with the cost effectiveness and usability of the IP WAN. This would allow WAN links to be shared between storage and normal data traffic, enable all WAN traffic to be managed through generally available IP management systems, allow multi-point networking, and, where ultra-high speed is not critical, make it possible to use the Internet backbone. The network community prefers Ethernet, because they know it and see a growth path to 1 gigabit and then 10 gigabit. Multiple standards for the networks is a less than ideal situation.
Our Take on SoIP
Even the proponents of SoIP are not projecting any sharp slowdown in Fibre Channel over the near-term as it's the only game in town for the time being. Briefing.com goes a step further as we do not believe SoIP will replace FC, but rather the two will complement each other. Nishan Systems (private), the SoIP leader, and FC-based host bus adapter maker JNI Corp. (JNIC) recently announced a joint agreement to deploy a FC/SoIP solution as the ideal answer for linking a customer's SANs across regional, national or global operations. It appears that Nishan is shifting from being an FC-killer to being an FC-supporter. The combination of FC/SoIP is still in its infancy but other complimentary products are in the pipeline. Cisco reportedly intends to launch a number of Fibre Channel-to-IP conversion switches later this year. The details are still sketchy, but the early indications are that the two will work together.
The Players
Brocade is the leader in the Fibre Channel fabric switch space while Emulex is the dominant force in Fibre Channel host adapters, hubs, and chips. Major OEM purchasers of these products include Compaq, Dell, EMC, Hewlett Packard, IBM and Sun. System integrators also purchase a significant portion including Advanced Digital Information Corp., Datalink, Hitachi Data Systems and StorageNetworks. The table below lists the major players in these areas:
Fibre Channel Switches Fibre Channel host adapters, hubs, chips SoIP
Brocade (BRCD) Emulex (EMLX) Nishan Systems (Private)
McDATA (MCDT) Agilent (A)
InRange (INRG) JNI Corp (JNIC)
QLogic (QLGC) LSI Logic (LSI)
Gadzoox (ZOOX) QLogic (QLGC)
Vixel (VIXL)
As was the case with our previous Stock Briefs on the storage space, the purpose of these briefs is to discuss the storage sector generally -- who the players are, the technology etc. rather than to make specific stock picks. Once we lay out the various subgroups within storage, we'll provide our opinions on various stocks. Despite the recent sell-off in the shares, the market for storage is tremendous, but it's important to distinguish among the many players in the space.
The table below lists the major players in storage generally. Please send any comments or questions to rreid@briefing.com.
Storage
EMC (EMC)
IBM (IBM)
Sun Mircosystems (SUNW)
Hewlett Packard (HWP)
Compaq (CPQ)
LSI Logic (LSI)
Filing
Network Appliance (NTAP)
EMC (EMC)
Sun Microsystems (SUNW)
Dell (DELL)
Compaq (CPQ)
Procom (PRCM)
Auspex (ASPX)
Tricord (TRCD)
Wiring - Fibre Channel
Brocade (BRCD)
QLogic (QLGC - bought Ancor)
McData (MCDT)
Emulex (EMLX)
JNI Corp. (JNIC)
Gadzoox (ZOOX)
Crossroads (CRDS)
Wiring - Ethernet/SoIP
Nishan Systems (Private)
Giganet (Private - bought by Emulex)
Wiring - InfiniBrand
Intel (INTC)
QLogic (QLGC)
Crossroads (CRDS)
Storage Service Provider
StorageNetworks (STOR)
Conxion (Private)
HP Storage (HWP) |
