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Technology Stocks : Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: VinWood who wrote (61006)	8/9/2002 11:35:42 PM
From: puborectalis	Respond to of 77397

HP to OEM Cisco's iSCSI Router Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ - message board) will edge its way into the iSCSI market, having struck a deal with Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO - message board) to OEM Cisco's 5420 iSCSI-to-Fibre Channel gateway, Byte and Switch has learned. HP plans to roll out an "HP-branded" iSCSI-to-FC gateway either in the fourth quarter of 2002 or in the first quarter of 2003, according to Bill Mottram, director of HP's infrastructure business segment. But he declined to provide any additional information. "We're going through firming up our roadmaps," he says. "IP storage is definitely a play going forward, and we see that as being part of our overall strategy." [Ed note: Oh boy, does this mean we're waiting on the super-speedy HP to get iSCSI going?] However, a source familiar with HP's plans says the company has already settled on the Cisco SN 5420 Storage Router, which provides one Fibre Channel port and either a Gigabit Ethernet or a 10/100-Mbps Ethernet port. The 5420 is designed to extend SAN traffic over IP, using the iSCSI protocol. HP chose the 5420 over the higher-performance Cisco 5428 switch -- which has eight FC ports -- because "they're just looking for a simple gateway to connect Fibre Channel to IP," our source says. A Cisco spokesman declined to comment. One year ago, HP had a much more aggressive iSCSI roadmap. In July 2001, HP made a showy pronouncement that it would deliver a slew of iSCSI products -- including iSCSI disk arrays, iSCSI tape libraries, host bus adapters, and gateways to existing Fibre Channel SANs -- which it expected by the end of last year. Obviously, none of those materialized. Among other things that derailed HP's plans was its decision to acquire Compaq. More importantly, the hyperkinetic expectations for iSCSI have calmed considerably (see Adaptec Sees iSCSI Delayed, iSCSI's Down But Not Out, and IBM Ditches iSCSI Box). At this stage in the game, vendors are being cautious about how -- and when -- they enter the market with iSCSI products. "As far as the tier-one companies, there is a hesitancy in the market," Mottram says. "It's a, shall we say, careful walk." He adds, "One thing you want to be careful of is that you don't introduce technology for technology's sake. We don't want to come out with an orphan." — Todd Spangler, US Editor, Byte and Switch byteandswitch.com