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iSCSI adoption to aid storage - Trends

Communications News, Sept, 2003 by Ron Kroesen

The long march toward IP-based network storage is hitting its stride. Recent developments and milestones--both technical and vendor-specific--indicate that IP-based storage, in general, and iSCSI in particular, have nothing but green lights on the road toward adoption and implementation.

In February, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) submitted the final iSCSI specification, the storage and network protocol that enables the transfer of block data over an IP-based network, for ratification and adoption. In March, Microsoft announced iSCSI support in the form of drivers and APIs for its operating systems. The final version of its iSCSI driver for Windows was to be released in June.

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Leveraging the Ethernet infrastructure is the essence of the iSCSI value proposition. This well-known, well-entrenched and well-understood transport protocol eliminates the need for a separate storage network that functions within its own technology "island." IP/Ethernet-based storage fits in seamlessly with the entire data communications infrastructure of the enterprise.

IP-based storage networks provide a smooth transition for integration of a storage area network (SAN) within an organization's overall data communications infrastructure, as the protocol is dominant in the LAN and emerging in the WAN. This helps to reduce cost and complexity when implementing, maintaining and scaling a SAN, as separate data and storage networks are not required.

No additional headcount or specialists are needed to specifically manage the storage network either. This helps brings storage networking to enterprises that cannot afford the high costs of alternative SAN architectures, yet have the same mission-critical and real-time information needs as their larger corporation counterparts.

Because of the ubiquity of Ethernet and TCP/IP in data communications networks, interoperability of IP-based storage also is easier to ensure, an issue of particular importance when choosing among different equipment vendors. In addition, future equipment incorporating the impending 10-Gigabit Ethernet specification is automatically backward compatible with its 1-Gigabit Ethernet predecessor. This predominance of IP enables iSCSI-based storage networks to leverage the hundreds of millions of Ethernet ports already in existence, enabling price per port reductions on a continuous basis.

Recent vendor developments offer additional evidence that iSCSI is gaining traction as an accepted and desirable means of building a SAN. LSI Logic just announced its iMegaRAID, an iSCSI card that plugs into a simple JBOD (just a bunch of disks) and converts it to an intelligent iSCSI target array.

Network Appliance views iSCSI as a way to extend its NAS foothold into SANs. The company offers block-level storage systems for both Fibre Channel and Ethernet (IP) networks.

Nishan Systems, an IP storage switch vendor, reported that in the first quarter of 2003 it had a backlog of orders. Nishan's multiprotocol switches support iSCSI, iFCP and E-Port for trunking to IP backbones and legacy Fiber Channel networks.

Intransa is offering an enterprise-class storage system, bringing the benefits of IP-SANs to a broad range of applications and user environments. One of its many selling points is that it leverages existing Ethernet and IP networks to provide administrators a familiar solution that enables them to cost-effectively and seamlessly increase storage capacity without unduly adding to cost or complexity.

The notion that SANs, in general, offer high availability, economies of scale and reduced administration in mission-critical applications is well accepted. By taking advantage of the low cost and maturity of IP networks, the benefits of networked storage are now available to a much broader range of users and applications.

IP is everywhere. Standards issues have been sorted out. Compatibility and interoperability prevail. IP-based SANs carry the promise of open, highly manageable storage networks in a cost-effective manner. They provide the affordability, manageability and interoperability that all companies, large and small, require.

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iSCSI adoption to aid storage - Trends

Communications News, Sept, 2003 by Ron Kroesen

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