* A look at 4G bit/sec Fibre Channel technology, FC-PI
Do you feel the need for speed on your Fibre Channel storage-area links?
This weeks Technology Update looks at 4G bit/sec Fibre Channel technology known as FC-PI.
The Fiber Channel Industry Association approved FC-PI last year but for a variety of reasons vendors have been slow on the uptake. Proponents expect that to change in the next 12 to 18 months.
The 4G bit/sec Fibre Channel products promise to deliver twice the performance of today’s 1G or 2G bit/sec Fibre Channel offerings for about the same cost. And, since it is backwards compatible with the lower speed components, the 4G units can just be mingled in with the older ones, rather than having to perform any forklift upgrades – always a key to a new technology’s acceptance.
According to our author (robert.zona@intel.com.), 4G bit/sec Fibre Channel systems will rate-adjust when connected to 1G and 2G bit/sec systems, letting IT managers make incremental network upgrades while using 1G and 2G bit/sec storage hardware.
Vendors, however, still seem cautious about the whole 4G bit/sec movement. Brocade is one company to actually announce a product based on the technology. Cisco and others have been less than forward about their plans.
For more on this story see: https://www.nwfusion.com/news/tech/2004/0315techupdate.html
