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14 Adding TL895 Tape Drives to the Compaq Enterprise Backup Solution
Fibre Channel Technology
Fibre Channel is a media-independent, industry-standard interconnect and high-performance
serial I/O protocol that supports simultaneous transfers of multiple protocols. Its Gigabit speed
throws open the door to storage networks of the future. Compaq has partnered with Hewlett
Packard to develop the Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter (HBA), based on the HP Tachyon chip
that allows high-performance SCSI protocol transmission through a Fibre Channel medium.
Multimode fiber optic cable allows greater transmission distance500 meters presently and 10
kilometers in the near futureperfect where disaster recovery or centralized storage is a
priority.
An integrated set of standards for Fibre Channel is being developed by committees accredited
by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), defining new protocols for flexible
information transfer. For additional information on the Fibre Channel protocol, see the
Technology Brief Strategic Direction for Compaq Fibre Channel-Attached Storage
(Part Number ECG009/1097) at http://www.compaq.com/support/techpubs.
Fibre Channel Network
Fibre Channel is the next generation in storage technology, combining the reliability and low
latency of a serial channel with a network's flexibility and connectivity. The result is a
100 Megabytes per second (MB/s) storage network that supports simultaneous transfer of many
different data protocols, including SCSI, IP, and others. Fibre Channel supports an architecture
that separates data and communications traffic. The Compaq vision of the Enterprise Network
Storage Architecture (ENSA) is one that provides benefits such as: increased system
performance, resource consolidation resulting in greater efficiency, manageability, and control,
optimized solution management design and integration with recognized industry partners in
software development.
For more information on Fibre Channel technology, please refer to the technology brief
Strategic Direction for Compaq Fibre Channel-Attached Storage (Part Number ECG009.1097)
available at:
http:www.compaq.com/support/techpubs/whitepapers.
Fibre Channel Host Controller
A Fibre Channel Host Controller is installed in each server
and provides the PCI to Fibre Channel interface for
connecting the Fibre Channel Storage Hub 12 to the
servers.
Fibre Channel Gigabit Interface Converter (GBIC)
(GBIC) Fibre Channel GBICs are optical-to-electrical converters that
enable Fibre Channel cables to easily connect the Host Bus Adapter and
Storage Hub 12. These hot-pluggable devices add flexibility and
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