Video and Media Servers: Technology and Applications, Second Edition
An excellent practical guide, this second edition continues to provide a technical understanding of professional digital video recording systems.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Video and Media Servers: Technology and Applications, Second Edition
Chapter 35: Fibre Channel Disclosed
Overview
Fibre Channel, at the conclusion of 1997, was viewed by many as the most probable method of intra-facility interconnection for the high-speed transfer of video and data around the broadcast plant. Nearly every major video server manufacturer incorporates some form of Fibre Channel into their product. However, the implementation of Fibre Channel currently used in video servers is but a small subset of the entire range of capabilities, and futures, of Fibre Channel.
This chapter now includes a year 2001 update on Fibre Channel technologies (i.e., interfaces, hubs, switches and beyond) that have occurred since the first printing of this book.
The work on Fibre Channel began in 1988 as an extension of work on the Intelligent Peripheral Interface (IPI) Enhanced Physical standard. It wasn't long before the original scope took on many new dimensions.
Some of the objectives the working groups focused on included extensions to the layer model, where the logical protocol being transported would be separated from the physical interface. This, in itself, was an intended replacement for parallel SCSI.
The concurrent transport of multiple protocols over a common interface was another goal that made practical sense considering the new interface would permit high-speed transfer of large amounts of packetized information.
On a larger scale, Fibre Channel advocates further see Fibre Channel as a replacement for HiPPI and ESCON. On the smaller scale, at the end of 1996, there were already proprietary fiber optic interfaces on desktops and workstations.
Channels and Networks
Part of the understanding...
Copyright Butterworth-Heinemann 2001 under license agreement with Books24x7
