Fibre Channel Overview

Fibre Channel is a set of clearly defined standards for communicating data. It is the best technology for applications that require high bandwidth. In addition to high bandwidth, features of Fibre Channel include

• Flexible topologies

• The ability of existing channel and networking protocols to run over the same physical interface and media

• Connectivity over several kilometers

• Support for multiple applications, including storage, network, video and clusters

Fibre Channel defines a high-speed protocol originally intended for superworkstations, large-array storage media, and high-performance desktop applications. Additionally, applications originally built using the Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) standard can use Fibre Channel. Fibre Channel supports multiple data rates of up to 4 Gbps in switched and shared architectures and in connection-oriented and connectionless modes. The physical media of Fibre Channel will support Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM).

Data communications may be categorized into two types, channels and networks. Channels are hardware intensive, whereas networks are software intensive. Channels are point-to-point links between communicating devices. Channels operate at hardware speeds, with minimal software overhead, and interconnect only a small number of devices over short distances. Examples of channel data communications include both SCSI and High-Performance Parallel Interfaces (HIPPIs).

Networks, on the other hand, provide low- to moderate-speed connections. Networks interconnect many devices, some of which may be physically distributed over long distances. Although networks have a higher software overhead, they are more flexible in supporting a variety of applications.

Channels are simple and...