HP Trials iSCSI on Unix

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) is continuing to carefully test the IP SAN waters with the release this week of a beta version of an iSCSI driver for its Unix operating system, HP-UX.

HP's iSCSI driver -- which can be downloaded here -- is intended for HP rp8400, rp7400, rp7410, and rp54XX- and rp24XX-series servers running the HP-UX 11i version 1 64-bit operating system.

"HP's initial iSCSI release is the first step in a plan to introduce enterprise-ready iSCSI products to this growing market," says Graham Smith, senior I/O planning manager in HP's Unix division.

At this point, HP is mainly interested in how popular the download is. Smith says the purpose is to let customers "explore iSCSI and get comfortable with the technology." [Ed. note: A few splits of Champagne and a little John Tesh usually does the trick for us.] He adds that HP does not recommend customers use the iSCSI driver in mission-critical environments. The company expects to deliver the final version of the iSCSI driver for HP-UX in three to six months.

One scenario HP imagines for iSCSI on HP-UX is to connect into its recently released StorageWorks SR2122 iSCSI storage router, which connects "stranded" servers to existing Fibre Channel SAN storage. The iSCSI router, which was developed by Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), has two Gigabit Ethernet and two Fibre Channel ports (see HP Kisses NAS, Nods to iSCSI)."One of the really clear uses of iSCSI is to get to Fibre Channel SANs -- it's a cost-effective way to talk to block storage," Smith says.

Jamie Gruener, senior analyst at Yankee Group, says Having an iSCSI driver for HP-UX will be important as HP rolls out the iSCSI storage router, especially in larger enterprise accounts where customers are trying out iSCSI in different deployment scenarios. "The question will be how far iSCSI storage support will extend on the target side," he says.

There is a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem. Today, native iSCSI storage devices are still scarce; one of the few vendors providing support is Network Appliance Inc. (Nasdaq: NTAP) (see NetApp Blitzes on iSCSI). "There's obviously a question around getting the whole iSCSI value chain in place, but the pieces are coming into place," Smith says.

More broadly, analysts see HP's move as another step in the long march toward universal iSCSI support among server and storage technology vendors.

"It's another bullet in the iSCSI gun," says Steve Duplessie, senior analyst at Enterprise Storage Group Inc. "All by itself it's no big deal, but with all the other ammo it could cause some real damage."On the operating system front, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) has released beta versions of iSCSI drivers for its Windows platforms, with final versions expected to be available in June; and Cisco has already released iSCSI drivers for various other platforms for use with its SN 5420 storage routers (see Microsoft to Unleash iSCSI and IP SANs: Coming of Age).

Todd Spangler, US Editor, Byte and Switch

To view an archive of Byte and Switch's Webinar – IP Storage and iSCSI: Coming of Age – which was broadcast live on March 19, 2003, click here