My SAN's Bigger than Your SAN

Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE: CPQ) has trumped Nishan Systems Inc.'s U.S. coast-to-coast SAN with the demonstration of the world's first global storage network using the Internet and Fibre Channel technologies (see Compaq Hooks up Global SANS).

Compaqs demo links a Fibre Channel SAN between Colorado Springs, Colorado; Sydney, Australia; and Nijmegen in the Netherlands.

Nishan and a band of friends (all major competitors of Compaq), just took the wraps of what they claim is the biggest SAN ever (see IP Storage Coast-to-Coast).

Compaq thinks it has won this round. "We didn't mean to steal their thunder," said a Compaq spokesperson, "but it appears that we have."

Depends on one's perspective. Extending SANs across long distances may be the name of the game in demos right now, but a recent Byte and Switch poll found that not many folk are all that interested in the concept at present (see Metro, Wide, or None?).Sources say both demos also raise other questions. For one thing, they are based on prestandard technology. Compaq's network is based on the Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP) protocol; Nishan's demonstration uses iSCSI to network storage devices. Both approaches are still being hammered out in the standards groups (see FCIA Completes Group Test) and IP Storage Test Draws Crowd).

As well, in Compaq's case, there are questions about how closely the demo mirrors reality. Compaq says it uses one text file in its demonstration, claiming this proves that its SANworks storage network management software can query SAN-connected devices situated across continents and replicate data using integral data replication management software.

Can one text file be sufficient proof of these kinds of storage capabilities in real-life networks?

A further question is whether any enterprise would be willing to take a chance on any one vendor's prestandard approach, however great it seems, locking in a customer to a SAN managed by Compaq or Nishan and its partners.

— Jo Maitland, Senior Editor, Byte and Switch http://www.byteandswitch.com