QLogic Starts 4-Gig Quest

QLogic Corp. (Nasdaq: QLGC) today announced that it plans to launch an array of Fibre Channel products that not only take the anticipated leap to 10 Gbit/s, but that also make an unexpected stop at 4 Gbit/s (see QLogic Outlines 4-Gig Strategy).

The company says it intends to introduce Fibre Channel chips, host bus adapters (HBAs), and fabric switches supporting 10-Gbit/s FC at the end of this year, with 4-Gbit/s products to follow in early 2004.

But in its push for 4-Gig SANs, QLogic stands virtually alone with Vixel Corp. (Nasdaq: VIXL). Ten-Gig Fibre Channel has long been the expected next step up from the current 2-Gbit/s generation, and that remains the roadmap for most of the major SAN vendors (see Fibre Channel SANs: 4G or Not 4G?).

Neither Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: BRCD) nor McData Corp. (Nasdaq: MCDTA), the two primary FC switch suppliers, have any plans to adopt 4-Gbit/s FC today. Emulex Corp. (NYSE: ELX), QLogic's chief rival in HBAs, is also firmly committed to 10-Gbit/s Fibre Channel as the next bump in performance (see Emulex Cooks Up 10-Gig FC Demo and 10-Gig SANs).

QLogic, though, says concerns that the migration to 10-Gig will take a lot longer than initially anticipated have recently prompted discussions of moving to 4-Gbit/s FC as an interim solution."I think that there's been a lot of people questioning how they will deploy 10 Gbit/s," says Frank Berry, QLogic's VP of marketing. "Customers would like to have a migration path for the years it will take to get to 10 Gbit/s."

Fibre Channel disk drive manufacturers have already decided to embrace 4-Gbit/s FC, but QLogic's announcement today appears to be the first attempt to bring it into the SAN fabric space. The company says offering the technology is a natural and simple step, since it already provides 4-Gbit/s FC chips on the back end of RAID controllers. "You can use the exact same chips on the front end," Berry says.

Vixel has a similar outlook, although it hasn't yet announced any 4-Gbit/s products. The transition to 4-Gbit/s SAN fabrics will facilitate 4-Gig connectivity to back-end drives, according to Vixel, which has focused on delivering switches that are embedded in storage arrays. "The investment that you have to make in 4-Gbit/s transceivers is much more economical," says Beth White, the company's VP of marketing.

IDC analyst Eric Sheppard thinks QLogic's strategy makes sense. "QLogic is an important player in the back end of the storage systems market," he says. "With that market heading to 4 Gbit/s, why not maximize their R&D dollars?"

But other industry observers question whether there actually will be any demand for the technology."More never hurts, but I'm not sure how many people will really care," says Steve Duplessie, senior analyst at Enterprise Storage Group Inc. Putting 4-Gbit/s Fibre Channel on the back end of arrays makes sense, he says. "But there aren't too many people that push anywhere near that level on the front end. It's kind of like having a 12-lane highway -- it's nice, but it doesn't make my one car go any faster."

QLogic, however, argues that SAN architects looking for a cost-effective, backward-compatible migration path to higher speeds will snap up the 4-Gbit/s products while they wait for 10 Gbit/s to evolve. The company points out that, unlike 10-Gbit/s technologies, 4-Gbit/s products will work with existing 1- and 2-Gbit/s Fibre Channel equipment.

Cost, of course, is a major factor that will affect whether 4-Gbit/s SANs take off. QLogic says prices for 4-Gig products will be roughly in line with lower-speed FC devices. "The price had better be the same," says IDC's Sheppard, adding, "One thing that's attractive about using 4-Gbit/s components is that it doesn't require all-new equipment."

Can QLogic convince a critical mass of SAN players to join it at the 4-Gbit/s dance? If not, to paraphrase Billy Idol, it may be dancin' with itself.

Eugénie Larson, Reporter, Byte and Switch