Switch Showoffs Prep for Show

McData Corp. (Nasdaq: MCDTA) and Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) are readying new data management features for their Fibre Channel switches and plan to unveil them at the Storage Networking World tradeshow in Phoenix next week.

McData plans to demonstrate volume management as well as backup and replication features in its Sphereon Intelligent switch platform, with technology it acquired by investing $6 million in Aarohi Inc. (see Aarohi Announces Funding... Again). Cisco will demonstrate a software feature it calls Data Tap Service for its MDS 9000 family of switches.

Intelligent switches place storage management functions on the Fibre Channel switch rather than on the server. McData and Aarohi claim Aarohis architecture speeds packet processing and lowers I/O latency by separating management functions from the movement of data.

McData will use StoreAge Networking Technologiessoftware to perform snapshots, replication, and remote mirroring at SNW, McData product manager Jim Nollsch says. McData will migrate data “on the fly,” so as soon as migration is complete, the data can be accessed from a different array.

Cisco’s Data Tap provides a protocol interface between the SAN switch and backup storage appliances, such as those from IntraDyn Inc., Overland Storage Inc. (Nasdaq: OVRL), or Data Domain Inc. The appliances can then access data on the SAN without being connected to it. Cisco will demonstrate data replication and backup with partners Alacritus Software Inc., Kashya Inc., and Topio. The three sell software that runs over storage appliances.Because Data Tap is geared toward appliances, it is aimed at a different market than the switches Cisco plans with virtualization software from Veritas Software Corp. (Nasdaq: VRTS) and IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM). (See Veritas Finally Delivers on Cisco and Cisco & IBM Serve Virtual Combo.)

“This is different,” Cisco spokesman John Noh says. “The functionality in those resided on the switches themselves. They were much more integrated with the SAN. ”

It will be some time before McData and Cisco can show off these advanced capabilities to customers. The time to market for McData’s switches depends on how fast software companies develop and port software for the switches. So far, only EMC has agreed to develop software for its intelligent switches, although partners are sure to follow (see EMC & McData Get Smart). McData product manager Jim Nollsch says he doesn’t expect the intelligent switches to ship until 2005. “We still see it as a little early,” he says.

Noh declines to say when Cisco’s Data Tap Service will ship, but it probably won’t be before late this year.

— Dave Raffo, Senior Editor, Byte and Switch0