Fibre Channel Or Fail

If you're going to talk about Fibre Channel, you'll have to mention SANs (storage area networks) in the same breath. Fibre Channel was created for storage networking and the need for high-speed movement of data. SANs used to be only for the enterprise and were extremely expensive, but SAN components have become more interoperable. Therefore, more businesses are able to take advantage of the benefits of SANs now. Virtually any business with more than one server can have a SAN, which allows multiple servers to access the same storage devices. Fibre Channel is the protocol and connection that moves data back and forth between servers and storage.

SANs are moving down market and demand is increasing, creating more opportunity for VARs, according to Marty Sos, director of worldwide channel and OEM for McDATA (Broomfield, CO). "I'm excited that VARs are coming to us to learn how to play in the SAN market. Fibre Channel is just a part of that," Sos said.

SANs Require Different Sales Approach
To provide SAN solutions, VARs must take more of a consultative sales approach, advised Tim Klein, president and CEO of ATTO Technology (Amherst, NY). "VARs must become familiar with the customers' applications and understand their storage infrastructures. To learn about the technology, VARs should get involved with industry associations like the SNIA [Storage Networking Industry Association]. The SNIA has a certification program that is a good tool for VARs."

Along with the opportunities SANs give to VARs, they also expose customers to complexities they are not used to, said Mike Smith, EVP worldwide marketing for Emulex (Costa Mesa, CA). "When storage was connected directly to the server, it was a closed system, hidden from the end user. Now there are management applications and storage-related services like backup and failover that require the expertise of a VAR or integrator. These solution providers need to understand how the software layers operate and how they connect to the hardware networks."

Fibre Channel was created to replace SCSI (small computer system interface) protocol, which had speed and distance constraints. Spenser Sells, manager of product marketing for Gadzoox Networks (San Jose, CA) said, "Rather than a SCSI bus with limited connections, now you could have a serial type of transport with 16 million nodes rather than SCSI's 16. So rather than having 50 servers and 50 storage devices, those 50 servers can all access the same storage. And in distance, Fibre Channel can span 10 kilometers while SCSI can only handle a 12-meter cable length."

Interoperability Not Much Of An Issue Anymore
When Fibre Channel first came on the market, the biggest issue was interoperability, but most of the interoperability problems have been solved now. Fibre Channel was also very expensive, but the price has also dropped dramatically. However, it's difficult to live down a reputation once you get one. "There's still a concern that Fibre Channel is complex to implement and very expensive, but we've entered the third generation of products now," said Sells. "Fibre Channel products from one company now work well with other companies' products, even competitors' products. There is still a slight price premium, but it is not substantial."

Of course, the cost issue is relative to whether the VAR is replacing a current network or building one from scratch. Smith said, "If you are implementing a new data center or computer facility, the cost of implementing Fibre Channel versus non-Fibre Channel is very small, less than 10%. Prices have gone down dramatically and are less than half what they were three years ago. It's typical in the computer industry to see pricing fall in the vicinity of 15% to 20% per year."

Overcome Customer Resistance To Unplugging Their Existing Networks
Sos said customers with existing networks have an initial resistance to unplugging everything from their network to convert to Fibre Channel. "Fibre Channel is a protocol," he said. "The VAR must first install Fibre Channel, and if the customer has 200 Sun servers, some EMC servers, and some IBM servers, they are understandably a little hesitant to disturb their Frankenstein system."

Fibre Channel is an important technology for VARs to consider. Klein said, "As the technology for storage evolves and data storage requirements grow, there's no option for VARs. SANs will be the new architecture. It will not be a matter of should VARs consider offering SAN solutions, it will be that VARs must offer SANs or they will be run out of the storage segment of the business."