SAS cuts a wide data path

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
09/05/05

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Serial-attached SCSI technology is poised to keep storage
  costs down without compromising functionality or performance
* Links related to Networking Technology Update
* Featured reader resource
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With applications and infrastructures growing more sophisticated
and demanding, network and systems management technologies are
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Today's focus:

SAS cuts a wide data path

By Larry Jacob

Until recently, data centers were populated primarily with
storage-area networks that used Fibre Channel connectivity and
parallel SCSI interfaces. Such storage solutions deliver high
performance and reliability but carry a high price tag. However,
serial-attached SCSI technology is poised to keep storage costs
down without compromising functionality or performance.

The SAS 1.1 standard is in the final approval phase of the
International Committee on Information Technology Standards'
(INCITS ) T10 committee. Storage vendors plan to introduce SAS
products in the next few months that will replace Fibre Channel
disks with more-economical SAS disks.

The SAS interface supports SAS and serial-ATA (SATA ) drives,
the type typically found in PCs and low-end servers. SATA drives
cost less and offer less performance than Fibre Channel and SAS
drives. But they are ideal candidates for near-line storage of
information that is not accessed frequently; a second tier of
disk-resident storage.

The compatibility of SAS and SATA drives begins with their
low-level interface characteristics. In fact, SAS and SATA
physical signaling is set by the same standard and is
indistinguishable. The addition of the SATA Tunneling Protocol
to the SAS standard paved the way for allowing a single SAS
controller to support first- and second-tier storage.

Traditional storage subsystems begin with a RAID controller that
must support two interfaces: one to interconnect to the host SAN
(traditionally Fibre Channel) and one to support the connection
of the hard-disk drives. Although the Fibre Channel loop can
support up to 127 hard-disk drives, performance can be optimized
by using far fewer drives per loop plus the use of Fibre Channel
switches.

To read more, go to:
<http://www.networkworld.com/nltechupdate6417>

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Today's most-forwarded story:

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_______________________________________________________________
To contact:

Jacob is senior director of product management for Ario Data
Networks. He can be reached at ljacob@ariodata.com.
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by HP
Network World Executive Guide: The Evolution of Management
Technologies

With applications and infrastructures growing more sophisticated
and demanding, network and systems management technologies are
more critical than ever. Elevating their focus from bits and
bytes, these networked systems are being called on to close the
gap between IT and business services. Read about the future of
management, including BSM and emerging automation tools. Learn
about 'hot spots' and 'best products' in network management.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=112887
_______________________________________________________________
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Technology Update archive:
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VoIP networks performing at their best. Click here for more:
<http://www.networkworld.com/topics/voip.html>
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