Industry Leaders Collaborate to Develop Next-Generation Storage Networks

Strategic Insights -

Hewlett-Packard Company and Seagate Technology, Inc. have announced plans to develop products based on 2 gigabit-per-second (2Gb/s) Fibre Channel technology, with a roadmap leading to 4 Gb/s and higher. This technology addresses the emerging needs of computer system OEMs to build arbitrated loops with higher bandwidth and to build topologies capable of cascading several 1 Gb/s loops together via high-speed switches interconnected by multigigabit links. The development aims to deliver higher performance, scalability, and flexibility in future storage networks.

Key Takeaways:

  • HP and Seagate are working together to develop 2 Gb/s Fibre Channel products, with a roadmap to 4 Gb/s and higher, to address the increasing data rates of high-performance disk drives.
  • The 2 Gb/s link has a maximum bandwidth potential of 800 Mb/s when used in full duplex capability with dual-port Fibre Channel disk drives.
  • This is twice the bandwidth potential of a 1 Gb/s link and several times the bandwidth potential of other storage I/O technologies.
  • The development aims to deliver products with higher performance, scalability, and flexibility in future storage networks to support emerging computing requirements such as multimedia and video creation/editing/broadcasting.
  • HP's background in high-speed serializer/deserializer (SerDes) ICs for Fibre Channel and Ethernet, and its high-performance TACHYON Fibre Channel protocol controllers, position HP as well-suited to drive Fibre Channel I/O solutions to higher levels of performance.
  • Seagate's long-standing leadership in Fibre Channel technology, including the debut of the Barracuda 4, the world's first Fibre Channel disk drive, in 1994, makes it a key player in the development of multigigabit Fibre Channel.
  • PDF and CD-ROM technology to be available in 1999.

Statistics:

  • 2 Gb/s link has a maximum bandwidth potential of 800 Mb/s when used in full duplex capability with dual-port Fibre Channel disk drives.
  • This is twice the bandwidth potential of a 1 Gb/s link and several times the bandwidth potential of other storage I/O technologies.
  • Seagate has shipped more Fibre Channel disk-drive units than all other manufacturers combined.

Sources:

  • Hewlett-Packard Company press release, "Hewlett-Packard and Seagate Announce Plans for Multigigabit Fibre Channel Products," Nov. 9, 1998
  • Seagate Technology, Inc. press release, "Seagate and HP to Deliver Multigigabit Fibre Channel Products," Nov. 9, 1998
  • Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995