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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 3, 2003 - The Fibre Channel
Industry Association (FCIA) and its sister association, the Fibre Channel Industry
Association–Japan (FCIA-J) today announced that its members voted in favor
of extending 4Gbs Fibre Channel (4GFC) from an intra-cabinet storage device interconnect
into switched SAN fabrics. The vote supports the ANSI INCITS T11 committee approval
of 4Gbs Fibre Channel (copper and optics) for use as both a drive and network
interface in the NCITS T11 document FC-PI-2. The result of the two votes will
be a cost effective migration for 2GFC and a high speed interface that is complementary
to 10GFC.
Cost Effective Migration for 2GFC
4GFC is a highly cost effective migration for 2GFC applications. With 2GFC currently
the predominant SAN infrastructure, 4GFC ensures that users preserve their 2GFC
investments. 4GFC is completely backward compatible and interoperable with 1GFC
and 2GFC products, enclosures and cables. The "auto-negotiation" feature
of Fibre Channel allows 4GFC products to automatically sense the data rate capability
of products they are connected to without user intervention; if there are 2GFC
products attached, the 4GFC product will automatically run 2GFC, and likewise
for 1GFC. This backward compatible feature of 4GFC ensures users a smooth and
affordable migration without the need for a "forklift" replacement of
all attached 1GFC and 2GFC products with 4GFC products.
"We are pleased that FCIA has once again helped prevent industry
fragmentation by providing a clear and concise roadmap for Fibre Channel migration
as well as providing invaluable market feedback into the Fibre Channel standards
community of engineering professionals", said Skip Jones, sitting Chairman
of the Fibre Channel Industry Association.
Complementary to 10GFC
4GFC complements the currently referenced 10GFC on FCIA's roadmap. With twice
the bandwidth of 2GFC, 4GFC will drive the need for 10GFC in the network core.
4GFC fabric networks are matched perfectly with storage enclosures that will utilize
4GFC disk drives in 2004.
Fibre Channel's growth continues to accelerate as more and more
end-users take advantage of an all Fibre Channel storage infrastructure. End–users
are looking do more with less. Storage Networking based on Fibre Channel technology
fills that need by providing high performance, lower cost of implementation through
better leverage, and increased interoperability through the use of standards based
technology. It has been proven that the adoption of standards based technology
allows end-users to deploy best of breed solutions. Companies of all sizes have
recognized the value of supporting standards based Fibre Channel technology as
evidenced by the current growth of the FCIA's membership.
About the FCIA
The Fibre Channel Industry Association is an international organization of manufacturers,
systems integrators, developers, systems vendors, industry professionals, and
end users. With more than 150 members and affiliates in the United States, Europe
and Japan, the FCIA is committed to delivering a broad base of Fibre Channel infrastructure
to support a wide array of industry applications within the mass storage and IT-based
arenas. FCIA Working Groups focus on specific aspects of the technology that target
both vertical and horizontal markets, including storage, video, networking and
SAN Management.
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