Byte and Switch: Is Network Appliance moving toward Fibre Channel as this is the accepted SAN technology, and Ethernet hasn't been built from the ground up for this environment?
Watson: Running a database on Solaris over Ethernet is going to run into latency issues today, because of the TCP/IP processing overhead. But several companies are working on gigabit Ethernet NICs [network interface cards] that offload the TCP/IP stack from the server and onto a card. These look exactly like a Fibre Channel HBA [host bus adapter] and will enable the system to run at wire speed. At this point, there will be little to differentiate between a Fibre Channel-based SAN and an Ethernet-based SAN [see Trebia Breaks Silence].
Byte and Switch: Does this spell the end for Fibre Channel?
Watson: No, because the disk drives will keep using Fibre Channel. It just means users will have a richer choice for designing their network and will be able to combine the technologies.
Byte and Switch: OK. So what else is coming in the next release of your software?
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