Piece by piece, iSCSI storage networks are coming together with the promise of enabling storage applications to run over existing IP infrastructures. This could deliver significant cost savings and ease of management, a tempting proposition for budget-stressed IT managers.
Adaptec Inc. (Nasdaq: ADPT) is one company keen to get a slice of iSCSI action. It has unveiled what it says is the first iSCSI Storage Protocol Accelerator (SPA) ASIC to connect servers and storage devices in iSCSI SANs.
Its proprietary protocol acceleration technology offloads TCP/IP and iSCSI protocol processing from the host to reduce CPU utilization and free-up system resources. This is said to be critical to the widespread adoption of iSCSI (see Silverback Emerges From the Mist).
Tape library firm Advanced Digital Information Corporation (NASDAQ: ADIC) is the first to integrate Adaptec's SPA ASIC into its storage appliances. The companies claim this is the first announcement of an ASIC-based iSCSI implementation for a storage device (see ADIC Adapts to Adaptec).
Despite all the demos and announcements, iSCSI still has a way to go yet. The official specification is still months away from final approval by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and there is likely to be more tweaking after the demo in Orlando.
By combining resources and expertise, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium will offer a blueprint for how industries can adapt to an AI-dominated future.
IT leaders should heed the guidance of cybersecurity insurance providers who think businesses should prioritize security education, incident preparedness, regular internal audits, and ongoing vulnerability scanning and patching.
There are many network courses that can address your present job's priorities and help you gain the needed skills to keep pace with industry changes and new technologies.
