Xiranet's 10-Gbit/s systems also support SAS and SATA. The XAS500 supports up to 7.5 Tbytes and the XSA1000 up to 100 Tbytes. Unlike Nimbus, these are Xiranet's first products and are low-end offerings that include Xiranet software on standard servers with a starting price of $10,000.
More 10-Gbit/s Ethernet products are on the way. Chipmakers Chelsio and Neterion have been lining up partners for their 10-Gbit/s chips. (See Neterion Lines Up Partners, FalconStor Certifies Chelsio, Chelsio, Open-E Qualify Solutions, DNUK Selects Chelsio for iSCI, Chelsio, Nimbus Promise SAN, and DSG Storage Offers Chelsio.) Also, BlueArc, which offers iSCSI connectivity for its NAS systems, is shipping 10-Gbit/s products, though it is still the early days for such systems. (See BlueArc Beefs Up Titan.)
But while 10-Gbit/s has been considered a huge future driver for iSCSI, the larger IP SAN vendors haven't delivered 10-Gbit/s systems yet. EqualLogic, LeftHand, and Intransa say they'll have 10-GigE later this year. The Fibre Channel SAN players who also offer iSCSI, such as EMC and Network Appliance, aren't even talking about it yet. Sources say EMC will soon launch new versions of its iSCSI Clariion CX and AX systems, but the vendor will stay at 1 Gbit/s for now.
Will customers bite early? It depends on how they're using iSCSI.
William Jordan, director of operations for Nimbus customer WebServe Canada, says he may go to 10-Gbit/s Ethernet as he adds disk to his IP SAN. The Vancouver-based Web site hosting firm uses Nimbus systems to back up servers, but plans to attach the entire network to Nimbus systems over the next few months.
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