Initially, HP will include Adaptecs AEA-7111C iSCSI HBA in its SAN package. But once Adaptec closes its acquisition of Platys Communications in the next 30 to 45 days, it expects HP to come knocking on the door for more (see Adaptec Pockets Platys).
Platys makes a storage router accelerator (SRA) that bridges applications from iSCSI to Fibre Channel; iSCSI chipsets; and TOE (TCP/IP offload engine) cards that remove from the server the processor-intensive TCP/IP stack required for iSCSI communication. We hope to work with HP on all these technologies, says Steinhardt.
Research from IDC shows that quality, reliability, and strong technical support are important SAN purchasing criteria. "The HP and Adaptec announcement, coming from well known suppliers, is an important ratification of IP storage," says Robert Gray, director of storage research for IDC.
Jo Maitland, Senior Editor, Byte and Switch http://www.byteandswitch.com
Want to know more? The big cheeses of the storage networking industry will be discussing this topic in a session at StorageNet, Byte and Switchs annual conference, being held in New York City, October 2-5, 2001. Check it out at StorageNet2001