1.2.3.3. Converged Networks
With FCoE, standard fibre channel commands and data packets are transported over a 10GbE physical infrastructure via a single converged network adapter (CNA). Standard TCP/IP ethernet traffic and fibre channel storage operations can be transported via the same link. FCoE uses one physical network interface card (and one cable) for multiple logical network/storage connections.
- Reduced number of connections
- FCoE reduces the number of network connections to a server by half. You can still choose to have multiple connections for performance or availability; however, a single connection provides both storage and network connectivity. This is especially helpful for pizza box servers and blade servers, since they both have very limited space for components.
- Lower cost
- Reduced number of connections immediately means reduced number of cables, switches, and other networking equipment. Ethernet's history also features great economies of scale; the cost of networks drops dramatically as the number of devices in the market goes from millions to billions, as was seen in the decline in the price of 100Mb Ethernet and gigabit Ethernet devices.Similarly, 10GbE will also become cheaper as more businesses adapt to its use. Also, as CNA hardware is integrated into a single chip, widespread use will also increase its volume in the market, which will result in a significant price drop over time.
Internet SCSI (iSCSI) is another type of converged network protocol; it is an alternative to FCoE. Like fibre channel, iSCSI provides block-level storage over a network. However, iSCSI does not provide a complete management environment. The main advantage of iSCSI over FCoE is that iSCSI provides much of the capability and flexibility of fibre channel, but at a lower cost.
