Specifications

Escala Tower PL & S, E, T System Hardware
Chapter 3: External Storage and SAN Subsystems 84/116
9es3s1c3.doc
Rev 5.9
02/12/2003
6.3.5. Interconnection with Legacy Technologies
6.3.5.1. Fibre Channel / SCSI Bridges
Fibre channel / SCSI bridges provide a fibre channel interface for SCSI devices. A bridge can connect
servers or storage subsystems that do not have fibre channel interfaces. There are two modes of
operation:
•
SCSI initiator (e.g. server with SCSI adapter) to fibre channel target (e.g. fibre channel disk
subsystem)
•
Or fibre channel initiator (e.g. server with fibre channel adapter) to SCSI target (e.g. library).
Bridge
SCSI bus
Fibre
channel
network
SCSI initiator
Fibre channel
tar
g
et
Bridge
SCSI bus
Fibre
channel
network
SCSI tar
g
et
Fibre Channel
initiator
The bridges have a lot of implementation dependant features, and notably:
•
Support of SCSI or FC initiators, or both
•
Number of SCSI buses and fibre channel interfaces,
•
Supported fibre channel topologies (point-to-point, fabric, private or public loop)
•
Mode of operation SCSI / FC address translation,
•
Device discovery
•
Sustained performance
6.3.5.2. Fibre Channel / IP Bridges
The Fibre Channel / IP Bridges devices are used to interconnect legacy IP networks (Ethernet, FDDI,
ATM, etc.) to a fibre channel network supporting IP. The market for such kind of devices is very
small, because Fibre Channel is now positioned as a technology for storage (SAN architecture), and no
more a potential high speed LAN, as it has been the case.