Until quite recently, top-tier storage vendors such as EMC, IBM, HP, and HDS did not even have iSCSI options for Storage Area Network (SAN) arrays. That changed as iSCSI-over-Ethernet matured and vendors aggressively targeted the mid-sized enterprise market. Now EMC has eliminated the need to even choose between Fibre Channel (FC) and IP with the latest upgrade of its mid-range offering.

FC/iSCSI Combined, Ease of Use Improved

The CLARiiON CX3 UltraScale series can host FC and iSCSI connections concurrently in the same storage array. With support for up to 128 host servers connected via either FC or iSCSI, the CLARiiON CX3 UltraScale can scale from 365GB to 59TB. The higher capacity CX3 Model 40 FC/iSCSI system can scale to up to 119TB. The systems start at about $35,000.

EMC says it is targeting the solution at enterprises that have already invested in FC but want to expand their SAN storage to Ethernet-based servers using iSCSI. First-time SAN buyers also have the assurance that they can start with iSCSI connectivity, but then add FC later if a particularly high capacity application...