IP SAN Host Platforms
NetApp delivers full support for IP SAN host connections with leading enterprise operating systems—Windows®, Solaris™, AIX, Linux®, HP/UX, and NetWare. NetApp enables robust options for high-availability configurations via multipathing and clustering, as shown in the following table.
|
OS Vendor |
Initiator |
Certified Solution |
Multipathing |
Host Cluster |
|
Microsoft |
Hardware (several),
Software Initiator |
Yes |
MPIO |
MSCS |
|
Sun Microsystems |
Hardware (Qlogic),
Software Initiator |
Yes |
TBD |
TBD |
|
HP |
Software Initiator |
Yes |
PV Links |
TBD |
|
IBM |
Software Initiator |
Yes |
Trunking |
TBD |
|
RedHat |
Hardware (Qlogic),
Software Initiator |
Yes |
Trunking |
Oracle |
|
Suse |
Hardware (Qlogic),
Software Initiator |
Yes |
Trunking |
Oracle |
|
VMWare |
Software Initiator |
Yes |
Trunking |
Netware |
iSCI Protocol
iSCSI, an industry standard storage protocol defined and maintained by the Internet Engineering Task Force, enables the consolidation, scalability, and management advantages of a storage area network (SAN) without the unfamiliarity, complexity, and expense of traditional SAN interconnects. Also known as Internet SCSI, iSCSI encapsulates SCSI block storage commands into Ethernet packets for transport over IP networks, enabling companies to leverage standard, familiar Ethernet networking infrastructures to create affordable SANs.
Benefits include:
- Significant cost savings. iSCSI SAN storage solutions leverage the volume economics, scalability, and simplicity of standard Ethernet networking.
- Investment protection. iSCSI enables you to leverage your existing Ethernet networking investment and expertise to deploy either departmental SANs that complement your existing Fibre Channel data center SAN or "green field" SANs within a distributed IT environment.
- Proven technology. iSCSI brings together two of the most ubiquitous and well-understood technologies in the IT industry—SCSI storage and IP networks.