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Demartek Expert Q&A: Five questions on FCoE

07 November 2011

, Demartek President, was interviewed by SearchDataCenter as part of their Expert Q&A series.

Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) technology allows Fibre Channel storage data to be encapsulated for transfer across a conventional Ethernet LAN, eliminating the expense and management burden of a separate storage network in the data center. With FCoE gaining acceptance, we spent some time discussing the technology with Dennis Martin, president of Demartek LLC, a storage industry analyst firm located in Arvada, Colo.

Q: What are the principal hardware requirements to facilitate FCoE deployment (network interface cards, switches, etc.)? Are there any hardware recommendations/suggestions that would enhance FCoE deployment?

A: Continue to page...

Q: What are the principal software requirements to facilitate FCoE deployment (operating systems, switch software versions, drivers and so on)? How much of the software stack needs to be "FCoE ready?"

A: Continue to page...

Q: Are there any particular storage subsystem considerations needed to support FCoE? Are there any features of the Fibre Channel subsystem that readers should look for?

A: Continue to page...

Q: What kind of management tools are appropriate for FCoE storage? How well is FCoE supported by third-party data center management tools, or is it better to focus on management tools that accompany the storage subsystem?

A: Continue to page...

Q: What other best practices can you suggest for FCoE deployment?

A: Continue to page...