Fibre Channel

[Bill@WelcomeHome]

At one point, fibre was optical and fiber was copper but that designation seems blurred today. It is used in SANs for storage. In the 90s we had a large SAN made up of multiple Seagate Barracuda SCSI drives. Cost a fortune when we did it.

[arnvid]

Fiber Channel is the term for connecting storage generally over fiber.. low latency high speeds. And generally used for SANs -but can also be used with DAS.

[mixkitchen]

Thank you Bill and arnvid.
So it's copper? If so, is it the same pin connection as Ethernet?

[davenutz]

Originally Posted by arnvid

Fiber Channel is the term for connecting storage generally over fiber.. low latency high speeds. And generally used for SANs -but can also be used with DAS.

strictly speaking, it is "fibre" channel when speaking of the communication, and "fiber" when talking about fiber optic cable or optical communication/signal transmission.

"fibre channel" is a communication protocol, which is directly incompatible with ethernet. However, FCoE - or "Fibre Channel Over Ethernet" is quite literally the transmission of FC protocols over an ethernet network, but not using TCP/IP frames. FC and FCoE are primarily used in storage networking.

Note that Fibre Channel can run over copper or optical cables, hence the distinction between "fibre" and "fiber".

Note that ethernet protocols such as TCP/IP can ALSO run over copper or optical cables. the electronics handling the physical communication are incompatible (you could not, for instance, connect an optical cable carrying Fibre Channel to an optical ethernet switch or network interface adapter *unless the device specifically supports dual formats*.)

[mjtripper]

Originally Posted by davenutz

strictly speaking, it is "fibre" channel when speaking of the communication, and "fiber" when talking about fiber optic cable or optical communication/signal transmission.

"fibre channel" is a communication protocol, which is directly incompatible with ethernet. However, FCoE - or "Fibre Channel Over Ethernet" is quite literally the transmission of FC protocols over an ethernet network, but not using TCP/IP frames. FC and FCoE are primarily used in storage networking.

Note that Fibre Channel can run over copper or optical cables, hence the distinction between "fibre" and "fiber".

Note that ethernet protocols such as TCP/IP can ALSO run over copper or optical cables. the electronics handling the physical communication are incompatible (you could not, for instance, connect an optical cable carrying Fibre Channel to an optical ethernet switch or network interface adapter *unless the device specifically supports dual formats*.)

This is the correct answer. It amazes me that many in IT even get this wrong with protocol and transport frequently getting used interchangeably.

[Goddard]

Not analog, it's digital just like Ethernet (or like an old-time telegraph).

Note that even if a digital protocol employs an analog medium (e.g. an analog carrier signal encoded with (modulated by) digital data, like in digital TV transmission or cable modems), it is still digital, as the analog signal merely carries the digital signal (the data).

An equivalent to FCP employing Ethernet (TCP/IP) is "iSCSI", support for which is typically already included in (or easily added to) most current operating systems.

[mixkitchen]

Thank you all. It's more clear to me now. I am physically slapping my own wrists for not realising the difference between 'fiber' and 'fibre'