Small Computer System Interface Over IP and Fibre Channel Over Ethernet: A Comparison

Data centers typically run multiple separate networks, including an Ethernet network for client-to-server and server to-server communications, and a Fibre Channel SAN. To support various types of networks, data centers use separate, redundant interface modules for each network, such as Ethernet network interface cards (NICs) and Fibre Channel interfaces in their servers, and redundant pairs of switches at each layer in the network architecture. Use of parallel infrastructures increases capital costs, makes data center management more difficult, and decreases business flexibility.