Sequent Computer Systems Inc is taking Minnetonka, Minnesota-based Ancor Communications Inc’s Fiber Channel switches and integrating them with its next-generation ccNUMA-Q based systems. Sequent is developing a SCSI-to- Fiber Channel bridge for accessing RAID storage devices, retaining exclusive rights to sell the bridge product under its own name. Ancor values the deal at up to $30m over the next two years. Key to Fiber Channel’s performance, says the firm, beside raw transmission speed – it claims its Fibre Channel systems deliver available per-node bandwidth of up to one Gigabit per second and aggregate network throughput of nearly a terabit – is the use of flexible circuit-packet switched topology to connect devices. Through the switch, Fiber Channel establishes multiple simultaneous point-to- point connections. Devices attached to the switch don’t have to contend for the transmission medium as they would in a network using intrinsic flow control and acknowledgment features. Ancor’s switching technology is used by IBM Corp, Hewlett-Packard Co and AT&T Corp.
