Fibre Channel (FC) is a networking technology that was formally introduced in 1994 by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). FC operates at various Gigabit speeds, typically using fiber-optic cable as a transmission medium (although copper cables can be used), and is used in Storage Area Networks (SAN). FC provides its own fabric and is a completely separate technology from Ethernet. Chances are that most people have heard the word "Ethernet" and have at least some idea of what it is used for ("computers or something, right?"). On the same note, it is also very likely that those same people have never even heard of "Fibre Channel" ("what the heck is that?"). This is because Ethernet is such a ubiquitous/widely-accepted technology that is integral to networks across the world and is here to stay. FC can be seen as "lagging" Ethernet in performance. While Ethernet has recently introduced 40/100Gb speeds and has Terabit Ethernet on the horizon, FC has just come out with 16Gb and is looking into 32Gb. FC is not without its benefits though. FC is: reliable, congestion free, and efficient. Wouldn't it be nice if there was some way to converge both of these technologies into one universal fabric?
IOL Blog Entries for August 2012
The Importance of Automation in Testing
By Richard "Boo" Strachan - August 14, 2012
Humans make mistakes, computers, by definition-- don't. So, what is gained by manually grinding out hours of testing? Besides, having the skill to operate variously branded remotes professionally, not much. My name is Richard "Boo" Strachan and throughout my internship, I have been trying to help with automation of many time-consuming processes dealt with daily in the Digital Living Consortium (DLC).
The Life of an IPv6 Newbie
By Alicia O - August 7, 2012
My name is Alicia O'Brien and I work in the IPv6 Consortium. I am a senior Computer Science major at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). This past spring I decided I no longer wanted to give out UNH parking tickets (and be public enemy #1) and I needed a Computer Science related job. I had taken a tour of the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) during my Introduction to Computer Science class. I wasn't sure if I had the right skill set for the job until my Computer Science friends told me that a position at the UNH-IOL did not require any prior networking knowledge. I was informed that the UNH-IOL staff would teach me everything I needed to know. When I applied and eventually was hired into the IPv6 Consortium, I had no idea what IPv6 even stood for and promptly Googled the unfamiliar acronym.