FibreChannel Resources

The Technology

  • This UNH page has an excellent in-depth introduction to FC - all the details. Ports, layers, media options, all the info, with zero sales pitch. Start here!
  • The FibreChannel Industry Organization has an excellent introduction to FibreChannel.
  • The FibreChannel HOWTO is maintained by the GFS team. This has an excellent discussion of the details of FC, as well as supported Linux cards, recommended vendors, etc.
  • The FibreChannel Interoperability Lab has some useful information as well.

    • Vendors

  • Sandin Feuss has a website that sells Fibre Channel parts and systems. This is the same person that did his own T-cards below; I have dealt with him with excellent results.
  • Cinoncics sells T-cards that use cat-5 network cables instead of DB9 or HSSDC. This lowers the costs of single disks significantly. I've not tried them; the info is from Slashdot.
  • This page at Overclockers has instructions (detailed, with source links) for building your own T-cards. It looks quite feasible for those with a soldering iron and some time.
  • CS Electronics sells FC products, as well as the T-cards needed to run FC without a backplane or hub, media converters, etc. They have DB9 and PTP T-cards, as well as any FC cable you want, media converters and GBICs.
  • Chapparal Tech makes our RAID controllers. We use the K7413 model.
  • Adaptec also made RAID controllers for FC, which they've since sold to Chapparal. We are using one of their AEC-7412B models. Go here for information on the AEC series.
  • TeamExcess seems to have a stock of super-cheap QLogic and Emulex FC cards, for $150 to $250. Get 'em while they last!
  • The Ancot FC analyzer we've got ordered.
  • The Penquin RAID case that I'm using at home. SAF-TE support via an embedded microcontroller, triple 150W power supplies, LCD monitor, it's awesome!
  • Vixel Tech makes the FC hub that I just got on Ebay. It's a model 1063 with 7 ports, OEM'd by Compaq. Nice piece of hardware.

    • Software and Drivers

  • The scsiadd program is useful for re-scanning the FC loop if something is added after the driver is loaded. By default, Linux does not add any disks that weren't present at driver load. Most annoying, but scsiadd does an OK job. As you might guess from the name, it works on any scsi bus supported by Linux.
  • Qlogic drivers for Linux are included in the kernel since at least version 2.2. Under Drivers / SCSI, enable 'qlogicfc' and BoB's your uncle.
  • QLogic drivers for non-Linux systems can be found on the QLOgic web site.
  • Emulex drivers and utils
  • Interphase drivers and support
  • iozone benchmark
  • bonnie benchmark
  • bonnie++ benchmark.

    • Cool Other Links

  • Sandin Feuss figured out how to build his own T-cards, to use FC disks cheaply on a local machine. Cool!


    • Navigation Links

  • Introduction / HOWTO: Fibre Channel
  • FC at CDF page
  • FC at home page
  • FC at home, part two - chassis and tapes
  • Resources page

  • Back to home page