Storage area network extension solutions and their performance assessment

Several solutions are proposed to extend storage area networking solutions over distances of hundreds to thousands of kilometers. Native fibre channel or end-to-end fibre channel-based solutions can be offered over long distances using SONET-based networks. Protocols such as Internet SCSI (iSCSI), Internet fibre channel protocol (iFCP) and fibre channel over TCP/IP (FCIP) are being proposed to enable storage area networking solutions over networks that use IP as their transport protocol. Performance analysis of these solutions in terms of application throughput under variable network conditions of packet loss, bandwidth availability, extension distance, and TCP implementations in the sender and receiver is presented based on analytical modeling of different solutions.