Page 13 of 18 March 2001 Fibre Channel: Why another interface? The bridge shortcut Currently, the most common method for attaching tape drives and libraries to a Fibre Channel network is to attach traditional SCSI devices to a SCSI-to-Fibre Channel bridge (sometimes called a router). The bridge converts the SCSI signals into the Fibre Channel frames and then transmits the frames through a Fibre Channel switch or hub to the Fibre Channel network. Using a bridge provides a quick way to attach legacy SCSI devices into a Fibre Channel network. In addition, some bridges enable use of the extended copy (E-copy) SCSI command on tape drives. Using a bridge to provide Fibre Channel connectivity does have its limitations. Connecting multiple devices (for example, the tape drives and robot in a library) to a Fibre Channel network through a single bridge can cause a performance bottleneck. In this type of configuration, all of the devices must share the available bandwidth through the single link to the Fibre Channel network. Furthermore, bridges tend to be expensive and can be complex to properly configure. Adding new devices means reconfiguring the existing bridge or purchasing a new bridge to provide the necessary bandwidth. In addition, when multiple devices are attached to the network through a single bridge, failure of the bridge takes all of the attached devices off the network. A FIbre Channel-to-SCSI bridge connects traditional SCSI devices to a Fibre Channel network Although Fibre Channel-to- SCSI bridges can be expensive to implement, they provide “instant” Fibre Channel connectivity for legacy SCSI devices. p1   p2   p3   p4   p5   p6   p7   p8   p9   p10   p11   p12   p13   p14   p15   p16   p17   p18