Page 6 of 12 Why Choose Native Fibre Channel Backup? July 2001 Easy scalability When additional backup resources are required, an administrator can hot-plug devices into the SAN without reconfiguring servers.  Unlike the limited number of devices supported on a SCSI bus, the SAN can support enough backup capacity to meet the needs of the entire network.  The most common Fibre Channel networks implemented today can support over a hundred devices.  The Fibre Channel standard defines other configurations that can support thousands to millions of devices. Improved fault tolerance Backup operations are more fault tolerant on a SAN because Fibre Channel provides multiple pathways for data.  If a data path fails, data can be routed through a different data path.  Likewise, if a tape drive fails, data can be backed up to another tape drive on the SAN.  For additional fault tolerance, data can be copied to multiple devices on the SAN, including devices at remote sites.  Depending on the type of cabling used, data can be transferred up to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) between Fibre Channel devices, allowing direct remote data duplication. Simplified backup management The management of backups is much easier because backup devices can be centrally located and monitored from a single console.  Because backup resources are used more efficiently, there are fewer devices to monitor and maintain.  Because resources are pooled, they can be easily allocated as needed through software. Fibre Channel backup from Exabyte Exabyte has always understood the importance of providing cost-effective, reliable backup solutions.  With the emergence of SANs, these solutions must also integrate seamlessly into the Fibre Channel network. With SAN applications in mind, Exabyte has introduced three native Fibre Channel libraries.  The 430M, X80, and X200 MammothTape libraries, shown in Figure 1, feature Exabyte’s award-winning native Fibre Channel M2 tape drives.  Each library and its tape drives connect directly to the Fibre Channel SAN without the need for intervening routers. The M2 tape drive is the first midrange tape drive with native Fibre Channel connectivity, as well as the first in its class to provide built-in serverless backup support.  Serverless backup, described on page 9, allows backups to proceed directly from disk to tape without server involvement.  True native Fibre Channel connectivity and serverless backup support make the 430M, X80, and X200 ideal for backing up the SAN. True native Fibre Channel connectivity and serverless backup support make the Exabyte 430M, X80, and X200 ideal for backing up the SAN. p1   p2   p3   p4   p5   p6   p7   p8   p9   p10   p11   p12