Late last year, MaXXan completed the development of its high-scale MXV320 switch -- which offers up to 320 Fibre Channel ports in a single chassis -- and it's currently in end-user field trials. The switch is designed to host multiple storage management applications, including virtualization, data replication, snapshotting, and NAS gateway functions. It also provides user-configurable ports, which can be set for either Fibre Channel or Gigabit Ethernet running the Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP) protocol (for more background, see Storage Networking Basics).
In a move apparently intended to scare up some sales until the MXV320 starts generating revenue, MaXXan teamed with Veritas Software Corp. (Nasdaq: VRTS) to develop a NAS gateway device that integrates Veritas's ServPoint software (see MaXXan Sells Veritas-'Powered' NAS and Veritas Scraps ServPoint Strategy).
MaXXan is undoubtedly facing an extremely challenging market for its high-port-count system. Among other things, there are several other startups developing similar "intelligent" SAN switches, including Candera Inc., Maranti Networks, and Sanera Systems Inc. (see Can Candera Compete?, Smart SAN Switches: Not This Year, Maranti Hires SAN Virtuoso, Sanera Founder Says Sayonara, and Sanera Tightens Its Belt).
Meanwhile, two others -- Pirus Networks and Rhapsody Networks -- were acquired last year by, respectively, Sun Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) and Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: BRCD). Brocade's move was seen in part as a defensive maneuver to counter Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), which is developing higher-layer features for its own Fibre Channel switches through the Andiamo Systems Inc. spin-in (see Brocade Reupholsters Rhapsody, Cisco Takes Spinnaker for a Spin, and Pirus Gets Sun Tan).
Todd Spangler, US Editor, Byte and Switch
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