What's worrisome for iReady, though -- as well as others betting the ranch on iSCSI -- is that expectations for broad adoption of the technology keep getting pushed back. Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), for instance, now expects to deliver native iSCSI storage systems in mid-2004, though other vendors, including Network Appliance Inc. (Nasdaq: NTAP) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), are moving forward more aggressively (see HP: iSCSI Still a Year Off).
As noted, iReady does not have any design wins, though it says it's currently in discussions with storage and server vendors. The company notes that its partner, National Semi, is using its iSCSI adapters internally -- but really, eating your own dog food doesn't count for much, does it?
And while its price points may be attractive to OEMs, iReady isn't able to publicly release performance metrics, such as throughput or CPU utilization, for its iSCSI products yet. It's currently "in the early stages of benchmarking," says Gary Thomas, president and COO of iReady.
Meanwhile, competitors Silverback Systems Inc. and Trebia Networks Inc. have both released benchmark testing numbers for their TOE-related technologies that either match or exceed the performance of Fibre Channel (see Silverback Makes iSCSI Howl and Is Trebia Up for Sale?).
In any event, iReady is trying to penetrate a market that's chock-full of players, including Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BRCM) and Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC). Others developing TOE technologies include Aarohi Inc., Adaptec Inc. (Nasdaq: ADPT), Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A), Alacritech Inc., Astute Networks Inc., iStor Networks Inc., and QLogic Corp. (Nasdaq: QLGC). (See TOE Vendors Flock to Microsoft, IStor Seeks More Funding, and Win2003 Zooms on Alacritech.)
Bob Friday, Chief AI Officer for Juniper Networks, explains how the advanced technology is transforming operations.
Contact center leaders from 8x8, Awaken Intelligence, and 360insight discuss the importance of agent experience.
AI may force enterprises to rewire parts of their data centers so they are fully optimized to run such workloads. The question is do you use Ethernet or InfiniBand?
