Neither side can completely shoot down the arguments of the other. While Cisco, FNC, and Nortel are among vendors who've announced MSPP add-ons, there are still some missing pieces compared with the fancier features native to standalone channel extenders (see Nortel Pipes SANs Into Sonet and Cisco Extends SANs Over Sonet).
While Cisco, for instance, supports Fibre Channel buffer credits in its SL series cards for its ONS 15454, it doesn't yet have data compression. FNC, which already has a foothold in SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC) and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) (see FNC Lands Big Verizon Gig), is still a couple of quarters away from shipping a card that will bring Fibre Channel, Ficon, and Ethernet to its Flashwave 4000 series MSPPs; and the vendor has stated that advanced features like data compression will follow initial release.
Channel extender vendors admit they're still enterprise-oriented. Despite the fact that many channel extenders, including Akara's, have long supported Sonet connectivity via Generic Framing Procedure (GFP) and other methods, carriers see them as CPE. "The majority of carriers still see SAN extension as an enteprise function," says Matthew Williams, senior product marketing manager for storage and enterprise at what used to be Akara and is now Ciena. "The trust isn't there yet."
One thing both MSPP and channel extender vendors agree on: Demand for Sonet SAN gear among carriers is on the rise. "Yes, it's small now, but we definitely see it growing," says Patty Barkley, product marketing director at CNT. She says AT&T Corp. (NYSE: T), Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q), and Verizon are present customers, offering CNT gear with both regulated and unregulated services.
"RBOCs, ILECs, IXCs, storage service providers, and a number of other smaller carriers and CLECs are coming out of the woodwork," says Sam Lisle, director of market development at FNC. He says the low end of the market, served by smaller MSPPs that support services to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs}, is especially promising. This SMB group is likely to pick up on metro services, including Fibre Channel and Ethernet ones for data replication, rather than building storage networks from scratch.
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