HP Unveils Storage on Ethernet Initiative

Hewlett-Packard Company this week announced plans to expand its networked storage offerings based on the emerging iSCSI standard.

According to HP, the Storage on Ethernet (SoE) initiative will complement its Fibre Channel solutions and provide customers the choice to implement storage area networks (SANs) through an Ethernet, a high-speed local area network media, and TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/Internet protocol) connection. HP’s first iSCSI solutions are expected to be delivered by year-end 2001.

Connectivity solutions like HP’s SoE initiative are key components of HP’s Federated Storage Area Management (FSAM) strategy to increase and manage storage tenfold using the same amount of resources.

Planned HP SoE solutions include iSCSI disk arrays, iSCSI tape libraries, host bus adapters, Ethernet switches and gateways to existing Fibre Channel SANs. In addition, HP is planning a comprehensive storage management environment with HP OpenView storage area management software and HP services and support.