Fibre Channel (FC) uses a high-speed network technology for data storage that has become a popular type of connection for high performance SAN enterprise storage to guarantee excellent throughput and low latency. It is specifically suited for creating SAN topologies for virtualization e.g. ESXi, data centers or other platforms that tackle huge amounts of data.

Fibre Channel enables avoiding collisions and congestion, and also allows a higher saturation of the Fibre Channel connection. The ZFS- and Linux-based Open-E JovianDSS Data Storage Software covers support for the Fibre Channel technology in two ways:

• As an Initiator, for connecting external Fibre Channel devices,
• As a Target, for serving virtual volumes over the Fibre Channel protocol.

The plain structure of the protocol in conjunction with the built-in Enterprise-class features in Open-E JovianDSS results in a straightforward, reliable, stable and high-speed solution. Open-E JovianDSS with Fibre Channel supports multiple client protocols simultaneously (unified storage), offering very high storage capacity with outstanding scalability. Also, the solution reduces downtime and ensures Business Continuity through High Availability and the On- and Off-site Data Protection feature included in the software. An easy configuration and maintenance of the whole storage, especially in High Availability environments rounds up the profile of the software.

As for the hardware, solutions with Open-E JovianDSS and a Fibre Channel Target require Fibre Channel HBAs (Host Bus Adapters). The solution supports Qlogic FC HBAs up to 32Gbps.

Open-E JovianDSS can be used as a single node Fibre Channel server or cluster Fibre Channel solution using ALUA (Asymmetric Logical Unit Assignment).

Download the Open-E JovianDSS with Fibre Channel Target brochure

Note: For simplicity reasons this diagram shows only Fibre Channel connections. All other connections, e.g. the ethernet link between the nodes used for cluster management purposes, are not shown. Please refer to product help or our step-by-step guides for more detailed information about cluster connections.

Connections to the client may go over one cable (single path) or to ensure higher availability over redundant paths – multipath (MPIO).

Note: For simplicity reasons this diagram shows only Fibre Channel connections. All other connections, e.g. the ethernet link between the nodes used for cluster management purposes, are not shown. Please refer to product help or our step-by-step guides for more detailed information about cluster connections.

It is recommended to use Fibre Channel switches, but it is also possible to directly connect Open-E JovianDSS servers to the clients as a switchless solution. However, such solutions are getting more challenging with MPIO since each connection requires a dedicated physical FC port.

Note: For simplicity reasons this diagram shows only Fibre Channel connections. All other connections, e.g. the ethernet link between the nodes used for cluster management purposes, are not shown. Please refer to product help or our step-by-step guides for more detailed information about cluster connections.