Fiber Channel Hardware Emporium

Fibre Channel (FC) is a high-speed data transfer protocol designed for in-order, lossless delivery of raw block data, commonly operating at rates such as 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128 gigabits per second. Primarily used in Storage Area Networks (SANs), it connects computer data storage to servers, providing a resilient and efficient means of managing large-scale data transfer. Fibre Channel networks are typically implemented as a switched fabric, where network switches work together as a unified system, ensuring seamless data flow. These networks are primarily built using optical fiber cables but can also run on copper cabling.

Fibre Channel supports various upper-level protocols, such as Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP), which transports SCSI commands over the network. Over time, multiple generations of Fibre Channel have been developed, with the most recent being the Gen 7 standard, also known as 64GFC, offering up to 64 Gbps of bandwidth. The Gen 6 (32GFC) standard remains the most common in current deployments. To build a fully functional SAN, several key Fibre Channel hardware components are essential:-

• :: Host Bus Adapters (HBAs): These enable connectivity between a host system and the SAN.
• :: Fibre Channel Switches: Multi-port hardware that provides connectivity across the SAN.
• :: Fibre Channel Directors: Larger switches with modular chassis designed for high-density, high-port-count environments.

These components work together to form a highly efficient, scalable, and resilient data transfer system ideal for commercial data centers. You can find an example here.

Figure 1: A sample diagrammatic representation of a Fibre Channel (FC) SAN architecture; whose individual hardware components we stock at Tekmart Africa.

In this section, you will find all Fiber Channel parts and hardware components for your data centre equipment.

Whatever kind of hardware you’re looking at for your Enterprise environment, from any of our leading manufacturers, Tekmart Africa can help you source it at the right price. Browse Our Catalog Now!