ESG Lab Review
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QLogic made its name in the IT industry as a trusted provider of Fibre Channel host bus adapters.
Leveraging the market-leading strength and success of the adapter business, QLogic has expanded its
product line significantly in recent years. Through internal development and a series of strategic
acquisitions, QLogic is delivering on its new vision of being a provider of networked services which IT
managers can use as a foundation for the next generation of grid-enabled applications.
As shown in Figure One, the foundation of QLogic’s expanded product line is the connectivity services
layer. The connectivity layer begins with Fibre Channel, iSCSI and InfiniBand adapters, which are used to
connect servers to shared storage and to each other for high speed clustering. A growing family of Fibre
Channel switches, InfiniBand switches, and unified management software completes the end-to-end
connectivity layer. A more recent addition is the data services layer. Services provided at this level
include data migration, point-in-time imaging, replication and extension. Connectivity and data services
provide the foundation for the delivery of the networked services needed to implement next generation
grid architectures.
Figure One: An Expanding Product Portfolio Enables Networked Services
IT managers moving towards grid architectures are increasingly adopting service-oriented application
architectures. QLogic’s networked services are designed to plug into these service-oriented
architectures. The services provided at this layer are used to consolidate virtualized servers and storage,
optimize performance, improve quality of service and enhance security. When you put it all together,
QLogic provides the connectivity and services needed for the liquid provisioning and management of
network attached resources.
ESG Lab recently evaluated a comprehensive test bed that included QLogic’s core product lines (FC
adapters and stackable switches) and the latest connectivity and services offerings (stackable “Designed
to the Core” switches with a new bladed architecture, intelligent storage routers, storage services
platforms, InfiniBand switches and adapters). This report summarizes that evaluation and focuses on
the flexibility, reliability, performance and value of QLogic’s growing product line.
Enterprise Strategy Group
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