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1.0 ATTO FibreBridge Overview
The ATTO FibreBridge
™
is a performance tuned intelligent protocol translator which allows upstream initiators
connected via Fibre Channel to communicate with downstream targets connected via SAS. FibreBridge products
are fitted for rack mount integration.
Fibre Channel is a serial communications technology
designed to transfer large amounts of data between a
variety of hardware systems over long distances. It is
a key technology for applications that require shared,
high bandwidth access to storage.
Fibre Channel provides a logical point-to-point serial
channel for the transfer of data between a buffer at a
source device and a buffer at a destination device. It
moves buffer contents from one port to another,
without regard to the format or meaning of the data, so
different upper level protocols are able to run over
Fibre Channel hardware.
Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) is an industry standard
specification whose architecture consists of a multi-
layer definition including three transport protocols for
supporting initiator communication with end-point
devices and SAS expanders. The SAS connection
model enables aggregation of physical links forming a
logical point-to-point serial channel for transfer of data
between SAS initiators and target end-point devices.
The physical layer supports data rates of 3 and 6
Gbps.
The ATTO FibreBridge 6500N bridges upstream
initiators connected via FC to downstream end-point
devices connected via SAS. On the upstream side,
direct attachment to vendor specified host system FC
HBAs and fabric attachment to vendor specified FC
switches are supported. On the downstream side, the
FibreBridge 6500N supports vendor specified disk
shelves attached via the SAS interface.
.
ATTO FibreBridge 6500N features, benefits
The ATTO FibreBridge 6500N is an 8-Gigibit Fibre
Channel to 6-Gigibit SAS bridge.
The FibreBridge 6500N is a customized version of
ATTO’s standard Fibre Channel to SAS bridge.
• Two independent 8Gb Fibre Channel ports
which auto-negotiate to 2Gb, 4Gb or 8Gb Fibre
Channel
• SFP+ FC connectors included
• 6Gb QSFP connector which auto-negotiates to
3Gb or 6Gb
• ExpressNAV
™
System Manager for remote
configuration, management and diagnostic
capabilities
• Supports SAS expanders
