W H I T E P A P E R
i S C S I : N e t w o r k e d S t o r a g e W i t h o u t t h e P a i n
Sponsored by: Adaptec
Robert C. Gray
January 2004
I N T R O D U C T I O N
iSCSI builds on the 25-year experience curve and maturity of Ethernet and IP
networking. iSCSI permits companies to treat server I/O as just another application on
the message/data network. Potentially (and in the most favorable case) it allows
companies to gain the benefits of storage area networks (SANs) by applying unused
portions of IP/Ethernet switches. IT staffs require minimal training beyond their
current IP proficiency to gain SAN competency. Moreover, IP-based SANs mean the
possibility of remote block storage from any location with a sufficient IP connection.
If you are paying increasing attention to your server storage, then it is probably time
to begin contemplating an external storage consolidation strategy. In the past, such a
strategy frequently started with the provisioning of dedicated network attached
storage (NAS) file servers. With the advent of iSCSI technology, there are stronger
values and return on investment (ROI) from starting with an iSCSI-based SAN. For
this document, IDC spoke with IT managers who are directly responsible for the
selection and deployment of iSCSI within their organizations. The case studies in this
white paper demonstrate how iSCSI fulfilled companies' requirements and met their
new challenges.
I S C S I M A R K E T S U M M A R Y
IDC interviewed more than 1,400 organizations as the iSCSI specification approval
process was nearing conclusion, but before suppliers could put iSCSI products in
users hands. The research indicates a pent-up demand among users for the benefits
of iSCSI. Based on this primary research, IDC developed a detailed worldwide
forecast for iSCSI adoption (see Figure 1). In 2003 and 2004, growth is throttled by a
limited product set of storage target arrays from suppliers. When that bottleneck
breaks in late 2004, IDC expects a rapid growth in the purchase of iSCSI products.
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