FIBRE CHANNEL USE IN DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS

Abstract

Since becoming an ANSI standard in 1994, Fibre Channel has matured into a high-speed reliable data communication solution. Fibre Channel uses point-to-point, arbitrated loop, or switched topologies, to provide a wide range of options for data storage and highspeed data transfer applications. Unlike Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel supports protocols such as HIPPI-FP, SCSI and IPI, allowing for greater flexibility when designing systems. However, the wide range of options supported in the Fibre Channel standard can be the source of misunderstanding and incompatibility. This paper intends to clear up some of the misconceptions about Fibre Channel by presenting the current standard and discussing how Fibre Channel can be used in data acquisition systems. Since these systems often require extremely high throughput for routing data, as well as high speed data storage to long term media, solutions are not often cut and dry. This paper will give examples of how using different layers of the Fibre Channel protocol will meet the needs of today’s data acquisition requirements. It provides a brief overview of Fibre Channel technology and identifies the different types of Fibre Channel products available. It provides examples of how commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products can be used to build data acquisition and storage systems requiring throughputs of up to 90 Mbytes per second on a single fiber. Additionally, it shows how multiple fibers can be used to achieve much higher data rates.