The EtherDrive SRX storage appliance uses standard Ethernet as the SAN network. No special enhancements are needed, just plain old lossy Ethernet. The SAN topology can be a mix of GigE and 10GigE with many paths between devices on the SAN.
EtherDrive storage uses the open ATA-over-Ethernet (AoE) protocol to put disk I/O directly into Ethernet frames. The protocol is connection-less and includes self discovery of storage by the initiator, and packet tagging with acknowledgement and retransmission to insure delivery. The initiator (server) and target (storage), don't need IP connections or TCP processing. AoE packets don't require a router, just an Ethernet switch, and VPN security can be used, but is not is not required. This means packets are secure, flow fast, and stay within the local SAN.
An EtherDrive storage appliance is truly simple to use. It can be installed and configured in less than 5 minutes, even if it's the first time you do it. The software boots up and is ready to use in less than 20 seconds. All the configuration data is stored on the disks; so, in a hardware failure emergency, disks can be moved from one appliance to another without loosing data. It's simple to get your system back up without making a mistake.
EtherDrive storage appliances can be installed with multiple Ethernet interfaces, and users can have multiple Ethernet interfaces on the initiator. AoE packets simply flood all available paths on the SAN, without any user configuration. Net result is a SAN that is fast, fault tolerant and simple to understand.
EtherDrive storage makes SAN about as simple as it can be. You would think it might cost more, to make it simple, but EtherDrive continues to offer the storage industries best value. Check out etherdrive.com
