| Standardization Standardization of architectures, protocols, and interconnections is the foundation of open systems. Standards compliance is often a mandatory requirement for technology acquisition. Standardization applies to infrastructures but rarely to upper-layer applications that run over those infrastructures. Vendors must comply with industry standards while simultaneously asserting their product's unique added value. The standards process is vulnerable to vendor-specific interests. Standards for storage networking are governed by a diversity of standards organizations. Interoperability Standards compliance and interoperability are two distinct states. Implementations of products on the same standard may vary because of differing interpretations of the standard. Concurrent standards compliance and interoperability testing via plugfests help to ensure compatibility between standards-based products. The diversity of SAN products and applications makes it impossible to ensure interoperability for every configuration. Management Management of SANs includes data transport management and data placement management. Uniform storage networking management may be possible through adoption of CIM/WBEM as a common management interface. Upper-layer management frameworks depend on standards-compliant end devices. Management frameworks need not be interoperable. Convergence SANs are the result of technology convergence between networking and storage architectures. Convergence is an ongoing process, as shown by the emergence of IP SANs, storage virtualization, InfiniBand, and NAS/SAN hybrids. Ultimately, convergence will generate a new uniform architecture for shared storage. Convergence is providing new options for customers and is expanding the potential market for SANs. |