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Companies gather to test storage standard

Backers of iSCSI, a standard for connecting networks of storage devices to servers using conventional Internet Protocol (IP) networks, began a "plugfest" Monday to try to see if different companies' devices could work together. Plugfests are common events for testing communication standards during early stages when prototypes or early products exist but pitfalls are still likely. The Storage Networking Industry Association, an industry group involved with iSCSI and other storage standards, organized the event in Durham, N.H. The iSCSI standard, backed by companies such as Cisco, Hewlett-Packard and IBM, is slower than the current Fibre Channel technology for building data storage networks, but many companies are betting that it will catch up. And because it uses the most common computer-networking standard, many believe it will be cheaper than Fibre Channel.

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Expertise Processors, semiconductors, web browsers, quantum computing, supercomputers, AI, 3D printing, drones, computer science, physics, programming, materials science, USB, UWB, Android, digital photography, science. Credentials
  • Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
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Stephen Shankland
Backers of iSCSI, a standard for connecting networks of storage devices to servers using conventional Internet Protocol (IP) networks, began a "plugfest" Monday to try to see if different companies' devices could work together. Plugfests are common events for testing communication standards during early stages when prototypes or early products exist but pitfalls are still likely. The Storage Networking Industry Association, an industry group involved with iSCSI and other storage standards, organized the event in Durham, N.H.

The iSCSI standard, backed by companies such as Cisco, Hewlett-Packard and IBM, is slower than the current Fibre Channel technology for building data storage networks, but many companies are betting that it will catch up. And because it uses the most common computer-networking standard, many believe it will be cheaper than Fibre Channel.