HBA Prices Take Deep Plunge

Emulex, a manufacturer of storage networking HBAs, recently released the low-cost LightPulse 101 (LP101) for smaller SMB SAN environments to better compete with iSCSI technology.

The LP101 offers 2-Gbps Fibre Channel to 133MHz PCI/PCI-X connectivity in a low-profile PCI card compatible with Microsoft Windows Server 2000, 2003, Linux and NetWare. The HBA costs $359.

Emulex also includes its proprietary software, which uses wizards to condense configuration settings. An AutoPilot Installer tool walks users through installation step by step. The installer searches for and automatically downloads drivers and software. Users can monitor or initiate the card's features using the AutoPilot Manager during installation. CRN Test Center engineers installed the card in a Windows-based server. Using the AutoPilot suite, the installation took just minutes.

The LP101 Fibre Channel HBA is perfect for companies with limited budgets, especially SMBs that need to significantly lower hardware and operating costs. The card provides Fibre Channel connectivity at an affordable price, making it realistic for SMBs to institute low-cost servers and arrays in a SAN environment. This technology can also cut down on administrative burdens by creating a way to centrally manage data storage.

For Fibre Channel to stay competitive with iSCSI technology, components like the LP101 will need to stay in an affordable price range. By recommending products like this and including them in white-box servers, storage VARs can help SMBs reduce the complexity of Fibre Channel administration.

CHANNEL PROGRAM SNAPSHOTS
>LP101 / LP101-E Host Bus Adapter

COMPANY: Emulex Corp.
Costa Mesa, Calif.
(800) EMULEX-1 (368-5391)
www.emulex.com
DISTRIBUTORS: EMC authorized resellers, including: Avnet, Arrow, Azlan, Dell, Fujitsu Siemens, Samsung and Tech Data
PRICE: $359
WARRANTY: One year