Storage Networking is a tricky animal...My brush with networked storage platforms started from the time we needed few hundred megabytes of shared storage for building a cluster to enable database and email consolidation in the late 90's. The essential character of Block based network storage continues, the goal is to protect and consolidate mission critical workloads. Networked Storage using traditional FC-SAN's are getting more complicated in the quest for speed and functionality. In my view, there is a need to simplify networked storage to reduce risk, decrease mean-time-to-repair and reduce costs. Drawing from my personal experience, More complicated SAN sub-systems and network elements are harder to understand, harder to troubleshoot and expensive to deploy.... Personally, I have moved away from SAN implementations with FC-Front end networks after attempting to use use FC-to-ISCSI routers and put up with the complexity in the nework layout and provisioning challenges. The A...