Computers aren't much good on their own. This simple fact was evident even at the dawn of the microcomputing age, and has never been more true today in the "post-PC" world. If the standard microcomputer is the "Wintel" box (Microsoft's Windows, Intel's CPUs, and all that implies) then the standard network services protocol is SMB. So let's take a nice deep dive into SMB, past, … [Read more...] about From LAN Manager and SMB to CIFS: The Evolution of Prehistoric PC Network Protocols
Token Ring
vSphere 5 To Include vStorage API for Token Ring Integration
VMware shocked the world today, pre-announcing an important addition to the vStorage family of APIs found in their marquee vSphere family of products. The vStorage API for Token Ring Integration (VATRI) promises to ease the transition to converged networks featuring the emerging Fibre Channel over Token Ring (FCoTR) storage protocol. According to a recent report by The D’Plata … [Read more...] about vSphere 5 To Include vStorage API for Token Ring Integration
The Three Requirements To Overcome Inertia
In Philosophiæ Naturalis, Sir Isaac Newton defined inertia as follows: The vis insita, or innate force of matter, is a power of resisting by which every body, as much as in it lies, endeavours to preserve its present state, whether it be of rest or of moving uniformly forward in a straight line. Although Newton was referring to physical objects, the power of inertia affects … [Read more...] about The Three Requirements To Overcome Inertia
The FCoTR Phenomenon Exposes the Weaknesses in Ethernet
The buzz about Fibre Channel over Token Ring has built rapidly over the last week. Industry experts like Greg Ferro, Denton Gentry, and Joe Onisick have weighed in (as have I), and the Packet Pushers Podcast featured the news in show 12, "Get on the Ring!" Some have called out FCoTR as a foolish hoax, but the FCoTR phenomenon is not foolish. Indeed, FCoTR gives everyone in the … [Read more...] about The FCoTR Phenomenon Exposes the Weaknesses in Ethernet
Fibre Channel over Token Ring: In-Depth Analysis
Industry veterans fondly remember the LAN wars of the early 1990's, when a diverse set of excellent data link protocols competed for dominance. Although the victory seemed to have gone to Ethernet, industry insiders are looking for a resurgence of better alternatives. One technology, Token Ring, is undeniably superior for transporting modern protocols, especially Fibre Channel … [Read more...] about Fibre Channel over Token Ring: In-Depth Analysis