Practical answers
Until true interoperability is achieved, McData's approach seems to be the only practical way of resolving SAN compatibility issues. By working with the major SAN components suppliers at one end, and the major service providers at the other, McData is assuming the important but potentially risky role of middleman between vendors and IT managers.
Testing is currently the only practical answer to interoperability questions, and therefore more and more of the major SAN suppliers are setting up testing laboratories. Among the latest to do this are Compaq and Hewlett-Packard.
Compaq is following the lead set by McData with the launch of its Open SAN initiative. It has opened the doors of a new $6m testing laboratory to any and all vendors, with the aim of creating a worldwide unified SAN standard.
Interestingly, unlike IBM, Compaq does not see the standards issues being resolved until the middle of 2001 at the earliest.
