Virtualization of storage resources will be a focus of Storage Networking World this week as Brocade Communications and Cisco introduce Fibre Channel switches that let customers simplify management through applications that pool, replicate and back up data.

Brocade is expected to demonstrate replication, data migration and virtual tape back-up capability for its Silkworm Fabric Application Platform AP7420 Fibre Channel switch and increased functionality for its Silkworm 12000 director-level switch. Cisco and IBM will show off a new product bundle consisting of the Cisco MDS 9000 MultiLayer Intelligent SAN director running IBM's TotalStorage SAN Volume Controller virtualization software.

Customers are applauding the move toward virtualization.

"Virtualization provides us the ability to manage multiple devices from one interface," says Jay Morgan, storage manager for SafeLite AutoGlass in Columbus, Ohio, which is testing virtualization on a Cisco MDS 9000 switch. "It also lets us manage the storage from multiple vendors, and add and manage cheap, capacity-oriented drives or tape drives in the same environment. We plan on using virtualization to do virtual tape and replication."

Previously, applications such as virtualization, replication and volume management ran on host computers or arrays where their ability to manage all the servers and storage devices on the storage-area network (SAN) was limited to certain vendors' storage devices or operating systems.

Vendors such as Falconstor and DataCore have appliances that attach to the Fibre Channel fabric to host these applications and manage a variety of server operating systems and storage gear. At the show, vendors such as Brocade, Cisco and McData are expected to follow through on their promise of technology that lets applications be placed on the Fibre Channel switch, where they can manage all the servers and storage connected to them and not introduce new hardware into the fabric.

Brocade is scheduled to demonstrate replication capability for its 16-port Silkworm Fabric Application Platform AP7420 switch using software from start-up Kashya. The technology, which the company says will be available next year, automatically performs replication and recovery of data based on policies set regarding the size of the pipe and the amount of latency allowed. The technology also will be introduced as a module for the Silkworm 12000 in the first half of 2004.

Brocade is expected to show off data migration services from start-up Incipient running on the AP7420, which lets users migrate data between different storage systems without disrupting it.