Compaq 127553-B21 Netelligent / StorageWorks / ProLiant Datacentre Switch

The Compaq 127553-B21 is the StorageWorks Fibre Channel SAN Switch 16, a sixteen-port Fibre Channel fabric switch supplied as a rack-mount unit. It forms the fabric layer of a storage area network, connecting server host bus adapters to array controllers and handling zoning, name services and fabric routing so that hosts see only the storage assigned to them. Sixteen ports made it the mid-range option of its day, sitting above the eight-port model for sites that had outgrown a single-switch fabric but did not need a director-class chassis. The switch is Brocade-built and runs Fabric OS, so it interoperates with Brocade-badged switches of the same generation in a shared fabric. The Compaq badge gave way to Hewlett Packard after the 2002 acquisition. Tech-Star, UK-based and shipping worldwide, supplies StorageWorks fabric switches for SAN maintenance and expansion.