 ® This IBM® Redbooks® Product Guide introduces IBM Storage Networking SAN384C-6. It is a  director-class storage area network (SAN) switch that is designed for deployment in large-scale storage  networks to enable enterprise clouds and business transformation by adding enterprise connectivity  options that support IBM Fibre Connection (IBM FICON®) connectivity. IBM Storage Networking SAN384C-6 delivers a high performing and reliable FICON infrastructure that is  designed to support fast and scalable IBM z Systems ™  servers.  Layering a comprehensive set of intelligent features onto a high-performance, protocol-independent  switch fabric, IBM Storage Networking SAN384C-6 addresses the stringent requirements of large  virtualized data center storage environments: High availability, security, scalability, ease of management,  and transparent integration of new technologies for flexible data center SAN solutions. Sharing the  operating system and management interface with other data center switches, IBM Storage Networking  SAN384C-6 enables seamless deployment of fabrics with high-performance Fibre Channel,  IBM Fibre  Connection (IBM FICON®), and Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP) connectivity to achieve low total cost of  ownership (TCO). For mission-critical enterprise storage networks that require secure, robust, cost-effective  business-continuance services, the FCIP extension module is designed to deliver outstanding SAN  extension performance, reducing latency for disk and tape operations with FCIP acceleration features,  including FCIP write acceleration and FCIP tape write and read acceleration. IBM Storage Networking SAN384C-6 Product Guide IBM Redbooks Product Guide 1 IBM Storage Networking SAN384C-6 Product Guide