Apple Dual-Channel 4Gb Fibre Channel PCI Express Card
Apple Dual-Channel 4Gb Fibre Channel PCI Express Card
Product Information
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A Fibre Channel PCI Express card is required to connect a Mac Pro or Xserve (Intel-based) to external Fibre Channel storage or an Xsan network. A user installable kit contains an Apple Dual-Channel 4Gb Fibre Channel PCI Express Card (host bus adaptor) plus two 2.9 metre 4Gb Active Copper Fibre Channel SFP to SFP (small form factor pluggable) interconnect cables. The Fibre Channel PCI Express card is installed in your computer, and the cables are used to connect to the SFP port on a Fibre Channel storage device or Fibre Channel switch SFP connectors. This card runs at full bandwidth in a four-lane or eight-lane PCI Express slot.
SFP connectors on the card allow use of copper or optical cabling and provide the capability of directly connecting to Fibre Channel storage and switches over long distances up to 500m. The Apple Fibre Channel PCI Express card offers leading performance and compatibility with Mac OS X, Mac OS X Server, and Xsan.
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Tech Specs
Connections
- FiberChannel
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System Requirements
Hardware Requirements
- Mac Pro or Intel-based Xserve with an available PCI Express slot
Software Requirements
- The Apple Fibre Channel 4Gb PCI Express card requires Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server v10.4.8 or later.
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Manufacturer Information
- Installation of an Apple Fibre Channel PCI Express card in Mac Pro reclassifies these systems as FCC Class A devices.
- Optical connection requires SFP transceivers and optical cables.
- This card is not compatible with PCI or PCI-X based systems.
Ratings & Reviews
Questions & Answers
Answers from the community
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Can someone explain in simple language what a Channel 4GB fibre channel PCI-Express card is?
- Asked by Stacey B from Montreal
- Oct 27, 2009
Best Answer
It is an expansion card that provides a fibre optic connection to an XRAID (no longer produced by Ap ple) or Promise VTrak E-Class RAID. These provide massive storage (up to 16 TB per device) for things like video production. …
- Answered by Steve O from Bathurst
- Nov 3, 2009
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Can the Apple Dual-Channel 4Gb Fibre Channel card be used to directly connect to raid array without a fibre switch and use xsan.
- Asked by Hector M from Galt
- Sep 17, 2010
Answer
Yes it can , and raid array will appear as main storage system not attached storage .
- Answered by Mohamed A
- Jul 10, 2011
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Can an Xserve boot from SAN storage disk over Fibre Channel? (Instead of from its own local drive)
- Asked by Kevin M from Ellicott City
- Feb 6, 2010
Answer
I have booted an Intel Xserve from an EMC AX4 san array via 4gb SFP fiber optic using an 8gb EMC 300 M switch. The biggest issue I have is I cannot multipath to both SPA and SPB. If I force a single path in my zoning then the storage works fine. …
- Answered by Stacy P from Hope Valley
- Aug 9, 2010
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can the apple dual-channel 4GB FC PCIe card be used to mount an LTO5 tape library upon a MacPro?
- Asked by Raj K
- Mar 26, 2012
Answer
Yes, upon a MacPro!
- Answered by Abdul R from Jakarta
- Apr 19, 2012
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Can someone please tell me what is the benefits of using just one of the 4gb plugs instead of both? right now at my job everyone is using just one?
- Asked by Eric S from Baton Rouge
- May 12, 2010
Answer
Two connections has twice the speed as one.
Consider each as an individual connection. So a single 4Gb requirement uses one, but when you need more bandwidth, use two. …- Answered by Peter C from Milpitas
- May 25, 2010