Home > Storage > PowerMax and VMAX > Storage Admin > iSCSI Implementation Guide for Dell EMC Storage Arrays Running PowerMaxOS > Primary benefits of iSCSI
With the proliferation of 10 GbE networking in the last few years, iSCSI has steadily gained footprint as a deployed storage protocol in data centers. For data centers with centralized storage, iSCSI offers customers many benefits. Developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as a response to the need for interoperability in networked storage, iSCSI lets businesses create TCP/IP based SANs that deliver the performance comparable to Fibre Channel, but at a lower cost.
The iSCSI protocol can achieve lower costs because the protocol allows for the encapsulation of SCSI commands on a standard TCP/IP connection and transported over an Ethernet based network. This means that host standard Ethernet network interface cards (NICs) and network switches can be used to carry storage traffic, eliminating the need for a more expensive specialized storage network using separate switches and host bus adapters (HBAs). Using fewer deployed ports means fewer deployed switches, which can result in lower infrastructure, administration, power consumption, and cooling costs. Cost reduction and consolidation of equipment are primary drivers behind the push to converged infrastructures; hence why iSCSI is a highly considered storage protocol for customers looking to go converged.