The Fibre Channel Industry Association (FCIA) is a mutual benefit non-profit international organization of manufacturers, system integrators, developers, vendors, industry professionals and end users.

The FCIA is committed to delivering a broad base of Fibre Channel infrastructure technology to support a wide array of applications within the mass storage and IT-based arenas. 

FCIA working groups and committees focus on specific aspects of the technology, targeting both vertical and horizontal markets including data storage, video, networking and storage area networking (SAN) management.

Why Fibre Channel?

The FCIA is committed to delivering a broad base of Fibre Channel infrastructure technology to support a wide array of applications within the mass storage and IT-based arenas. 

FCIA working groups and committees focus on specific aspects of the technology, targeting both vertical and horizontal markets including data storage, video, networking and storage area networking (SAN) management.

Today's data explosion presents unprecedented challenges incorporating a wide range of application requirements such as database and file management, transaction processing, data warehousing, imaging, integrated audio/video, networked storage, real-time computing, collaborative projects and CAD/CAE. Fibre Channel is simply the easiest, most reliable solution for information storage and retrieval.

Fibre Channel Standards

The Technical Committee T11, which is the committee within NCITS, is responsible for Device Level Interfaces. T11 has been producing interface standards for high-performance and mass storage applications since the 1970s. Currently, T11's program of work includes three families of standards:
Fibre Channel (FC)
High-Performance Parallel Interface (HIPPI)
Intelligent Peripheral Interface (IPI)

The Technical Committee T11 has its own web site providing access to past and current specifications, as well as drafts being considered for the future of fibre channel technology.

www.t11.org Open link

Fibre Channel SANs

The Technical Committee T11, which is the committee within
NCITS, is responsible for Device Level Interfaces. T11 has been
producing interface standards for high-performance and mass
storage applications since the 1970s. Currently, T11's program of
work includes three families of standards:

Three key IT problems have driven the phenomenal growth of 
Fibre Channel installations:
Business Continuity When Disaster Strikes Businesses cannot exist without the ability to store and retrieve data.
Efficient Use of IT Ressources IT systems are a heterogeneous mix of storage, servers, and workstations.
Multiplatform Storage Fibre Channel high-performance networks optimize integration and utilization of IT systems, a heterogeneous mix of storage, servers, and workstations.

Fibre Channel SANs encompass a systematic approach to
developing storage networks. From the specifications of
connectors at the physical level to querying the fabric for the IP
address of a storage device, Fibre Channel has a standardized
process.

NCITS ANSI continues to develop new standards that will
increase the functionality and performance of Fibre Channel
SANs. The Fibre Channel industry has the user in mind and has
developed programs to qualify interoperability between
equipment and solutions.

Fibre Channel Features

Fibre Channel is a fast, reliable data transport system that scales
to meet the requirements of any enterprise. Today, installations
range from small post-production systems on Fibre Channel loop
to very large systems linking thousands of users, servers, and
storage systems into a switched, Fibre Channel network.
 

Fibre Channel is ideal for these applications:
High-performance storage
High-performance disk and tape/tape silo IO
Large data bases and data warehouses
Storage backup systems and recovery
Server clusters
Network-based storage (i.e., SANs)
High-performance workgroups
Campus backbones
Digital audio/video networks

Fibre Channel is the solution for IT professionals who need
reliable, cost-effective information storage and delivery at blazing
speeds. With development starting in 1988, ANSI standard 
approval in 1994, and massive deployment beginning in 1998,
Fibre Channel is still growing strong.

Fibre Channel is the mature, safe solution for high-speed
communications and is the foundation for over 90% of all SAN
(Storage Area Network) installations throughout the world.

SNIA and FCIA

SNIA recognizes that FCIA represents expertise in the area of
Fibre Channel as used in storage networking as well as being a
key industry association involved in the development of marketing
requirements for coordinating with the T11 standards
organization, and wishes to facilitate SNIA input into FCIA
activities and FCIA input into SNIA Fibre Channel related
activities.