"We all know the good old ESCON converter, but there's already a FICON converter too. This converter is designed to 'protect' your ESCON investment. It is attached to the host via 1 or 2 Ficon channels. It converts the protocol for connectivity for multiple ESCON devices with a maximum of 12 outbound ports. It also gives you the opportunity to eliminate costly ESCON directors".True, and this is becoming quite relevant now as IBM has made the statement of direction that in due time ESCON will be phased out. Time to move on, I guess. And if you think of converters, you think of Optica. So it's no surprise that their most recent newsletter is telling you more about the PRIZM FICON Converter. Apparently it has more flavours than it used to. We now have a choice between 1:4 (read 1 FICON Channel:4 outbound ESCON ports), 2:8 and 2:12. More details can be found in the data sheet and the tested device list. You also find a 'Qualification Testing of Optica PRIZM product' document on the IBM connectivity website.
A recap for those wo really want some pictures of it :
(Click on the pictures for a larger view in a new window)
Current situation
Replacement with FICON Director
Replacement without FICON Director
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