You can attach a DS6000™ series to an open-systems host with fibre-channel adapters.
Fibre channel is a 1 Gbps or 2 Gbps, full-duplex, serial communications technology to interconnect I/O devices and host systems that are separated by tens of kilometers.
The IBM® System Storage™ DS6000 series supports SAN connections at 1 Gbps to 4 Gbps with 2 Gbps host bus adapters. The DS6000 series negotiates automatically and determines whether it is best to run at 1 Gbps or 2 Gbps link speed. The IBM System Storage DS6000 series detects and operates at the greatest available link speed that is shared by both sides of the system.
Fibre-channel technology transfers information between the sources and the users of the information. This information can include commands, controls, files, graphics, video, and sound. Fibre-channel connections are established between fibre-channel ports that reside in I/O devices, host systems, and the network that interconnects them. The network consists of elements like switches, bridges, and repeaters that are used to interconnect the fibre-channel ports.