Training for each component of the SAN is usually required to ensure interoperability of the component with the entire network. IDC estimates show that IT staffing shortages will be a major issue for IT departments with the number of unfilled IT positions growing to more than 1.6 million by the year 2002. The shortage of IT personnel has increased the salaries of experienced, trained personnel, which has dramatically added to the total cost of ownership for the complex FC-SANs that are being implemented today. Additionally, issues such as bottlenecks and security exist with FC-SANs. The combination of routers, hubs and switches are susceptible to congestion.
Congestion can occur in a network when one link or node receives more traffic than it can handle.
Zoning can be used to control the problem of security and congestion. However the zoning methods used by suppliers today can be management intensive and can require vendor intervention to make changes. It is reasonable to assume therefore, that until the lengthy standards process for current SAN technologies are complete the benefits of SAN cannot be fully realized in the users terms. E-SANs are cost effective, easy to manage, scalable, secure, and built on existing network infrastructures using standard established network protocols. With established standards and network protocols, interoperability issues that exist with current SANs are not an issue with E-SANs.