Editing Host adapter (section)

==Fibre Channel==
[[File:Host-Bus-Adapter-(HBA).jpg|thumb|Fibre Channel host bus adapter]]
The term ''host bus adapter'' (HBA) may be used to refer to a [[Fibre Channel]] interface card. In this case, it allows devices in a Fibre Channel [[storage area network]] to communicate data between each other{{snd}}it may connect a server to a switch or storage device, connect multiple storage systems, or connect multiple servers.<ref name="techtarget" /> Fibre Channel HBAs are available for [[Open system (computing)|open systems]], computer architectures, and buses, including [[Peripheral Component Interconnect|PCI]] and [[SBus]] (obsolete today).

Each Fibre Channel HBA has a unique [[World Wide Name]] (WWN), which is similar to an Ethernet [[MAC address]] in that it uses an [[Organizationally Unique Identifier|OUI]] assigned by the [[IEEE]]. However, WWNs are longer (8 bytes). There are two types of WWNs on a HBA; a node WWN (WWNN), which is shared by all ports on a host bus adapter, and a port WWN (WWPN), which is unique to each port. There are HBA models of different speeds: 1&nbsp;Gbit/s, 2&nbsp;Gbit/s, 4&nbsp;Gbit/s, 8&nbsp;Gbit/s, 10&nbsp;Gbit/s, 16&nbsp;Gbit/s, 20&nbsp;Gbit/s and 32&nbsp;Gbit/s.

The major Fibre Channel HBA manufacturers are [[QLogic]] and [[Broadcom]]. As of mid-2009, these vendors shared approximately 90% of the market.<ref>Simpson, Dave. [http://www.infostor.com/index/blogs_new/dave_simpson_storage/blogs/infostor/dave_simpon_storage/post987_8533790865885281755.html "Emulex vs. QLogic: Who's on first?"], ''InfoStor'', 2009-08-14. Market share for Q2 2009 according to a proprietary report from [http://www.delloro.com/ Dell'Oro Group].</ref><ref>Mellor, Chris. [https://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/14/hba_market_shares_2009/ "HBA market share shenanigans"], ''The Register'', 2009-08-14. Also based on Dell'Oro data.</ref> Other manufacturers include [[Agilent Technologies|Agilent]], [[ATTO Technology|ATTO]], and [[Brocade Communications Systems|Brocade]].

HBA is also known to be interpreted as High Bandwidth Adapter in cases of Fibre Channel controllers.