Do I need Fibre Channel Switch?

I have purchased an original Xserve RAID which I plan to connect to either an Xserve G4 slot-load -OR- to an Xserve G5 (not both; just haven't decided yet). I know I need the fibre card from Apple, for $500. But can I connect the Xserve directly to the RAID, or do I need a fibre switch? Some info on the Apple Web site implies I do. If not, do I simply connect the fibre card from the Xserve to the RAID using the appropriate cables?
Also, can anyone tell me any real downsides to the original RAID vs. the newer SFP version? Anything I need to know? Main goal here is to basically get a lot of storage space. Probably will use RAID 5. Currently, the RAID has 4 drives, I will probably add more later.
Any help is appreciated!
Thanks,
Pete
Xserve   Mac OS X (10.4.9)  

If you're connecting the RAID to a single host then you do not need a fiber channel switch. You only need a switch if you're connecting more than 2 devices (e.g. one host to two RAIDs, or one RAID controller to 2 hosts).
As for the downsides, none, really. It's just a different cable connector.
As for the drives, it's a PITA to expand volumes later, so unless you're happy using a 4-drive array and a separate 3-drive array I'd recommend getting the drives sooner rather than later.

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    Tod Kuykendall
    Posts: 1,237
    From: San Diego
    Registered: Oct 11, 2000
    Re: Xserve Raid Mounts, Corrupt Directory tired of rebuilding directory
    Posted: Jun 27, 2010 1:25 PM in response to: Todd Buhmiller
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    +The xserve raids will mount automatically to any computer that I connect the qlogic fc switch to+
    This is source of the corruption to your data. Any computer that attaches to a drive/partition via fibre channel assumes that it alone is in control of the drive and data corruption is inevitable.
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    The Promise that way - you can configure the device entire from the web interface and you don't need fibre communication working for any of the configuration of what RAID you want and which disks are attached with what set etc. Once the RAIDs are configured into volumes then the Xserve sees they exist and you can use Disk Utility to format them. If you don't need fibre communication I don't see how SCSI drivers would matter over ethernet. But maybe the box is a strange beast - odder things have been made.
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