enterprise system connection (ESCON)
Enterprise System Connection (ESCON) is the name given to a connection technology developed by IBM for point-to-point connections on optical fiber.
Because channel architectures using multicore copper cables had length restrictions caused by attenuation and delay differences, IBM introduced a fiber optic solution in 1990.
Escon is operated over gradient fibers (62.5/125 µm) with data transfer rates of 10 MByte/s in 8B/10B coding over distances up to 3 km. The length limit can be increased to up to 9 km by active components. Escon technology has become the standard for mainframestorage networks. The successor product for ESCON is Fibre Channel Connection( FICON), which is characterized by an improved architecture and higher data rates.