This section presents requirements for Windows NT–compatible adapters, peripherals, and any devices that use Fibre Channel technology.
| Windows NT Server | Enterprise Edition | Small Business Server | |
| Basic Server: | Recommended | Recommended | Recommended |
| Enterprise: | Recommended | Recommended | Recommended |
| SOHO: | Optional | Optional | Optional |
Fibre Channel is a technology for 1 gigabit per second data transfer that maps common transport protocols such as SCSI and IP, merging networking and high-speed I/O in a single connectivity technology. It is an open standard, defined by ANSI and OSI standards, that operates over copper and fiber-optic cabling at distances of up to 10 km.
If implemented on a server system, Fibre Channel must use the X3T11 Private Loop Direct Attach (PLDA) profile as the storage base to use the native Windows NT support. The Physical Layers implementation must comply with Fibre Channel Physical (FC-PH), Revision 4.3 or later. For more information from the Fibre Channel Association, see the web site available at http://www.fibrechannel.com.