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BP1037 Transitioning to DCB with EqualLogic PS series Storage Solutions 15
to that bridge DCB switch (such as non-DCB aware iSCSI devices, or non-DCB downstream
switches).In the transitional DCB datacenter, the non-DCB aware devices and switches can be
attached to bridge DCB switches to gain access to the shared datacenter network or the non-DCB
switches can be completely replaced by either a core or bridge switch (with addition of core switch) to
achieve DCB in a non-DCB environment. As such, bridge switches simply “bridge” the non-DCB
Ethernet network(s) with DCB Ethernet networks allowing non-DCB devices to leverage the new DCB
functionality where it is most important i.e. traversing the shared datacenter core network.
4.1.3 Traditional non-DCB switch
Non-DCB switches are the switches we have all come to know and love and those that implement
none of the DCB standards.
4.2 Data center of today
At present, most servers connect to LAN, NAS and iSCSI SAN networks using Ethernet based NICs.
Many environments today are still 1Gb Ethernet, in which multiple server adapters and cables are used.
A multiplicity of 1GbE connection paths leads to higher power and cooling costs. Figure 7 illustrates a
sample datacenter with no DCB support, using separate NICS on each server to connect to the SAN
and LAN switches.
Figure 7 Data center with no DCB support