Unified Networking on 10GbE_Intel and NetApp

Unied Networking for 10 Gigabit Ethernet
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Advanced virtualization support.
Advanced server virtualization enables
dynamic resource allocation and is required
for any cloud computing infrastructure.
Technologies from companies such as Intel
and NetApp, and hypervisor vendors are
delivering line-rate 10GbE throughput
and support for platform virtualization
enhancements.
Unied networking. A 10GbE unied
fabric simplies the network infrastructure
by consolidating LAN and SAN trac.
Internet small computer system interface
(iSCSI) and network le system (NFS)
are examples of storage protocols that use
Ethernet, and the recent ratication of
the Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)
standard extends this capability. Recent
Ethernet enhancements ensure quality of
service (QoS) for critical trac.
Intel and NetApp are two companies
helping to advance the shift to 10GbE-
based unied networking in the data
center. e latest Intel® Ethernet 10 Gigabit
controller and server adapters include
virtualization optimizations and advanced
unied networking features, including
optimizations for lossless Ethernet,
intelligent, hardware-based accelerations
for FCoE and iSCSI, and support for Open
FCoE, which is discussed later in the paper.
NetApp is a leader in supporting Ethernet
storage, rst as a pioneer for network
area storage (NAS), next as an early
proponent of iSCSI, and now as a leader
with convergence-ready 10GbE FCoE.
NetApp’s Ethernet-based storage systems,
through their unied, multi-protocol
architecture, have delivered consolidation
and unication to customers for over
10 years.
ese solutions help to simplify network
connectivity for today’s virtualized servers
and lay the foundation for the next-
generation data center.
THE PROMISE OF
ETHERNET STORAGE
New usage models and the explosive
growth of data in their organizations
have forced IT administrators to deal
with complicated technical and business
challenges. Today, most IT departments
deploy separate LAN and storage networks,
with storage often divided between NAS
and SAN, which requires multiple data
recovery solutions, a variety of data
management models, and, potentially,
dierent support teams. e goal of unied
networking is to allow a single fabric—
Ethernet—to carry these disparate
trac types.
Ethernet has served as a unied data
center fabric for years, supporting LAN,
NAS (NFS, common Internet le system
(CIFS)) and iSCSI SAN trac. With
recent Ethernet enhancements and the
ratication of the FCoE specication,
standard Ethernet adapters can now
connect servers to Fibre Channel (FC)
SANs. Extending Ethernet’s inherent
advantages, including proven reliability,
ubiquity, and wide familiarity, to FC
SAN trac will help accelerate the move
to 10GbE-based I/O consolidation in
virtualized data centers, reduce costs, and
improve simplication and agility.
Given its exibility and long history, it
is not surprising that Ethernet storage
is the fastest growing segment of the
storage systems market. e industry
research rm IDC
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estimates that the
worldwide Ethernet-based storage systems
(NAS and iSCSI SAN) market grew at a
compounded annual growth rate (CAGR)
of approximately 23 percent between
2005 and 2009. In comparison, unit
shipments for FC storage shipments grew
at approximately 10 percent CAGR during
the same period.
iSCSI storage shipments experienced the
highest growth rates (70 percent) during
2005–2009, driven by broad iSCSI
adoption in Microsoft Windows*, virtual
server, and blade server environments. NAS
unit shipments grew at a 14 percent CAGR
during this time period due to continued
NAS deployments for business-critical
database applications and large-scale virtual
server deployments.
As shown in Figure 1, Ethernet storage unit
shipments surpassed FC storage shipments
in 2008. Industry analysts project continued
gains in the Ethernet storage market share
due to increasing deployment of “Ethernet
only” data centers (which use a unied
10GbE infrastructure for all data and storage
trac), the emergence of cloud computing,
and as FCoE solutions enter the mainstream.
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
300,000
50,000
0
Ethernet versus Fibre Channel Target Unit Shipments
FC Ethernet (iSCSI & NAS)
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Calendar Year
2007 2008 2009
Figure 1. Actual unit shipments for Ethernet and Fibre Channel storage (IDC, 2010).