Unified Networking on 10GbE_Intel and NetApp

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Unied Networking for 10 Gigabit Ethernet

ETHERNET ENHANCEMENTS

FOR STORAGE

Data Center Bridging

for Lossless Ethernet

To strengthen 10GbE as a unied data

center fabric, the IEEE has developed

and ratied standards for Ethernet

enhancements to support storage trac.

ese enhancements strengthen 10GbE as a

unied data center fabric for running FCoE

and iSCSI. Known collectively as “Data

Center Bridging” (DCB), these extensions

enable better trac prioritization over a

single interface and an advanced means for

shaping trac on the network to decrease

congestion. In short, DCB provides the

QoS that delivers a lossless Ethernet fabric

for storage trac. For more information,

see the DCB white paper from the Ethernet

Alliance: http://ethernetalliance.org/les/

static_page_les/83AD0BBC-C299-

B906-8F5985957E3327AA/Data Center

Bridging.pdf

Fibre Channel over Ethernet:

Extending Consolidation

FCoE is a logical extension of Ethernet

that uses FC’s Network, Service, and

Protocol layers to carry data packets over

Ethernet’s physical and data link layers.

Using FC’s upper layers smoothes the

transition to FCoE because existing SAN-

based applications do not need to change

to benet from the performance and cost

benets of FCoE.

Many Enterprises have extensive FC

installations, and FCoE provides easy

FC SAN access for any server with a

capable 10GbE port. By using standard

Ethernet fabrics, FCoE eliminates the

need for dedicated FC host bus adapters

(HBAs), reducing cabling and switch-port

requirements, while coexisting with existing

FC hardware and software infrastructures.

e result is a simplied data center

infrastructure, lower equipment and power

costs, and universal SAN connectivity

across the data center over the trusted

Ethernet fabric.

Contrasting FCoE Architectures

Today we see two approaches for enabling

servers with FCoE connectivity, with each

approach diering signicantly according

to accessibility, ease of use, and cost

of ownership.

e rst approach, Open FCoE, consists

of native FCoE initiators in OSs including

Linux*, Microsoft Windows, and VMware

ESX*, which enable FCoE in standard

10GbE adapters. is approach provides

a robust, scalable, and high-performance

server connectivity option without

expensive, proprietary hardware. As shown

in Figure 2, Open FCoE implements the

complete FC protocol in the OS kernel.

It provides libraries for dierent system-

level implementations, allowing vendors

to implement data plane functions of

the FCoE stack in hardware to deliver

optimum performance.

In comparison, incumbent FC vendors

have developed converged network

adapters (CNAs) that ooad FCoE

functions in hardware. e CNAs leverage

those vendors’ existing FC software,

including drivers, APIs, and management

applications.

Open FCoE: Momentum in

the Linux* Community

Initiated by Intel, the Open FCoE project

was accepted by the Linux community

in November 2007 with the goal of

accelerating development of a native FCoE

initiator in the Linux kernel. e industry

responded enthusiastically, and today there

are over 190 active participants in the

community who are contributing code,

providing review comments, and testing

the Open FCoE stack. To date, the Open

FCoE Source Web site (www.open-fcoe.org)

has received over 20,000 hits. Open

industry standards and Open Source play a

signicant role in the modern data center,

as they lower research and development

costs and enable access to a multi-

FCoE data path offloads

Ethernet MAC

Ethernet PHY

Figure 2. Overview of Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) host bus adapters

(converged network adapters) and Open FCoE initiator solutions

Open FCoE Solution FCoE HBA (CNA) Solution

Operating System

Device Driver

Operating

System

Host Bus Adapter

Application I/O

Fibre Channel protocol