Data Center Virtualization
– A Networking Problem
Shehzad Merchant
Sr. Director, Strategy and Market
Development
© 2009 Extreme Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.

Agenda
1. The Evolving Data Center
2. The Networking challenges
3. The Solution Envelope
4. Discussion
Extreme Networks Confidential and Proprietary.
© 2009 Extreme Networks Inc. All rights reserved. Page 2

Evolution of Computing Environments
Mainframe Mini Personal Cloud computing
Computer Computer
Evolution timeline
© 2009 Extreme Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 3

Enabling the New Data Center:
The Promise of Virtualization
 Consolidation
 Cost
 Power
 Elasticity
 Hardware Independence
 Location Independence
 Dynamism
 Load Balancing
 Power Management
 Simplified Management
 On Demand Application
Provisioning
© 2009 Extreme Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 5

The Networking
Challenges
© 2009 Extreme Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Dissolving Network Edge
 Network boundary between Server
edge switch and server has VM VM VM VM
blurred
VSwitch
Server
 Switching at multiple levels
 Virtual switch NIC
 Network switch
 Switching in NIC cards
 Distributed virtual switches Edge
Aggregation
 Co-existence of different virtual
switch models a challenge
Core
© 2009 Extreme Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 7

The Departmental Divide
 Who owns the networking
configuration?
 Server and network
administrators traditionally
distinct
 Server administrators not skilled
at network configuration
 Dealing with inconsistencies in
server and network
configuration
 Increased likelihood of errors
 Troubleshooting, maintenance
require direct coordination
across groups
 Shifting locus of control
© 2009 Extreme Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 8

Dealing with Scale
Adding Burden To the Administrator
 Multiple network devices
per server
 Multiple virtual switches
 Switching in NIC cards
 Blade switches
 Increasein the magnitude
of managed end points
 Application-driven
heterogeneity adds
complexity
 VMware, Microsoft, Citrix
© 2009 Extreme Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 9

VM Mobility
Force-Fitting Dynamism onto a Static Network
 VMMobility requires network Core
configuration to follow VMs
 VLAN, QoS, ACLs, Rate Limiting tied
to VM, not network port
Edge Edge
 Best practices are conflicting
 Flat L2 versus segmented
NIC NIC
 Requirescoordination Vswitch Vswitch
between server & network
administrators
VM VM
 Automated and dynamic VM
migration
Server Server
© 2009 Extreme Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 10

Dynamic Resource Management
VM Load Balancing
 Based on CPU, Memory, NIC
utilization
 No visibility into network
congestion
 Requires uniform network
policies
Power Management
 Bring the network into the equation
 Optimize the power savings
© 2009 Extreme Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 11

Security in a Virtualized World
 Compliance
 No separation by default
 Audit trail, reporting and compliance
need to be revisited
 Dealing with VM Sprawl
 Dormant VMs pose an exploitable
threat
 PatchManagement
 Needs to be dealt with at a VM level
 Dealing with network security within
the server
 Lack of visibility into inter-VM traffic
 Firewall, IDS/IPS for inter-VM traffic
© 2009 Extreme Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 12

The Solution Framework
© 2009 Extreme Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.

Evolving the Network
Simple Efficient Automated Customized
Configuration, XML-enabled
Bandwidth and Provisioning, Infrastructure
Performance Event
Detection and Scripting and
Integration with Widgets
VM Platforms Response
Networking
Density Deep Insight
Provision 1000s
of Switches and Broad
Fixed and across Multiple Control of
Modular Sites Infrastructure
Platforms Heterogeneous
Application Program &
(Best of Breed)
Awareness & Application
support for
Robust and Support Integration
Virtual
Flexible Machines
Stacking Vendor differentiation
Value to the Data Center
© 2009 Extreme Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 14

Orchestration
Bringing it together:
Tying together the network, storage,
and servers
• Network management tools to provide
complete network view
• Not just configuration
• Real time statistics and status monitoring
• IP, MAC, Identity and location information
• Integration into third party tools
• XML based APIs
• Smart provisioning of resources
• Power, load balancing and security
• Reduced need for co-ordination
• Consistent application of policies
Extreme Networks Confidential and Proprietary. Page 18
© 2009 Extreme Networks Inc. All rights reserved.

Building A Smarter, Greener Data Center
Depending on the network
 Leverage mature network functionality
 Use network switches for advanced
functionality
 Wire speed
 Sophisticated functionality
 Predictable behavior
 Customizable and automated
 Keep Hypervisor simple
 Continue to leverage current expertise
and investment in network resources
 Standards driving to this direction
 VEPA
© 2009 Extreme Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 19

THANK YOU
© 2009 Extreme Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.