IndustryBrief - Unified Fabrics - Just Add Storage

Industry Brief
Unified Fabrics:
Just Add Storage
Featuring
Nexus 5000 Switches
Nexus 7000 Switches
MDS 9000 Switches
Unified Computing System
Where IT perceptions are reality
Copyright 2012© IT Brand Pulse. All rights reserved.
Document # INDUSTRY2012008 v1, September, 2012

Unified Fabrics: Just Add Storage
Synopsis
This report reviews the industry initiative to merge LANs and SANs onto one Ethernet-based Unified Fabric. Included will be data from the IT pro survey conducted for this report and our analysis of the data:
 LANs and networked storage diverged...again.
 IT professionals view the journey to unified fabrics as a continuum, not a revolution.
 SMBs are deploying unified fabrics with Ethernet LANs and iSCSI SANs.
 10GbE LAN adoption is exploding because it is a huge performance leap forward
 Right now, FCoE is not a huge performance leap forward for SANs.
 Large enterprise adoption of FCoE will take off at 40GbE.
 40% of organizations surveyed want parallel Ethernet and Fibre Channel networks.
 The other 60% of IT organizations are at some stage of implementing FCoE.
 The Who’s Who of vendors are delivering multi-protocol products.
 The current generation of multi-protocol servers and fabrics makes it easy to mix Ethernet and Fibre Channel storage.
 IT professionals recognize Cisco as the company which contributed most to 10GbE and convergence.
 Cisco has the best-in-class architecture for convergence, and the broadest product line.
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42.5% of IT professionals surveyed said the adoption of 10GbE is best described as the next level of speed for their LAN infrastructure which they will incorporate over a period of years.
42.5%

LAN/SAN Convergence
Divergence Created the Need
Standards-based Ethernet LANs emerged in the mid-1980s. Over the following 10 years, supercomputer storage networks and proprietary storage networks, such as HIPPI and IBM SSA, were developed to meet demanding business requirements. In the late 1990s, Fibre Channel emerged as a simpler alternative to bulky HIPPI, and an open alternative to SSA. The success of Fibre Channel also served to broaden and deepen LAN/SAN divergence in the data center. Today, Fibre Channel ports comprise 8.5% of installed network ports as demand remains strong for Fibre Channel SANs to meet the business requirements of large enterprises.
Back to the Future
In 2008, the IT industry—led by Cisco, the master of convergence—introduced Data Center Ethernet (DCE) to unify support for NAS, iSCSI and Fibre Channel on a single Ethernet wire. Today, major server, storage and networking vendors support DCE with the latest generation of 10GbE ASICs. Ironically, the collaboration and advanced technologies harnessed to make DCE a one-wire-fits-all fabric, will eventually bring us back to what the industry achieved almost 30 years ago. In the mid-1980s, as leading networking companies worked together on standardized LAN technology, NAS was developed to overcome the limitations of direct attached storage (DAS) and forged a single Ethernet fabric for LAN and storage traffic.
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Data Center Ethernet
Eventually the IT industry will complete the migration to a unified fabric with multiple LAN, NAS and SAN traffic on one Data Center Ethernet wire.
IT Brand Pulse
Estimate the percentage of network ports in your data center that are:
The percentage of installed data center network ports which are 1GbE.
64.9%

SMBs Start with 1GbE
LAN/SAN Convergence is a Continuum
A continuum is a series of events that blend into each other so seamlessly that it's difficult to distinguish progress, but the beginning and end are quite different. IT professionals perceive LAN/SAN convergence as more of a continuum than a revolution. Over 70% surveyed for this report view the adoption of 10GbE as a speed bump, or one of many step towards convergence to be incorporated over a period of years.
Medium Enterprises Converging on 1GbE
That’s not to say convergence is not happening. It is; with the greatest progress in medium-sized enterprises where 1GbE performance has been able to satisfy LAN, NAS and iSCSI SAN requirements across thousands of applications. Over 35% of IT professionals surveyed in 2012 said they have already implemented, or are planning to implement, LAN/SAN convergence with iSCSI.
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The good news is almost 70% of IT professionals said they are at some stage of LAN/SAN convergence. The bad news is 30% still have no plans to converge.
IT Brand Pulse
The status of LAN and SAN convergence in our data center is best described as:
The adoption of 10GbE in my data center can be described as:
Over 70% of IT professionals view the adoption of 10GbE as a speed bump or step towards convergence to be incorporated over a period of years.
IT Brand Pulse
69.9% of IT professionals are at some stage of planning or implementing LAN and SAN convergence with iSCSI and/or FCoE.
69.9%

Large Enterprises Need 10GbE
1GbE not Enough Bandwidth
The starting point and foundation for large enterprises to unify Ethernet LANs and Fibre Channel SANs is 10GbE. First, 10GbE finally has the performance to compete with Fibre Channel. Second, 10GbE ASICs inside the latest server adapters, switches and storage systems support DCE, which carries the Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) protocol. Because FCoE looks to storage applications software just like Fibre Channel, the availability of FCoE means IT organizations don’t have to port their storage management software and suddenly, implementing a unified fabric is a lot easier.
Virtualization Driving 10Gb LAN Adoption
In 2008, many believed the cost savings related to consolidating LANs and SANs would drive the adoption of 10GbE, while the additional bandwidth that came with a 10x jump from 1GbE was an added benefit. Server virtualization reversed the priority to increasing LAN bandwidth. IT professionals working hard to increase the density of VMs on their servers soon realized heavily-loaded servers created an aggregation of I/O, making 1GbE bandwidth an issue. The result is 10GbE LOM and adapter port shipments have exploded. Shipments of 10GbE LOM and adapter ports are expected to double year-over-year in both 2012 and 2013, reaching 20 million ports in 2013.
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IT professionals see server virtualization as the driving force for 10GbE adoption over many other applications including LAN/SAN adoption.
The primary issue I have with 1GbE is:
The #1 issue IT professionals had with 1GbE technology was 1Gb is not enough bandwidth.
The application in my data center which is driving the adoption of 10GbE is:
IT Brand Pulse
41.1% of IT professionals surveyed said “server virtualization” was the application most driving the adoption of 10GbE in their data center.
41.1%
IT Brand Pulse

Fibre Channel over Ethernet
FCoE will Take-Off with 40GbE
While 10GbE LOM and adapter port shipments exploded for LAN applications, FCoE is expected to take-off with 40GbE. Upgrading server LAN connectivity from 1GbE to 10GbE provides a 10x increase in bandwidth. However, with 16Gb Fibre Channel storage systems arriving in 2012, migrating to 10Gb FCoE is a step backwards in performance. When NAS, iSCSI and FCoE systems appear soon with 40GbE technology, Ethernet-based storage systems will offer 2.5x the performance of Fibre Channel, and FCoE adoption will take-off.
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Large enterprise migration to FCoE will accelerate when 40GbE storage systems offer a 2.5x performance advantage over 16Gb Fibre Channel systems.
Storage Networking Speed Road Map
IT Brand Pulse
40Gb FCoE will offer 2.5x the bandwidth of 16Gb Fibre Channel.
2.5x

40% Want Parallel Networks
Based on the IT Brand Pulse survey, 40% of IT organizations are not converging with FCoE. For the 40% of IT professionals who have been too busy to look at FCoE, or who say they have no plans to converge their LANs and SANs, parallel Ethernet and Fibre Channel infrastructure will be deployed—at least until 40GbE arrives. At that time, even the most die-hard Fibre Channel storage administrator will appreciate that 40Gb FCoE provides much higher performance than native 16Gb Fibre Channel.
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Parallel Ethernet & Fibre Channel Networks
As recently as 2007 BC (Before Convergence), DCE and FCoE products allowing unified fabrics did not exist. Implementing LANs, SANs and NAS networks flat-out required different types of host adapters, switches and network management expertise. Unified fabric equipment entered the market in 2008. However, in 2012, the prevalent data center network architecture remains a parallel network architecture, including a mix of specialized NIC, iSCSI, and Fibre Channel host adapters, as well as Ethernet and Fibre Channel switched fabrics.
11.2% of IT professionals surveyed said they planned to converge their LANs and SANs but they were too busy to investigate.
11.2%

60% are Converging with FCoE
The IT Brand Pulse survey also showed a 60% majority of IT organizations are planning or at some stage of implementing LAN/SAN convergence with FCoE. For the 60% of IT professionals who are on the move with FCoE, the deployment of converged network adapters and DCE switches is key. These products provide connectivity to installed Fibre Channel SANs, as well as a unified Ethernet fabric with NAS, iSCSI SAN and FCoE SAN storage.
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Unified Fabric and Fibre Channel SAN
IT organizations which deploy converged network adapters in their servers and DCE switches in their switched fabrics, are positioned to simultaneously support installed Fibre Channel SANs and a unified fabric with any type of Ethernet-based storage.
46.4% of IT professionals surveyed said the biggest obstacle to adoption of FCoE was the higher cost of 10GbE which FCoE is based on.
46.4%

Industry Collaboration
Who’s Who of Networking
The list of vendors who poured the foundation for 10GbE and DCE includes a long list of Who’s Who in the networking industry. Years ago these vendors collaborated on standards to enable unified fabrics. Today they are delivering multi-protocol servers, storage and network products.
Cisco Stands Out
Having led previous industry convergence initiatives such as Voice over IP (VoIP), no company understands better than Cisco what’s needed to help partners and customers through the migration process. The company has been at the forefront of education since DCE and FCoE standards were in development, and the company has developed a broad product portfolio needed to efficiently address the specific needs of a variety of application environments. The result is that among the many vendors involved in developing the markets for 10GbE and converged networking, IT professionals recognize that contributions from Cisco stand out from the pack.
Over 50% of IT professionals polled said that Cisco is the vendor which contributed most to the development of the 10GbE market and convergence on Ethernet—5x the votes received by the next vendor in each category.
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Which vendor has contributed most to the development of the 10Gb Ethernet market?
Which vendor has contributed most to the development of convergence on Ethernet?
52.8% of IT professionals surveyed said Cisco is the company which contributed most to the development of the 10Gb Ethernet market.
52.8%

Best-in-Class
Page 10 of 12
Cisco Unified Fabric
For the 40% of IT organizations still deploying parallel Ethernet LANs and Fibre Channel SANs, and for the 60% who are at some stage of converging on FCoE, Cisco Unified Fabric is a best-in-class networking foundation designed for both.
A pillar of the Cisco Unified Data Center, Cisco Unified Fabric is a well-defined architecture which integrates storage and data networking to deliver transparent convergence, multi-dimensional scalability and sophisticated intelligence with a single Cisco NX-OS operating platform.
Transparent convergence means that Cisco Unified Fabric integrates with the existing infrastructure, including Nexus and MDS switch products; preserving the customer's investment in current SAN technology.
Multi-dimensional scalability encompasses device performance, fabric and server scalability, and geographic span.
Finally, converging efficiently is made possible by Unified Fabric intelligence. The intelligence in the Cisco Nexus and Cisco MDS Families comes from their common operating system, Cisco NX-OS. Cisco NX-OS allows intelligent services to be delivered directly to the network in a consistent and even manner, regardless of whether the application is a standard physical server or a virtual server workload.
Cisco's Unified Data Center provides a complete architecture platform for Unified Management, Unified Fabric and Uni- fied Computing.
Cisco Unified Data Center: The Platform for Delivering IT as a Service
Cisco Unified Fabric architecture integrates storage and data networking for transparent convergence, multi-dimensional scalability and sophisticated intelligence.
Cisco Unified Fabric: Delivers Transparent Convergence
50.6% of IT professionals surveyed said Cisco is the company which contributed most to the development of convergence on Ethernet.
50.6%

Cisco Unified Fabric Products
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Cisco Nexus 5000 Switches
Help enable any transport over Ethernet, including Layer 2 and Layer 3 traffic and storage traffic, on one common data- center-class platform.
Deliver a comprehensive NX-OS feature set, with high-density 10, 40, and 100 Gigabit Ethernet for the data center and campus core network.
Cisco Nexus 1000V Soft Switch
Includes VEM, a software switch in the hypervisor, along with VSM which manages both networking policies and QoS for virtual machines.
Cisco Nexus 2000 Fabric Extenders
Provide connectivity for servers, as well as converged fabric deployments. Cisco Nexus 5000 and Nexus 7000 Series Switches act as parent switches.
Cisco Fabric Manager
Included with Cisco MDS 9000 and Cisco Nexus 5000 Switches for basic switch configuration and troubleshooting capabilities.
Cisco Data Center Network Manager
Includes a feature-rich, customizable dashboard that provides visibility and control through a single pane of glass to Cisco Nexus and MDS products.
Extend the proven innovations of Cisco Unified Fabric to the High-Frequency Trading (HFT) market and Big Data environments.
Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches
Helps you build highly available, scalable storage networks with advanced security and unified management.
Cisco NX-OS
The full-featured, modular, and scalable operating system is available on the entire Cisco Data Center switching portfolio.
52.8% of IT professionals surveyed said Cisco is the company which contributed most to the development of network virtualization.
52.8%

Just Add Storage
The Bottom Line
The journey to unified fabrics is a continuum which will take many years. Supporting multi-protocol storage has never been easier among the latest generation of servers and networks which efficiently support parallel Ethernet and Fibre Channel storage. But support for multi-protocol storage gets even more efficient when IT organizations merge LANs with either iSCSI or FCoE SANs. Expect the 40% of enterprises not considering FCoE today, to think again when FCoE storage systems are introduced based on 40GbE.
Related Links
To learn more about the companies, technologies, and products mentioned in this report, visit the following web pages:
Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switches
Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders
Cisco Nexus 1000V Series Switches
Cisco MDS 9000 Series Multilayer Switches
Cisco Data Center Network Manager
Cisco Fabric Manager
IT Brand Pulse
About the Author
Frank Berry is founder and senior analyst for IT Brand Pulse, a trusted source of data and analysis about IT infrastructure, including servers, storage and networking. As former vice president of product marketing and corporate marketing for QLogic, and vice president of worldwide marketing for the automated tape library (ATL) division of Quantum, Mr. Berry has over 30 years experience in the development and marketing of IT infrastructure. If you have any questions or comments about this report, contact frank.berry@itbrandpulse.com.
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