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.
This white paper discusses how 4G LTE can be used to create flexible and cost-effective enterprise network architectures. It provides examples of how 4G LTE can be used as a primary connection for setting up temporary or permanent networks quickly. It also explains how 4G LTE can be used as a failover network to provide business continuity and constant connectivity when wired networks go down. Additionally, it discusses how parallel 4G LTE networks can enhance security by separating sensitive data on application-specific networks.
Plug in to peak productivity - Colliers Spark ReportChris Fyvie
Fibre optic internet provides faster speeds and better connectivity than traditional copper broadband, improving workplace productivity. As companies increasingly adopt applications like cloud computing, big data analytics, and video conferencing that require high bandwidth, reliable internet is becoming essential for office space. However, many office buildings still lack fibre optic connectivity due to the high costs of installation. Companies looking for office space should carefully consider a building's internet infrastructure and ask questions about fibre optic availability.
The key themes from the Broadband World Forum 2012 included discussions around software defined networks (SDN) and using it to virtualize telecom networks, allowing changes to be made more quickly. Big data analytics and using customer data to improve customer relationships was also a topic. Presentations also focused on maximizing bandwidth over existing copper networks and the state of fiber deployments worldwide. The home gateway concept was criticized for being out of touch with how people actually use devices and services in their homes today.
This document discusses 4G LTE as a WAN solution for enterprises. It outlines various radio access network solutions that wireless carriers are implementing to increase network capacity and efficiency to meet growing data demand. These include adding new spectrum, improving scheduling algorithms, interference cancellation techniques, and small cell deployments. The document also examines the business landscape and potential enterprise applications that are well-suited for 4G LTE wireless backhaul. It concludes that LTE is a viable transport option for many enterprise use cases, particularly at distributed locations, when signal quality is sufficient and applications can be supported.
Towards the extinction of mega data centres? To which extent should the Clou...Thierry Coupaye
Keynote by Thierry Coupaye at the IEEE International Conference on Cloud Networking, Niagara Falls, Canada, October 2015.
Summary: Cloud computing emerged, a decade or so ago, from underused computing and storage ressources in Internet players mega data centres that were thought to be provided "as a service". As a result of this inception, Cloud is often considered as a synonym for massive data center, which somehow fuels a very centralised vision of (cloud) computing and storage provision. However, we might be at a time in which the pendulum begins to swing back. Indeed, several initiatives are emerging around a vision of more geographically distributed clouds where computing and storage resources are made available at the edge of the network, close to users, in complement or replacement of massive remote data centres. This presentation discusses, through some examples, the evolution of cloud architectures towards more distribution, the signs and stakes of these mutations.
A Carrier Roadmap for Monetizing Next Generation Wi-FiBrian Metzger
This document discusses a carrier roadmap for monetizing next generation Wi-Fi. It notes that Wi-Fi usage has grown significantly and now accounts for over 70% of wireless data usage globally. It recommends that carriers develop a Wi-Fi strategy to augment cellular networks, expand data roaming options, and make international roaming more affordable. The document outlines how next generation Wi-Fi hotspots will transition alongside legacy hotspots over the next few years. It recommends carriers engage with Wi-Fi roaming now to mitigate bill shock, expand data roaming for non-GSM carriers, make international roaming affordable, and respond to changing European regulations.
The definitive guide for evaluating enterprise WLAN networksAerohive Networks
This document provides an overview and analysis of enterprise wireless local area network (WLAN) architectures. It discusses the evolution of WLANs from early convenience networks to modern high-speed networks supporting mission-critical applications. It analyzes centralized and distributed control architectures and concludes that a distributed control and forwarding model is best suited for today's high-speed, mobile, and scalable network needs. The document also discusses key considerations for evaluating WLAN vendors and architectures, such as supporting BYOD, high-speed 802.11ac networks, cost predictability, and future scalability.
The document discusses how broadcasters and media companies can now transition operations to an IP-based infrastructure without compromising quality, performance, or reliability. It argues that IP is inevitable due to its flexibility, agility, cost efficiency, ability to integrate new technologies, and support for changing video consumption patterns. The document examines how a well-architected IP environment using commercial off-the-shelf equipment can match or exceed the robustness, reliability, and performance of traditional SDI-based infrastructures.
This white paper discusses how 4G LTE can be used to create flexible and cost-effective enterprise network architectures. It provides examples of how 4G LTE can be used as a primary connection for setting up temporary or permanent networks quickly. It also explains how 4G LTE can be used as a failover network to provide business continuity and constant connectivity when wired networks go down. Additionally, it discusses how parallel 4G LTE networks can enhance security by separating sensitive data on application-specific networks.
Plug in to peak productivity - Colliers Spark ReportChris Fyvie
Fibre optic internet provides faster speeds and better connectivity than traditional copper broadband, improving workplace productivity. As companies increasingly adopt applications like cloud computing, big data analytics, and video conferencing that require high bandwidth, reliable internet is becoming essential for office space. However, many office buildings still lack fibre optic connectivity due to the high costs of installation. Companies looking for office space should carefully consider a building's internet infrastructure and ask questions about fibre optic availability.
The key themes from the Broadband World Forum 2012 included discussions around software defined networks (SDN) and using it to virtualize telecom networks, allowing changes to be made more quickly. Big data analytics and using customer data to improve customer relationships was also a topic. Presentations also focused on maximizing bandwidth over existing copper networks and the state of fiber deployments worldwide. The home gateway concept was criticized for being out of touch with how people actually use devices and services in their homes today.
This document discusses 4G LTE as a WAN solution for enterprises. It outlines various radio access network solutions that wireless carriers are implementing to increase network capacity and efficiency to meet growing data demand. These include adding new spectrum, improving scheduling algorithms, interference cancellation techniques, and small cell deployments. The document also examines the business landscape and potential enterprise applications that are well-suited for 4G LTE wireless backhaul. It concludes that LTE is a viable transport option for many enterprise use cases, particularly at distributed locations, when signal quality is sufficient and applications can be supported.
Towards the extinction of mega data centres? To which extent should the Clou...Thierry Coupaye
Keynote by Thierry Coupaye at the IEEE International Conference on Cloud Networking, Niagara Falls, Canada, October 2015.
Summary: Cloud computing emerged, a decade or so ago, from underused computing and storage ressources in Internet players mega data centres that were thought to be provided "as a service". As a result of this inception, Cloud is often considered as a synonym for massive data center, which somehow fuels a very centralised vision of (cloud) computing and storage provision. However, we might be at a time in which the pendulum begins to swing back. Indeed, several initiatives are emerging around a vision of more geographically distributed clouds where computing and storage resources are made available at the edge of the network, close to users, in complement or replacement of massive remote data centres. This presentation discusses, through some examples, the evolution of cloud architectures towards more distribution, the signs and stakes of these mutations.
A Carrier Roadmap for Monetizing Next Generation Wi-FiBrian Metzger
This document discusses a carrier roadmap for monetizing next generation Wi-Fi. It notes that Wi-Fi usage has grown significantly and now accounts for over 70% of wireless data usage globally. It recommends that carriers develop a Wi-Fi strategy to augment cellular networks, expand data roaming options, and make international roaming more affordable. The document outlines how next generation Wi-Fi hotspots will transition alongside legacy hotspots over the next few years. It recommends carriers engage with Wi-Fi roaming now to mitigate bill shock, expand data roaming for non-GSM carriers, make international roaming affordable, and respond to changing European regulations.
The definitive guide for evaluating enterprise WLAN networksAerohive Networks
This document provides an overview and analysis of enterprise wireless local area network (WLAN) architectures. It discusses the evolution of WLANs from early convenience networks to modern high-speed networks supporting mission-critical applications. It analyzes centralized and distributed control architectures and concludes that a distributed control and forwarding model is best suited for today's high-speed, mobile, and scalable network needs. The document also discusses key considerations for evaluating WLAN vendors and architectures, such as supporting BYOD, high-speed 802.11ac networks, cost predictability, and future scalability.
The document discusses how broadcasters and media companies can now transition operations to an IP-based infrastructure without compromising quality, performance, or reliability. It argues that IP is inevitable due to its flexibility, agility, cost efficiency, ability to integrate new technologies, and support for changing video consumption patterns. The document examines how a well-architected IP environment using commercial off-the-shelf equipment can match or exceed the robustness, reliability, and performance of traditional SDI-based infrastructures.
40 100 gigabit ethernet for virtualized data center and campus networksIT Tech
40/100 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) can help optimize performance in virtualized data centers and campus networks. It provides higher bandwidth for applications and a smooth upgrade path as it becomes more widely adopted. Implementing 40/100 GbE using switches and cabling solutions from Cisco and CommScope allows existing infrastructure investments to be preserved while migrating to higher speeds now and in the future.
Ichiro Fukuda, Chief Architect, Infrastructure at NTT i3, delivered this Carrier-Class NFV Use-Case at OpenStack Summit (May, 2015) together with Pratik Roychowdhury, Director of Product Management at Juniper.
The presentation discusses challenges of enterprise infrastructure expansion to new branches and how ESI (Elastic Service Infrastructure) enables agile deployment of IT systems into new office/service locations.
Cellular Core Enterprise White Paper by Rethink Technology ResearchAndy Odgers
Enterprises of all sizes are facing unprecedented volume and complexity of both data and communications traffic, and the challenges only increase when those two converge. Quortus is taking a pioneering role in the trend to offload enterprise mobile traffic to the edge of the network where it can support the highest quality and business value. This white paper was produced for Quortus by Caroline Gabriel, Research Director at Rethink Technology Research.
Senza Fili Leveraging802.16e Wi Max 091111Monica Paolini
License-exempt spectrum bands make it possible for operators who do not have access to licensed spectrum to deploy wireless broadband networks. Traditionally vendors have developed specific solutions for license-exempt operators, often based on proprietary technology that limits the flexibility and upgradability of their networks.
With Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16e WiMAX, license-exempt operators have access to the most advanced wireless broadband technology on the market today and can take advantage of the same performance, ecosystem, and volume of scale that incumbent, nationwide wireless operators with licensed-spectrum can.
While often positioned as a mobile broadband technology that operates in licensed bands, 802.16e WiMAX can also support fixed and nomadic services, and vertical applications in a range of frequencies up to 6 GHz, including license-exempt bands such as the 5.x GHz band and, in the US, the lightly licensed 3.65 GHz band.
As 802.16e WiMAX products for license-exempt bands are introduced in the market, operators need to know what the value proposition of using 802.16e WiMAX compared to alternative solutions is. How do they stand to gain from a technology that was developed to support mobility? Do they need the extra features that 802.16e WiMAX offers?
We just finished a white paper that addresses these questions by looking at operators' requirements and how 802.16e WiMAX meets them.
This document discusses IPv6 deployment in wireless networks and the telco cloud. It summarizes that IPv6 is necessary as IPv4 addresses deplete. It has achieved global traffic growth but challenges remain around network complexity when introducing virtualization and services. Proper support of IPv6 is still needed in areas like OpenStack and mobile core virtualization to fully realize benefits. Future areas like 5G, fog computing and IoT will further drive the need for IPv6 deployment and management. The long term goal is full removal of IPv4 from networks.
This document summarizes an event for the Infrastructure Society discussing sustainability and fiber networks. The event will take place at the University of Phoenix and feature panelists from ADVA Optical Networking, FiberLight, IP UtiliNET, and Sunesys. The Society's mission is to be an expert resource on Georgia's infrastructure like roads, power, water, real estate, and fiber to help attract high-tech businesses. The board members are listed. Upcoming 2011 events are also summarized on topics like wireless technology, public safety, transportation, airports, energy industry, network hardware, and future office parks.
WiFi Offload Strategy for Telcos-OperatorsGreen Packet
Given the increase in the number of permutations of device and content available out there, a move towards web-based cloud solutions will inevitably form the need for more mobility and efficiency in delivery. This paper will discuss the implications of the emergence of multifunction, multi-radio systems and multiplatform application and services that are driving forward seamless mobility in the pretext of “now” that allows users to transparently access network connections and ensure session persistence across varied connections for consistent experience together.
The document provides an overview of Demartek's 16Gb Fibre Channel Deployment Guide. It discusses the history and progression of Fibre Channel technology. The guide is intended to provide information and guidance for planning and deploying 16Gb Fibre Channel solutions, focusing on virtualized environments. It covers topics such as Fibre Channel technologies, virtualized deployment, performance measurement, best practices, and real-world deployment examples.
The document is a product catalog from Allied Telesis that provides an overview of the company and its networking solutions. Allied Telesis is an international networking company headquartered in Japan that designs, manufactures, and sells networking products. It has been in business for over 20 years and provides end-to-end networking solutions for service providers, enterprises, and SMB customers across various industries including carriers, education, healthcare, cities and municipalities, defense, finance, retail, and transportation. The catalog provides information on the company's switches, routers, wireless products, optical components, and management software.
The Becker School District realized their aging phone system was inefficient and expensive to maintain, costing them $300 per service call. They upgraded to Digium's Switchvox VoIP system to unify communications across their 5 buildings. The Switchvox system provided significant savings by eliminating expensive service calls and allowing the school to easily manage phone extensions themselves. It was quickly installed before the start of the school year to replace their failed legacy system. The Switchvox system met all of the school's needs and has proven to be a wise investment.
X-LIN provides a complete turnkey solution for individuals, businesses, and municipalities to build profitable wireless broadband networks. Their solution includes network design, equipment, online billing, training, and support. They help avoid common mistakes through consulting on planning, building, and launching a wireless ISP. Their goal is to make it easy for anyone to provide high-speed internet through wireless technology without extensive experience in radio frequencies or networking.
This document discusses the challenges of traditional copper-based enterprise networks and proposes an alternative converged fiber solution called Corning ONE. Traditional networks use copper for local connections, which has limitations in terms of bandwidth, distance, power consumption, and costs of upgrades. They also struggle to support new technologies such as distributed antenna systems (DAS) for cellular networks. The Corning ONE solution uses passive optical networking to replace copper with single-mode fiber for connectivity throughout the network, providing benefits such as higher bandwidth, longer distances, lower power usage, and easier upgrades to support new standards and technologies.
Enterprise small cell architecture webinarDavid Chambers
Amit Jain, VP Product Management at Spidercloud, explains the various small cell alternatives for enterprise small cells suitable for SOHO, SME and larger businesses. He argues that as the number of enterprise femtocells/small cells increase, more local control is required. Various solutions from individual small cells (femtocells) through to large scale DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems) all have a place to play.
a2b Fiber is a builder of next generation open access fibre optic networks providing dark fibre to communications service providers and private network operators in BC. a2b Fiber aims to address barriers to entry in the telecom market by building an open access fibre network and leasing dark fibre to service providers. This reduces costs for providers and increases competition compared to each provider building their own network infrastructure.
The document discusses the need for and viability of 100G networking. It outlines three key reasons for 100G adoption: meeting exponential capacity growth, enabling new services, and allowing for efficient network evolution. While fiber impairments pose challenges, modulation techniques and standards development are making 100G networking possible without wholesale network replacement. Recent demonstrations show 100G's technical feasibility, and most networks will require 100G by 2012 as 10G and 40G capacities are saturated.
The document discusses the need for broadcast and media production professionals to transition from traditional centralized systems to a new distributed, IP-based infrastructure based in the cloud. It argues that the pace of technological changes in resolutions like 4K and 8K require a solution that allows for quick, affordable expansion and adoption of new technologies. Cisco's Professional Media Network platform provides an IP-based solution using converged Ethernet networking and virtual applications that offers scalability, efficiency, cost savings and future-proofing compared to traditional siloed equipment approaches. It allows broadcasters to focus on production while IT manages the network infrastructure.
This document discusses Citrix's hybrid multi-cloud and networking solutions. It begins by noting that most enterprises today have a hybrid/multi-cloud strategy and use multiple public cloud environments. It then outlines some of the key benefits Citrix networking provides, such as avoiding cloud lock-in, a consistent user experience across environments, and centralized security and performance monitoring. The rest of the document provides examples of how Citrix SD-WAN solutions have helped customers by optimizing cloud performance and connectivity, prioritizing application traffic, and ensuring reliable access across different network links.
The document discusses the evolution of 4th generation IP networks to meet new demands driven by mobile broadband, video, and cloud services. Key points discussed include:
1) 4th generation IP networks will be smart, scalable, simple, and provide superior performance through optimization using software-defined networking.
2) Software-defined networking and network function virtualization will allow networks to be sliced and services to be chained on demand.
3) The network is transforming to be more open and flexible through virtualization and software-defined architectures in order to meet new technical requirements and business models.
Cisco's Unified Computing System (UCS) integrates computing, networking, storage access, and management into a single cohesive system designed to reduce total cost of ownership and increase agility. Key elements include UCS blade and rack servers, fabric interconnect switches, virtualized networking and storage access, and embedded management through UCS Manager. The unified architecture allows for policy-based provisioning and virtualization of system resources, providing efficient scalability and mobility for workloads.
40 100 gigabit ethernet for virtualized data center and campus networksIT Tech
40/100 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) can help optimize performance in virtualized data centers and campus networks. It provides higher bandwidth for applications and a smooth upgrade path as it becomes more widely adopted. Implementing 40/100 GbE using switches and cabling solutions from Cisco and CommScope allows existing infrastructure investments to be preserved while migrating to higher speeds now and in the future.
Ichiro Fukuda, Chief Architect, Infrastructure at NTT i3, delivered this Carrier-Class NFV Use-Case at OpenStack Summit (May, 2015) together with Pratik Roychowdhury, Director of Product Management at Juniper.
The presentation discusses challenges of enterprise infrastructure expansion to new branches and how ESI (Elastic Service Infrastructure) enables agile deployment of IT systems into new office/service locations.
Cellular Core Enterprise White Paper by Rethink Technology ResearchAndy Odgers
Enterprises of all sizes are facing unprecedented volume and complexity of both data and communications traffic, and the challenges only increase when those two converge. Quortus is taking a pioneering role in the trend to offload enterprise mobile traffic to the edge of the network where it can support the highest quality and business value. This white paper was produced for Quortus by Caroline Gabriel, Research Director at Rethink Technology Research.
Senza Fili Leveraging802.16e Wi Max 091111Monica Paolini
License-exempt spectrum bands make it possible for operators who do not have access to licensed spectrum to deploy wireless broadband networks. Traditionally vendors have developed specific solutions for license-exempt operators, often based on proprietary technology that limits the flexibility and upgradability of their networks.
With Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16e WiMAX, license-exempt operators have access to the most advanced wireless broadband technology on the market today and can take advantage of the same performance, ecosystem, and volume of scale that incumbent, nationwide wireless operators with licensed-spectrum can.
While often positioned as a mobile broadband technology that operates in licensed bands, 802.16e WiMAX can also support fixed and nomadic services, and vertical applications in a range of frequencies up to 6 GHz, including license-exempt bands such as the 5.x GHz band and, in the US, the lightly licensed 3.65 GHz band.
As 802.16e WiMAX products for license-exempt bands are introduced in the market, operators need to know what the value proposition of using 802.16e WiMAX compared to alternative solutions is. How do they stand to gain from a technology that was developed to support mobility? Do they need the extra features that 802.16e WiMAX offers?
We just finished a white paper that addresses these questions by looking at operators' requirements and how 802.16e WiMAX meets them.
This document discusses IPv6 deployment in wireless networks and the telco cloud. It summarizes that IPv6 is necessary as IPv4 addresses deplete. It has achieved global traffic growth but challenges remain around network complexity when introducing virtualization and services. Proper support of IPv6 is still needed in areas like OpenStack and mobile core virtualization to fully realize benefits. Future areas like 5G, fog computing and IoT will further drive the need for IPv6 deployment and management. The long term goal is full removal of IPv4 from networks.
This document summarizes an event for the Infrastructure Society discussing sustainability and fiber networks. The event will take place at the University of Phoenix and feature panelists from ADVA Optical Networking, FiberLight, IP UtiliNET, and Sunesys. The Society's mission is to be an expert resource on Georgia's infrastructure like roads, power, water, real estate, and fiber to help attract high-tech businesses. The board members are listed. Upcoming 2011 events are also summarized on topics like wireless technology, public safety, transportation, airports, energy industry, network hardware, and future office parks.
WiFi Offload Strategy for Telcos-OperatorsGreen Packet
Given the increase in the number of permutations of device and content available out there, a move towards web-based cloud solutions will inevitably form the need for more mobility and efficiency in delivery. This paper will discuss the implications of the emergence of multifunction, multi-radio systems and multiplatform application and services that are driving forward seamless mobility in the pretext of “now” that allows users to transparently access network connections and ensure session persistence across varied connections for consistent experience together.
The document provides an overview of Demartek's 16Gb Fibre Channel Deployment Guide. It discusses the history and progression of Fibre Channel technology. The guide is intended to provide information and guidance for planning and deploying 16Gb Fibre Channel solutions, focusing on virtualized environments. It covers topics such as Fibre Channel technologies, virtualized deployment, performance measurement, best practices, and real-world deployment examples.
The document is a product catalog from Allied Telesis that provides an overview of the company and its networking solutions. Allied Telesis is an international networking company headquartered in Japan that designs, manufactures, and sells networking products. It has been in business for over 20 years and provides end-to-end networking solutions for service providers, enterprises, and SMB customers across various industries including carriers, education, healthcare, cities and municipalities, defense, finance, retail, and transportation. The catalog provides information on the company's switches, routers, wireless products, optical components, and management software.
The Becker School District realized their aging phone system was inefficient and expensive to maintain, costing them $300 per service call. They upgraded to Digium's Switchvox VoIP system to unify communications across their 5 buildings. The Switchvox system provided significant savings by eliminating expensive service calls and allowing the school to easily manage phone extensions themselves. It was quickly installed before the start of the school year to replace their failed legacy system. The Switchvox system met all of the school's needs and has proven to be a wise investment.
X-LIN provides a complete turnkey solution for individuals, businesses, and municipalities to build profitable wireless broadband networks. Their solution includes network design, equipment, online billing, training, and support. They help avoid common mistakes through consulting on planning, building, and launching a wireless ISP. Their goal is to make it easy for anyone to provide high-speed internet through wireless technology without extensive experience in radio frequencies or networking.
This document discusses the challenges of traditional copper-based enterprise networks and proposes an alternative converged fiber solution called Corning ONE. Traditional networks use copper for local connections, which has limitations in terms of bandwidth, distance, power consumption, and costs of upgrades. They also struggle to support new technologies such as distributed antenna systems (DAS) for cellular networks. The Corning ONE solution uses passive optical networking to replace copper with single-mode fiber for connectivity throughout the network, providing benefits such as higher bandwidth, longer distances, lower power usage, and easier upgrades to support new standards and technologies.
Enterprise small cell architecture webinarDavid Chambers
Amit Jain, VP Product Management at Spidercloud, explains the various small cell alternatives for enterprise small cells suitable for SOHO, SME and larger businesses. He argues that as the number of enterprise femtocells/small cells increase, more local control is required. Various solutions from individual small cells (femtocells) through to large scale DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems) all have a place to play.
a2b Fiber is a builder of next generation open access fibre optic networks providing dark fibre to communications service providers and private network operators in BC. a2b Fiber aims to address barriers to entry in the telecom market by building an open access fibre network and leasing dark fibre to service providers. This reduces costs for providers and increases competition compared to each provider building their own network infrastructure.
The document discusses the need for and viability of 100G networking. It outlines three key reasons for 100G adoption: meeting exponential capacity growth, enabling new services, and allowing for efficient network evolution. While fiber impairments pose challenges, modulation techniques and standards development are making 100G networking possible without wholesale network replacement. Recent demonstrations show 100G's technical feasibility, and most networks will require 100G by 2012 as 10G and 40G capacities are saturated.
The document discusses the need for broadcast and media production professionals to transition from traditional centralized systems to a new distributed, IP-based infrastructure based in the cloud. It argues that the pace of technological changes in resolutions like 4K and 8K require a solution that allows for quick, affordable expansion and adoption of new technologies. Cisco's Professional Media Network platform provides an IP-based solution using converged Ethernet networking and virtual applications that offers scalability, efficiency, cost savings and future-proofing compared to traditional siloed equipment approaches. It allows broadcasters to focus on production while IT manages the network infrastructure.
This document discusses Citrix's hybrid multi-cloud and networking solutions. It begins by noting that most enterprises today have a hybrid/multi-cloud strategy and use multiple public cloud environments. It then outlines some of the key benefits Citrix networking provides, such as avoiding cloud lock-in, a consistent user experience across environments, and centralized security and performance monitoring. The rest of the document provides examples of how Citrix SD-WAN solutions have helped customers by optimizing cloud performance and connectivity, prioritizing application traffic, and ensuring reliable access across different network links.
The document discusses the evolution of 4th generation IP networks to meet new demands driven by mobile broadband, video, and cloud services. Key points discussed include:
1) 4th generation IP networks will be smart, scalable, simple, and provide superior performance through optimization using software-defined networking.
2) Software-defined networking and network function virtualization will allow networks to be sliced and services to be chained on demand.
3) The network is transforming to be more open and flexible through virtualization and software-defined architectures in order to meet new technical requirements and business models.
Cisco's Unified Computing System (UCS) integrates computing, networking, storage access, and management into a single cohesive system designed to reduce total cost of ownership and increase agility. Key elements include UCS blade and rack servers, fabric interconnect switches, virtualized networking and storage access, and embedded management through UCS Manager. The unified architecture allows for policy-based provisioning and virtualization of system resources, providing efficient scalability and mobility for workloads.
Unified Fabric: Data Centre Bridging and FCoE ImplementationCSCJournals
In the past decade cloud computing has become the buzzword in IT world. The implementation of cloud based computing and storage technology changed the way of how network infrastructure is built inside an enterprise. As technology has improved and the cloud based storage systems become more affordable, a number of enterprises started outsourcing their data management due to a number of reasons. But still a majority of large enterprises and SMB (small medium businesses) prefer to manage their own in-house data centers and storage area networks. The reason being is the control, security and integrity of stored data on cloud storage servers. In this paper, we will discuss the most commonly implemented SAN technology, fibre channel (FC) in comparison with the new technology called Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE). These results will help SAN engineers and designers select the best technology between the two in terms of performance, scalability, cost, maintenance, space, cooling, equipment, cabling, management, adapters, labor cost and manpower. Implementation of FC and FCoE has been done to explore the different features of both technologies. Furthermore, how to build a reliable, scalable and secure storage area network has been demonstrated. This study has been carried out on Cisco Nexus, Cisco MDS and Cisco UCS platform.
FC/FCoE - Topologies, Protocols, and Limitations ( EMC World 2012 )EMC
An in-depth discussion of the FC and FCoE protocols focusing on the topologies that are currently supported, those under development and any known issues. The current EMC best practices are also reviewed and the reasons behind them explained.
Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) – Design, operations and management best p...Cisco Canada
This document discusses best practices for designing, operating, and managing Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) networks. It covers topics such as the benefits of a unified fabric using FCoE, FCoE protocol fundamentals including the FCoE and FIP protocols, Nexus switch FCoE capabilities, design considerations for single-hop and multi-hop FCoE networks, and requirements for lossless Ethernet using data center bridging. The presentation provides an overview of key concepts for implementing FCoE in a converged network infrastructure.
Industry Brief: Tectonic Shift - HPC Networks ConvergeIT Brand Pulse
The document discusses the convergence of Ethernet and InfiniBand networks for high-performance computing (HPC). Enhancements to Ethernet, including speeds of 40GbE and 100GbE, have closed the performance gap with InfiniBand. While InfiniBand currently dominates HPC networks, the enhancements to Ethernet and organizations' desire to leverage existing Ethernet infrastructure will result in Ethernet becoming the standard for most HPC applications over the next few years, with InfiniBand remaining only for niche uses. Annual revenue from Ethernet is expected to surpass InfiniBand by 2016.
Why SD-WAN as it Moves to Mainstream Adoption?ColloqueRISQ
The document discusses software-defined wide area networks (SD-WANs) and their increasing adoption. It notes that digital business is innovating faster than traditional network infrastructure. SD-WANs use software to dynamically distribute traffic across multiple connection types based on application policies. The document reviews the current state of enterprise networks and drivers for SD-WAN adoption like cloud migration. It provides an overview of the SD-WAN market and vendor landscape. The document also outlines considerations for SD-WAN evaluation and recommends when organizations should look to adopt SD-WAN technology.
1. Tata Communications has been an early adopter of IPv6, with its acquired companies Teleglobe and Tyco providing some of the first IPv6 connections in the late 1990s.
2. IPv6 adoption has not taken off as quickly as expected, with only minimal IPv6 traffic currently, but Tata Communications believes early IPv6 support provides them an advantage over competitors.
3. Further catalysts are still needed for widespread IPv6 adoption, such as improved DNS and network management support, as well as more IPv6-enabled applications and content. The growth of mobile internet may be the trigger that drives more rapid IPv6 deployment.
Industry Brief: Streamlining Server Connectivity: It Starts at the TopIT Brand Pulse
An overview of how virtual I/O has emerged to efficiently deliver more I/O bandwidth by virtualizing physical links, and supporting multiple I/O protocols in each Virtual I/O system.
Emulex Presents Why I/O is Strategic Global Survey ResultsEmulex Corporation
This webcast is the first in a monthly series on why I/O is strategic for the data center. Emulex will present findings from a global survey of more than 1,500 IT professionals that demonstrate the strategic importance of I/O in the data center across four key technology trends: virtualization, cloud, big data and convergence.
IPv4 vs. IPv6: How we got here
Conclusion
With IPv4 address pools rapidly disappearing and a federal mandate for government agency devices to begin shifting to IPv6-only and telecom 5G with IoT and edge devices, it’s clear that IPv6 is the future. Transitioning from IPv4 to IPv6 can be a challenge, so organizations may be interested to learn that switching to IPv6 has the potential to improve performance. In our testing without the Broadcom Offload feature, IPv6 delivered comparable performance to IPv4 on write workloads and better performance on read workloads while also reducing CPU utilization. When we enabled the Broadcom Offload feature on both IPv6 and IPv4, read workload performance increased dramatically and CPU utilization on both read and write workloads improved. Whether your organization is transitioning to IPv6 right away or choosing to delay the shift, this feature can boost performance on read workloads, which can improve the experience for users, reduce backup windows, and allow databases to load more quickly.
The document provides a summary of recent telecommunications industry news items from October 2012. Key points include:
1) RFoG (radio frequency over glass) combined with DOCSIS 3.1 advances could provide fiber-level broadband speeds over existing HFC networks.
2) Huawei launched its SingleSON solution to help operators optimize multi-mode network performance in real-time.
3) DOCSIS 3.1 specifications are expected to be completed in early 2013, with products available in 2014-2015, adding 50% more upstream/downstream capacity.
Dell First Out the Blocks with 25GbE ServersIT Brand Pulse
IT Brand Pulse Industry Brief describing the market dynamics leading to a new generation of 25, 50 and 100GbE, the Dell products, applications, and guidelines for when to use 25G.
Emulex Connect Architecture:The Next Generation of Virtual I/OEmulex Corporation
Join us to learn more about the Emulex Connect Architecture: the Next Generation of Virtual I/O Connectivity, and the new XE201 I/O Controller, the industry's first quad-port converged fabric controller unifying Fibre Channel and Ethernet.
Deploying cost effective cloud data centerWiudo Laos
Steps for Building, Deploying powerful big cloud data center for low cost, low energy, reliable, scalable strategy for frontend-backend Ecommerce and financial services.
Application Report: Big Data - Big Cluster InterconnectsIT Brand Pulse
As a leading analytics platform that runs on industry-standard hardware and integrates industry-standard database tools and applications, one of ParAccel’s biggest challenges is to architect and test hardware (servers, storage, interconnects) that make their software perform at its peak. In this case, they have achieved their mission to eliminate a cluster bottleneck by implementing 10GbE NICs to provide the bandwidth needed to-day, and well into the future.
The petrochemical company Innovene successfully migrated from an MPLS/frame relay network to a public Internet solution provided by Science Applications International Corporation, reducing its total network cost of ownership. The solution uses Cisco routers and IPsec encryption to provide a secure VPN across multiple carriers. While public Internet poses security and performance risks, Innovene addresses these through encryption, firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, and the ability to change carriers if needed. The migration was completed successfully and provides Innovene with a more flexible and cost-effective global network.
New Networking Technology Survey & AnalysisIT Brand Pulse
Data and analysis from IT Brand Pulse based on IT pro surveys covering new networking technologies. The surveys covered brand perceptions, plus awareness and stage of deployment with 25GbE, 40GbE, NFV, SDN, white box switches and open switch operating systems.
The document discusses Marco d'Itri's thoughts on the transition to IPv6. It describes the transition as ongoing, with no flag days, as IPv6 adoption grows. It notes that while IPv4 NAT is easy for access networks, it is difficult for servers. Many large content providers already use IPv6. The transition involves steps before IPv4 addresses ran out, the current transition period, and after the transition when IPv4 will be optional. IPv6 adoption is growing in several countries like Belgium and the US. Eventually IPv4-only islands will need to make themselves accessible over IPv6. The document provides advice on starting an IPv6 transition and offers a simple IPv6 addressing plan.
5G is cellular service and Wi-Fi 6 is a short-range wireless access technology. Both technologies have characteristics that make them useful in specific corporate roles.
We have seen the hype about whether 5G cellular or Wi-Fi 6 will win in enterprise use, but the fact is that the two are largely complementary, which will create an interesting competitive environment in the early 2020s.
The Next Wave of 10GbE webcast with Crehan Research was held on 10/5 and focused on current and future 10GbE adapter and switch market drivers and adoption trends, and the effects of the introduction of 10GBASE-T products on the overall 10GbE market.
1) The document discusses the evolution and success of Ethernet technology from its origins at Xerox PARC to its current ubiquitous use in LAN, MAN, and WAN networks.
2) Key factors in Ethernet's success include its support for convergence of technologies, low cost per port and bit, increasing bandwidth capabilities, and ease of provisioning and operations.
3) Market data shows exponential growth in the number of Ethernet ports shipped and revenue from Carrier Ethernet services, with continued growth expected as higher bandwidth technologies like 10G and 100G are adopted.
The document provides an overview of 802.11ac and how it compares to previous wireless standards like 802.11n. Some key points:
- 802.11ac aims to deliver significantly higher performance than 802.11n by utilizing wider channel bandwidths up to 160MHz, more efficient modulation up to 256QAM, improved beamforming, and multi-user MIMO to transmit to multiple devices simultaneously.
- While 802.11ac will triple throughput over 802.11n, reaching speeds over 1Gbps, this still may not provide enough bandwidth when shared between multiple users to fully replace wired networks.
- 802.11ac maintains backward compatibility with 802.11
The document summarizes a demonstration by QLogic and Dell showcasing the extreme performance of QLogic's NetXtreme II Ethernet adapters. In the demonstration, two Dell servers connected through Dell switches using QLogic 10GbE adapters achieved transfer rates of 10Gbps with less than 1% CPU utilization. This level of network efficiency from QLogic adapters is critical for today's data centers approaching maximum server utilization. Choosing the wrong adapter could require purchasing additional server hardware, while QLogic's solutions streamline tasks and allow existing hardware to be used more efficiently.
The 2022 Flash brand leader surveys cover 9 Flash products.
This report includes the results of voting for six categories of brand leadership for each service: Market, Price, Performance, Reliability, Service & Support and Innovation.
The 2020 Storage Brand Leader Survey covers 14 Storage products. This report includes the results of IT Pro voting for six categories of brand leadership for each service: Market, Price, Performance, Reliability, Innovation, and Service & Support.
The 2019 Servers Brand Leader Survey covers 11 server products. This report includes the results of IT Pro voting for six categories of brand leadership for each service: Market, Price, Performance, Reliability, Innovation, and Service & Support.
Industry's First Petabyte-Scale On-Prem STaaSIT Brand Pulse
Infinidat provides on-premises petabyte-scale storage as a service that allows customers to pay for only the storage capacity they need. Their solution uses commodity hardware and data reduction technologies to deliver high performance and low cost storage that can scale to multiple petabytes. Infinidat handles maintenance, support, and upgrades to provide customers a fully-managed storage service on site.
The 2019 Storage brand leader surveys cover 14 storage products. This report includes the results of IT Pro voting for six categories of brand leadership for each service: Market, Price, Performance, Reliability, Innovation, and Service & Support.
AWS is estimated to be the #3 enterprise storage vendor by revenue in 2018, with storage revenue estimated between $1.1-1.486 billion in Q4 2018. By extrapolating AWS's 52% market share of the IaaS market to the storage-as-a-service market, and estimating that 15-20% of AWS's revenue comes from storage, AWS is calculated to have overtaken traditional storage vendors by revenue. If AWS maintains 35-45% annual growth, it is projected to become the #1 storage vendor by 2020, with over $3 billion in storage revenue, cementing its position as a top storage leader through sustained large investments in R&D.
AWS #3 Storage Vendor in 2017 | #1 in 2020IT Brand Pulse
This IT Brand Pulse industry brief uses crowd-sourced data about storage and cloud revenues to estimate the size and ranking of the AWS storage business. The bottom line is AWS is the #3 ranked storage vendor in 2017 and will be #1 in 2020.
The document discusses how server and storage utilization has changed with the adoption of virtualization, noting that a survey found over half of small to medium companies were using VMware hypervisors by 2016, especially among larger companies. It also explains how vMotion traffic can either share the Ethernet network with application servers or be isolated to a dedicated FC-SAS storage network. Finally, it lists some VMware and ATTO solutions related to using direct attached storage to create a SAN.
The document discusses how small to medium businesses have swung between using direct-attached storage (DAS) and storage area networks (SANs) for their VMware environments. It provides an example of a construction firm, Torcon, that converted their DAS setup into a SAN using ATTO technology to save costs and extend the usable life of their servers and storage. The conversion took less than three hours and provided benefits like isolated storage networking and easier expansion capacity. The document advocates that SAS-based SANs provide performance and flexibility comparable to fibre channel SANs at a lower cost that is suitable for cost-conscious small to medium businesses.
The 2018 IaaS brand leader surveys cover fourteen Infrastructure-as-a-Service products. This report includes the results of IT Pro voting for six categories of brand leadership for each service: Market, Price, Performance, Reliability, Service & Support and Innovation.
Comparing Cost of Dell EMC Centera and HPE/SUSE/iTernity iCASIT Brand Pulse
This document compares the total cost of ownership of two archival storage solutions over five years: Dell EMC Centera and HPE/SUSE/iTernity iCAS. It finds that the HPE solution has significantly lower costs, with hardware 47% cheaper, software 97% cheaper, and support 354% cheaper. As a result, the cumulative five-year cost is over $350,000 more for Centera, which is more than double the cost of the HPE solution. The document concludes the HPE solution better addresses the high costs of compliant archive storage.
This IT Brand Pulse report includes data from the independent, non-sponsored annual survey on Scale-Out File Storage--voted on by IT professionals--covering six categories of brand leadership: Market, Price, Performance, Reliability, Service & Support and Innovation.
Please contact us at info@itbrandpulse.com for information on this or other technology product brand leader surveys.
2017 Servers for Software-Defined Storage Brand Leader ReportIT Brand Pulse
This IT Brand Pulse report includes data from the independent, non-sponsored annual survey on Servers for SDS--voted on by IT professionals--covering six categories of brand leadership: Market, Price, Performance, Reliability, Service & Support and Innovation.
Please contact us at info@itbrandpulse.com for information on this or other technology product brand leader surveys.
This IT Brand Pulse report includes data from the independent, non-sponsored annual survey on Enterprise HDDs--voted on by IT professionals--covering six categories of brand leadership: Market, Price, Performance, Reliability, Service & Support and Innovation.
Please contact us at info@itbrandpulse.com for information on this or other technology product brand leader surveys.
This document summarizes the findings of a case study comparing the 5-year total cost of ownership (TCO) for 4 disk array solutions and 4 software-defined storage solutions for backup to disk. The study found that SUSE Enterprise Storage 4 provided the lowest overall 5-year TCO that was $181,457 less than the most expensive solution from EMC. SUSE offered multiple layers of cost savings, including using standard hardware, low annual software licensing fees spread over 5 years, and support included in the license cost. The study concludes that software-defined storage solutions can provide disk backup for half the cost of branded storage arrays.
2017 Flash Storage and NVME Brand Leader Mini-ReportIT Brand Pulse
This IT Brand Pulse mini-report includes only market leader data from the independent, non-sponsored survey covering six categories of brand leadership—Market, Price, Performance, Reliability, Service & Support and Innovation—for twelve Flash Storage and NVMe products.
Complete survey data for each product category is available. Please contact us at info@itbrandpulse.com for information and pricing.
2017 AI and Cloud Brand Leader Mini-ReportIT Brand Pulse
This IT Brand Pulse mini-report includes only market leader data from the independent, non-sponsored survey covering six categories of brand leadership—Market, Price, Performance, Reliability, Service & Support and Innovation—for nine AI and Cloud products.
Complete survey data for each product category is available. Please contact us at info@itbrandpulse.com for information and pricing.
Building a Raspberry Pi Robot with Dot NET 8, Blazor and SignalRPeter Gallagher
In this session delivered at NDC Oslo 2024, I talk about how you can control a 3D printed Robot Arm with a Raspberry Pi, .NET 8, Blazor and SignalR.
I also show how you can use a Unity app on an Meta Quest 3 to control the arm VR too.
You can find the GitHub repo and workshop instructions here;
https://bit.ly/dotnetrobotgithub
"IOS 18 CONTROL CENTRE REVAMP STREAMLINED IPHONE SHUTDOWN MADE EASIER"Emmanuel Onwumere
In iOS 18, Apple has introduced a significant revamp to the Control Centre, making it more intuitive and user-friendly. One of the standout features is a quicker and more accessible way to shut down your iPhone. This enhancement aims to streamline the user experience, allowing for faster access to essential functions. Discover how iOS 18's redesigned Control Centre can simplify your daily interactions with your iPhone, bringing convenience right at your fingertips.
2. 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.
Page 2 of 12
Document # INDUSTRY2012008 v1, September, 2012
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%
3. 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.
Page 3 of 12
Document # INDUSTRY2012008 v1, September, 2012
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%
4. 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.
Page 4 of 12
Document # INDUSTRY2012008 v1, September, 2012
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%
5. 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.
Page 5 of 12
Document # INDUSTRY2012008 v1, September, 2012
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
6. 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.
Page 6 of 12
Document # INDUSTRY2012008 v1, September, 2012
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
7. 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.
Page 7 of 12
Document # INDUSTRY2012008 v1, September, 2012
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%
8. 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.
Page 8 of 12
Document # INDUSTRY2012008 v1, September, 2012
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%
9. 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.
Page 9 of 12
Document # INDUSTRY2012008 v1, September, 2012
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%
10. Best-in-Class
Page 10 of 12
Document # INDUSTRY2012008 v1, September, 2012
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%
11. Cisco Unified Fabric Products
Page 11 of 12
Document # INDUSTRY2012008 v1, September, 2012
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.
Cisco Nexus 7000 Switches
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.
Cisco Nexus 3000 Switches
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%
12. 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 5000 Series Switches
Cisco Nexus 3000 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.
Page 12 of 12
Document # INDUSTRY2012008 v1, September, 2012