Emulex Blog: Market Mantras

Emulex and Endace: Solving the challenges of increased network performance and scalability

Posted March 25th, 2013 by Shaun Walsh

As we integrate Endace into the Emulex product portfolio, I wanted to share with you what our combined solutions will solve in today’s data center.
Emulex and Endace: True end-to-end Network Performance Management solution
Emulex and Endace are both leaders in the 10/40/100Gb Ethernet (100GbE) markets, and with this experience we are finding and solving the challenges of increased network performance and scalability sooner and better than others in the market, because we are there first to encounter the new challenges facing cloud and enterprise data centers at these network speeds. Together, we will be able to provide the only true end-to-end Network Performance Management (NPM) solution because we are the only company to combine and integrate Ethernet end points and network path visibility into a single NPM infrastructure. Converged Network Adapters (CNAs) provided by Emulex enable visibility into the application-level that was previously unavailable to the Endace NPM appliances, and in turn, the Endace NPM appliances provide visibility into the network path that was not visible to the CNA end points, this gap prohibited true end-to-end application performance visibility and acceleration. Together we can now see the source, path and delivery of applications at every level of the network for cloud, telco and enterprise data centers.

This will help IT shops in four ways:

  1. Improved Application Performance – We can now use our end points and network performance management appliances to show where the network is affecting delivery of applications and use our end point drivers to provide the only true application-level insight that will optimize configuration and transport of data over networks.
  2. Faster Execution for High Performance Computing (HPC), Big Data and Server Virtualization – By combining the Endace NPM appliances with Emulex’s next generation of CNA technology, which includes embedded virtual switching support, we can help accelerate next generation applications that heavily depend on east-west traffic between servers in the same rack or cluster. Our flexible driver model and NPM traffic monitoring provide the ability to optimize the traffic inside racks and clusters to improve low latency application delivery for HPC (such as High Frequency Trading), faster sorting of big data for analytics and improved service level agreements (SLAs) by reducing transfer time of virtual machines across physical servers.
  3. Open Dock Appliance – The Endace appliance has the ability to host third party applications, enabling IT managers work continue to work with their preferred software partner, but gain the benefits of 100 percent network monitoring. The open architecture and integration model of Endace appliances and industry standard drivers of CNAs provided by Emulexcreate a flexible and adaptable model for IT managers.
  4. Integration with SDN (Software Defined Networking) – Both Endace and Emulex have been active participants in the SDN and OpenStack management markets and we will use our combined software and management tools to deliver integrated and flexible solutions for software defined data centers.

Paradigm shifts are often solved by companies with a new perspective and we believe we have the right solutions to meet the changing needs and demands of the networking market today and in the future.

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Wild Wiki West

Posted February 5th, 2010 by Shaun Walsh

Today, we had the Wikibon FCoE Fact vs. Fiction Peer Insight call with a great panel of industry bloggers and the Wikibon team, including Dave Vellante, Dennis Martin, Stuart Miniman, David Graham and Nigel Poulton, as well as a virtual cast of thousands. The core question of the day was: how do we separate the hype and reality of Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) for the data center today? In listening to the panel and the guest on the call, I came away with three key lessons:

  1. FCoE is coming to market and we better get ready. Yes, Fibre Channel will be strong for a number of years. 2010 is the year to do some pilots, and the Wikibon S-curve says 2011 and 2012 will be the point of obvious transition due to cost savings.
  2. Vendors have to do a better job defining the value proposition. As a vendor, we need to tone down some of the hype and provide a clear value proposition in numbers and dollars. We are going to work with Wikibon on a calculator and planning tool to make the value proposition clear.
  3. We need to provide a better understanding of how companies can get rid of stuff. Saving cash is not enough: make it simple by getting rid of extra gear. We need to do a better job of explaining what can go and how to transition with minimal fuss and headaches. Consolidation needs to come to networks, just like servers and storage.

I enjoyed the call, and I look forward to seeing how the market matures over the next six months. One thing is certain: we (vendors) don’t know as much as we think. The job of bringing FCoE to market is just beginning. Click here to listen to this discussion through the Wikibon audio archives.

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The Ironman of Network Convergence

Posted November 12th, 2009 by Shaun Walsh

Screen shot 2009-11-12 at 10.13.10 AMThis week, both Dell‘Oro Group and IT Brand Pulse released their first reports on network convergence market share for Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and Emulex is the leader of the market for the first three quarters of this new market triathlon. Yes, triathlon, not marathon, because you can’t just be good at one event here to win. You must be able to swim, bike and run, or, in the IT world, you have be a leader in IP, iSCSI and FCoE to win this race. Most of you who have met me know that I am hardly a tri-athlete, but that does not mean that Emulex does not compete just as hard as these athletes in our own three-event race in the IT world.

Emulex Is at the Top of the Leader Board

According to the numbers, Emulex leads in both revenue, 60.1%, and ports, 70%, over QLogic, Intel and Brocade in this early phase of the market. As we move into the second phase of the market, we know that, OneConnect, our tri-athlete Universal Converged Network Adapter (UCNA), will outdistance the single-event specialists in IP (Intel/Broadcom) or FCoE (QLogic/Brocade). The reason is simple: OneConnect provides full three-protocol hardware offload for IP, iSCSI and FCoE on a single platform; it provides a pay-as-you-go feature to lower 10GbE deployment costs; and it provides these differentiated features universally for servers with Local Area Network on Motherboard (LOM), mezzanine and adapter form factors. If you look at how IBM has implemented their virtual fabric solutions on Emulex OneConnect, they have built a solution that lowers costs and improves performance and flexibility for IT managers. This is the first of many innovations based on our industry-leading technology and implementations.
Continue reading…

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Sweet 16Gb: Long Live Fibre Channel

Posted October 30th, 2009 by Shaun Walsh

Screen shot 2009-10-30 at 9.20.55 AMWith all the talk about network convergence this week, you might be thinking that we have forgotten about Fibre Channel. No way! This month, the Fibre Channel Industry Association (FCIA) ratified the 16Gb Fibre Channel standard, and this week, we announced the industry’s first 16Gb design win with our long-time partner, IBM p Series.

Fibre Channel Market Muscle

According to the Dell Oro Group, Fibre Channel will be a $675 million market by 2013, so it is not going anywhere. Why? Installed base and investment protection is a key factor, but it goes beyond that. Fibre Channel is one of the proven cornerstones of the data center, and IT managers will not just abandon a proven solution. Fibre Channel will be a dominant storage interconnect as a standalone transport or encapsulated in FCoE for at least another decade.

The Powers of 2

1, 2, 4, 8 and now 16Gb. Fibre Channel continues to move forward, and yes, 32Gb is on the FCIA roadmap as well. Each generation of Fibre Channel has followed a power of 2 and shows no sign of stopping. Here are some details from the press release: ”The Fibre Channel Industry Association (FCIA) ANSI INCITS T11 committee completed the technical work on the FC-PI-5 for 16Gb/s Fibre Channel (“16GFC”) and voted in early October to send the document out for letter ballot. This milestone marks the technical stability and completeness necessary for vendors to commit to silicon their upcoming designs based upon the FC-PI-5 standard…” This is exactly what IBM and Emulex have done with our announcement this week.

As you would expect, 16Gb Fibre Channel users will experience twice the bandwidth of 8Gb Fibre Channel, and like previous generations of Fibre Channel, 16Gb Fibre Channel will auto-negotiate backward compatibly to 8Gb Fibre Channel and 4Gb Fibre Channel. 16Gb Fibre Channel provides a natural migration path from 8/4Gb Fibre Channel and ensures the end-user full confidence that 8Gb Fibre Channel purchases made today are preserved investments for tomorrow.

16Gb Fibre Channel will provide more virtual ports to improved efficiencies with high-density multi-core CPUs, improve single-root hypervisors support, improve IOPS for solid state disk drives and make way for third-generation PCI Express (PCIe) bus architectures and shared I/O deployments. Additional information on the standardization efforts of 16Gb Fibre Channel is available at the ANSI T11 Web site: www.t11.org.

How Do We Reconcile Support for Fibre Channel and Fibre Channel over Ethernet via Network Convergence?

Fibre Channel and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) are complementary, not competitive. Fibre Channel is a core part of network convergence. By supporting the latest innovations in Fibre Channel, we are enabling network convergence and advancing tools that will help us build better, more flexible and more powerful FCoE implementations for 10GbE and 40GbE in the future.

Yes, Emulex is a strong advocate of network convergence. We see network convergence and FCoE as a market expansion opportunity, not a market replacement. We started this blog by saying Fibre Channel will be a big market for many years to come, and we plan to keep growing in our core Fibre Channel markets.

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The Five W’s of Network Convergence: Who, What, When, Where and Why

Posted October 13th, 2009 by Shaun Walsh

There had seemed to be a lull in the blogosphere and Twitterverse about Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) for a few weeks, and then, just as you would expect it would, traffic cranked back up as the fall tradeshow season roared into high gear. It has been a busy past few weeks trying to answer the classic five W’s (who, what, when, where and why) about FCoE and network convergence.  As we all know, when we have a lack of real data, the speculation can sometimes get wild and wooly.

Here is Emulex’s take on the five W’s:

Who

That is fairly simple, as at this point, the answer would seem to be everyone. Everyone of the major server, storage, operating system (OS), hypervisor and storage vendors have announced support of network convergence in 2009. This includes IBM, HP, Sun, Dell, EMC, Brocade, Cisco (Nexus and UCS), Emulex, QLogic, Intel, Broadcom, Juniper, VMware, Solaris, Microsoft, Red Hat, Novell and more.

This list marks a Who’s Who of the enterprise market. These organizations are creating the tools, systems, solutions and support required for IT managers to begin the process of testing vendor claims and putting pilots into the data center.

What

What is required for network convergence to become a reality? It is the confluence of virtualization, which drives I/O aggregation; Nehalem EX CPUs and chips, which set optimization for 10GbE bandwidths; blade servers leveraging 10GbE for mid-planes; and enhanced Ethernet, which addresses the needs of storage and high-performance computing (HPC) performance on a common physical layer. No one single thing of those listed above would move network convergence from concept to reality, but together, these items will, because it makes economic sense, leverages core IT capabilities and has the right problems to solve at the right time. These key problems are lowering the CAPEX cost of IT, increasing compute density to reduce OPEX (power, cooling, rack space, cabling) and simplifying IT to lower management overhead.

When

From the Emulex perspective, we have completed some of the major technology and ecosystem development steps over the past few years:

  • 2008 – The year of driving standards and first-generation products, where, as an industry, we completed proof-of-concept products, performed initial technology demonstrations and built value propositions for our customers.
  • 2009 – The year of OEM and ecosystem qualifications, as second-generation products have moved into the mainstream and OEMS are selecting their go-to-market partners and ecosystem partners, who will build turn-key solutions for IT. As this level of work is completed, IT managers can begin to look at implementing projects based on tools, equipment and services from their chosen IT vendors.
  • 2010 – The year of validation, IT pilots and testing. IT managers will be able to put network convergence to the test and see if it really works for them. We obviously expect it will, after which it will become budgeted for the future.
  • 2011-2014 – 2011 will be the first real year of deployment as IT managers replace equipment installed in the 2007-08 timeframe that has been fully amortized. This will mark the beginning of a three- to four-year transition that should set the stage for cloud computing and 40GbE network convergence.

Where

Where will this occur first? The service providers (Web 2.0, financials, telco, IT services, X as a service) will be first, as they need to lower infrastructure costs while also increasing scalability and flexibility in their architectures. For many of these service providers, who provide back-end services related to networking, consolidating on 10GbE with enhanced Ethernet makes simple sense. They can provide easily provisioned bandwidth for each class of networking on a common infrastructure. This isn’t to say that all IT shops can’t benefit from this type of capability, but service providers drive direct savings, profits and revenue from this model and will be the most common early adopters of network convergence.

Why

As we all know, IT vendors are quick to embrace new computing models, while IT professionals tend to be a bit more skeptical for many reasons. Network convergence is going to be driven first by 10GbE, and that transition is tied to the next generations of Nehalem EX servers running extensive server virtualization, which drive 10GbE to the LOM, 10GbE for virtual I/O and create blade servers to native 10GbE on the mid-plane. Clearly this transition has started this year, with HP Virtual Connect, IBM’s Virtual Fabric, EMC and NetApp announcing 10GbE iSCSI and FCoE support. As 10GbE becomes the basis of IT and the capabilities of enhanced Ethernet are added, network convergence will become a natural outcropping of the 10GbE transition. While network convergence is driven by the core of capitalism, it will lower costs, raise revenues, create efficient economies of scale and deliver a competitive advantage for those who implement it ahead of the market.

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Six Questions to Ask before You Commit to a QLogic Converged Network Adapter

Posted August 18th, 2009 by Shaun Walsh

As many of you know, QLogic recently took a left turn on their converged network adapter (CNA) strategy with the purchase of NetXen. As with every fork in the road, they really have created a question about where they are going. We realize that, as they did not have a product strategy that gave them full three-protocol offload for IP, iSCSI and FCoE on a single card they had to do something, but the choice creates more questions than it answers. On the top of the list for potential CNA customers are a number of questions:

1. What card should I buy?

  • a. Commentary – The first, second-generation CNA, or the second, second-generation CNA? QLogic now has the QLE8100, which they recently announced as their single-chip CNA, which is good, but then they bought NetXen and have the NetXen-based card, now sold as the QLE3100 series. Which one is the future?
  • b. Emulex Position – Emulex has a single product line for our OneConnect single-chip Universal CNAs (UCNA). We won’t force you to guess what the right path forward is, as the answer should be simple and clear.

2. When will you have full three-protocol offload capabilities for IP, iSCSI and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)?

  • a. Commentary – The QLE8100 has offload for FCoE, but uses extra CPU cycles to run software-based iSCSI drivers and forces the CPU to reduce virtual machines (VMs) per server by running software-based IP. Meanwhile, the QLE3100 provides offload for IP and iSCSI, but not FCoE. The software drivers for FCoE are public domain and don’t have a “real” company behind them. Would you like to run your enterprise-class storage on that type of Fibre Channel platform?
  • b. Emulex Position – Two out of three is not good enough for the enterprise. Our OneConnect UCNAs use our vEngine technology to provide full three-protocol CPU offload that maximizes server virtualization and consolidation. Our UCNA FCoE support is based on the most trusted, most interoperable, most reliable enterprise-class Fibre Channel stack in the industry.

3. Will I have a single management interface for network convergence?

  • a. Commentary – As noted before, QLogic has their current storage area network SANsurfer management tool for the QLE8100, and now has a second one for QLE3100, the NetXen-based product line. Which one will be adopted going forward? When, if or will they be merged? Will you lose features you like in the transition?
  • b. Emulex Position – Invariably, customers will lose something they like in this transition, and at a minimum, it will require learning a new management tool. Our Unified management framework, OneCommand, will provide a single tool for all of your network convergence needs and requirements.

4. Which card/product line will get the development resources?

  • a. Commentary – The biggest trouble for IT managers during this kind of product line bifurcations is guessing which product line will get the development team’s bandwidth to fix bugs, drive new features and provide OS, hypervisor and applications support, and which one will be pushed aside.
  • b. Emulex Position – We make it simple for our customers. Our UCNA strategy is simple and clear: OneConnect hardware, OneCommand software management.

5. To heat sink or not to heat sink?

  • a. Commentary – QLogic has gone out of its way to point out that their 8Gb host bus adapters (HBAs) and single-chip CNAs do not use a heat sink for cooling, and they have tried to take Emulex to task for using a heat sink on our card. We have used heat sinks because they make cards more reliable. But now the QLE3100 uses a heat sink, so you have to wonder which side of the heat sink debate QLogic is on? To sink or not to sink?
  • b. Emulex Position – The use of a heat sink is a proven and simple way to make all electronics more reliable and easy to cool. If you want to learn more, check out this video link. Like their product lines, QLogic’s mind seems to be split about this simple engineering concept. With decades of experience, we know what it takes to be enterprise-reliable and maximize required cooling.

6. What Driver stack will you be running?

  • a. Commentary – QLogic now has a driver stack for the QLE8100 and the QLE3100 10Gb adapters. Customers need to closely examine the features of each to determine which has the right capabilities and management tools available, for each protocol on each card before they make a choice about deploying a CNA.
  • b. Emulex Position – This is only going to create confusion for IT managers. The Emulex UCNA provides a single driver stack and a unified management story across our UCNA, CNA and FC HBA product lines.

I am sure others can add to this list, but the core questions are simple. Do you want to pick a solution with a future that is uncertain, or go with a vendor with a simple, unified and clear road map for connectivity and management? We plan to continue looking at our own products and competitive offerings from your perspective to help you make solid data-driven decisions.

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Big Brother Speaks and Says Emulex Is Right About FCoE

Posted August 4th, 2009 by Shaun Walsh

In May, IDC released their 2009 Storage Networking Infrastructure 2009-2013 Forecast – Server Slow Down Stifles FC HBAs and Switch Sales, while Laying the Ground Work for FCoE and 10GbE. That title is quite a mouthful, but I think we can eat this elephant one bite at a time and find some interesting directional vectors from this report. As a marketing professional, I love data from analysts that can help validate our fundamental suppositions of the market and can be used to create collateral, press, sales tools and positioning that says both that “we were right” and “our strategy is the right one.” After all, that is what marketing people get paid to do. We are supposed to anticipate where the market is going and help guide our customers, companies and partners to continued growth and opportunity. No, we don’t always get it right, but when it comes to network convergence with Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) over 10Gb/s Enhanced Ethernet, Emulex is no doubt very close to on-target.

Here are a few of my favorite tidbits from our friends at IDC:

IDC Quote

Emulex Thoughts

“Finally, the end of 2008 saw the first tangible steps toward the introduction of FCoE, a new technology for easing network consolidation in datacenters. These steps included finalizing the FCoE standard, announcements of the first FCoE CNAs, 10GE switches with FCoE support, and the first FCoE-attached arrays.”*

As the saying goes, “it takes a village”-or, in the IT industry, an ecosystem to support a major technology transition. The support is there from every key OEM and alliance vendor Emulex works with. Now we need to get the channels ready.

“It is also critical that FC infrastructure suppliers begin to rethink direct sales, channel sales, and services strategies as they develop their next-generation storage interconnect solutions.”*

Emulex is working with our OEM, channel and alliance partners to build new programs and solutions. We are prepared with all of the essential tools, such as our Convergenomics™ The Guide to Network Convergence Solutions, which we first delivered in April, for building a new breed of convergence networking VARs that bring IP networking and storage networking into a single domain.

” Over the next five years, the critical challenges for storage interconnect suppliers will be to establish market leadership positions in the emerging markets for FCoE and 10GbE infrastructure. While broad adoption won’t start until 2011, late 2010 is when companies are likely to start making major architectural decisions.”*

We agree that major OEMs will announce products in late Q4 and early 2010, and IT managers will evaluate and pilot projects in the second and third quarters of 2010 with real deployments occurring in late 2010 or early 2011.

“Beyond the current economic difficulties, the emergence of cloud computing and new approaches to datacenter deployments based on a highly specialized or virtualized design promise to create new disruptions in storage interconnect requirements.”*

We have already given a number of presentations at key industry events and have many more coming up about how the cloud, network convergence and Emulex are aligned to create universal access to block-, file- and object-based data.

“IDC expects accelerated deployment of FCoE CNAs (market revenue for these products will approach $340 million in 2012).”*

This market is real and network convergence is going to be key technology for data centers as 10Gb/s Ethernet blade computing comes to the forefront of deployments over the next two years.

It is easy to be cynical about predictions for the future as many people have vested interests in maintaining the status quo. Other companies may place bets on both sides and don’t care which one wins. Still others need the future to be different to win. Emulex is fortunate in that we have we strong bets on both the current Fibre Channel and the upcoming converged network markets. So, do we really care if this transition happens? You bet. Network convergence is about all kinds of networking (IP, storage and clustering) and it will be the key directional vector for not only us, but our entire industry, to follow for the next decade. As IDC said in their title,”…while Laying the Ground Work for FCoE and 10GbE,” we are working with OEMs, channel partners and ecosystem partners to move from groundwork to constructing the converged networking future.

*IDC, 2009 Storage Networking Infrastructure 2009-2013 Forecast – Server Slow Down Stifles FC HBAs and Switch Sales, while Laying the Ground Work for FCoE and 10GbE, doc #218480, May/2009

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Are There Eight Reasons to Move to 8Gb/s Now?

Posted July 30th, 2009 by Shaun Walsh

As most of you know, Fibre Channel transitions have typically been driven by
the availability of target devices such as redundant array of independent disks
(RAID), tape and virtual tape libraries (VTLs). The transitions to 8Gb will be
different. Let’s face it, we “marketing pukes” (my engineers tell me that is the
best name for my species) are always looking for angles to sell, position and
describe our value proposition to our markets. In 2009, it seems that the market
reality and the hype curve are converging for 8Gb/s Fibre Channel – so here are
my top eight reasons to move to 8Gb/s in 2009.

  • Intel® Xeon® 5500 processors – This is the first generation of processors from Intel
    designed with server virtualization in mind. The use of PCI Express 2.0, Intel
    Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) in virtualized server
    environments, Message-Signaled Interrupts eXtended (MSI-X) and Intel QuickPath
    Interconnect (QPI) technology for bandwidth intensive applications are built
    to leverage the performance of 8Gb/s Fibre Channel.
    The Generation Gap – The reality is that not all data centers are built with
    generations of products that were purchased, built and designed together. The
    move to 8Gb/s Fibre Channel is also about avoiding a generational gap in your
    data center. Why run a system loaded-up with Xeon 5500 processors with a 4Gb/s
    Fibre Channel card not built to maximize and leverage your other investments?
    It would be like adding too much horse power to a car without also upgrading
    the transmission, brakes, tires and suspension. You will never be able to
    realize the benefits of the power.
    Consolidation and Budget Cuts – This is not another attempt at deriving return on
    investment (ROI) rationalizations or green guilt. It is about doing more with
    less. If you move to 8Gb/s Fibre Channel now, you can use fewer Host Bus
    Adapters (HBAs) and switches to connect your servers, blades and clusters to
    storage. In the end, this will save on power, cooling, cables and rack space,
    which is great, but for the bottom-line folks out there, you also get more
    juice with less of a squeeze. It’s that simple.
    Resistance Is Futile – You know this transition is coming, and if you don’t move
    now, you could be taking the risk of being stuck with out-of-date gear,
    services issues and end-of-life issues before your new server reaches its
    end-of-life. No one wants to spend the time to upgrade HBAs in the field, and
    it is much better to make the move now.
    Virtualization Aggregation – According to IDC, the number of virtual machines (VMs)
    per server is expected to triple with the roll-out of Xeon 5500 processors.
    This means you will need three times the I/O performance, and if you know you
    are going to need it over the lifecycle of you new computer processing units
    (CPUs), it will cost less in the end to move to 8Gb/s Fibre Channel now rather
    than upgrading later.
    Business Continuity and Service Level Agreements – When it comes to business
    continuity and Service Level Agreements (SLAs), less time spent moving data is
    a big win. Moving to 8Gb/s Fibre Channel reduces back-up and data migration
    windows, which provides greater availability of business applications, and
    helps to improve productivity and the organization’s bottom line.
    Investment Protection – 8Gb/s Fibre Channel is backward-compatible with 2Gb/s
    and 4Gb/s Fibre Channel. This means you can chose 8Gb/s now for your future
    while also protecting the past. Emulex HBAs are fully backward compatible with
    your 2 and 4Gb/s Fibre Channel installed base and feature one common driver
    across all Emulex HBAs.
    The Target Devices Are Shipping – Finally, the targets are shipping from HP, EMC, NetApp and many others. They are not really the drivers this time, but they help complete the story and provide a nice symmetry to the implementation.

In the technology business, hype curves are often many
years ahead of reality, and for 8Gb/s Fibre Channel, this was also true. But
now, in 2009, the time for 8Gb/s Fibre Channel to transition into the realm of
reality has arrived. Continue reading…

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