The data center network fabric - the system network architecture that interconnects server devices and storage devices in a data center environment - has become a critical enabler of Smarter Computing.
Here are my top 10 attributes that make the network fabric “smarter.”
- Open and Interoperable – Modern data center networking is best accomplished when it is standards-based, when multiple vendors equipment can co-exist and interoperate, and clients can choose between multiple vendors’ wares without paying a pricing penalty or needing to rip-and-replace to meet growth needs and implement next-generation approaches. Standards-based Ethernet is a fabric essential.
- High Speed – To meet the performance needs of big data, cloud computing and workload-optimized systems, data centers are increasingly implementing 10 Gigabit Ethernet on the server and in the access and aggregation layers, which is driving interest in 40 Gigabit Ethernet with 100 Gigabit Ethernet on the horizon.
- Low Latency - Applications such as high-frequency trading require the lowest possible latency. The race to zero latency is enabled by ultra-low-latency switches with “fair latency” -- the same connection speeds across every port combination.
- Loss-less – To meet the needs of machine-to-machine applications and converged data and storage networking, Ethernet networks must eliminate packet loss. Network equipment supports the Data Center Bridging (DCB) standards to ensure this loss-less operation.
- Flat – So-called “flat” network designs are becoming increasingly prevalent for the shortest path network fabrics required in highly virtualized and cloud data centers. With emerging flat networking standards on the horizon and other alternatives for flat networks requiring proprietary implementations, network architects favor existing approaches for link aggregation to maximize network efficiency and reduce congestion.
- Virtualization Aware – With the rise of virtualization, in which virtual machines migrate frequently from one server to another, it becomes nearly impossible for network administrators to keep up with manual changes. To ensure that network policies move dynamically when live virtual machines migrate from server to server anywhere in the virtualized data center or private cloud, virtual and physical network components based on the Edge Virtual Bridging (EVB) 802.1Qbg standard automate the network for virtualization.
- Scalable – Linear scalability is a requisite of network fabric design so every additional switch adds incrementally to network capacity. This can be achieved with today’s top-of-rack switches.
- User Control – The emerging OpenFlow technical protocol enables network infrastructure providers to “program the network” to address today’s explosion of Big Data. OpenFlow-based networks enable the network administrator to easily configure and manage virtual networks that control traffic on a per-flow basis without having to deal with the complexities of the underlying physical network and protocol details.
- Unified Management – Network devices that make up the fabric should be managed, configured and provisioned as if they were a single logical device, including the ability to can track virtual machines by switch or IP address, and pre-provision network characteristics for VMs.
- Low Lifecycle Costs – And finally, per-switch costs should be affordable so networks can scale on an incremental basis, the need for expensive chassis switches should be minimized, and low power requirements and cooling efficiencies should enable low energy costs particularly for massive networks fabrics that interconnect thousands of server and storage systems.
Now, I’m aware many organizations have already invested billions of dollars in their data centers but this doesn’t mean you have to rip and replace to take advantage of smarter networking.
How do you see networks becoming smarter?
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