This document discusses managing change in the data center network as it transitions to a more virtualized environment. It provides a brief history of computing eras from mainframes to today's virtual era. It then discusses the need for data center network management to change to address challenges of legacy networks in supporting virtualization and scale. Specifically, it argues that next generation data center networks require automation, dynamic resource optimization, and unified infrastructure management. The document proposes Dell's Advanced Infrastructure Manager as a way to unify management of compute, storage and networking infrastructure from a single console. It also discusses emerging technologies like iSCSI, FCoE, and DCB that can help data centers transition while maintaining investment in current technologies.

1. Managing Change in the
Data Center Network
Larry Hart
Head of WW Marketing
Robert Winter
Office of the CTO

2. Entering the Virtual Era VIRTUAL
ERA
INTERNET
ERA
2010s
PC/CLIENT
SERVER ERA 1990s
Dell
HP
MINI-
COMPUTING 1980s Apple
IBM
Dell Google
Cisco Acer
MAINFRAME
1960s IBM
HP
DEC Apple
Data General Compaq
1950s HP AST
Gateway
Honeywell
IBM Prime
NCR Computervision
Control Data Wang
Sperry
Honeywell
Burroughs
2

3. The Journey to Efficiency
Builds On Virtual Foundation
STRATEGIC
AGILITY
QUALITY OF
DATA CENTER
SERVICE EFFICIENCY
Policy Driven Automation
ECONOMIC
Dynamic Resource Optimization
SAVINGS
Rapid Provisioning
Disaster Recovery
High Availability
Server & Storage Consolidation

4. Why DC Management Must Change
Legacy Networks Next Gen DC Networks
(Physical) (Virtual)
MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS
• Growth means complexity • High performance and scalability built-
• Does not scale with virtualization in
demands VS • Virtualization-aware components
• Cannot keep up with storage growth • Unified Fabric enabling new levels of
• Made up of discrete devices storage flexibility
• Multitude of management tools • Network building blocks are interactive
and scalable
TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES • Data center orchestration
• Single Server with Single Application TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS
• Discrete Communications and Storage •Dynamic Server with Virtual Applications
Fabrics VS •Unified Fabrics for Communications and
Low Bandwidth in the rack Storage
•Lossy QoS •More bandwidth per port
•Lots of Ports •“Near” Lossless
•Fewer Ports – Higher Bandwidth
Fabric convergence, port proliferation, management sprawl & virtualization
forcing network management changes. Does that mean your legacy network
needs to be thrown out? How do we manage this change?

5. We Listened to
IT Professionals
Keep it simple
More
affordable Don’t lock
me in!
5

6. How You Get There Matters
What’s Wrong with Some Implementations?
Today Time Line Goal
Orchestrated
Components Data Center
Network
Compute Storage
Hypervisor
Servers Rule Data Center
Enabling Open, Capable, Affordable Solutions
Networking Rules Data Center
6

7. A Differentiated Approach
to Imminent Change In the Data Center
Uncompromised Virtual- Flexible Delivery
integrated Solutions • Business-ready
configurations
• Build and transfer
Open + Capable + Affordable • Build and operate
• As-a-service delivery
Best-of-Breed Innovation Without
Partnerships Legacy
• PowerConnect, including • Integrated & interoperable
B-series and J-series • Customer vs. company
• Mutual commitment driven
• Fully integrated solutions • Path to advanced networking
• Joint development technologies building from
• Go-to-market alignment traditional GbE
7

8. The Next Step in Efficiency
Flexible infrastructure orchestrated through unified
infrastructure management
Unified
Infrastructure
Management
Compute Storage Networking
8

9. Dell Advanced Infrastructure Manager
Putting It All Together
Dell Advanced Infrastructure Manager
Unify management of existing & future infrastructure
Dell PowerEdge Dell EqualLogic Dell / EMC PowerConnect
Servers Storage Network
PowerConnect
Dell Business Ready Configurations for a Virtual
Ready Infrastructure Dell Blades
– Dynamic data center building block
– Simplify remote management of regional datacenters
– Streamline dynamic infrastructure deployment EqualLogic
Storage
– Available as part of pre-configured solution
DELL CONFIDENTIAL 9

10. Dell Advanced Infrastructure Manager
Faster to Deploy, Easier to Manage
Respond Faster
– Deploy switches and servers from pallet to
production in minutes
– Change workloads servers are running in 5 minutes or
less
– Recover services automatically
Increase IT Productivity
– Rack once, cable once
– Single console for physical and virtual infrastructure
management
Lower Costs
– Consolidate servers & improving asset utilization
– Reduce power, cooling and datacenter costs
Freedom to Choose
– Virtual and / or physical servers
– Multiple Operating Systems
– Open network solutions from Dell and others, servers
and storage
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11. We’re Building Upon Our Strengths
#1 CLOUD
INFRASTRUCTURE
PROVIDER #1 iSCSI STORAGE
SOLUTION
PROVIDER
$100M+
SAVED OVER 2 YEARS WITH
VIRTUALIZATION
BLADE IN
#1
PERFORMANCE/
PRICE
CATEGORY IN
INFOWORLD’S
100+ #1
2010 “BLADE BUSINESS READY CONFIGS
SHOOT OUT” AND REFERENCE ARCHITECTURES TBR 2009 SUSTAINABILITY INDEX
3 5 OF
THE
TOP
41K+ 10,000
INTERNET SEARCH ENGINES SERVICES IT SAAS
PROFESSIONALS CUSTOMERS
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12. What Really Matters . . .
• Management of physical resources to
management of virtualized applications
Management • Every vendors’s tool to heterogeneous
Transitions management tools
• Discrete DC silos to orchestrated DC
management
• GbE to 10 GbE @ the right economics
• Infiniband Ent. Clusters to 10GbE
Technology • Traditional Priority to Data Center Bridging
Transitions •
•
Storage transitions: FC to iSCSI, FCoE
Multi-layered networks to flat L2 networks
(e.g, TRILL)
12

13. Emerging Technological
Changes In the Data Center
DCB, iSCSI and FCoE
Robert Winter
Dell OCTO

14. Why iSCSI In the Data Center?
Utilizes current IT investment to evolve into a next generation data center
Server Switch Storage
Migrate when Use mature High
you are ready, current performance
without ripping technology to from branch to
and replacing converge data center
fabrics
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15. Data Center Bridging (DCB) Ethernet is a good thing
DCB provides a number of advantages:
• Congestion management
• Bandwidth management
• More discriminating flow control
• Self-configuring links
But…..we need to answer these two questions:
1. Does DCB Ethernet benefit iSCSI?
2. Does FCoE with DCB behave well in congested environments?
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16. Review: DCB, TRILL and a “better” Ethernet
FCoE and DCB are interconnected, but aren’t the same thing.
FCoE requires DCB for best experience, iSCSI doesn’t (but can use DCB)
802.1Qbb 802.1Qaz
IEEE (Per-Priority Flow Control) IEEE (Enhanced Transmission Selection)
DCB DCB
5G 3G
10GE 10GE 4G
4G
Link 1G
Link 3G
t1 t2
802.1Qau TRILL (or 802.1aq)
IEEE (Congestion Notification)
IETF (Ethernet Multi-Pathing)
DCB TRILL
X STP TRILL
X
DCB is an improvement over legacy Ethernet fabric but it does
not provide the same experience as a Fibre Channel fabric.
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17. Performance: iSCSI, FCoE and FC
10GE, fully offloaded iSCSI stacks up well against FC and FCoE
Throughput (Mbps) Efficiency (Mbps/%CPU)
500 700
450
600
400
350 500
300
400
250
300
200
150 200
100
100
50
0 0
4K 8K 64K 512K 4K 8K 64K 512K 4K 8K 64K 512K 4K 8K 64K 512K
Read Write Read Write
iSCSI Offload FCoE FC iSCSI Offload FCoE FC
IOMeter, 4 Gb/s targets
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[Source: iSCSI/FC Performance Analysis in Dell CTO Storage Architecture Lab

18. Recovery: iSCSI and FCoE
Assumption: FCoE may take up to 60 seconds to re-send the packet
Measured: iSCSI (with TCP fast-retransmit option) takes <= 25 milliseconds
Start 60 second I/O timer
FCoE Start I/O (ex. OS WRITESCSI WRITE CMDiSCSI REQ)
I/O timer expired 60 seconds
X Packet Dropped
FC/FCoE
TARGET
FCoE
INITIATOR Re-Start I/O
TCP fast re-transmit option selected, RFC 2001
(assume packet lost if ACK not received in 25 ms or 3 duplicate ACKs received
iSCSI [window-size/seq#/ACK# same and segment length = 0] and re-transmit)
iSCSI
Transmit Packet
No ACK received in 25 ms, or
3 DUP ACKs received 25 milliseconds
X Packet Dropped
DUP ACKs
iSCSI
TARGET
INITIATOR
Re-transmit Packet
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19. Flow Control: FC and Ethernet
iSCSI,FCoE/Reactive-Time Dependent FC/Proactive-Time Independent
DCB 802.1Qbb FC credit-based flow control
PAUSE-based (FCoE) flow control
STATION 1 STATION 2
STATION 1 STATION 2
RX1 TX1 RX2 TX2
Buffers
Threshold Buffers Available
Available
Count++
PAUSE PAUSE Packet (s)
Sent Received Buffers
Frame in Flight Delay Available
Frame in Flight Delay
Count--
t t
High Level Delay High Level Delay
t t Buffers
Buffers
Available
Interface Delay Interface Delay Available
t t Count++
Media Delay
t
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20. Flow Control: iSCSI
iSCSI congestion testbed
802.3X or DCB PFC
Switch (PC 8xxx)
10G
10G
10G
10GbE iSCSI RAM-Disk ARRAY
Dell WINDOWS SERVER 2008 x64 (StarWind + Intel)
10GbE CNA (Intel)
FLOW CONTROL FLOW CONTROL
OFF ON
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21. Flow Control: iSCSI
More I/Os, more MBs/sec, less re-transmits
iSCSI Write I/Os/sec
91000
FLOW
84250
CONTROL
ON
iSCSI Write MBs/sec
355
330
FLOW
CONTROL TCP Re-Transmits/sec
OFF 1
1000
DCB makes iSCSI/TCP more efficient; provides TCP “offload”
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22. Technology Conclusions
The questions:
1. Does DCB Ethernet benefit iSCSI? YES
2. Does FCoE behave well in congested environments? TBD
These are important questions with long overdue answers.
Help in characterizing DCB’s practical benefits is welcome.
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23. Planning for the Change
• Evaluate management tools that deliver data center
management that delivers an “open” approach (think OS
and hardware platforms)
• Plan for 10GbE as the foundational fabric of your DC
• Plan for a future with DCB in your network
• Evaluate the potential benefits iSCSI could bring to your
data center
• Consider new networking providers as some networking
vendors are forcing platform shifts anyway
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