Network Subsystem - HP ML570 - ProLiant - G2 Tuning Manual

Novell NetWare 6 performance tuning guidelines for ProLiant servers

network subsystem

The network subsystem is essentially the server's interface to other computers (i.e., LAN
clients). One of its primary functions is to move data between the network and system
memory as fast as possible. The network subsystem is crucial in heavy file I/O and print
applications, where the majority of the request sizes are of small record sizes.
Therefore the performance of the network subsystem can be impacted by the selection and
configuration of the components that makeup the subsystem. The main network subsystem
components are:
topology – Ethernet, Token Ring, Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI),
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), etc.
network interface card (NIC) – 32 bit vs. 64 bit, PCI NIC vs. PCI-X NIC
network design – switches vs. hubs
The Ethernet topology is a widely used standard topology in local area networks (LANs)
compared to Token Ring, FDDI or ATM. The Ethernet technology has evolved rather rapidly
over the years. It is less expensive to implement and it is backward compatible. Token Ring
has become less popular due bandwidth limitation and cost. FDDI is a high speed
interface, however, it is not as widely used in LANs because it is complicated and
expensive to implement. The ATM, on the other hand, is mainly used as backbones and for
wide area networks (WAN).
Ethernet NICs are available in a variety of types. There are PCI / PCI-X models with
support for 10/100/1000 Mbps speed. The 802.3ae standard for 10-Gigabit Ethernet
equipment was adopted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
in June 2002. For more information on 802.3ae, visit
grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/3/ae/.
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