Overview - Qlogic Storage Networking (Unified Fabric Pilot Installation Manual

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Overview

Martin (2010) defines a converged network as follows: "A unified data center
fabric is a networking fabric that combines traditional LAN and storage area
network (SAN) traffic on the same physical network with the aim of reducing
architecture complexity and enhancing data flow and access. To make this work,
the traditional Ethernet network must be upgraded to become lossless and
provide additional data center networking features and functions. In turn, the
storage protocol must be altered to run on Ethernet." Lossless means that no
Fibre Channel packets are dropped.
Deploying FCoE over a unified fabric reduces data center costs by converging
data and storage networking. Standard TCP/IP and Fibre Channel traffic share the
same high-speed 10Gbps Ethernet wire, resulting in cost savings through
reduced adapter, switch, cabling, power, cooling, and management requirements.
FCoE has rapidly gained market acceptance because it delivers excellent
performance, reduces data center total cost of ownership (TCO), and protects
current data center investments. A unified fabric with FCoE preserves existing
investments in Fibre Channel and Ethernet while providing Enhanced Ethernet for
unified data networking.
To provide some assurance that FCoE can be deployed in a data center without
disrupting operations, Cisco
collaborated to produce this guide to simplify the installation and certification of an
FCoE pilot. The guide provides system engineers, architects, and end users with
a step-by-step method to implement and validate a unified fabric and measure
performance of a pilot operation. This guide does not provide methods to measure
performance under load or to contrast performance between various protocols,
media types, or file systems. This guide is intended to assist in implementing an
FCoE and unified fabric pilot using current storage and protocols. It is also
intended to assist system engineers in implementing an FCoE and unified fabric
pilot for their customers.
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