Optimize New Intel Xeon E based Ser vers with Emulex OneConnect and OneCommand Manager

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Marion Holt
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1 W h i t e p a p e r Optimize New Intel Xeon E based Ser vers with Emulex OneConnect and OneCommand Manager Emulex products complement Intel Xeon E processor capabilities for virtualization, cloud computing and mission critical applications

2 Table of contents At a Glance...2 Products...2 Applications...2 Introduction Intel Next-Generation Processor...3 OneConnect Product Suite...4 Performance...4 Decreased memory load times PCIe integration into the CPU Micro-Op Cache and Optimized Branch Predictor...4 Virtualization Power efficiency Effective management...7 Conclusion...7 At a Glance The introduction of the Intel Xeon E5 family of processors (code named Romley) delivers the best combination of performance and power efficiency for enterprise class applications, virtualization and cloud computing deployments. Data centers looking to maximize the full capabilities of Intel Xeon E servers turn to Emulex, a leading provider of Fibre Channel host bus adapters (HBAs) and 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) universal converged network adapters (UCNAs), for high performance, scalable, reliable storage area network (SAN) and converged network connectivity solutions. This white paper explores the many advantages of Emulex technology as it merges with, and enhances, Intel Xeon E server capabilities. Products n Emulex OneConnect UCNA n Emulex OneCommand Manager n Emulex OneCommand Manager for VMware vcenter Applications n Organizations deploying new Intel Xeon E servers n Organizations deploying virtual server solutions n Organizations deploying cloud architectures n Organizations moving mission critical applications to virtualized servers 2

Introduction Virtualization, cloud computing and mission critical applications are the driving forces behind many data center initiatives.

Fortunately, next-generation technologies from Intel and Emulex deliver a quantum shift in server performance and energy efficiency.

3 Introduction Virtualization, cloud computing and mission critical applications are the driving forces behind many data center initiatives. With the need to increase capacity while reducing operational expenses (OpEx), IT management is looking for ways to use limited capital expenditures to get the maximum benefit. Fortunately, next-generation technologies from Intel and Emulex deliver a quantum shift in server performance and energy efficiency. To fully optimize a next-generation solution, servers need maximum I/O capacity to support high bandwidth applications. Increased bandwidth is also needed for server virtualization, which aggregates I/O from multiple virtual machines (VMs) to the host s data path. The Emulex OneConnect UCNA is a third-generation design that supports multiple protocols, allowing data center administrators to consolidate and converge their networks with a high performance 10GbE infrastructure. Based on a single-chip architecture, OneConnect UCNAs provide CPU offload for Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and iscsi block storage, TOE and stateless offload for networking, and NFS and CIFS for file-based storage. The Intel Xeon processor E5 series provides a major increase in scalability and energy efficiency, and is optimized for the data center with Emulex OneConnect adapters. This next-generation combination takes full advantage of new features that are described in detail in this white paper. Read on to discover how Intel and Emulex can increase your ROI and overall competitiveness. Intel Next-Generation Processor The introduction of the Intel Xeon E5 family of processors (code named Romley) delivers the best combination of performance and power efficiency for enterprise class applications, virtualization and cloud computing deployments. Figure 1 provides an overview of the new processor. Intel introduced EN and EP models with new chipsets and support for up to eight cores and 16 threads. Each core can have as much as 2.5MB of L3 cache, anticipating data requests and improving overall performance. For most data centers, greater scalability will make the E the server of choice. Figure 1 Overview of Intel Xeon E processor. 3

4 OneConnect Product Suite Organizations building solutions around the E are looking to balance increased processing power and networking capabilities with a high performance networking solution. Emulex OneConnect 10GbE adapters provide the connectivity performance required for virtual servers, cloud computing and mission critical applications and the management tools needed to optimize deployments. The Emulex OneConnect UCNA platform is a suite of third-generation, high performance 10GbE adapters that support networking and storage with protocol offload. Emulex vengine technology supports offload for TCP/IP based networks, including TCP Chimney Offload, and Ethernet-based storage with Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), Internet Small Computer System Interface (iscsi) and Network Attached Storage (NAS). From a business perspective, Emulex is the market leader in design wins for systems based on Intel Xeon E processors. Emulex OneConnect adapters have been qualified on many OEM servers using the new Intel Xeon E processor. These include options for integrated, custom form factor blade and standard PCIe option cards. With this broad base of OEM products, data centers can standardize on Emulex OneConnect adapters throughout their data center using a single driver set and a single management application. From a technical perspective, Emulex OneConnect complements the new Intel Xeon E processors in the following areas: n Performance n Virtualization n Power Efficiency n Management Performance Emulex OneConnect adapters leverage new features in Intel Xeon E processors to deliver optimized I/O performance. These include: Decreased memory load times Intel Xeon E processors support two load/store memory operations per CPU cycle which improves memory read latency. Emulex OneConnect high performance Direct Memory Access (DMA) transfers take full advantage of this enhanced capability. PCIe integration into the CPU Emulex OneConnect adapters enhance PCIe integration with robust Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) support that directs I/O interrupts to the proper memory and CPU cores. This prevents unnecessary cache and memory thrashing that can degrade performance. Micro-Op Cache and Optimized Branch Predictor Intel Xeon E processors reduce latency with new Micro-Op Cache and Optimized Branch Predictor features. Emulex OneConnect adapters provide additional performance benefits using Message Signal Interrupts extended (MSI-X) to reduce latency for interrupt processing and interrupt moderation hardware to reduce the number of interrupts. 4

5 Virtualization Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) surveyed organizations that are further along the virtualization curve. For organizations with more mature virtualization deployments, many cited upgrades to server memory as a way to improve server virtualization performance, as can be seen in Figure 2. These organizations will be among the first to deploy new Intel Xeon E servers with increased memory capabilities. Figure 2 ESG survey results. In addition to greater memory capacity, Intel Xeon E processors support improved virtualization performance with faster VMX Unrestricted Mode capabilities. 5

Emulex OneConnect adapters further enhance server virtualization with the following key features: n Network Interface Card (NIC) partitioning Emulex is the leader in NIC partitioning with support for

As shown in Figure 3, which highlights UMC, IT administrators can allocate bandwidth with each of these options for specific virtualization functions that include VM migration, fault tolerance,

NIC partitioning also simplifies 1GbE to 10GbE migrations by mapping 10GbE partitions to tasks assigned to 1GbE ports. Two 10GbE Ports with UMC Figure 3 Switch-agnostic partitioning with UMC.

6 Emulex OneConnect adapters further enhance server virtualization with the following key features: n Network Interface Card (NIC) partitioning Emulex is the leader in NIC partitioning with support for IBM Virtual Fabric Adapter (VFA) and HP FlexFabric and Flex-10. Emulex OneConnect adapters also support switch-agnostic partitioning with Universal Multi-Channel (UMC). As shown in Figure 3, which highlights UMC, IT administrators can allocate bandwidth with each of these options for specific virtualization functions that include VM migration, fault tolerance, console management and individual VMs with service level agreement (SLA) requirements. NIC partitioning also simplifies 1GbE to 10GbE migrations by mapping 10GbE partitions to tasks assigned to 1GbE ports. Two 10GbE Ports with UMC Figure 3 Switch-agnostic partitioning with UMC. VM Migration 2Gb Management 2Gb Storage 4Gb VMs 12Gb UMC Advantages: 2 Cables vs. 8 Cables 20Gb vs. 8 Gb Optimized allocations n Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) SR-IOV supports a large number of NIC functions that can be used for virtualization functions and assignment to individual VMs (see Figure 4). In addition to bypassing virtual adapter overhead, SR-IOV enables greater offload of internal I/O switching. Emulex currently supports SR-IOV with Xen and will be adding support for Windows 8 and VMware ESXi. Figure 4 SR-IOV. 6

7 Power efficiency The energy performance bias feature in Intel Xeon E processors throttles CPU speed when system loads decrease. The relationship is non-linear and any reduction in CPU usage can have a significant benefit. With full protocol offload for TCP/IP, FCoE and iscsi protocols, OneConnect adapters can optimize CPU efficiency and fully leverage the power savings provided by Intel Xeon E processors. Effective management Because Emulex OneConnect technology is available across a broad range of next-generation servers based on Intel Xeon E processors, data centers can standardize on a single 10GbE platform for networking and storage. The Emulex common driver architecture ensures that the same driver runs across multiple generations of adapters, including integrated, blade mezzanine and PCIe option form factors. Common Fibre Channel drivers can also be used for Emulex HBAs and UCNAs. All of the Emulex adapters are supported with the OneCommand Manager application that provides a centralized management console for servers throughout the data center. This allows data centers to optimize adapter functionality while minimizing management costs. OneCommand Manager for VMware vcenter provides the same capabilities for servers using VMware for virtualization. Conclusion With over two million ports installed, Emulex is now the market leader based on current 10GbE port shipments. In the ever expanding world of data center innovation, Emulex delivers not only the connectivity required for optimum competitiveness, but also critical day-to-day management tools. With over 60 OEM design wins for E based servers, Emulex is positioned as the premier provider of connectivity for E servers. 7

8 World Headquarters 3333 Susan Street, Costa Mesa, California Bangalore, India Beijing, China Dublin, Ireland+35 3 (0) Munich, Germany +49 (0) Paris, France +33 (0) Tokyo, Japan Wokingham, United Kingdom +44 (0) /12

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