qlogic cna faq

8/2/2019 Qlogic Cna Faq

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Frequently Asked Questions by Pre-Sales Partners and End User Prospects

QLogic Converged Network Adapters

B sics

1. What is a CNA? answer: Converged Network ad pters, or CNas, support both d t networking (TCP/IP) nd stor ge networking (fC)tr ic on single I/O d pter using two new technologies: Enh nced Ethernet nd fibre Ch nnel over Ethernet (fCoE).

2. What is Enhanced Ethernet? answer: Enh nced Ethernet ( k D t Center Ethernet or Converged Enh nced Ethernet) re ers to new enh ncements tothe existing Ethernet st nd rd th t elimin te Ethernets inherently lossy n ture nd m ke 10Gb Ethernet vi ble stor genetworking tr nsport. See the Enh nced Ethernet section l ter in this faq or more det ils.

3. What is FCoE? answer: fibre Ch nnel over Ethernet, or fCoE, is new technology de ined by the T11 st nd rds body th t llowstr dition l fC stor ge networking tr ic to tr vel over n Ethernet link by enc psul ting fC r mes inside L yer 2

Ethernet r mes. Visitwww. coe.com or in-depth det ils o this new technology.

CNa Bene its

4. What is driving CNA adoption? answer: CNas h ve gener ted signi ic nt industry interest bec use they reduce d t center Tot l Cost o Ownership(TCO) while preserving existing d t nd stor ge networking investment. D t centers h ve tr dition lly built sep r ted t networks (TCP/IP over Ethernet) nd stor ge networks (fC). CNas converge d t nd stor ge networking onto single d pter, which results in lower d pter, c bling, switch, power, cooling, nd m n gement costs. Since fCoE usesfC protocol, existing investment in fC stor ge is preserved.

5. Do CNAs preserve traditional FC concepts such as WWN, LUN masking, zoning, etc?

answer: Yes, the fCoE spec h s been designed to keep these mili r fC concepts, thereby minimizing the disruption odding CNas to n existing network nd reducing the mount o d t center personnel educ tion re uired.

6. How do CNAs enable reliable storage networking given Ethernets inherent lossy nature? answer: CNas implement the new Enh nced Ethernet st nd rd to elimin te Ethernets lossy beh vior nd ensure thes me reli ble, in-order tr nsmission provided by n tive fibre Ch nnel. This is due to the new Priority-b sed flowControl e ture, which extends Ethernets 802.3x PaUSE e ture to ccommod te di erent tr ic cl sses. See theEnh nced Ethernet section l ter in this faq or more det il s.

7. What applications benefit the most from CNAs? answer: applic tions th t currently utilize Ethernet NICs nd/or fC HBas will bene it rom CNas.

FCoE and Enhanced Ethernet
http://www.fcoe.com/http://www.fcoe.com/


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QLogic Converged Network Adapters Frequently Asked Questions

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8. Why are CNAs better for virtualization? answer: a m jor drive behind the surge tow rds virtu liz tion in the d t center is the promise o consolid ting individu lservers. CNas id this consolid tion e ort by urther reducing the number o d pters (i.e. I/O slots) re uired or d t ndstor ge networking.

9. What are the advantages of CNAs over 10GbE NICs with software initiators? answer: Unlike CNa th t o lo ds ll fCoE st ck processing to the d pter, so tw re initi tors rely on the server CPU toprocess the entire fCoE st ck. at 10Gb speeds, the st ck processing ties up l rge percent ge o CPU time, preventing theCPU rom per orming other t sks. Monopolizing the CPU will be especi lly un ccept ble in virtu lized environments, whichre uire m ximum CPU power to run multiple virtu l m chines. There ore, fCoE so tw re initi tors will neg tively imp ct the

bility to consolid te servers through virtu liz tion.

10. How secure is FCoE? Does it have encryption? answer: fCoE supports the s me security nd encryption protocols s st nd rd fibre Ch nnel.

11. Do CNAs support VLAN and other virtual configuration management?

answer: Yes. CNas support the s me security nd virtu l con igur tions s st nd rd Ethernet NICs.Comp ring fCoE with Other Networking Technologies (fC, iSCSI, In iniB nd)

12. What are the advantages of FCoE over iSCSI? answer: Since fCoE is fibre Ch nnel technology, it c n p ss through n fCoE-c p ble switch nd connect to existing fCstor ge, which is the st nd rd or stor ge networks in enterprise d t centers. fCoE lso elimin tes the bulky TCP/IP st ck,which re uires either complex TOE implement tion or signi ic nt CPU utiliz tion to process. fCoE per orm nce is suited

or the enterprise d t center, while iSCSI is still ppropri te or the Sm ll Medium Business (SMB) m rket, which h s lessstrenuous stor ge networking needs.

13. What are the advantages of FCoE over InfiniBand? answer: While In iniB nd h s extremely high per orm nce nd is c p ble o tr nsmitting sever l networking cl sses, it h s nottr dition lly been used or either d t or stor ge networking. It h s, however, become the st nd rd networking interconnect

or High Per orm nce Computing (HPC) nd clustering pplic tions due to its very low l tency c p bility. fCoEs strongestdv nt ge over In iniB nd is th t it lever ges existing fC stor ge nd industry proven drivers, where s In iniB nd stor ge h s

little m rket penetr tion t this time.

14. Will FCoE solutions be more expensive than FC only solutions? answer: It is expected th t fCoE CNas will c rry cost premium versus fC HBas due to the dded unction lity they provide.However, the end-user will experience n over ll reduction in TCO due to the reduction in d pter, c bling, switch, power,cooling, nd m n gement costs.

15. Will there be a need for 16Gb FC only solutions now that FCoE solutions are being developed? answer: Yes. qLogic is still moving orw rd with n tive fC ro dm p or 16Gb speeds nd beyond. It is expected th t n tive

fibre Ch nnel will rem in the st nd rd or stor ge networking o r m ny ye rs.

16. What future speeds will FCoE support? answer: The Ethernet industry is deciding wh t speeds will be supported in the uture. The two most likely c ndid tes re40Gb or 100Gb. fCoE will be supported on the speed chosen by the Ethernet industry.


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CNa In r structure Requirements

17. What infrastructure changes are needed with CNAs? answer: Implementing CNa technology re uires inst lling CNas into servers th t re connected to fCoE switches t thenetworks edge. This is the minimum in r structure ch nge re uired or d t centers getting st rted with CNa technology,which preserves existing investment in core Ethernet in r structure nd fibre Ch nnel bric nd stor ge. Over time,

dministr tors m y choose to upgr de the d t centers core switches nd stor ge to fCoE-c p ble models s the ecosystemdevelops. See the ollowing di gr ms or ex mples o tr nsitioning the d t center to CNas. The di gr m on the le t shows

current d t center with servers cont ining sep r t e Ethernet NICs nd fC HBas connected to sep r te Ethernet nd fCswitches. The di gr m on the right shows d t center implementing CNas, which re connected to fCoE switches. Thesedi gr ms demonstr te how CNas reduce the number o d pters, c bles, nd switches needed t the networks edge, whilepreserving the existing core network nd stor ge in r structure.

18. Do CNAs require an Enhanced Ethernet network? answer: No. However, implementing n Enh nced Ethernet network is strongly recommended to chieve high per orm nce.Existing Ethernet switches re lossy , me ning they drop p ckets when the network is highly congested. Dropping p cketsc uses strong per orm nce hit or stor ge networking. as shown in the previous di gr m, however, it is possible togr du lly upgr de your Ethernet network without per orm nce hit, st rting with Enh nced Ethernet edge switches th t c ncommunic te with existing Ethernet switches.

19. Do CNAs require scrapping my existing Fibre Channel storage? answer: No. This is m jor bene it o CNas with fCoE. as the previous di gr m illustr tes, the d t centers in r structurec n be gr du lly upgr ded st rting t the bric edge.

20. What transceiver options will CNAs support? answer: CNas re being designed to support v riety o copper nd optic l tr nsceivers in the SfP+ plugg ble orm ctor.These tr nsceivers include copper twin- x s well s optic l SR, LR, nd LRM, ll o which h ve di erent cost nd dist ncec p bility consider tions. a 10GB se-T option is lso pl nned.

21. What cabling do CNAs support? answer: CNas support v riety o c bles. Copper twin- x c bles h ve integr ted SfP+ tr nsceivers nd support m ximumdist nce o 10m. Multimode 62.5um nd 50um optic l iber c n be used with SR tr nsceivers or m ximum dist nce o300m. Newly developed LRM tr nsceivers utilize existing 62.5um c bling nd provide m ximum dist nce o 220m. Singlemode optic l iber c n be used with LR tr nsceivers or m ximum dist nce o 10Km. fin lly, CaT6 c bling c n be usedwith RJ45 connectors or 10GB se-T support.


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22. What are the primary differences in FCoE-capable switches and standard Ethernet switches? answer: fCoE-c p ble switches will recognize the new fCoE r me orm t, which includes new Ethertype th t is embeddedinto the Ethernet he der to denote fCoE tr ic. fCoE-c p ble switches will be progr mmed to either p ss Ethernet r mes to

nother Ethernet device or to strip the fibre Ch nnel r mes rom the Ethernet r mes to p ss to co nnected fibre Ch nneldevice.

23. Can I buy a CNA and use it in a pure FC environment until I get an FCoE switch? answer: No. a CNa must be combined with fCoE-c p ble switch or g tew y th t c n extr ct fC r mes rom the fCoE

r mes to en ble communic tion with n tive fC devices.

fCoE Ecosystem

24. What adapter vendors will offer CNAs and in what time frame? answer: qLogic will l unch their CNa product line in mid-2008. Other competing vendors re expected to l unch CNas, swell s 10GbE NIC solutions with fCoE so tw re initi tors.

25. What switch vendors will offer FCoE-capable switches and in what time frame? answer: Nuov ( subsidi ry o Cisco) will l unch line o fCoE-c p ble switches in mid-2008. Other switch vendors reexpected to l unch competing products t l ter time.

26. What storage vendors will offer native FCoE storage and in what time frame? answer: It is expected th t ll m jor stor ge vendors will develop n tive fCoE stor ge, with initi l products hitting the m rket

s e rly s 2009.

27. Will switch vendors support FC storage and native FCoE storage? answer: Yes. Switch vendors will support both fC nd n tive fCoE stor ge, s both technologies re expected to coexist orm ny ye rs.

28. Will FC disk array software (failover, replication, etc.) work with CNAs?

answer: Yes. fC disk rr y so tw re will be 100-percent comp tible with CNas.

29. Will FC tape library software (backup, restore) work with CNAs? answer: Yes. fC t pe libr ry so tw re will be 100-percent comp tible with CNas.

CNa Driver nd M n gement Utility Support

30. What operating systems will be supported by CNAs? answer: qLogic CNas will be supported on the s me wide v riety o drivers s their st nd rd fibre Ch nnel HBas.

31. Will server virtualization vendors support FCoE CNAs? answer: Yes. all server virtu liz tion vendors will dd CNa support.

32. Will QLogic develop a single management utility for both native FC HBAs and FCoE CNAs? answer: Yes. qLogics SaNsur er utility will tr nsp rently support both n tive fC HBas nd fCoE CNas.

33. Are all FC and FCoE facilities (WWN, LUN masking, zoning, etc.) the same when used as a Storage Area Network (SAN) adapter? answer: Yes. This is m jor strength o the fCoE ppro ch.

34. Will FCoE Drivers be backward compatible with 8Gb, 4Gb, etc.? answer: Yes. qLogic will develop drivers th t re comp tible with both n tive fC nd fCoE d pters. These drivers willlever ge qLogics ye rs o driver development experience to provide the most reli ble fCoE solution on the m rket.


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St nd rds

35. When will Enhanced Ethernet and FCoE standards be officially ratified? answer: Enh nced Ethernet is expected to h ve pre-st nd rd Version 0 this ye r. first products will be shipped incon orm nce to this Version 0 pre-st nd rd. full pprov l is expected to h ppen in 2009.

36. If these standards are not yet ratified, what happens if I buy CNAs from QLogic that are pre-standard, and then new standardsare released?

answer: qLogic will provide simple irmw re upgr de th t will be downlo d ble rom the qLogic website.

Enh nced Ethernet

37. What is the difference between Ethernet and Enhanced Ethernet? answer: Enh nced Ethernet dds sever l new e tures th t elimin te Ethernets lossy beh vior nd m kes it suit ble ortr nsporting stor ge networking. The our m in dditions re Priority-b sed flow Control (PfC), Congestion Noti ic tion (CN),Enh nced Tr nsmission Selection (ETS), nd DCB C p bility Exch nge Protocol (DCB X).

38. What is Priority-based Flow Control? answer: Priority-b sed flow Control (802.1qbb) llows the network to selectively p use di erent cl sses o tr ic. forinst nce, switch th t is experiencing he vy tr ic c n p use (stop tr nsmitting) d t networking tr ic while continuing top ss higher priority stor ge networking tr ic. The priority cl sses c n be de ined using the 802.1p speci ic tion.

39. What is Congestion Notification? answer: Congestion Noti ic tion (802.1q u) llows switch th t is experiencing he vy tr ic to sign l its tt ched ports th tthey need to slow down or throttle their tr nsmissions. These tt ched ports c n then p ss this mess ge to their tt chedports, which llows the whole network to throttle communic tion until the congestion is relieved.

40. What is Enhanced Transmission Selection?

answer: Enh nced Tr nsmission Selection (802.1q z) helps m ximize the use o v il ble network b ndwidth mongst tr iccl sses. When cert in cl ss o tr ic is not using its ull lloc ted b ndwidth, ETS llows other tr ic cl sses to use thev il ble b ndwidth.

41. What is DCB Capability Exchange Protocol? answer: DCB C p bility Exch nge Protocol llows Enh nced Ethernet devices to convey nd con igure their Enh nced Ethernetc p bilities with other tt ched Enh nced Ethernet devices. This protocol ensures consistent con igur tion cross thenetwork.

42. Can CNAs be used as 10GbE NICs? answer: Yes. CNas re designed to tr nsport d t over 10Gb Ethernet connections. They c n be used s 10GbE NICs istor ge networking c p bility is not re uired.

43. Does Enhanced Ethernet still utilize Spanning Tree? answer: Yes, Enh nced Ethernet will still use the Sp nning Tree protocol th t is used in Ethernet tod y. However, there is ne ort by the IETf to implement more e icient bridging mech nism c lledtransparent interconnect lots of links , or TRILL.


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Corpor te He d u rters qLogic Corpor tion 26650 aliso Viejo P rkw y aliso Viejo, Ca 92656 949.389.6000 www.qlogic.com

Europe He d u rters qLogic (UK) LTD. qu tro House Lyon W y, frimley C mberley Surrey, GU16 7ER UK +44 (0) 1276 804 670

2008 qLogic Corpor tion. Speci ic tions re subject to ch nge without notice. all rights reserved worldwide. qLogic, the qLogic logo, nd SaNsur er re registered tr dem rks o qLogic Corpor tion. Cisco is registered tr dem rk o Cisco Systems, Inc. allother br nd nd product n mes re tr dem rks or regis tered tr dem rks o their respective owners. In orm tion supplied by qLogic Corpor tion is believed to be ccur te nd reli ble. qLogic Corpor tion ssumes no responsibility or ny err ors in this brochure.qLogic Corpor tion reserves the right, without notice, to m ke ch nges in product design or speci ic tions.

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