Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) part 2

Continued from Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) part 1

New standards are being developed, which will achieve line-rate bandwidth with zero packet loss. This is being referred to a ‘lossless’ network which supports standards like:

• Priority Flow Control (IEEE 802.1Qbb)

• Congestion notification (IEEE 802.1Qau)

• Shortest path bridging (802.1aq)

• Link layer routing protocol (IETF – TRILL)

• Enhanced Transmission Selection (802.1Qaz)

These standards are referred to as Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) or Fibre Channel over Convergence Enhanced Ethernet (FCoCEE).[T1]

In order to support converged Fibre Channel and IP on the same NIC, it requires a CNA card with either copper SFP+ cables or optical fiber cables. This will reduce costs by decreasing the number of NICs, as well as reducing management overhead. It allows management of a single network unit instead of two separate network infrastructures (IP and Fibre Channel); it will also decrease the power and cooling consumption. This will be handy in virtualization environments, and will allow leveraging advanced Ethernet networking capabilities such as QoS inside the Fibre Channel space.

Conclusion

FCoE is a compelling new technology that allows unified I/O in the data center. But before adopting the technology, make sure you understand it beyond the slogans and brochures. Evaluate the current state of your storage networking infrastructure and make the decision based on business requirements and not based on trends.

External Link:

http://video.computerworld.com/services/player/bcpid1351827287?bctid=1410385428

-Ronny Front, GlassHouse Senior Consultant

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