Comments
The fastest IEEE standard for Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE), was established in 2005 in specification 802.3x. Just as the name implies, networks operating under standard 802.3x are capable of transmitting data at 10 gigabits per second. To put this into perspective 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) is 100 times faster than Fast Ethernet that transmits data 100 megabits per second.
The business world has watched as 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) has evolved from a new, bleeding-edge technology without a lot of compliant hardware into a mature, proven technology ready to be deployed in many businesses seeking faster data transmission speeds.
Firms are beginning to realize that the time may have arrived to take advantage of the technology, especially when considering the resource demands of newly adapted networking technologies such as server virtualization and data warehousing.
Ever increasing storage demands, bandwidth-hogging video, and exponentially increasing transaction processing can form bottlenecks in networks operating under older Ethernet standards and further contribute to the need to upgrade to 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE).
Companies operating with 1 Gigabit Ethernet (1GbE) are finding that as their company has grown so has their network. These firms are discovering that the backbone cables that provide the highest transfer rates at 1 gigabit per second 1(Gbps) are becoming bogged down with the demands of their advanced networking system. Also, demand for Gigabit Ethernet has grown at the desktop level where increasingly there are needs for shared video and demanding business applications deployed by the server.
Efficient servers operating with virtualization technology that previously required the use of several, independent machines also demand faster data transmission rates.
Businesses are upgrading to 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) to relieve these pressures involved with their growing networks. Deploying the latest Ethernet technology not only makes sense from a technical viewpoint, but also from a financial one as managers begin to realize that network bottlenecks are causing inefficiencies and, therefore, are costing the firm money. Furthermore, deploying 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) directs businesses towards becoming more “green” as power demands are reduced.
A survey conducted in the fall of 2007 of nearly 400 business and IT professionals has confirmed this rising interest in 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE). The survey confirmed that IT personnel are currently evaluating the new technology and are testing different ways that the standard can be used with servers, switches and network interface cards (NICs). At the same time, firms are conducting price feasibility research on rolling out the faster transmission rates.
Enterprises are finding from their internal research that network infrastructure and company economics call for the move to 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE). During the time period since the standard was established, 10GbE technology has drastically improved and costs involved in deploying it have dropped to levels where the cost is justified in companies needing the upgrade. Factor in the savings that increased network efficiency can generate, and the upgrade becomes a no-brainer.
While 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) deployment is being considered, business customers are seeking the same solutions that have always been desired from their network: a deployment optimized for a particular network that enables a more efficient infrastructure and administration at an affordable price.
Upgrading to the latest standard is not a daunting task for IT managers. 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) still utilizes familiar Ethernet connections and media to achieve these higher speeds. Organizations are able to build upon their existing network infrastructure to introduce the faster transmission rates. Current IT staff already possess a wealth of knowledge about Ethernet, having spent years operating with Ethernet hardware and protocols since the 10Base-T (10 Mbps) technology was first used in the 1990s.
Fiber cabling, already present in many 1 Gigabit Ethernet (1GbE) networks is also used in transmitting at this faster rate. Commonly used Network Interface Cards (NIC cards) already present in PCs are capable of gigabit transfer rates but are held back by network administrators concerned about the bottlenecks that would occur should they open up desktop users to their highest possible speeds.
Because of the widespread acceptance of Ethernet technology, there is also no need for software upgrades to take advantage of the higher transmission capability of 10GbE. Servers will run the same applications that ran before the upgrade without a hitch. Applications are developed with Ethernet protocols in mind; 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) follows the same standards.
Another area where business owners are always looking to reduce costs is in power consumption. Power needs for servers are considerable, especially when the cooling requirements for these sensitive machines are factored in. When deployed correctly, 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) will reduce power consumption and lessen utility bills by reducing the footprint of the servers in the business. Running at higher transmission speeds over the same types of cables lessens the power demands of the servers. Also, processing demands that also generate higher power consumption are not wasted routing bottlenecked data to lines running under capacity in networks running at or close to maximum bandwidth at the lower transmission rate.
Reducing the power demands on servers also can increase the life of your hardware equipment. Servers don’t have to work as hard when more bandwidth is available so the machines can keep cool and run more efficiently.
Servers running at lower temperatures obviously have lower cooling demands, oftentimes proportionately the highest power-demanding requirement of a server.
Further savings can be realized in staffing requirements of the 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) network deployment. Running at the higher transmission rate can present obvious consolidation options and the familiarity of Ethernet reduces the need to find specially trained IT personnel. Peripheral compatibility is not an issue and there is no need to reconfigure existing appliances shared on the network to function on the 10GbE network. IT staff will no longer be stretched to the limits administering a network running at capacity. Also, once the new network technology is in place, high-demand processing environments like data-mining and blade server’s benefit from the faster throughput.
A 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) network is inherently optimized to take advantage of new virtualization techniques that make increased demands of data transmission. Virtualized servers take on the tasks of multiple servers, consolidating those multiple machines into a single server, further eliminating hardware and administrative costs for the business decision-maker.
Furthermore, newer networking protocols that are only possible on the higher bandwidth of 10GbE can be taken advantage of. This includes the high-speed storage protocol iWarp first developed in a joint project by Intel and Carnegie Mellon University in 1988, and iSCSI that links storage clusters together utilizing lower power requirements with the higher transmission rates. Deploying protocols such as these across a 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) network can result in a dramatic improvement in network efficiency.
Ideally, 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) should at least be considered where it is needed most. Usually, data centers and file servers have the greatest need for upgrading to 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE). Higher-speed transmission lines become particularly important for the file server should video transmission or multimedia streaming be integrated into your business. Video transmission requires the highest amount of bandwidth of any type of media and today’s applications and desktop users are demanding more and more multimedia in their day-to-day operations. A lot of multimedia transmission also occurs when employees access the Internet. Once it is determined that employees truly need faster data transmission speeds, IT managers will need to seriously consider 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE).
Another area that would benefit right off from 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) deployment are server farms where numerous transactions are carried out simultaneously. An inherent issue with some server farms is the ability to transfer multiple transactions simultaneously when one server is busy. The faster transmission rates could eliminate the need for some of the machines present in the server farm as well as the staffing requirements to manage them.
Deploying this newer technology sooner rather than later keeps a technologically-savvy company at the cutting edge and able to operate more efficiently than many of their business competitors who have not yet made this decision. The 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) protocol could easily prove to be a real competitive advantage to your business. While some IT Managers are fickle about upgrading to 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE), more and more are choosing to move forward with it.
Below are some smart tips in determining how to integrate 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) in your existing network architecture:
1. Conduct a thorough analysis of your existing network architecture.
2. Identify what existing hardware to be reconfigured for the upgrade and what hardware may need replaced.
3. Identify “in phases” what changes need to be made in regards to server hardware, server virtualization, network storage, cabling and in your data centers to optimize the reduced power demands of the 10GbE and minimize “server sprawl.”
4. Correlate the proposed changes to align with current and future business growth requirements of your business.
5. Act on this collected information and communicate it to your management team.
The key aspect of the 10GbE deployment is the performance advantages realized when the same network is suddenly able to process significantly more data at a faster rate. These performance advantages also result in cost savings resulting from server consolidation as more and more servers become virtualized. Furthermore, the requirements from the IT staff are reduced and power consumption needs are not what they were before with the network operating much more efficiently.
Finally, with more legislation coming requiring that businesses operate with less power, many businesses are looking closely at upgrading 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE).
Posted by waqasahmad
10Gbps
Posted by AbramianDaniel
-