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Deployment Guide: Network Convergence with Emulex
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OCe10102-F FCoE CNA and Windows Server Platform
The Data Center Networking Challenge
Data center managers are clearly in need of networking solutions
that contain the sprawl of network infrastructure and enable an
adaptive next-generation network. The solution for optimizing the
data center network must be capable of addressing the following
high level requirements:
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Consolidate—Replace multiple 1GbE links with a high-
bandwidth 10GbE infrastructure, significantly reducing the
number of switch ports, adapter ports and cables.
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Converge—Unify networking and storage traffic to a single
network, eliminating the need for dedicated networks for each
traffic type.
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Virtualize—Virtualize the underlying physical network
infrastructure and provide service level guarantees for each type
of traffic. In addition, the solution must be capable of responding
to dynamic changes in network services based on the business
demands of data center applications.
Data Center Bridging:
The Foundation for Network Convergence
The IEEE Data Center Bridging (DCB) standard enables multiple
traffic types over a single link, or network convergence, as shown
in Figure 1 for FCoE.
The key DCB standards that enable network convergence are:
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Priority Flow Control (PFC)—Pause-based I/O management
between an initiator and target on a multi-protocol Ethernet link
that insures low latency and eliminates re-transmissions for lost
packets (referred to as “lossless” Ethernet)
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Quality of Service (QoS)—Support for 8 network
traffic priorities
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Enhanced Transmission Selection (ETS)—Bandwidth
allocation for multiple protocols
Figure 1 DCB enables multiple traffic type over a single link
Figure 2 FCoE encapsulation in Ethernet
FCoE Technology Overview
The FCoE protocol specification provides for direct encapsulation
of a complete Fibre Channel frame (including checksum and
framing bits) within an Ethernet frame and avoids the overhead of
any intermediate protocols (see Figure 2).
This lightweight encapsulation ensures that FCoE-capable
Ethernet switches are less compute-intensive, providing high
performance that is typical of a Fibre Channel network. By
retaining Fibre Channel as the upper layer protocol, FCoE fully
supports critical Fibre Channel capabilities, including fabric login,
zoning and Logical Unit Number (LUN) masking.
Figure 3 shows how networking and Fibre Channel software
stacks use a common Ethernet infrastructure to achieve
convergence in the data center.
Figure 3 Networking and Fibre Channel stacks