T

e
c
h
n
o
l
o
g
y

I
n
s
i
g
h
t

S
e
r
i
e
s
Data-Center iSCSI
Russ Fellows
March 8, 2010
Eval uator Group
Building next generation storage networks


























Copyright2010EvaluatorGroup,Inc.Allrightsreserved
Data Center iSCSI Building next generation storage networks
ExecutiveSummary
InformationTechnologyhasmovedintoanexcitingnewphasethatallowstheDataCentertoseparate
applicationworkloadsfromtheunderlyinghardware,deliveringbetterutilization,fasterapplication
deploymentandworkloadbalancing.Datacentershaveamixofapplications;somerequirededicated
systems,althoughagrowingnumberofapplicationsareabletoleveragedynamicnextgeneration
infrastructure.
DespitetheemergenceofnewITtechnologies,administratorscontinuetoseeincreaseddemandfor
resources,higheravailabilityrequirementsandlowerbudgets.Inordertosolvethesechallenges,IT
organizationsshouldadoptinfrastructurethatsupportsseveralobjectives,whichinclude:
Opensupportedbymultiplevendorsdedicatedtocompatibilityandinnovation
Flexibleanarchitecturethatscalesfromsmalltolargeenvironments
Efficientdeliveringhighperformancewithoutcompromisingoncostorpowerneeds
Manycompanieslookingtoleveragethenewvirtualinfrastructurewhilestillaccommodatingthelegacy
deploymentsareturningtoiSCSIstorageandEthernetSANinfrastructuretomeettheserequirements.
Thispaperoutlinesthemostimportantdevelopmentsinstoragenetworks,alongwithconsiderations
forexecutivesandITstaffstaskedwithcreating,andimplementingarchitecturesthatrequireSAN
connectivity.
VirtualizationthenewKillerApp
Inordertobuildthenextgenerationdatacenter,ITinfrastructuremustsupportdynamicconfiguration,
andprovidetheabilitytotransparentlymigrateworkloadswithoutphysicallimitations.ITusersand
applicationsdemandadynamicinfrastructure,whileITadministratorsrequiretheabilitytomanage
multiplecomponentsasonevirtualsystem.Allofthesegoalsmustbemetwhilethenumberof
businessapplicationsisincreasing,theiravailabilitydemandsareincreasingandbudgetsremainflat.
Theseseeminglyimpossiblegoalsarenowpossibleduetoseveralnewdevelopments.Virtualization
technologyisnowabletoallowadministratorsanduserstoviewITresourcesasavirtualsystem.This
providesbetterutilizationofthecomputing,networkingandstorageresources.Asaresult,
administratorsandbusinessesareabletosimplifythemanagementwhileimprovingperformanceand
loweringcosts.
ThenewVirtualInfrastructure
ThenewvirtualITdatacentermustsupportmultipleapplicationanddataworkloads,efficiently.IT
administratorsarelookingtodeliveronlytheresourcesnecessary,withoutoverprovisioningequipment
orexperiencingperformancebottlenecks.
Thesametrendsthathavebeendrivingserverconsolidationarenowplacingdemandsonstorage
networksandstoragesubsystems.JustasstandardizationonX86serverhardwareallowsconsolidation,
standardizationonIPnetworkswillenablesimilargainsthroughstoragenetworkconsolidationonto
Ethernetbasedinfrastructure.
Copyright2010,EvaluatorGroup,Inc. Page1of9

Data-Center iSCSI Building next generation storage networks

Currentservertechnologysupportsmulticoreprocessors,eachcapableofrunning10ormorevirtual
systemssimultaneously.Thiscanresultinover1,000virtualsystemsrunninginonerack,drivinga
massiveincreaseonthenetworkinterfacesinvirtualenvironments.
Alongwithaconvergedinfrastructure,comestherequirementforstoragenetworkingtechnologiesthat
areabletosupportmassivescaleoutvirtualserverfarms,andfacilitaterapidprovisioninganddynamic
movementofworkloadsbetweensystems.Inordertoreapthebenefitsofvirtualization,itis
imperativethatnetworksandstoragesystemsareabletosupportdynamicworkloads.
AScalableSANforVirtualEnvironments
iSCSIisoneofthefewstoragenetworkingtechnologiesabletodeliverflexiblescalabilityalongwithhigh
performanceandavailabilitywhileretainingeaseofmanagement.TheuseofiSCSIisincreasingwithout
regardtoindustryorcompanysizeduetoitsabilitytodeliveronthesecapabilities.
OneoftheprimarybenefitsofiSCSIisitsuniqueabilitytogrowfromsmall,inexpensiveworkgroup
deploymentstolarge,enterprisegradeSANenvironments.Themultipleoptionsforprovidinghigh
availabilityalsoprovidechoicesforITdepartmentslookingtodeliverhighavailabilityconnectivityand
failovercapabilities.
Additionally,iSCSIsupportstheuseofbothsoftwareinitiatorsrunningoverstandardEthernetforlow
costconnectivity,andspecializedserveradaptersforthehighestperformance.Adaptersleverage
hardwareassistancetoprovideperformancegainsforhighlyvirtualizedenvironmentsandsystems
runningcriticalapplications.
ThestandardOSinitiatorsusedbyiSCSIallowITadministratorstoutilizeembeddedEthernetlinks,or
addhighperformance10Gbconnections.Asaresult,administratorscanavoiddeployingcomplex,
singlepurpose,adaptersandtheinherentcompatibilitychallengeswithproprietaryinitiators.
EvaluatorGroupComment:iSCSIprovidesunmatchedscalability,byinexpensively
supportingsmallnetworksandscalinguptothousandsofdedicatedSANportsfor
largeenterpriseswhorequirethehighestperformanceandavailability.
Forhighlyvirtualizedenvironments,serveradaptersoffloadprocessingtodedicatedhardwarethat
workswiththeoperatingsystemstoacceleratenativeOSprotocolssuchasTCP/IPandiSCSI.These
adapterscanalsoprovideI/OvirtualizationtoscaleI/Oacrossmulticoreservers.Bystandardizingon
scalableprotocolsandconnectors,iSCSIsupportsmovingfromlowcostbuiltinadapterstospecialized
adapterswhenneeded,allwhileusingthesameprotocolsandmanagementtools.Asaresult,iSCSI
deliverstheperformanceandflexibilityrequiredforvirtualized,dynamicdatacenters.
I/OtechnologiesforVirtualization
AnotherbenefitisiSCSIsabilitytodeliverfeaturesthatvirtualserverworkloadsdemand,suchasthe
abilitytomoveapplicationsanddatatransparently,withoutreprovisioningtheSANnetwork.
WithanewgenerationofEthernetavailableasaconvergeddatatransport,ITusersarenowableto
deployonetransportandthenchoosewhichprotocolsprovidethebestmatchforanapplication.
Page2of9 Copyright2010,EvaluatorGroup,Inc.

Data Center iSCSI Building next generation storage networks

VirtualizedapplicationsoftenimposedifferentI/Oworkloadsthanmoretraditionalcomputestacks.
Thenewvirtualizedenvironmentrequiresadynamicnetworkinginfrastructurethatisflexibleandcost
effective,whileprovidinghighperformanceandavailability.
Alltoooftendebateshavecenteredonthemeritsofonetechnologyorprotocolcomparedtoanother.
TherealquestionsITprofessionalsshouldbeaskingrevolvearounddeliveringresults,easilyandcost
effectively:
HowdoImanageportsandI/Oacrossservers?
HowdoIdeployandmanageredundantI/O?
CanImoveoraddLANandSANI/Owithoutreconfiguringservers?
HowdoIconvergeconnectivitywhilepreservingqualityandsecurity?
Willthesefeaturesworkequallywellinvirtualserver,networkandstorageenvironments?
TheanswertothesequestionswillhaveasignificantimpactondaytodayIToperations.
TheEnterpriseStorageNetwork
Whendatacenterarchitectsconsiderhowtoanswerthesequestions,itisapparentthatEthernetisthe
bestnetworktransportchoice.WithEthernetinplace,iSCSIisanaturalfitforapplicationsand
deploymentsthatrequireblockstorage.
NewserverorstoragedeploymentsaregoodcandidatesforiSCSI,inparticulardeploymentsthatutilize
virtualserversandscaleoutdesigns.ByleveragingtheEthernetportsembeddedinallservers,iSCSI
accessisubiquitous.
EvaluatorGroupComment:Largeorganizationslookingtoprovidewidescale
blockstorageaccessshouldstronglyconsideriSCSIduetoitsflexibility,andability
todramaticallylowerinfrastructurecosts.Smallerorganizationsshouldconsider
anEthernetSANinfrastructureandiSCSIforallblockstoragerequirements.
InvestmentsinnewFibreChannelSANswillbecomeincreasinglyrare,inparticularforsmaller
organizationsandthosewithoutsignificantexistinginvestmentsinFCSANequipment.UnlikeFCoE,
whichrequiresanewenhancedversionofEthernetknownasDCBEthernet,iSCSIcanrunonexisting
EthernetnetworkswithoutrequiringDCBenhancements.ITadministratorshavetheoptionof
deployingiSCSIondedicatedlinksorconvergingtrafficonthesamephysicallinks.AsI/Oratesincrease,
10GbElinkscanbedeployed,alongwithDCBEthernettoguaranteeminimalbandwidthandavoid
retransmissionofdata.
TheemergenceofFCoEand10GbEthernetwillultimatelyhelptheadoptionofiSCSIbybreakingdown
thebarriersthathaveexistedinadoptingacommondatatransport.Bymovingallenterprisetraffic
ontoEthernet,allprotocolsincludingiSCSI,FCoEandNASwillbenefitfromasharedinfrastructure.
Copyright2010,EvaluatorGroup,Inc. Page3of9

Data-Center iSCSI Building next generation storage networks

IndustryTrendsDrivingiSCSIAdoption
iSCSIToday
ThecurrentlevelofmaturityallowsiSCSItocompetefornewdatacenterstoragebuildouts,while
industrytrendsaredrivingincreasedinterest.DuetotheabilitytodeployaniSCSISANwithout
dedicatedhardwareequipment,itsgrowthhasbeenparticularlystrongwithsmallandmidsized
businesses.However,thishasledtothemisconceptionthatiSCSIisnotsuitableforenterprise
deployments.
Today,iSCSISANsofferthebestofbothworlds;thecapabilitytousesharedswitchedEthernetnetworks
insmallerITcenters,withtheabilitytosegmentLANandSANtrafficonEthernetforlargeITdata
centers.EthernetisabletodeliveraconsolidatedSANandLANtransporttoday,andwiththe
emergenceofnewEthernettechnologies,offersenhancedSANcapabilities.
OneofthebiggestadvantagesiSCSIhasoveralternativeblockstorageprotocolsistheuseofEthernet
andTCP/IPnetworks.Thematurityofthesetechnologies,combinedwiththeabilitytodynamically
segmentdata,providestheabilitytoseparatetraffic,whilesharinginfrastructure.
ThebreadthofsupportforEthernetandIPnetworking,coupledwiththedepthoftechnicalfeatures
availableprovideoneofthebestfoundationsfordatatransportavailable.Byleveragingthese
technologies,iSCSIisabletosimplifymanagementbyprovidingsynergyandconsistencywithother
datacenternetworksalreadyinplace.
EvaluatorGroupComment:Reducingoverheadandgainingflexibilityarekey
factorsforoverburdenedITadministratorstaskedwithmanagingvirtualserver
andstorageenvironments.iSCSIisabletoleveragenetworkfeaturessuchas
virtualIPaddressing,dynamicrouting,andlongdistanceWANcapabilitiesto
provideflexibilitywhilesimplifyingmanagement.
TherearenumerousoptionsforachievingbothhighperformanceandhighavailabilitywithiSCSISANs.
TheiSCSIprotocolitselfsupportsmultipleconnectionsessions(MCS)toenhancebothperformanceand
availability.TheIPlayerprovidesmultiplenetworkpathsbetweenhostsandtargets,andtheEthernet
layerallowsforteamingorgroupingconnectionsforbothperformanceandavailability.Additionally,
mostiSCSIinitiatorssupporthighavailabilityconfigurationsthroughdevicedriversthatallowmultiple
pathsandfailovercapabilities,oftenknownasMPIO.
Modern,bestofbreediSCSIdeploymentshavemanyofthesamecharacteristicsasotherSAN
deployments.Theseincludededicatednetworksthatarecorrectlysized,alongwithastaffof
professionalswhoaretaskedwithmanagingtheavailabilityandperformanceofthenetwork.
AlloftheseoptionsprovideamultitudeofchoicesforITarchitectslookingtoimplementhighly
performingandreliableiSCSISANs.ThecurrentgenerationofiSCSIproductsincludesabroadportfolio
ofserveroptimizedadaptercardsatboth1and10Gb,anextremelymatureEthernetswitchmarket
alongwithanextensivesetofiSCSIcapablestorageproducts.
Page4of9 Copyright2010,EvaluatorGroup,Inc.

Data Center iSCSI Building next generation storage networks

I/OConsolidation
Thereareseveraltrendsdrivingtheneedforfasternetworking,includingmulticoreCPUs,server
virtualizationandanincreaseduseofnetworkedstorage.Todaysmulticoreprocessorsallowdata
centerdesignerstoconsolidatelogicalinfrastructureontofewerphysicalsystemsthroughserver
virtualization.ThishasdrivenacorrespondingrequirementforgreaterI/Oalongwiththemoveto
virtualservers.CompoundingthisistheincreasedI/Oconnectivitybetweenserversandstorage.
Allofthesefactorsaredrivingtheadoptionof10GbEthernet,whichispushingdownthecostofhigh
speedports.Untilrecently,10GbEthernetportsweremoreexpensivethan4and8GbFCports.In
2009,pricingparitywasreached,andwiththeadoptionoflowcost10GbELANonMother(LOM)
controllers10GbEthernetisnowoutshipping8GFCports,andisexpectedtoincreaseitslead.
Oneissueplaguingsystemdeploymentshasbeenthatasinglehighspeed,lowcostnetworkthatcan
supportprocessingandstoragerequirementshasnotbeenavailable.Whatisneededisanetwork,able
tosupportbothLANandSANrequirementsatsignificantlyhigherdatarates,costeffectively.
EnhancedEthernetTheFutureofNetworking
Recently,storageandnetworkingvendorshavecreateaconverged,multiprotocolnetworkusingan
enhancedversionofEthernet.ThenewlyimprovedversionofEthernetisontracktobecomea
standard,delivering10GbEthernetforuseasatransportforSANprotocols.Thenameforthis
enhancedversionisEthernetDCB(forDataCenterBridging).Theimplicationsarefarreaching;all
storageprotocolsusingthenewDCBEthernetwillseeabenefit.
Tosome,thethoughtofusingconvergedEthernetmeansmovingstorageprotocolstoaLAN.Thisisnot
thecase,asthenewDCBEthernethasthecharacteristicsofstoragenetworks,includingvirtual
channels,priorityandquality,guaranteeddelivery,redundantconnectionsandtransparentfailover.
TheEthernetDCBstandardstransformEthernetintoanetworktransportthatprovidesreliabledelivery
ofdata,alongwithpredictableperformance,congestionmanagementandflowcontrol,muchlikeFibre
Channel.
NetworkConvergence
Thereareanincreasingnumberofalternativesforconnectingserversandstorage,includingiSCSI,Fibre
ChanneloverEthernet(FCoE)andFibreChannel.Thesechoicesallowcompaniestohavemoreflexibility
whencreatingspecificsolutions,choosingfileprotocolsforapplicationsthatworkwithunstructured
data,andblockprotocolssuchasiSCSIorFCoEforapplicationsrequiringaccesstostructureddata,such
asdatabasesorfilesystems.
WiththeemergenceofconvergedEthernet,evenlargeorganizationswithheavyrelianceonFCSAN
infrastructuresarebeginningtorethinktheirlongtermstrategyandroadmapsfornewstorageandSAN
deployments.
EvaluatorGroupComment:Aconverged,flexiblenetworkinfrastructurewillallow
ITadministratorstochoosewhichstorageprotocolstoutilize,ratherthanbeing
forcedtouseaprotocolspecificnetwork.Ethernetisbecomingthelogicalchoice
asthebestnetworktechnologyforprotocolsinbothlargeandsmallenterprises.
Copyright2010,EvaluatorGroup,Inc. Page5of9

Data-Center iSCSI Building next generation storage networks

Overthenextfewyears,newFCSANdeploymentswillcontinue,inparticularforlargeserverand
storageinstallations.However,newFCSANdeploymentswillbecomemoredifficulttojustifyeachyear.
FCstoragewillremainasignificantpartofmanyenvironmentsforoveradecade,butarelikelyto
diminishasnetworksconvergeonEthernet,andprotocolssuchasiSCSI,NFS,CIFSandFCoEareallable
toutilizeaconvergedEthernetnetwork.

Figure1:TheConvergenceofStorageInfrastructure
WhoWinswithConvergence
Nearlyeveryonegainsfromtheuseofasingletransporttechnology.WiththeconvergenceonEthernet
forbothLANandSANtraffic,bothlargeandsmallorganizationsareabletostandardizeonEthernet
today,withtheknowledgethattheycanupgradetoDCBEthernetinthefuturetoincrease
performance.Bymovingtoastandardinfrastructure,companiesareabletofutureprooftheirSANand
storageinvestments.
LargeorganizationswillbenefitbyhavingawaytoconsolidateserverI/Otrafficontoaflexible,virtual
datatransportwithlessspace,heatandcabling.Additionally,theseorganizationswillbemovingtoa
higherspeedconnectionsinthefutureforincreasedbandwidth.
Forsmallandlargebusiness,companieswillnolongerbeforcedtochoosewhichtransporttechnology
theywillneedinthefuture.TheanswerisEthernet.WithanEthernetinfrastructureinplace,
organizationscandeployNASandiSCSIstorageoverstandardEthernettoday.
IntelEthernet10GigabitServerAdapters
IntelEthernetServerAdaptersareasinglefamilyofmultiapplicationEnterpriseClassproductsbasedon
25yearsoftrustedEthernetdeployments.IntelEthernetusesthetrusted,nativeiSCSIinitiator
Page6of9 Copyright2010,EvaluatorGroup,Inc.

Data Center iSCSI Building next generation storage networks

integratedintotheoperatingsystem.Thisremovestheneedforproprietarysoftwarethatcanadd
complexitytotheOSdriverandmanagementtoolsutilized.IntelEthernetServerAdaptersalsoinclude
anumberofhardwarefeaturesthataccelerateiSCSItrafficandimprovedataprocessingonmulticore
processorbasedservers.IntelligenthardwareoffloadingdeliversiSCSIperformancethatexceedsother
iSCSIinterfacealternatives.
Intelsportfolioof10GbEserveradaptersisamongthebroadestintheindustrywithsingleanddual
portversionsavailableforbothcopperandfibernetworkssupportingiSCSI.Somekeyfeaturesofthe
IntelEthernet10GbEfamilyinclude:

Feature Benefit
10Gbconnectivity HighspeedconnectivityforI/Ointensiveorvirtualizedsystems
NativeiSCSIDriverSupport FlexibilityforOSdriverssupport&lowcostconnectivity
iSCSIbootsupport Supportsdisklessserversandimprovessystemavailability
NativeOSTCP/UDPandiSCSI
HardwareAcceleration
ReducesCPUutilization,andimprovesperformance
DCB&FCoEsupport Supportsemergingstandardsforfutureflexibility
Send/ReceiveCoalescing Combinesmultipleoperationstoreducesystemoverhead
VTcsupport ProvidesvirtualizationI/Oenhancement
128queues(64VMDq) OffloadsdatacopyingforenhancedI/Ovirtualizationperformance
AESencryptionwithIPSecsupport EnsuressecuritywithiSCSIstorage
PCIIOVirtualization
SupportssharingofI/OdevicesbymultiplevirtualOSdelivering
nearnativeperformanceviadedicatedI/Ochannels
Table1:Intel10GbServerFeatureBenefitOverview
IntelEthernetServerAdaptersalsoimplementthehardwareassistsprovidedbyIntelVirtualization
TechnologyforConnectivity(IntelVTc)toaccelerateI/Oinvirtualizedservers,forgreateriSCSI
scalability,andperformance.
ThelatestIntel10GigabitEthernetControllersincludesupportforVirtualMachineDevicequeue
(VMDq)technologyandI/Ovirtualization(PCISIGSRIOV).IntellabtestshaveshownIntelEthernet
ServerAdapterswithVMDqachievingnearlinerate10GbEperformanceinbothVMwareESX3.5and
laterandMicrosoftHyperVR2.
NetAppiSCSIProducts
NetAppsiSCSIcapabilitiesspantheirentireproductlineofprimarystorageproducts.NetApphas
offerediSCSIstorageaccessontheFASandVSeriessystemssinceiSCSIhasbeenastandard,andfirst
introduced10GbEthernetsupportin2006.
ANetApptechnicalreportexaminingtherelativeperformanceofmultipleprotocolsincludingNFS,FC
andiSCSIwithVMwareESX3.5environmentsshowsthatiSCSIsperformanceisnearlyidenticalto
alternativesundermultipleworkloads.Additionally,continualiSCSIperformanceimprovementsare
beingmadeinproductssuchasHyperV,VMwarevSphereandgeneralpurposeoperatingsystems.
Copyright2010,EvaluatorGroup,Inc. Page7of9

Data-Center iSCSI Building next generation storage networks

SupportforiSCSIhasbeenincludedinNetAppproductsformorethansixyears.NetApphas
consistentlyledtheindustryinsupportfornewstorageconnectivityandprotocoloptions.Thisbroad
supportforprotocols,coupledwiththeconsistentmannerinwhichprotocolsandconnectivityare
managedhashelpedtoreducethemanagementburdenimposedbysomecompetingiSCSIvendors.
NetApphasseveraluniqueadvantagesoverotheriSCSIcompetitors,includingthefollowing:

Feature Benefit
Primarystoragededuplication Uniquespacesavingsforusewithprimarystorage
SpaceefficientPITcopiesandclones Nearzeroperformanceimpactpermitsmoregranularprotection
Unifiedstorage SupportsallEthernetprotocols,(iSCSI,FCoEandNAS)
Consistentdataprotectiontools CrossplatformsupportincludesallFASandVSeriesmodels
Applicationintegrateddata
protection
DeliverscriticalapplicationlevelHAthroughsimplifiedinterfaces
ManagementsupportofiSCSI Managementtoolssupportconsistentuseofmultipleprotocols
Interfaceconnectivityoptions Allowstheuseofmultiple1and10GbEthernetports
RemotereplicationviaiSCSI SupportsnativeuseofIPtransportofLAN/WANconnectivity
Table2:NetAppiSCSIFeatureBenefitOverview
CustomerProofPoint
Amajorcustomerwaslookingtoleveragetheirinvestmentinservervirtualization.Despitehaving
investedpreviouslyinafibrechannelSAN,theychosetomovetheirstoragetoanIPSAN.Theirnew
infrastructureconsistedofserversfrommultiplevendors,runningVMwareESXforvirtualization,
connectedtoCiscoNexusnetworking,withNetAppstorage.ByleveraginganIPSANenvironment,the
customerwasabletocontinueusingblockstorageviaiSCSItosupporttheirExchange,SQLServer,
SharePoint,OracleandDB2databaseapplications.
TheywereabletoutilizethesameEthernetandIPnetworkinfrastructuretosupportapplications
requiringaccesstounstructureddata,alongwithaccesstostructureddata.Allofthisbecamepossible
bydeployingaconvergedEthernetnetwork.ThisenvironmentutilizedNetAppstorage,IntelEthernet
ServerAdaptersalongwithVMwareandCiscoequipment.Thecustomernowprocessesthemajorityof
theirITonthisconsolidatedconvergedstack.
Asaresult,thetimetoprovisionstoragemovedfromover10weeks,downtolessthanaweekwith
theirnewIPbasedstorageinfrastructure.Throughconsolidation,thecustomerwasabletoreducetheir
totalITcostsby40%,whichincludedreductionsobtainedthroughstandardizationandconsolidationon
virtualizedservers,convergedIPbasednetworks,andNetAppstorage.
Additionally,servicelevelshaveimprovedthroughthedeploymentofapplicationdataprotection
servicessuchasSnapManagerforExchange,SQLServer,SharePoint,andothers.
Page8of9 Copyright2010,EvaluatorGroup,Inc.

Data Center iSCSI Building next generation storage networks

Copyright2010,EvaluatorGroup,Inc. Page9of9

Summary
ThecurrentgenerationofiSCSIproductshasevolvedsignificantlysincetheiSCSIstandardwasratified
oversixyearsago.Duringthattime,performance,efficiencyandsecurityconcernshaveallbeen
addressed.ThecurrentgenerationofEthernetinfrastructurecandeliverresultsforbothsmallandlarge
companiesalike.
SmalltomidsizedbusinessshouldcontinuetoinvestinEthernetandiSCSIstorage
however,theuseofDCBEthernetwilltypicallynotbeneededinthenearterm
LargerorganizationsshouldlooktoimplementconvergedEthernetandiSCSIwithserver
virtualizationandconsolidationprojects
ThebenefitsofiSCSIoveralternativeswillbeapparentinmanyenvironmentswhen
organizationsareabletochooseanyprotocolfortheirconvergednetwork
NewinvestmentinscaleoutservertechnologyutilizingvirtualizationandhighI/Odensityarethebest
candidatesfornewiSCSIdeployments.Withtheadventof10GbEthernet,alongwiththenewDCB
enhancementstoEthernet,theconvergednetworksupportingiSCSIwillseesignificantperformanceand
availabilityenhancementsinthefuture.
EvaluatorGroupComment:NetAppandInteltogetherprovidemanyunique
advantagesforthenew,convergedITdatacenteroftomorrow.Theadvantages
deliveredbyIntelandNetApp,coupledwiththefeaturesinherentiniSCSImakeit
anexcellentchoiceoforganizationslookingtomovebeyondtheinitialgainsmade
throughservervirtualization.
ThefutureiscomingandtheanswersareclearEthernetisthenewSAN,andiSCSIwillbetheblock
storageprotocolofchoiceformanyorganizations.