I guess this is a blog that could either be very short or very long… The full name of the protocol – Data Center Bridging capability eXchange (DCBX) basically tells you all you need to know or maybe nothing at all. At its simplest, DCBX does what it says on the tin and the way …Read More

For nearly a decade, the primary deployment of 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) has been using network interface cards (NICs) supporting enhanced Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP+) transceivers. The predominant transceivers for 10GbE are Direct Attach (DA) copper, short range optical (10GBASE-SR), and long-range optical (10GBASE-LR). The Direct Attach copper option is the least expensive of the …Read More

As we come to a close of the year 2012, I want to share some of our successes and briefly highlight some new changes for 2013. Calendar year 2012 has been eventful and the SNIA-ESF has been busy. Here are some of our accomplishments: 10GbE – With virtualization and network convergence, as well as the …Read More

10GBASE-T is a technology that runs 10Gb Ethernet over familiar Category 6/6a cables for distances up to 100m and is terminated by the ubiquitous RJ-45 jack. Till now, most datacenter copper cabling has been special Direct Attach cables for distances up to 7m terminated by an SFP+ connector. To work, data center switches need matching …Read More

Our recent Webcast: 10GbE – Key Trends, Drivers and Predictions was very well received and well attended. We thank everyone who was able to make the live event. For those of you who couldn’t make it, it’s now available on demand. Check it out here. There wasn’t enough time to respond to all of the …Read More

Is 10GbE coming of age? Many of us within the SNIA-ESF think so. We have co-authored a new and objective white paper on the subject, “10GbE – Comes of Age.” You can download it at http://snia.org/sites/default/files/10GbElookto40GbE_Final.pdf In this paper we dive deep into why we believe 2012 is the year for wide 10GbE adoption. There …Read More

The SNIA Ethernet Storage Forum (ESF) will be presenting a live Webcast on 10GbE on Thursday, July 19th. Together with my SNIA colleagues, David Fair and Gary Gumanow, we’ll be discussing the technical and economic justifications that will likely make 2012 the “breakout year” for 10GbE. We’ll cover the disruptive technologies moving this protocol forward …Read More

As the migration to 10Gb Ethernet moves forward, many data centers are looking to converge network and storage I/O to fully utilize a ten-fold increase in bandwidth. Industry discussions continue regarding the merits of 10GbE iSCSI and FCoE. Some of the key benefits of both protocols were presented in an iSCSI SIG webcast that included …Read More

Ethernet networks offer a number of advantages for storage applications. Given the rapid growth of server virtualization, using a highly flexible and mobile network for storage is needed. IP storage protocols offer advantages for today’s and tomorrow’s data centers.

The inexorable growth of the market for Ethernet storage continued in the first half of 2010 - in fact we’re getting very close to Ethernet storage being the majority of networked storage in the Enterprise. According to IDC’s recent Q2 2010 Worldwide Storage Systems Hardware Tracker, Ethernet Storage (NAS plus iSCSI) revenue market share climbed …Read More