Presentation comparing server io consolidation solution with i scsi, infiniband and f-coe

Comparing Server I/O Consolidation
Solutions: iSCSI, InfiniBand and FCoE
Dr. Walter Dey, Cisco Systems

Comparing Server I/O Consolidation: iSCSI, Infiniband and FCoE
© 2008 Storage Networking Industry Association. All Rights Reserved.
22
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33
Abstract
Comparing Server I/O Consolidation: iSCSI, Infiniband and
FCoE
This tutorial gives an introduction to Server I/O consolidation, having
one network interface technology (Standard Ethernet, Data Center
Ethernet, InfiniBand), to support IP applications and block level storage
(iSCSI, FCoE and SRP/iSER) applications. The benefits for the end user
are discussed: less cabling, power and cooling. For these 3 solutions,
iSCSI, Infiniband and FCoE, we compare features like Infrastructure /
Cabling, Protocol Stack, Performance, Operating System drivers and
support, Management Tools, Security and best design practices.

4
Agenda
Definition of Server I/O Consolidation
Why Server I/O Consolidation
Introducing the 3 solutions
iSCSI
InfiniBand
FCoE
Differentiators
Conclusion

Definition of Server I/O Consolidation

6
What is Server I/O Consolidation
IT Organizations operate multiple parallel networks
IP Applications (including NFS, NAS,…) over a Ethernet network *)
SAN over a Fibre Channel network
HPC/IPC over an InfiniBand network **)
Server I/O consolidation combines the various traffic types
onto a single interface and single cable
Server I/O consolidation is the first phase for a Unified Fabric
(single network)
*) In this presentation we cover only Block Level Storage solutions, not File Level
(NAS, NFS,..)
**) For the remaining part, we don’t cover HPC; for lowest latency requirements,
InfiniBand is the best and most appropriate technology.

7
I/O Consolidation Benefits
Adaptor: NIC for Ethernet/IP, HCA for InfiniBand, Converged Network
Adaptor (CNA) for FCoE
Customer Benefit: Fewer NIC’s, HBA’s and cables, lower CapEx, OpEx
Adapter
Adapter
FC HBA
FC HBA
NIC
NIC
FC Traffic
FC Traffic
Enet Traffic
Enet Traffic
iSCSI
or
InfiniBand
or
FCoE

Why Server I/O Consolidation ?

9
The drive for I/O Consolidation
Multicore – Multisocket CPUs
Server Virtualization software (Hypervisor)
High demand for I/O bandwidth
Reductions in cables, power and cooling, therefore
reducing OpEx/CapEx
Limited number of interfaces for Blade Servers
Consolidated Input into Unified Fabric

10
New Network Requirements with Server
Virtualization
Virtual networks growing faster and larger than physical
Network admins are getting involved in virtual interface deployments
Network access layer needs to evolve to support consolidation and
mobility
Multi-core Computing driving Virtualization & new networking
needs
Driving SAN attach rates higher (10% 40% Growing)
Driving users to plan now for 10GE server interfaces
Virtualization enables the promise of blades
10GE and FC are highest growth technologies within blades
Virtualization and Consolidated I/O removes blade limitation
Network Virtualization enables CPU & I/O Intensive Workloads
to be Virtualized
Enable broader adoption of x86 class servers

11
10GbE Drivers in the Datacenter
Multi-Core CPU architectures allowing bigger and multiple
workloads on the same machine
Server virtualization driving the need for more bandwidth per
server due to server consolidation
Growing need for network storage driving the demand for
higher network bandwidth to the server
Multi-Core CPUs and Server Virtualization driving the
demand for higher bandwidth network connections

12
Evolution of Ethernet Physical Media

Introducing the three solutions

14
Server I/O Consolidation Solutions
iSCSI
LAN: Based on Ethernet and TCP/IP
SAN: Encapsulates SCSI in TCP/IP
InfiniBand
LAN: Transports IP over InfiniBand (IPoIB); Socket Direct Protocol (SDP)
between IB attached servers
SAN: Transports SCSI over Remote DMA protocol (SRP) or iSCSI Extensions
for RDMA (iSER)
HPC/IPC: Message Passing Interface (MPI) over InfiniBand network
FCoE
LAN: Based on Ethernet (Data Center Ethernet) and TCP/IP
SAN: Maps and transports Fibre Channel over Data Center Ethernet (lossless
Ethernet) *)
*) Data Center Ethernet is an architectural collection of Ethernet extensions designed to improve
Ethernet networking and management in the Data Center

15
Encapsulation technologies
Ethernet
1, 10 Gbps
IP
TCP
iSCSI
InfiniBand
SRP
IP
TCP
FCIP
FCP*
IP
TCP
iFCP
FCP*
Fibrechannel
FCP*
1, 2, 4, (8), 10 Gbps 10, 20 Gbps
iSCSI FCoE InfiniBand
iSER
iSCSI
Data Center
Ethernet
FCoE
FCP*
SCSI Layer
Operating System / Applications
(1), 10 Gbps
* Includes FC Layer

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iSCSI
Ethernet
1, 10 . . . Gbps
IP
TCP
iSCSI
SCSI Layer
OS / Applications
A SCSI transport protocol that operates over
TCP
Encapsulates SCSI CDBs (operational commands:
e.g. read or write) and data into TCP/IP byte-
streams (defined by SAM-2—SCSI Architecture
Model 2)
Allows iSCSI Initiators to access IP-based iSCSI
targets (either natively or via iSCSI-to-FC
gateway)
Standards status
RFC 3720 on iSCSI
Collection of RFCs describing iSCSI
RFC 3347—iSCSI Requirements
RFC 3721—iSCSI Naming and Discover
RFC 3723—iSCSI Security
Broad industry support
Operating System vendors support their iSCSI
drivers
Gateway (Routers, Bridges) and Native iSCSI
storage arrays

17
iSCSI Messages
Ethernet Frame
IP Packet
TCP Segment
48 Bytes20 Bytes20 Bytes22 Bytes 4 Bytes
Contains routing information
so that the message can find its
way through the network
Provides information necessary
to guarantee delivery
Explains how to extract
SCSI commands and data
Ethernet HeaderEthernet Header Enet
Trailer
Enet
TrailerIP HeaderIP Header TCP HeaderTCP Header iSCSI Header iSCSI Data
PDU
nn

18
iSCSI Topology
Allows I/O consolidation
iSCSI is proposed today as an I/O consolidation option
Native (iSCSI Storage Array) and Gateway solutions
FC
fabric
iSCSI
Initiator iSCSI
gateway
IP/Ethernet FC
Target
iSCSI session
FCP session
stateful
iSCSI
Initiator
iSCSI
Storage
Array

19
View from Operating System
Operating System sees:
1 Gigabit Ethernet adapter
iSCSI Initiator

20
iSCSI based I/O Consolidation
Overhead of TCP/IP Protocol
It’s SCSI not FC
LAN/Metro/WAN (Routable)
Security of IP protocols (IPsec)
Stateful gateway (iSCSI <-> FCP)
Mainly 1G Initiator (Server)
10G for iSCSI Target recommended
Can use existing Ethernet switching
infrastructure
Offload Engine (TOE) suggested
(virtualized environment support ?)
QoS or separate VLAN for storage
traffic suggested
New Management Tools
Might require different Multipath
SoftwareEthernet
1, 10 . . . Gbps
IP
TCP
iSCSI
SCSI Layer
OS / Applications

21
InfiniBand
Standards-based interconnect
http://www.infinibandta.org
Channelized, connection-based
interconnect optimized for high
performance computing
Supports server and storage
attachments
Bandwidth Capabilities (SDR/DDR)
4x—10/20 Gbps: 8/16 Gbps
actual data rate
12x—30/60 Gbps: 24/48 Gbps
actual data rate
Built-in RDMA as core capability for
inter-CPU communication
IB
iSER
iSCSI
IB
SRP
10, 20 Gbps (4X SDR/DDR)
SCSI Layer
OS / Applications

22
InfiniBand:
SCSI RDMA Protocol (SRP)
SCSI Semantics over RDMA fabric
Provides High Performance block-level storage access
Not IB specific - Standard specified by T10
http://www.t10.org
Host drivers tie into standard SCSI I/F in kernel
Storage appears as normal SCSI/FC disks to local host
Can be used for end-to-end IB storage (No FC)
Can be used for SAN Boot over IB

23
InfiniBand:
iSCSI Extensions for RDMA (iSER)
IETF Standard
Enables iSCSI to take advantage
of RDMA.
Mainly offloads the data path
Leverages iSCSI management and
discovery architecture
Simplifies iSCSI protocol details
such as data integrity
management and error recovery
Not IB Specific
Needs a iSER Target to work end
to end
InfiniBand
HCA
Reliable
Connection
User Space
Application
Kernel Space
VFS Layer
File Systems
Block Drivers
iSCSI
iSER
Linux Driver Stack
InfiniBand
Storage
Targe

24
InfiniBand Gateway Topology:
Gateways for Network and Storage
Fibrechannel Fabric Infiniband Switch with
stateful Gateways
Ethernet LAN
Servers
IB Connected
Fibre Channel to InfiniBand gateway for storage
access
Fibre Channel to InfiniBand gateway for storage
access
Ethernet to InfiniBand gateway for LAN
access
Ethernet to InfiniBand gateway for LAN
access
Single InfiniBand link for:
- Storage
- Network
Single InfiniBand link for:
- Storage
- Network Servers
Ethernet
Connected
Ethernet
Fibrechannel
InfiniBand
IP Application Traffic
Block Level Storage

25
LAN
LAN
Physical vs. Logical view
Physical View
•Servers connected via IB
•SAN attached via public AL
•Ethernet attached via Gig
Etherchannel
Logical View
•Hosts present WWNN on SAN
•Hosts present IP address on
VLAN

26

27
InfiniBand based I/O Consolidation
Requires new Eco system (HCA,
cabling, switches)
Mostly copper cabling, limited
distance
Datacenter protocol
New driver (SRP)
Stateful Gateway from SRP to
FCP (unless native IB attached
disk array)
RDMA capability of HCA used
Low CPU overhead
Payload is SCSI not FC
Concept of Virtual links and QoS
in InfiniBand
IB
iSER
iSCSI
IB
SRP
10, 20 Gbps (4X SDR/DDR)
SCSI Layer
OS / Applications

28
Data Center
Ethernet
FCoE
FCP*
SCSI Layer
OS / Applications
(1), 10 . . . Gbps
FCoE
From a Fibre Channel standpoint it’s
Fibrechannel encapsulated in
Ethernet
From an Ethernet standpoint it’s just
another ULP (Upper Layer Protocol)
FCoE is an extension of Fibre
Channel onto a Lossless (Data
Center) Ethernet fabric
FCoE is managed like FC at initiator,
target, and switch level, completely
based on the FC model
Same host-to-switch and switch-to-switch
behavior of FC
in order frame delivery or
FSPF load balancing
WWNs, FC-IDs, hard/soft
zoning, DNS, RSCN
Standards Work in T11, IEEE and IETF
not yet final
* Includes FC Layer

29
FCoE Enablers
Ethernet
Header
FCoE
Header
FC
Header
FC Payload
CRC
EOF
FCS
Same as a physical FC frame
Control information: version, ordered sets (SOF, EOF)
Ethernet V2 Frame, Ethertype = FCoE
10Gbps Ethernet
Lossless Ethernet (Data Center Ethernet)
Matches the B2B credits used in Fibrechannel to provide a lossless
service
Ethernet jumbo frames (2180 Bytes)
Max FC frame payload = 2112 bytes

30
Data Center Ethernet
Enhanced Ethernet for Data Center Applications
Priority Flow Control (Priority Pause) *)
Link Scheduling
Congestion Management
Layer 2 Multipathing
Configuration Management
Transport of FCoE
Enabling Technology for I/O Consolidation and
Unified Fabric
*) T11 BB 5 group has only required that Ethernet switches have standard Pause, and baby Jumbo
frame capability; which means no I/O consolidation support.

31
FCoE Enabler: Priority Flow Control
Enables lossless Fabrics for each class of service
PAUSE sent per virtual lane when buffers limit exceeded
Network resources are partitioned between VL’s (E.g. input
buffer and output queue)
The switch behavior is negotiable per VL
InfiniBand uses a similar mechanism for multiplexing multiple data
streams over a single physical link
Default LAN Default LAN
User 1 User 1
User 3 User 3
User 4 User 4
PAUSE User 2 full!
Traffic
Mgmt. Mgmt.
Mgmt. Mgmt.
FC/FCoE FC/FCoE
User 2 STOP

32
Fibre Channel
Drivers
Ethernet
Drivers
Operating System
Fibre Channel
Drivers
Ethernet
Drivers
Operating System
PCIe
FibreChannel
Ethernet
10GbEE
10GbEE
Link
FibreChannel
PCIe
4GHBA
4GHBA
Link
PCIe
Ethernet10GbE
10GbE
Link
FCoE Enabler:
Consolidated Network Adapter (CNA)
LAN CNAHBA

33
Standard drivers
Same management
Operating System
sees:
Dual port 10 Gigabit
Ethernet adapter
Dual Port 4 Gbps Fibre
Channel HBAs

34
LANLAN SAN ASAN A SAN BSAN B
FCoE I/O Consolidation Topology
FCoE Target:
Dramatic reduction in adapters,
switch ports and cabling
4 cables to 2 cables per
server
Seamless connection to the
installed base of existing
SANs and LANs
High performance frame
mappers vs. gateway
bottlenecks
Effective sharing of high
bandwidth links
Consolidated network
infrastructure
Faster infrastructure
provisioning
Lower TCO
Data Center
Ethernet
with FCoE
Classical
Ethernet
Classical
FC
SERVER SERVER

35
Data Center
Ethernet
FCoE
FCP*
SCSI Layer
OS / Applications
(1), 10 . . . Gbps
FCoE based I/O Consolidation
FCP layer untouched
Requires Baby Jumbo Frames (2180 Bytes)
Nonroutable Datacenter protocol
Datacenter wide VLAN’s
Same management tools as for Fibre Channel
Same drivers as for Fibre Channel HBA’s
Same Multipathing software
Simplified certifications with storage subsystem
vendors
Requires lossless (10G) Ethernet switching
fabric
May require new host adaptors (unless FCoE
software stack)
* Includes FC Layer

Differentiators

37
Storage Part of I/O Consolidation
iSCSI FCoE IB-SRP
Payload SCSI Fibre Channel SCSI
Transport TCP/IP
Data Center
Ethernet
InfiniBand
Scope LAN/MAN/WAN Datacenter Datacenter
Bandwidth/Performance Low/Medium High High
CPU Overhead High Low Low
Gateway Overhead High Low High
FC Security Model No Yes No
FC Software on Host No Yes No
FC Management Model No Yes No
Initiator Implementation Yes Yes Yes
Target Implementation Yes Yes/Future Yes
IP Routable Yes No N/A

38
Storage Part of I/O Consolidation
iSCSI FCoE IB-SRP
Virtual Lanes No Yes Yes
Congestion Control TCP
Priority
Flow
Control
Credit
based
Gateway Functionality stateful stateless stateful
Connection Oriented Yes No Yes
Access Control IP/VLAN
VLAN /
VSAN
Partitions
RDMA primitives defined defined defined
Latency 100s of us 10s of us us
Adapter NIC CNA HCA

Conclusion

40
Encapsulation Technologies
Ethernet
1, 10 Gbps
IP
TCP
iSCSI
InfiniBand
SRP
IP
TCP
FCIP
FCP*
IP
TCP
iFCP
FCP*
Fibrechannel
FCP*
1, 2, 4, (8), 10 Gbps 10, 20 Gbps
iSCSI FCoE InfiniBand
iSER
iSCSI
Data Center
Ethernet
FCoE
FCP*
SCSI Layer
Operating System / Applications
(1), 10 Gbps
* Includes FC Layer

41
Conclusion
Server I/O Consolidation is driven by high I/O
bandwidth demand
I/O Bandwidth demand is driven by Multicore /
Socket Server and Virtualization
TCP/IP (iSCSI), Data Center Ethernet (FCoE) and
InfiniBand (SRP, iSER) are generic transport
protocols allowing Server I/O Consolidation
Server I/O Consolidation is the first phase,
consolidating input into a Unified Fabric

42
Thank You !

4343
Other SNIA Tutorials
Fibre Channel Technologies: Current and Future
IP Storage Protocols - iSCSI
InfiniBand Technology Overview
FCoE: Fibre Channel over Ethernet
Check out SNIA Tutorial:

4444
Q&A / Feedback
Please send any questions or comments on this
presentation to SNIA: tracknetworking@snia.org
Many thanks to the following individuals
for their contributions to this tutorial.
- SNIA Education Committee
Gilles Chekroun Howard Goldstein Marco Di Benedetto
Errol Roberts Bill Lulofs Carlos Pereira
Walter Dey Dror Goldenberg James Long

45
References
http://www.fcoe.com/
http://www.t11.org/fcoe
http://www.fibrechannel.org/OVERVIEW/
FCIA_SNW_FCoE_WP_Final.pdf
http://www.fibrechannel.org/OVERVIEW/
FCIA_SNW_FCoE_flyer_Final.pdf
http://www.fibrechannel.org/FCoE.html

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