Белая книга для Cisco Cisco Nexus 5010 Switch
©2010 Cisco | VMware. All rights reserved.
Page 1
The Role of 10 Gigabit Ethernet
in Virtualized Environments
in Virtualized Environments
Introduction
Virtualization is rapidly becoming an essential tool for more fully harnessing and managing the power
of today’s data center servers. In only a few years, standard x86 server technology has increased in
performance and density so that today, multisocket, quad-core systems with 32 or more gigabytes of
memory are the norm. The combination of multicore computing and virtualization software such as
VMware Virtual Infrastructure has enabled IT departments to bring server sprawl under control by
running multiple independent workloads on a smaller number of servers. Today, fewer servers are
required to do the same work, and their utilization levels have increased - both factors that contribute
to greater energy efficiency and lower power and cooling costs.
of today’s data center servers. In only a few years, standard x86 server technology has increased in
performance and density so that today, multisocket, quad-core systems with 32 or more gigabytes of
memory are the norm. The combination of multicore computing and virtualization software such as
VMware Virtual Infrastructure has enabled IT departments to bring server sprawl under control by
running multiple independent workloads on a smaller number of servers. Today, fewer servers are
required to do the same work, and their utilization levels have increased - both factors that contribute
to greater energy efficiency and lower power and cooling costs.
As IT departments have discovered the benefits of server consolidation, they have also found that
virtualization solves an even broader set of problems. Business continuity plans based on
virtualization can make disaster-recovery solutions simple, reliable, and more cost effective. Virtual
desktop environments can use centralized servers and thin clients to support large numbers of users
with standard PC configurations that help to lower both capital and operating costs. Virtualization
allows development, test, and production environments to coexist on the same servers, and it helps
decouple application deployment from server purchasing decisions. New applications can be
deployed in virtual environments and scaled on demand to accommodate the evolving needs of the
business.
virtualization solves an even broader set of problems. Business continuity plans based on
virtualization can make disaster-recovery solutions simple, reliable, and more cost effective. Virtual
desktop environments can use centralized servers and thin clients to support large numbers of users
with standard PC configurations that help to lower both capital and operating costs. Virtualization
allows development, test, and production environments to coexist on the same servers, and it helps
decouple application deployment from server purchasing decisions. New applications can be
deployed in virtual environments and scaled on demand to accommodate the evolving needs of the
business.
Demand for Bandwidth
The combination of virtualization and multicore processors has been increasing the amount of work
that each server can accomplish. Hardware support for virtualization achieved through Intel
Virtualization Technology (IVT) and AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) technology accelerates this trend by
reducing virtualization overhead and making a greater percentage of computing cycles available for
applications.
that each server can accomplish. Hardware support for virtualization achieved through Intel
Virtualization Technology (IVT) and AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) technology accelerates this trend by
reducing virtualization overhead and making a greater percentage of computing cycles available for
applications.
While the numbers of sockets, cores, and memory slots per server have been growing by powers of
two, typical server network connectivity has increased only a gigabit at a time. Network bandwidth
can become a problem as the increased capacity for a server to do work creates an ever greater
demand for I/O capacity. Adding a gigabit network interface card (NIC) here and there is costly
because every new NIC adds to server power consumption, cabling cost and complexity, and
increases the number of access-layer switch ports that need to be purchased and managed. In
addition, organizations often must purchase larger, more costly servers just to accommodate the
number of expansion slots needed to support increasing network and I/O bandwidth demands.
two, typical server network connectivity has increased only a gigabit at a time. Network bandwidth
can become a problem as the increased capacity for a server to do work creates an ever greater
demand for I/O capacity. Adding a gigabit network interface card (NIC) here and there is costly
because every new NIC adds to server power consumption, cabling cost and complexity, and
increases the number of access-layer switch ports that need to be purchased and managed. In
addition, organizations often must purchase larger, more costly servers just to accommodate the
number of expansion slots needed to support increasing network and I/O bandwidth demands.