Monday, February 15, 2010

Industry leader in network technology

Brocade is an industry leader with a comprehensive set of solutions and a unique  understanding of networks and data flow. From 1U and 2U FC switches for traditional SAN deployments, to the director and DCX products with blade architectures that scale to hundreds of ports, Brocade can support environments of any size. Their portfolio includes FCoE and Converged Enhanced Ethernet to consolidate server I/O and FCIP SAN extensions to connect remote data centers. With IP/Ethernet, wireless products and server connectivity (HBA/CNA) Brocade provides comprehensive networking infrastructure for large data center, campus and smaller environments.

Brocade Data Center Fabric Manager (DCFM) is part of a common framework designed to manage entire data center fabrics, storage ports to HBAs, from a single pane of glass. It tightly integrates with Brocade Fabric OS to leverage key features such as Advanced Performance Monitoring, Fabric Watch, and Adaptive Networking services. It also integrates with leading partner data center automation solutions through frameworks such as the Storage Management Initiative-Specification (SMI-S).

SAO leverages Adaptive Networking and Oracle VM

Server virtualization has led to significant improvements in IT productivity, both in infrastructure and operations. It has also, however, created some challenges as new virtual server instances can be set up in a fraction of the time that used to be required, leading to a propagation of virtual servers and potential resource allocation issues. In this scenario, underutilized virtual servers tie up resources needed by mission critical applications, like those that commonly run on Oracle. This ‘VM sprawl’ can also mean cost increases, as virtual machines consume network connectivity (switch ports and HBAs), bandwidth and IT management time.

Resources must be allocated effectively to maintain performance, including network bandwidth. To assure adequate I/O, a Quality of Service (QoS) level should be established for these applications so they’re not competing for bandwidth with those on other VMs. Brocade provides this QoS functionality through the Server Application Optimization (SAO) technology platform. This software license is enabled on Brocade switches and directors and deployed with Brocade FC adaptors.

Adaptive Networking is an advanced data center fabric technology introduced with Brocade’s Fabric OS (FAS) 6.0. It provides VM-level traffic isolation and prioritization by creating special QoS zones, designated High, Medium or Low. This ensures that critical applications get the bandwidth they need, enabling an increase in server consolidation ratios. It uses ‘deep network intelligence’ to anticipate congestion and dynamically make adjustments according to QoS priorities to improve network performance. Brocade’s DCFM centralizes the policy management of switch ports and provides end-to-end data for performance monitoring, diagnostics and troubleshooting. This simplification of network management can reduce operating costs, as the number of virtual machines expands.

Oracle VM is a server virtualization software that fully supports both Oracle and non-Oracle applications. It offers a scalable, low-cost server virtualization, which is three times more efficient than existing server virtualization products from other vendors. When deployed with Oracle VM, SAO optimizes overall application and VM performance by extending Brocade Virtual Channel technology to the server infrastructure. Oracle VMs store a workflow priority when created, which is associated with the Brocade Adaptive Networking QoS level, becoming part of what Brocade calls the VM “personality profile”. When the Oracle VM migrates, the QoS level is also migrated and maintained, ensuring the VM receives adequate bandwidth regardless of which physical host it runs on.

SAO also enables scaling of VMs per physical server by leveraging the NPIV FC standard extension that allows multiple N_Port IDs to share a single physical server port. Multiple FC initiators can occupy a single physical port, easing hardware requirements in a virtual SAN design. Coupled with Brocade’s 8Gbps HBAs, this port virtualization enables physical servers to support even more VMs.

Partnerships between large technology providers are becoming more common because they enable continued development of integrated functions. Technical collaboration like this could produce features that help Brocade share network data with Oracle applications to improve reliability and performance, for example. Or the network could alert applications when storage subsystems reach capacity thresholds and configuration changes are needed.

Oracle and Brocade Heterogeneous solutions

Partnerships among technology vendors are becoming the norm as users push solutions that help them accelerate the deployment and simply the management of critical applications. The following are examples of areas in which Brocade and Oracle are delivering tightly coupled, highly reliable, validated (tested) solutions with storage and server vendors:

1. Virtualization platform with NetApp - Validated configuration with Oracle software, Oracle VM, Brocade HBAs and switches with SAO, and NetApp FAS3100 series storage
   

1. Data Warehousing with Sun - Optimized configurations with Oracle Data Warehouses, Brocade DCX Backbone, Sun SPARC Enterprise Servers and StorageTek 9990V storage
   

1. Databases with EMC - Proven configurations with Oracle Databases, Brocade switches and HBAs, and Clariion and Symmetrix Flash drives
   

1. Business Applications with HP - Accelerated configurations with Oracle E-Business software, Brocade switches and HP BladeSystem servers
   

Oracle and Brocade have teamed up to create a comprehensive environment that includes servers, storage, networking, applications and virtualization. This collaboration has produced solutions to common infrastructure issues, such as resource allocation and prioritization in a VM environment, and promises more in the future. Partnerships like this, from technology leaders is essential to foster innovation and continue to drive coordinated technology improvements.

Eric Slack, Senior Analyst