40 Gigabit Ethernet in the Enterprise

With the ratification of the IEEE 802.3ab in 2010, 40GbE has displaced 10GbE as the next network speed evolution in the enterprise. As was the case with the migration to 10GbE, the two main factors to widespread deployment of 40GbE are deployment costs and supporting technologies and tools. In the 10G era, the network monitoring switch emerged as one of the technologies that helped enterprises clear the hurdles to High-Speed Ethernet deployment, which is also poised to play an even greater role in the 40GbE era. The following picture shows a migration path of Ethernet and relevant devices.
server to switch connectivity solution
Need for Speed in the Enterprise
The next network speed evolution in the enterprise is 40 gigabits per second. Until now, Ethernet speed has increased from 10Mbps to 100Mbps, to 1000Mbps and eventually to 10Gbps. However, this time around the 802.3 Higher Speed Study Group (HSSG) found that computing and network aggregation applications were growing at different rates and determined that two new rates were needed:
  • 100Gbps for network aggregation applications
  • 40Gbps for server and computing applications
The Main Driving Force to 40GE Deployment
The cost per switch port is not as high of a hurdle for 40GbE as it was in the 10GbE era, the cost of upgrading the supporting tools is significant. This makes 40GbE more affordable than 10GbE was in 2008 when its per-port premium was 5 to 10 times the average 1GbE price. However, deployment costs also include the cost of upgrading the ecosystem of supporting tools. For example, modern data centers rely on a variety of network monitoring tools to meet regulatory compliance, provide network security and troubleshoot network performance. Since most tools were not designed to work at 40Gbps, most will need to be upgraded or replaced as part of the migration to 40GbE. But here comes a good news that the price of 40G devices including 40G transceiver modules and 40G cables offered by Fiberstore—a reliable third-party manufacturer are much lower than original brand. And you don’t have to worry about the quality. Take 40G QSFP as an example, they can offer compatible Avago QSFP+, Brocade QSFP+, Dell QSFP+, Finisar QSFP+, etc that will help to solve cost issue of your project.
Advances in Virtualization and Server Technology to Support 40G Ethernet
Server virtualization refers to the technology that enables the consolidation of multiple server workloads onto a single physical server. Enterprises embrace virtualization primarily to reduce IT costs. One cost saving is in lowered power consumption because fewer physical servers are needed to run a given number of server workloads. Other benefits of virtualization in the enterprise include simplified IT infrastructures and a more dynamic and flexible data center.
Convergence of Storage and Regular Networks
Another change in the data center that drives bandwidth requirements is the convergence of storage and regular networks. Enterprises are replacing server hard disks with networked storage to improve data access and reliability and lower maintenance costs. However, the convergence of SAN and LAN traffic onto the same physical network infrastructure, also known as I/O convergence, increases the bandwidth demand on the converged network. Network storage solutions utilizing Ethernet include most Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices, iSCSI, and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE).
The Network Monitoring Switch
As noted above, the network monitoring switch plays a great role in the transition to 40GbE. It enables enterprises to monitor its new high-speed networks using the monitoring tools they already own. In doing so, the network monitoring switch reduces the 40GbE deployment cost and addresses the monitoring tool availability and performance concerns. Fro 40GbE, the network monitoring switch is more than a bridge. It also solves a common network visibility problem, and for this it is recognized as one of the three core network tools every modern data center needs.
Conclusion
The IEEE 802.3ba standard was developed to help meet the bandwidth demand driven by modern network applications. Advances in virtualization and server technology, the convergence of storage and regular networks are driving bandwidth requirement. In addition, the network monitoring switch delivers higher network visibility and monitoring efficiency as they transition to 40GbE. With a handful of 40Gbps network devices, the new 40Gbps data rate pushes the better performance envelope on network infrastructure, which will facilitate people’s daily life.

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