IBM BladeCenter Virtual Fabric

Next generation servers, such as the HS22 for IBM BladeCenter, deliver outstanding performance in virtualized environments, but I/O has become more complex and often becomes a bottleneck.

Virtual Fabric helps address three key I/O issues:

1. Need for more than two Ethernet ports per server - 6-8 are recommended for virtualization.
2. Need more than 1Gb bandwidth per port, but not necesserily a full 10Gb port.
3. Future-proofing for network convergence as new technologies are deplyed.

Virtual Fabric for IBM BladeCenter addresses these concerns and provides value to non-virtualized environments as well.

The IBM BladeCenter Virtual Fabric solution, which includes the BNT Virtual Fabric 10G Switch Module (10-port) and the Emulex Virtual Fabric Adapter, allows clients to achieve new levels of consolidation, efficiency, flexibility and scalability - all at lower costs. 

Features	Benefits
Virtual	Ability to assign bandwidth, as required, by carving up 10G pipes, in increments of 100Mb. (Minimum 100Mb - Max 10Gb) * VMready™ enables the network to be Virtual Machine aware. The  network can be configured and managed for virtual ports (v-ports), rather than just physical ports. With VMready, as VMs migrate across physical hosts, so do their network attributes (ACLs, QoS and VLAN attributes).
Easier	50-75% less hardware to manage (adapters/switches) Reduces cable clutter up to 58% (larger 10G uplinks). Ability to manage 4 virtual groups instead of 112 individual virtual NICs.
Availability	Ability to provide isolation between various vNICs and virtual groups. Failore to a vNIC or virtual group has no impact on other vNICs or virtual groups.
Performance	480 Gbps throughput Latency starting at 1.6μsec
Cost of Ownership	Thousands of dollars of savings on adapters & switches. Up to 50% more energy efficient. Investment protection for Converged Enhanced Ethernet / FCoE*.

* Switch is currently FCoE Ready. In 2010, clients will be able to leverage a single Emulex Virtual Fabric Adapter for both Ethernet and FC traffic.

Soltuion Components: