Shulou(Shulou.com)06/01 Report--

From software-defined networking (SDN) to software-defined data centers, the convergence of data center infrastructure is gradually deepening. In this process, both storage, server and network manufacturers are facing the same challenge, that is, how to achieve further integration of hardware platform and software, so as to simplify the data center infrastructure and make it more intelligent. "Software definition convergence will be the company's new strategy," said Jeff Bench, president and chief operating officer of Emulex. "under the guidance of this strategy, we will take Ethernet as the core and carry out the integration of LAN, SAN and InfiniBand to the end."

FCoE has the stamina.

At present, Emulex has two main lines of business: one is Ethernet products, and the other is optical fiber storage network products. According to the statistics released by Crehan Research in June 2012, Emulex's 10GbE port sales ranked first in the industry. On the one hand, Emulex continues to strengthen its leading position in the Ethernet product market, especially in the 10GbE product market, on the other hand, it does not give up the traditional optical fiber storage network market. According to Jeff Bench, revenue from optical storage networks still accounts for a large proportion of Emulex's overall revenue. While Ethernet and optical fiber storage services go hand in hand, Emulex puts the focus of technological development on the integration of networks, and the development of FCoE technology is an example.

The reporter learned from many storage network switch manufacturers that although FCoE has natural advantages in the integration of LAN and SAN, its development is not as fast as people predicted. In the past two or three years, although FCoE technology is often mentioned, there are few successful cases of FCoE in the enterprise data center. This also makes many people worry about the future development of FCoE. Although Jeff Bench agrees that the development of FCoE in recent years has not been as successful as expected, it still insists that the future development of FCoE will be very bright. "FCoE technology and applications are gradually maturing, and in terms of Emulex's FCoE product sales revenue, it is also getting better year by year. At present, FCoE sales account for 15% of the company's total revenue. We are confident that this proportion will continue in the future." "with the release of the Intel Romely platform and the rapid development of the 10GbE network market, the development of FCoE will also take it to a higher level," Jeff Bench said. "in 2013, FCoE will usher in a year of rapid development."

High performance computing is integrated into Ethernet

Within traditional data centers, LAN, SAN and HPC (High performance Computing) are separate. To this end, users have to deploy three kinds of cables to pay three times the procurement cost and management cost. If we can integrate LAN, SAN and HPC network, it can not only simplify the management of the network, but also greatly reduce the cost of hardware and management. In 2010, Emulex put forward the strategy of network convergence, one of the main purposes is to achieve the integration of LAN and SAN. In the stage of network convergence, the integration of LAN and SAN can be realized, and the emergence of FCoE technology has greatly promoted the development of 10GbE network market, and virtual networks, blade servers and converged infrastructure solutions have begun to rise on a large scale. "compared with the traditional discrete network in the data center, the converged network is a revolution." Jeff Bench said, "after converging the network, software-defined convergence will be the future direction."

Software-defined convergence can also be referred to as version 2.0 of the Emulex converged network strategy. In the stage of software definition convergence, the primary task of Emulex is to integrate HPC network into the convergence architecture, so as to realize the integration of LAN, SAN and InfiniBand. Some vendors, including Intel, have two high-performance solutions, Ethernet and InfiniBand. Emulex's strategy is to introduce solutions that combine Ethernet and InfiniBand, rather than simply introducing InfiniBand products for high-performance computing. Integration has always been a principle adhered to by Emulex. "our converged Ethernet and InfiniBand solution provides a new choice for users who need high-performance computing," Jeff Bench said. "our converged solution will capture some of the traditional InfiniBand user market."

Emulex's strategy for software-defined convergence has just been released, and there are no products that can be commercially available on a large scale. "in 2013, we will launch RoCE (RDMA over CE) products and 40GbE products. By then, the convergence of Ethernet and InfiniBand will come true." Jeff Bench added, "under the guidance of the strategy of software definition convergence, we will integrate controllers, software, etc., so that users can develop their own software solutions and optimize their software stacks on 10GbE or even 40GbE Ethernet platforms."

On October 11th, Emulex announced the establishment of a Chinese subsidiary, Imeles (Beijing) Network Technology Co., Ltd. Jeff Bench said: "in the past three years, revenue in the Asia-Pacific region has increased from 35 per cent to 57 per cent of the company's total global revenue. The Chinese market has made an important contribution to the company's long-term business growth. Therefore, we will firmly invest in the Chinese market and expect to double the growth of our Chinese business in the next five years."

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