WHITE PAPER
Advanced Virtualization Using
QLogic 8300 Series Adapters
Eliminate I/O Bottlenecks for Enterprise Applications
and Accelerate Virtualization Deployments
Key Findings
Support for increased workloads, acceleration of application performance, and meeting the growing demands placed on the enterprise
data center is key in the selection and deployment of a 1OGbE Converged Network Adapter with the right architecture to scale and
support robust databases, mail servers, and secondary storage.
• Enterprise Performance: QLogic delivers double the performance of previous-generation adapters with more than 1 million IOPS
and 4500 MBps bidirectional throughput.
• Application Workloads: QLogic delivers up to 40 percent higher throughput than Emulex® in Oracle® and Microsoft Exchange
Server™ environments.
• Advanced Virtualization: Support for secure NIC SR-IOV with more Virtual Functions (VFs) and switch-agnostic NIC Partitioning
(NPAR) to enable multi-tenant cloud deployments.
• Superior Business Scalability: The scalable architecture of the QLogic 8300 Series Converged Network Adapters provides 75
percent more performance when more VMs are added to VMware® ESXi 5 than the Emulex OCe11102.
• Unparalleled Flexibility: QLogic I/OFlex technology—any I/O, any network from the same physical adapter—allows supporting
Fibre Channel SANs and 10Gb converged networks (FCoE, iSCSI, and TCP/IP) with the same physical adapter.
Executive Summary
WHITE PAPER
Server consolidation through virtualization of the enterprise data center
improves server/processor utilization and lowers data center capital
and operational cost. IT administrators must ensure that none of the
subsystems become a bottleneck for successful deployment of a
virtualized and consolidated data center. The evolution of consolidated
server deployments and the move to 16Gb Fibre Channel and
10GbE converged network infrastructures require higher scalability
in server connectivity to storage. QLogic delivers the performance,
flexibility, scalability, and investment protection to meet the needs
of the enterprise data center. QLogic is the trusted market leader of
Converged Network Adapters.
Industry Environment
Virtualization of networks, storage, servers, and applications continues to
grow in the data center. While virtualization provides many benefits, virtual
deployment workloads have been increasing the demands placed on the
network I/O infrastructure, which can significantly impact system and
application performance.
QLogic compared the overall performance of the 8300 Series 10GbE
Converged Network Adapters with Emulex adapters in a real-world
SAN environment with maximum throughput workloads. These tests
highlight the advantage delivered by the QLogic 8300 Series architecture
in both Microsoft Exchange Server and Oracle environments compared
with Emulex adapters.
QLogic I/OFlex technology provides a free, field-configurable
firmware upgrade, enabling IT administrators to define personality
(16Gb Fibre Channel, 10Gb Ethernet, iSCSI, or Fibre Channel over
Ethernet (FCoE)) on a single adapter with the highest flexibility and
investment protection.
Virtual Machine Mobility
QLogic 8300 Series Adapters are the only adapters in the industry
to support simultaneous LAN (TCP/IP) and SAN (Fibre Channel over
Ethernet (FCoE) and iSCSI) traffic at line rate, making the adapter
interoperable across the data center. QLogic delivers the most efficient
data-movement adapter.
Virtual Machine Density
Virtual machine (VM) deployments are increasing in density ratios. Today,
an average implementation may be six VMs per server, but the best
performers are installing 15 VMs per server. As the technology matures and
hardware performance increases, planning for future deployments of up to
25 VMs per server will protect infrastructure investments. The QLogic 8300
Series Converged Network Adapter offloads all FCoE and iSCSI protocol
processing to the adapter, freeing up server CPU cycles to deliver the
highest levels of server utilization and virtualization performance. QLogic
architecture delivers up to 75 percent higher performance than its closest
competitor as the number of VMs is increased (see Figure 3). The adapter
supports simultaneous data and storage networking across a 10Gb Ethernet
connection and PCI Express® Gen3 x4 data transfer on the host side.
Advanced Virtualization—Secure Networking SR-IOV
SR-IOV allows direct I/O virtualization, where the I/O path from the VM
on the server to the peripheral device is now virtualized. This dedicated
I/O path allows a higher ratio of VMs to servers. QLogic’s implementation
allows for granular QoS control and up to 128 VFs per adapter.
Unified I/O Fabric
QLogic I/OFlex technology allows you to use the same hardware for 16Gb
Fibre Channel or 10GbE server connectivity (Figure 1). QLogic FlexSuite™
Adapters provide you with the ability to use a single adapter through the
lifetime of a server. The unique QLogic I/OFlex technology allows you
to extend the useful life of your servers, getting the most out of your IT
investment dollars. The adapter supports simultaneous data and storage
networking across a 10Gb Ethernet connection and PCI Express Gen3 x4
data transfer on the host side.
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Optimizing
Virtualization
Powering Cloud
Flexible Convergence
Resilient Data Center
Figure 1. Same Hardware: Any I/O – Any Network
Efficient I/O Provisioning Using Quality of Service
One of the key areas for a successful server virtualization deployment is
providing tunable network resources to meet Service Level Agreement
(SLA) requirements for individual applications without wasting bandwidth
due to over provisioning. QLogic allows dynamic reconfiguration of
bandwidth using QLogic’s VMware vCenter plug-in. The business benefit
of applying quality of service (QoS) is a reduction in I/O bottlenecks and
the ability to support a broad spectrum of workloads. QLogic’s SR-IOV
implementation reduces I/O emulation overhead and allows I/O hardware
to be assigned directly to VMs. This gives the ability to dedicate bandwidth
for VMs and associated applications, which conserves PCIe® slots in all
server environments. QLogic’s enhanced QoS implementation benefits
higher density compute environments by guaranteeing bandwidth for
business-critical applications and providing oversubscription capability.
QLogic FlexSuite Adapter Advantages
QLogic 8300 Series FlexSuite Adapters offer unprecedented advantages.
• The Ultimate in Performance
• Advanced virtualization
• Unparalleled flexibility
• Investment protection
• Simplified management
• Leadership, confidence, and trust
More specifically, the benefits are as follows:
The Ultimate in Performance
Advanced Virtualization
• Full support for networking SR-IOV
• Secure SR-IOV for multi-tenant cloud deployments
• Switch-agnostic NIC Partitioning (NPAR)
• Granular QoS control
• Up to 128 VFs per adapter
Unparalleled Flexibility
• QLogic I/OFlex technology—any I/O, any network (dual personality)
• Industry’s only adapter supporting fully offloaded concurrent
multi-protocol support (QLogic ConvergeFlex® technology)
• Granular QoS through QLogic VMflex™ technology (NPIV and NIC
partitioning)
• Heterogeneous infrastructure
Investment Protection
• QLogic SecureFlex™ technology ensures highest data integrity (with
overlapping protection domains (OPD) and T10 ready)
• Simultaneous multi-protocol converged networking (FCoE, iSCSI, and
TCP/IP)
• Certified with more than 10,000 products
Simplified Management
• Pervasive interoperability—any form factor, any protocol, any operating
system, any hypervisor
• Simplified adapter management
– QConvergeConsole® (QCC) GUI and CLI
– QCC vCenter plug-in
– Support for industry-standard management APIs
Leadership, Confidence, and Trust
• Proven field-hardened stack
• 13 million Fibre Channel/FCoE ports deployed in data centers
• Ninth consecutive year of Fibre Channel Adapter market share
leadership (2012)
• Reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS)
• Industry’s longest warranty—5 years
• 1 million IOPS
• PCI Express Gen3 x4
• Enhanced capabilities for target mode
• Enhanced server scalability
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QLogic Outperforms Emulex
The QLogic Common Performance Test Platform is used to provide
performance benchmark results, offering IT administrators and system
architects visibility into product performance in a clear and unbiased
manner. QLogic performs testing to evaluate adapter capabilities and
adapter performance in real-world enterprise application environments.
QLogic has compared the out-of-box performance of its 8300 Series
10GbE Converged Network Adapter with the Emulex OCe11102, using the
test setup described in the QLogic Technology Brief, QLogic Platform and
Methodology for Product Evaluations1.
Application Workload
The results of this testing, which emulates real-world Oracle and Microsoft
Exchange Server workloads using the QLogic Common Test Platform, are
presented in this white paper.
QLogic continues to be the industry leader in delivering high-performance
I/O solutions to data center customers. The IOPS and throughput of the
QLogic 8300 Series 10GbE Converged Network Adapter is best in class and
provides an unprecedented level of high performance, superior scalability,
and enhanced reliability that exceeds the requirements for next-generation
data centers. The results of the benchmark tests demonstrate the I/O
performance and scalability advantages of the QLogic 8300 Series 10GbE
Converged Network Adapter over the Emulex OCe11102 10GbE Adapter in
real-world deployment environments.
Scalability Architecture for Increased VM Density
VM scalability was tested by simulating a base workload for a typical VM
density in today’s environment. The load was then scaled by four times (4X)
the VM load, and then eight times (8X). This simulation projects the growth
required for a typical data center business as the number of VMs increases.
QLogic 8300 Series Adapters meet the demand of today’s data center
(represented in this section of the white paper as virtual server workload).
The figures in this section illustrate how QLogic 8300 Series Converged
Network Adapter performance scaled better than Emulex as the workload
representing VMs increased from one to eight times the load. As the
application scaled to an eight-times VM load, the QLogic 8300 Series
Converged Network Adapter maintained high IOPS, showing the I/O support
required for high density hypervisor applications. The Emulex adapter, on
the other hand, demonstrated consistently lower performance (72 percent
lower IOPS than the QLogic 8300 Series Converged Network Adapter, as
seen in Figure 3).
1 For the QLogic Technology Brief, QLogic Platform and Methodology for Product Evaluations, visit the following
site http://www.qlogic.com/Resources/Pages/Resources.aspx. Select “Adapters.” Under Product Literature, select
“Technology Briefs.”
Read-Write IOPS on Benchmarking Tool
QLogic’s IOPS were higher than Emulex by 44 percent as shown in Figure 2.
Emulex OCe11102 IOPS peaked at 504,000, when running an eight-times
VM load at a 512 bytes block size.
VMware ESXi 5.0 Dual Port RW
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
IOPS
200,000
100,000
0
Figure 2. QLogic Outperforms Emulex by 44 Percent
FCoE Scalability
QLE8362
OCe11102
Block size 512B
Read-Write Scalability in Real-World Workloads
Typical real-world SAN workloads represent the block sizes and I/O activity
that models real-world workloads (like MS Exchange or Oracle databases).
To show scalability performance in SAN environments, QLogic tested
the adapters using 4kB and 8kB block sizes. Figure 3 shows that even
though read-write IOPS were at parity at the one-times VM workload, the
performance of the OCe11102 was 45 percent lower than the QLogic 8300
Series Converged Network Adapter when the number of VMs scaled to the
eight-times load. Across increasing VM loads, the QLogic adapter scaled by
220 percent and 150 percent respectively for 4kB and 8kB block sizes, as
shown in Figures 3 and 4.
VMware ESXi 5.0 Dual Port 4kB RW
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
IOPS
200,000
100,000
0
VM load (1X) VM load (4X) VM load (8X)
Figure 3. VM Scalability Performance with Increasing VM Load – 4kB Block Size
FCoE Scalability
The QLogic 8300 Series Converged Network Adapter continued to provide
scalability and performance as demonstrated in the aforementioned
benchmarks.
QLOGIC
SCALES BY
220%
QLE8362
OCe11102
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Customers integrating 10Gb Ethernet technology into their SANs and
infrastructure expect optimum levels of throughput and IOPS with increased
VM density on a single server and adapter. The QLogic 8300 Series 10GbE
Converged Network Adapter demonstrates the required performance
characteristics to meet these needs.
VMware ESXi 5.0 Dual Port 8kB RW
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
IOPS
200,000
100,000
0
VM load (1X) VM load (4X) VM load (8X)
Figure 4. VM Scalability Performance with Increasing VM Load – 8kB Block Size
FCoE Scalability
QLOGIC
SCALES BY
150%
QLE8362
OCe11102
Summary
QLogic continues to be the industry leader in delivering high-performance
I/O solutions to data center customers. The performance of the QLogic
8300 Series 10GbE Converged Network Adapters is best-in-class and
provides highest performance, superior scalability, unparalleled flexibility,
and enhanced reliability.
Meeting the demands of more data, more devices, and more users than ever
before and planning for growing data, application, and storage requirements
dictates the need for high-performance I/O delivery. IT administrators know
that choosing the right adapter for their SAN infrastructure can have a strong
impact on the performance, flexibility, and scalability of their enterprise data
centers. The results discussed in this white paper demonstrate that QLogic
8300 Series 10GbE Converged Network Adapters deliver the requirements
needed in the data center and outperform and provide higher scalability
than Emulex OCe11102 Adapters in real-world environments. The QLogic
adapters also allow IT administrators to set their convergence strategy at
their own pace by enabling the same physical adapter to support 16Gb
Fibre Channel SANs or 10GbE converged networks. The QLogic 8300 Series
10GbE Converged Network Adapters will be in the data center throughout
the lifetime of the server.
Learn More
QLogic offers complete solutions to some of the most complex issues
facing the data center. To visit the QLogic solutions Web page, click “QLogic
Solutions” under the Solutions tab at www.qlogic.com.
QLogic has created demonstrations that showcase QLogic technologies,
such as SR-IOV in a Microsoft Windows™ 2012 environment using the
QLogic Converged Network Adapter. In addition, demonstrations of
technology performance or proof of concepts can be configured for your
specific environment. To register for a demonstration of QLogic product
capabilities, visit www.qlogic.com/solutions/Pages/qos.aspx and click
“Schedule a future ‘live’ demo.”
Related Video: Next-Generation Server Attach Strategy
Click on the Image to Watch a YouTube Video
HSG-WP13002 SN0430942-00 Rev. A 05/13 5
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Disclaimer
Reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the validity and accuracy of these performance tests. QLogic Corporation is not liable for any error
in this published white paper or the results thereof. Variation in results may be a result of change in configuration or in the environment. QLogic
specifically disclaims any warranty, expressed or implied, relating to the test results and their accuracy, analysis, completeness or quality.
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Corporate Headquarters QLogic Corporation 26650 Aliso Viejo Parkway Aliso Viejo, CA 92656 949-389-6000
www.qlogic.com
© 2013 QLogic Corporation. Specifications are subject to change without notice. All rights reserved worldwide. QLogic, the QLogic logo, ConvergeFlex, FlexSuite, QConvergeConsole, SecureFlex, and VMflex are trademarks or registered trademarks of QLogic Corporation. Emulex is
a registered trademark of Emulex Corporation. Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Windows are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation. PCIe and PCI Express are registered trademarks of PCI-SIG
Corporation. VMware is registered trademark of VMware, Inc. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Information supplied by QLogic Corporation is believed to be accurate and reliable. QLogic Corporation assumes no
responsibility for any errors in this document. QLogic Corporation reserves the right, without notice, to make changes in product design or specifications.
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