Flattened data center networks paying off for businesses
Flattening Ethernet architectures is becoming a popular data center trend, as it offers major benefits for data center operators.
By Max BurkhalterJuly 18, 2012
Flattening the Ethernet infrastructure within the data center is helping to streamline storage network systems and other aspects of the setup, a critical capacity considering the implications of cloud computing and virtualization on data transit. As more organizations engage with flattened Ethernet architectures, the benefits are becoming clear.
According to a recent PC Advisor report, the Government Employees' Health Association is one organization that is reaping the rewards of a flattened Ethernet system. Brenden Bryan, senior manager of enterprise architecture at GEHA, told the news source that the company had been using fiber channel over Ethernet in the SAN and a best-of-breed approach to the rest of the data center network. This created an overly complex setup that was relatively effective, but not capable of meeting the requirements set forth by virtualization and cloud computing. Furthermore, the network had multiple fail points, creating some reliability risks.
Bryan told PC Advisor that the company needed a more reliable and efficient data center network solution, making its legacy approach problematic. As a result, the organization turned to a flattened network architecture, moving systems off of Layer 3 and Layer 2 and keeping everything within Layer 1, where it could be managed and maintained more effectively.
The primary advantage of such a network is not so much that it improves data transit speeds or allows for more bandwidth, which it can do, but instead that it provides a more efficient setup that enables other aspects of the data center to function more effectively. Bryan told the news source that flattening the GEHA data center network enabled improvements in the server infrastructure.
"I can keep the number of physical servers I have to buy to a minimum and get more utilization out of them," Bryan told PC Advisor. "It enables me to drive the efficiencies out of my storage as well as my computing."
Flattened Ethernet systems are increasingly common in data centers depending heavily on virtualization. Because virtual servers host more than one application or system, but only have a single network port, the network has to be equipped with the bandwidth and flexibility needed to support consistent delivery. Furthermore, flattened architectures enable better communication between servers, not just out to end users, which is key in cloud setups and many virtual environments.
Perle’s wide range of 1 to 48 port Perle Console Servers provide data center managers and network administrators with secure remote management of any device with a serial console port. Plus, they are the only truly fault tolerant Console Servers on the market with the advanced security functionality needed to easily perform secure remote data center management and out-of-band management of IT assets from anywhere in the world.
According to a recent PC Advisor report, the Government Employees' Health Association is one organization that is reaping the rewards of a flattened Ethernet system. Brenden Bryan, senior manager of enterprise architecture at GEHA, told the news source that the company had been using fiber channel over Ethernet in the SAN and a best-of-breed approach to the rest of the data center network. This created an overly complex setup that was relatively effective, but not capable of meeting the requirements set forth by virtualization and cloud computing. Furthermore, the network had multiple fail points, creating some reliability risks.
Bryan told PC Advisor that the company needed a more reliable and efficient data center network solution, making its legacy approach problematic. As a result, the organization turned to a flattened network architecture, moving systems off of Layer 3 and Layer 2 and keeping everything within Layer 1, where it could be managed and maintained more effectively.
The primary advantage of such a network is not so much that it improves data transit speeds or allows for more bandwidth, which it can do, but instead that it provides a more efficient setup that enables other aspects of the data center to function more effectively. Bryan told the news source that flattening the GEHA data center network enabled improvements in the server infrastructure.
"I can keep the number of physical servers I have to buy to a minimum and get more utilization out of them," Bryan told PC Advisor. "It enables me to drive the efficiencies out of my storage as well as my computing."
Flattened Ethernet systems are increasingly common in data centers depending heavily on virtualization. Because virtual servers host more than one application or system, but only have a single network port, the network has to be equipped with the bandwidth and flexibility needed to support consistent delivery. Furthermore, flattened architectures enable better communication between servers, not just out to end users, which is key in cloud setups and many virtual environments.
Perle’s wide range of 1 to 48 port Perle Console Servers provide data center managers and network administrators with secure remote management of any device with a serial console port. Plus, they are the only truly fault tolerant Console Servers on the market with the advanced security functionality needed to easily perform secure remote data center management and out-of-band management of IT assets from anywhere in the world.
