What will it take to integrate InfiniBand Architecture into a virtualized data center?
Growth of multi-core CPU-based servers and use of multiple virtual machines are driving the need for more I/O connectivity per physical server. Typical VMware ESX server environments, for example, require use of multiple Gigabit Ethernet NICs and Fibre Channel HBAs. This increases I/O cost, cabling and management complexity. InfiniBand I/O virtualization solves these problems by providing unified I/O on the compute server farm, providing significantly higher LAN and SAN performance from virtual machines. It allows for effective segregation of the compute, LAN and SAN domains to enable independent scaling of resource. The result is a more change-ready virtual infrastructure. Finally, in VMware ESX environments, the virtual machines, applications and Virtual Center based infrastructure management operate on familiar NIC and HBA interfaces, making it easy for the IT manager to avail of the above value propositions with minimal disruptions and learning. InfiniBand optimizes data center pro
