The Lippis Report

By Force10 Networks

Bare Metal Provisioning (BMP) or jumpstarting is a function that allows for virtually hands-off provisioning of many devices. When you hear about BMP today, it is primarily in reference to the automated provisioning of server infrastructure. As demand increases for larger and larger networks to support server infrastructure growth, however, we must adapt this technology to the provisioning of network devices themselves to keep up. Force10’s BMP function automates switch configuration to significantly improve data center build productivity. In this guide, we will see how to use BMP to automate configuration of Force10 switches.

By Ken Won, Director of Product Marketing at Force10 Networks

Server and storage environments have seen a lot of changes in the past ten years, while developments in networking have remained fairly static. Now, the demands of virtualization and network convergence are driving significant changes in the data center network. Networks have always been considered as plumbing that connect servers and storage, but new, dynamic switches are changing the network’s role in the overall data center. It’s not your father’s network anymore, and savvy data center managers need to understand and plan for the changes that are coming.

This white paper discusses new network technologies, explains what they are, and suggests how to plan for them in future data center architectures.

By Force10 Networks

Deriving a return on virtualization investments means deploying effective automation techniques that can simplify the virtualized environment while allowing a policy-based deployment model. While many network vendors have chosen a proprietary path to automate network changes, Force10′s approach is to utilize open and industry standard technologies based on the extensible and modular Force10 Operating System (FTOS), across a range of the heterogeneous Force10 switch and routers portfolio.

Find out how to automate network changes in virtualized infrastructure by downloading this white paper

Force10 Networks brings its first ever-public tested S4810 ToR switch to the Lippis/Ixia test at iSimCity were we test all 48 10GbE links for performance and power consumption. Nick Lippis interviews Ken Won Director of Product Marketing at Force10 Networks on data center switching and cloud network design with Force10’s ToR and core switches. Go here to download the Lippis/Ixia Test Report of the S4810 ToR Switch.

Networking has become “rigid”. Yes, I know it’s almost absurd to attribute inflexibility or rigidity to networking, but we are in a compute innovation cycle that’s driving a fundamental change in networking, which screams out the need for more flexibility and configuration automation. The well understood problem is that when a virtualized machine is moved from one physical machine to another, the network, load balancers, firewalls/IPS, broadcast domains, etc., have to be reconfigured. There is no automation in place, meaning that the network is not flexible or agile enough to make the changes required. Networking companies such as Force10 Networks are driving an open approach to automation to enable network changes. I spoke with Steve Garrison, Vice President Marketing for Force10 Networks about their “Open Automation” approach to networking. Enjoy, Nick

While the networking industry is full steam ahead with the transition from 1 to 10 Gb Ethernet in corporate uplinks plus virtualized and cloud spec data centers, the IEEE has been working on 40 and 100Gb Ethernet standards to be ratified soon. It’s anticipated that the 40GbE standard will be completed first and built with lower cost, long-range optical components than 100GbE. The question on the minds of most IT business leaders is when and where to deploy these ultra high-speed Ethernet technologies and at what cost? We answer these questions with Steve Garrison, Vice President, Marketing of Force10 Networks. We’ll dive into Force10’s 40 GbE leadership position and the new network design options it unleashes upon IT business leaders.

By Force10 Networks

Network security typically requires pulling together policies at Layer 2 and Layer 3 and at each topology layer to prevent malicious or inadvertent usage. The network boundary – where users enter the network – represents an effective security checkpoint to prevent a single end-point device from either hijacking network resources or impacting the ability of other users to access network services. End-point security traps the misbehaving end-point at its closest point and minimizes the number of network links which must carry any malicious traffic.
This paper details Force10 Networks approach to securing the network edge. Download it now.

By Force10 Networks

The data center has been, and continues to be, one of the key resources of innovation, helping businesses become more agile and efficient while reducing total cost of ownership (TCO) — as well as being the focal point for green IT initiatives. The first steps are widely underway, with data center consolidation bringing back the idea of the centralized glass room, enabling better control over fixed costs. Virtualization helps drive up utilization of existing server compute and storage assets, reducing sprawl, while also helping to reduce the power and cooling footprint. The next phase of data center evolution is aimed at helping applications dynamically adjust to load. Referred to as Services Oriented Architectures (SOA), it is now being mixed in with the likes of cloud computing and cloud networking. The tools are in place to usher in a new way of thinking about making the traditionally static networks ‘dynamic’, whereby the network itself responds automatically to requests for more, or indeed less bandwidth, provisioning network access, security and QoS, all without human intervention.
This paper explores the means by which existing data center assets can be repurposed to increase utilization and improved application agility. Download it now.

The market crash of 2008 has modified business behavior & processes permanently. When capex resumes it will not fund follow-on pre crash IT projects but IT projects that are top down driven by executive mandate to streamline operations. IT project winners are Collaboration, Video Conferencing, OPEX reduction, virtualization, security. mobility and cloud computing. Zeus Kerravala, SVP at Yankee and Steve Garrison, VP Marketing at Force10 Networks are my guest as we discuss data center network design in a virtualization post crash era. It’s a great discussion, enjoy.

Force10 Networks has introduced ExaScaleTM E-Series family of switch/routers to meet the stringent performance, management and cost requirements of today’s virtualized data center and cloud computing environments. As enterprises transition toward virtualized data centers and adopts cloud-based services, the network is increasingly required to be more dynamic and responsive to changing resource demands. Steve Garrison, VP Marketing for Force10 Networks is my guest as we discuss the new design options for data center networking in a virtualization era.

By Force10 Networks

The transition to 10 GbE is under way in the data center, and the ubiquity and reliability of ethernet make it a desirable solution for delivering a high performance data center network, storage and compute fabric. Ethernet technology has reached a maturity and is a compelling proposition. The mass-market availability of 10 GbE adapters and switches enables ethernet-based networks to deliver high bandwidth, high throughput and low latency solutions for the rigorous demands of data center applications.

Find out how best to use 10GbE in your data center by downloading this white paper.

By Force10 Networks

The term “IP storage” refers to storage networks that access data resources over IP/Ethernet rather than direct attached storage (DAS) devices. IP Storage is also an alternative to special-purpose storage area networks (SANs) based on storage-specific networking protocols, such as the fibre channel protocol (FCP). This paper highlights the unique advantages of IP storage over 10 Gigabit Ethernet and the different types of storage architectures that can take advantage of cost and performance benefits of high performance Ethernet. As 10 GbE infrastructure products continue to mature and ride the traditional Ethernet cost-volume learning curve, enterprise adoption of IP storage is expected to accelerate significantly. Over the last few months, the street prices of copper-based 10 GbE switch ports and adapters have dropped to near or below $1000, which means 10 GbE performance at price points that could drive rapid adoption in the marketplace. As prices continue to decline, adoption will increase dramatically, driving the 10 GbE switch market to worldwide market size of $4.6B by 2011, according to the Dell’Oro Group. The number of 10 GbE ports shipped is expected to grow at an annual rate in excess of 100 percent, reaching 12 million ports shipped in 2011. As the switch/router market expands, the 10 GbE adapter market is expected to grow to approximately $3B by 2011.

Find out how to use IP storage over GbE by downloading this paper.

You can’t manage what you can’t measure and this could not be truer for virtualized data center infrastructure. Virtualized infrastructure reduces energy consumption, software license fees and provides a flexible data center that can spin up and down services as demand dictates. But the lack of network visibility to manage and optimize this infrastructure is giving many IT leaders pause. Virtual ports that support numerous logical flows to a single blade running across multiple virtual machines eliminate management, optimization and troubleshooting tools previous available. Stephen Garrison, VP of Marketing for Force10 Networks joins me to talk about strategies and tactics that deliver visibility into virtualized IT infrastructure. If you’re building or trying to manage a virtualized data center, then you need to listen to this podcast.

by Force10 Networks

Consolidation of data center resources offers an opportunity for architectural transformation based on the use of scalable, high density, high availability technology solutions, such as high port-density 10 GbE switch/routers, cluster and grid computing, blade or rack servers, and network attached storage. Consolidation also opens doors for virtualization of applications, servers, storage, and networks. This suite of highly complementary technologies has now matured to the point where mainstream adoption in large data centers has been occurring for some time.

Find out how by downloading this paper.