IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 1

IBM System Networking RackSwitch G8264

IBM Redbooks Product Guide
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264leveraging10GbSFP+and40GbQSFP+Ethernet
technologyisspecificallydesignedforthedatacenter.Itisidealfortoday'sbigdata,cloud,andoptimized
workloadsolutions.ItisanenterpriseclassLayer2andlayer3fullfeaturedswitchthatdeliversline-rate,
high-bandwidthswitching,filtering,andtrafficqueuingwithoutdelayingdata.Largedata-centergrade
buffershelpkeeptrafficmoving,whiletheredundantpowerandfansalongwithnumeroushighavailability
featureshelpprovidehighavailabilityforbusinesssensitivetraffic.
TheRackSwitchG8264,showninFigure1,isidealforlatencysensitiveapplicationssuchashigh
performancecomputingclustersandfinancialapplications.Inadditiontothe10-GbEthernet(GbE)and
40-GbEconnections,theG8264alsohasthecapabilityforlegacy1-GbEconnections.TheG8264
supportsthenewestprotocolsincludingDataCenterBridging/ConvergedEnhancedEthernet(DCB/CEE)
forsupportofFibreChanneloverEthernet(FCoE)inadditiontoiSCSIandnetwork-attachedstorage
(NAS).
Figure1.IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264
TheG8264alsosupportsIBMVirtualFabric,whichhelpsclientssignificantlyreducecostandcomplexity
relatedtoI/Orequirementsofmanyvirtualizationdeployments.VirtualFabrichelpsreducethenumberof
multipleI/Oadapterstoasingledual-port10Gadapterandreducesthenumberofcablesandrequired
upstreamswitchports.ByusingVirtualFabric,youcancarveadual-port10Gserveradapterinto8
virtualnetworkinterfacecards(vNICs)andcreatededicatedvirtualpipesbetweentheadapterandswitch
foroptimalperformance,higheravailability,andimprovedsecurity.WithVirtualFabricIT,youcanmake
dynamicchangesandallocatebandwidthpervNICsothatyoucanadjustitovertimewithoutdowntime.
TheRackSwitchG8264isthefirst10GbEswitchtoofferbenefitsofOpenFlow.OpenFlowisthenew
openapplicationprogramminginterface(API)thatenablesthenetworkadministratortoeasilyconfigure
andmanagevirtualnetworksthatcontroltrafficonaper-flowbasis.Itcreatesmultipleindependent
virtualnetworksandrelatedpolicieswithoutdealingwiththecomplexitiesoftheunderlyingphysical
networkandprotocols.WithOpenFlow,clientscaneasilycreateuser-controlledvirtualnetworks,optimize
performancedynamically,andminimizecomplexitywhenusedwithanindustrycompliantOpenFlow
controller.
Didyouknow?
TheRackSwitchG8264supportsseveraltypesofconfigurations:1-Gb,10-Gb,and40-Gb,vNIC,
ConvergedEnhancedEthernet(CEE/DCB),NAS,andiSCSI.
TheRackSwitchG8264withSFP+technologyistheidealsolutionforclientswhoarelookingforlow
latencyandlowpowerconsumption.
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 2
TheIBMRackSwitchG8264supportsstackingforuptoeightswitchesusingasingleswitchimage
andconfigurationfilethatsharesoneIPaddressandonemanagementinterface.
TheRackSwitchsupportsDataCenterBridging(DCB),thegroupofprotocolsfromIEEEthatprovide
losslessEthernetandthatallowclientstoreducethecostsofimplementingeither:
NASoriSCSIconvergenceandpriority-basedflowcontrol o
FCoEbyaggregatingswitchportsbeforeconnectingtomorecostlyupstreamFibreChannel o
gatewaydevices.
Canbeconfiguredineasyconnectmodetoallowfortransparentandsimpleconnectivitytothe
upstreamnetwork,enablingeasyconnectivitytoupstreamCisco,Juniperorothernetworkswithout
havingtochangethosenetworks.
IBMisaleaderinnetworkvirtualization,offeringtheon-switchIBMVMreadysoftwarethatreduces
thecomplexityofmanagingvirtualmachines(VMs)inthenetwork.Formoreinformation,seeIBM
VMreadyat:
http://www.ibm.com/systems/networking/software/vmready
TheRackSwitchG8264isSDNreadywithitsOpenFlowsupport.WithOpenFlow,youcaneasily
createuser-controlledvirtualnetworks,optimizeperformancedynamically,andminimizecomplexity
whenusedwithanOpenFlowcontroller.ForexampleIBMSDNVE,OpenFlowedition:
http://www.ibm.com/systems/networking/software/sdnveof/
TheG8264playsavitalrolewithIBMVirtualFabric,whichreducescostsandcomplexityin
environmentswherefourormoreNICsareneededperserver.Anexampleisvirtualization,where
clientsoftenneeduptoeightNICsperserver.Formoreinformation,seeIBMVirtualFabricat:
http://www.ibm.com/systems/networking/software/virtualfabric.html
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 3
Partnumberinformation
Table1liststhepartnumbersfororderingIBMSystemxandIBMPowerSystemsmodulesand
options.ProductsareorderedthroughIBMSystemxandIBMStorageandPowerorderingsystems.
Note:Transceiversarenotincludedinthepurchaseoftheswitchandalltransceiversrequireusingthe
appropriatecables.
Table1.IBMpartnumbersandfeaturecodesforordering(part1of4)
Description Systemxpartnumber PowerSystems
featurecode
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264
(Rear-to-Front)
7309G64 7120-64C
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264
(Front-to-Rear)
730964F
1Gboptions
IBMSFPRJ45Transceiver(Withdrawn) 81Y1618
IBMSFPRJ45Transceiver 00FE333 EB29
IBMSFPSXTransceiver 81Y1622 EB2A
IBMSFPLXTransceiver 90Y9424 ECB8
0.6mBlueCat5eCable 40K5679 ECB0
1.5mBlueCat5eCable 40K8785 ECB2
3mBlueCat5eCable 40K5581 1111
10mBlueCat5eCable 40K8927 1112
25mBlueCat5eCable 40K8930 1113
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 4
Table1.IBMpartnumbersandfeaturecodesforordering(part2of4)
Description Systemxpartnumber PowerSystemsfeaturecode
10Gboptions
IBMSFP+SRTransceiver 46C3447 EB28
IBMSFP+LRTransceiver 90Y9412 ECB9
IBM SFP+ ER Transceiver* 90Y9415 ECBA
1mLC-LCFiberCable
(networking)-Optical
88Y6851 ECBC
5mLC-LCFiberCable
(networking)-Optical
88Y6854 ECBD
25mLC-LCFiberCable
(networking)-Optical
88Y6857 ECBE
0.5IBMPassiveDACSFP+Cable** 00D6288 ECBG
1mIBMPassiveDACSFP+Cable** 90Y9427 ECB4
1.5mIBMPassiveDACSFP+Cable 00AY764
2mIBMPassiveDACSFP+Cable 00AY765
3mIBMPassiveDACSFP+Cable** 90Y9430 ECB5
5mIBMPassiveDACSFP+Cable** 90Y9433 ECB6
7mIBMPassiveDACSFP+Cable** 00D6151 ECBH
1mIBMActiveDACSFP+Cable 95Y0323
3mIBMActiveDACSFP+Cable 95Y0326
5mIBMActiveDACSFP+Cable 95Y0329
1m10GbECableSFP+Active
Twinax
EN01
3m10GbECableSFP+Active
Twinax
EN02
5m10GbECableSFP+Active
Twinax
EN03
*Supportupto6ERtransceiversperswitchmaximum.
**PassivecablesnotsupportedforPowerSystems10GbNICs.Usedforswitchtoswitchconnectivity
only.
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 5
Table1.IBMpartnumbersandfeaturecodesforordering(part3of4)
40Gboptions Systemxpartnumber PowerSystemsfeaturecode
IBMQSFP+SR4Transceiver 49Y7884 EB27
10mIBMQSFP+MTPOptical
Cable
90Y3519 EB2J
30mIBMQSPF+MTPOptical
Cable
90Y3521 EB2K
IBMQSFP+40GBaseeSR4
Transceiver
00FE325
1mIBMMTP-4LCOM3MMF
BreakOutCable
00FM412
3mIBMMTP-4LCOM3MMF
BreakOutCable
00FM413
5mIBMMTP-4LCOM3MMF
BreakOutCable
00FM414
IBMQSFP+LR4Transceiver** 00D6222
1mIBMQSFP+DACBreakOut
Cable*
49Y7886 EB24
3mIBMQSFP+DACBreakOut
Cable*
49Y7887 EB25
5mIBMQSFP+DACBreakOut
Cable*
49Y7888 EB26
1mIBMQSFP+-to-QSFP+Cable* 49Y7890 EB2B
3mIBMQSFP+-to-QSFP+Cable* 49Y7891 EB2H
5mIBMQSFP+-to-QSFP+Cable* 00D5810 ECBN
7mIBMQSFP+-to-QSFP+Cable* 00D5813 ECBP
*QSFP+toQSFP+cablesandQSFP+DACBreakoutcablesarenotsupportedforPowerSystems
10GbNICsconnectivity.Usedforswitchtoswitchconnectivityonly.
**LR4transceiverupto10KMoverLC-LCsinglemodefibre(SMF).
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 6
Table1.IBMpartnumbersandfeaturecodesforordering(part4of4)
Miscellaneousoptions Systemxpartnumber PowerSystemsfeaturecode
IBMSystemNetworkingAdjustable
19"4PostRailKit
00D6185 EU27
IBMSystemNetworkingRecessed
19"4PostRailKit(NeXtScale)
00CG089
AirInletDuctfor483mm
RackSwitch*
00D6060
Front-to-rear,hot-swappablepower
supplyspare
49Y7938 SoldasFRU
Rear-to-front,notswappablepower
supplyspare
49Y7937 SoldasFRU
Front-to-rear,hot-swappablefan
assemblyspare
49Y7939 SoldasFRU
Rear-to-front,hot-swappablefan
assemblyspare
88Y6026 SoldasFRU
Consolecablekitspare 90Y9462 EUC4
*RequiresIBMSystemNetworkingAdjustable19"4PostRailKit
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 7
WiththeflexibilityoftheIBMswitch,youcantakeadvantageofthefollowingtechnologiesrequiredfor
multipleenvironments:
For1Gblinks,youcanuseSFPtransceiversplusLC-to-LCfibercables.
For10Gb,youcanusethefollowingitems:
IBMPassive/ActiveDirectAttachCopperSFP+Cable o
SFP+transceivers(SR,LR,orER)plusLC-to-LCfibercablesforlongerdistances o
For40Gto40Gconnectivity,clientscanuseIBMQSFP+toQSFP+cablesupto7metersorcombine
40Gtransceiversandopticalcablesforlongerdistances.ForexampleusingSR4transceiverswith
MTPOpticalcablesupto100,000metersorevenlongerdistanceswiththeLR4transceiverupto
10KMoverLC-LCsinglemodefibre(SMF).
Fortheoptionsandtheirsupporteddistances,seeFigure2.
Figure2.Optionsandtheirsupporteddistances
Themodulepartnumbersincludethefollowingitems:
OneIBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264
GenericRailMountKit(2-post)
IBMserialcable
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 8
Powercords,listedinTable2,areshippedseparatelyatanadditionalcharge.
Table2.Powercordsanddescriptions-IBMSystemx
Powercord Description
39Y7917 PowerCordEuropeACplug10A/250V;OPT
39Y7918 PowerCordEurope(Denmark)ACplug10A/250V;OPT
39Y7919 PowerCordEurope(Switzerland)ACplug10A/250V;OPT
39Y7920 PowerCordIsraelACplug10A/250V;OPT
39Y7922 PowerCordSouthAfricaACplug10A/250V;OPT
39Y7923 PowerCordUKACplug13A/250V;OPT
39Y7924 PowerCordAustraliaACplug10A/250V;OPT
39Y7925 PowerCordKoreaACplug10A/250V;OPT
46M2593 PowerCordJapanACplug10A/125V;OPT
39Y7927 PowerCordIndiaACplug10A/250V;OPT
39Y7928 PowerCordChinaACplug16A/250V;OPT
39Y7929 PowerCordBrazilACplug16A/250V;OPT
39Y7930 PowerCordUruguay/ArgentinaACplug16A/250V;OPT
46M2592 PowerCordUS/CanadaACplug10A/125V;OPT
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 9
Linecords,descriptions,andfeaturecodesarelistedinTable3.
Table3.LinecordsdescriptionandIBMPowerSystemsandStoragefeaturecodes
Description Featurecode
PowerCord4.3m(14-ft),DrawertoWall/IBMPDU(250V/10A) 6458
PowerCord4.3m(14-ft),DrawertoWall/OEMPDU(250V/15A)U.S. 6469
PowerCord1.8m(6-ft),DrawertoWall(125V/15A) 6470
PowerCord2.7m(9-ft),DrawertoWall/OEMPDU(125V/15A) 6471
PowerCord2.7m(9-ft),DrawertoWall/OEMPDU(250V/16A) 6472
PowerCord2.7m(9-ft),DrawertoWall/OEMPDU(250V/10A) 6473
PowerCord2.7m(9-ft),DrawertoWall/OEMPDU,(250V/13A) 6474
PowerCord2.7m(9-ft),DrawertoWall/OEMPDU,(250V/16A) 6475
PowerCord2.7m(9-ft),DrawertoWall/OEMPDU,(250V/10A) 6476
PowerCord2.7m(9-ft),DrawertoWall/OEMPDU,(250V/16A) 6477
PowerCord2.7m(9-ft),DrawertoWall/OEMPDU,(125V/15Aor250V/10A) 6488
PowerCord2.7m(9-ft),DrawertoWall/OEMPDU,(250V/10A) 6493
PowerCord2.7m(9-ft),DrawertoWall/OEMPDU,(250V/10A) 6494
PowerCord4.3m(14-ft),DrawertoWall/OEMPDU(125V/15A) 6660
PowerCord2.8m(9.2-ft),DrawertoWall/IBMPDU,(250V/10A) 6665
PowerCord2.7m(9-ft),DawertoWall/OEMPDU,(250V/10A) 6680
PowerCord2.7m(9-ft),DrawertoWall/OEMPDU,(250V/10A) 6671
PowerCord1.5m(5-ft),DrawertoWall/OEMPDU,(250V/10A) 6672
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 10
Benefits
TheIBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264offersthefollowingbenefits:
Highperformance
The10Gb/40Gbswitchprovidesthebestcombinationoflowlatency,non-blockingline-rate
switching,andeaseofmanagement.Ithasathroughputof1.28Tbps.
Lowerpowerandbettercooling
TheIBMRackSwitchG8264usesaslittleas330Wofpower,whichisafractionofthepower
consumptionofmostcompetitiveofferings.Unlikeside-cooledswitches,whichcancauseheat
recirculationandreliabilityconcerns,thefront-to-rearorrear-to-frontcoolingdesignoftheG8264
reducesdatacenterairconditioningcostsbyhavingairflowmatchtheserversintherack.Inaddition,
variablespeedfanshelptoautomaticallyreducepowerconsumption.
Stacking
WiththeG8264,asingleswitchimageandconfigurationfilecanbeusedforuptoeightswitches,
sharingonlyoneIPaddressandonemanagementinterface.
VirtualFabric
TheG8264canhelpcustomersaddressI/OrequirementsformultipleNICswhilereducingcostand
complexity.VirtualFabricforIBMallowsyoutocarveaphysicalNICintomultiplevirtualNICs
(between2-8vNIC)andtocreateavirtualpipebetweentheadapterandtheswitchforimproved
performance,availability,andsecurity.
VM-AwareNetworking
VMreadysoftwareontheswitchsimplifiesconfigurationandimprovessecurityinvirtualized
environments.VMreadyautomaticallydetectsvirtualmachinemovementbetweenphysicalservers
andinstantlyreconfigureseachVMsnetworkpoliciesacrossVLANstokeepthenetworkupand
runningwithoutinterruptingtrafficorimpactingperformance.VMreadyworkswithallleadingVM
providers,suchasVMware,Citrix,Xen,IBMPowerVM,andMicrosoft.
Layer3functionality
TheG8264includesLayer3functionality,whichprovidessecurityandperformancebenefits,as
inter-VLANtrafficstayswithintheswitch.ThisswitchalsoprovidesthefullrangeofLayer3protocols
fromstaticroutesfortechnologiessuchasOpenShortestPathFirst(OSPF)andBorderGateway
Protocol(BGP)forenterprisecustomers.
Seamlessinteroperability
IBMswitchesperformseamlesslywithothervendors'upstreamswitches.
Faulttolerance
TheseIBMswitcheslearnalternateroutesautomaticallyandperformfasterconvergenceinthe
unlikelycaseofalink,switch,orpowerfailure.TheswitchusesproventechnologieslikeL2trunk
failover,advancedVLAN-basedfailover,VRRP,andHotLink.
Multicast
TheG8264supportsIGMPSnoopingv1,v2,andv3with2KIGMPgroups.ItalsosupportsProtocol
IndependentMulticast(PIM),suchasPIMSparseModeorPIMDenseMode.
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 11
Convergedfabric
TheIBMswitchsupportsCEEandconnectivitytoFCoEgateways.CEEhelpsenableclientsto
combinestorage,messagingtraffic,VoIP,video,andotherdataonacommondatacenterEthernet
infrastructure.FCoEhelpsenablehighlyefficientblockstorageoverEthernetforconsolidatingserver
networkconnectivity.Asaresult,clientscandeployasingleserverinterfaceformultipledatatypes,
whichcansimplifybothdeploymentandmanagementofservernetworkconnectivity,while
maintainingthehighavailabilityandrobustnessrequiredforstoragetransactions.
OpenFlowenabled
TheRackSwitchG8264isthefirst10GbEswitchtoofferbenefitsofOpenFlow.OpenFlowisthenew
openAPIthatenablesthenetworkadministratortoeasilyconfigureandmanagevirtualnetworksthat
controltrafficonaper-flowbasis.Itcreatesmultipleindependentvirtualnetworksandrelated
policieswithoutdealingwiththecomplexitiesoftheunderlyingphysicalnetworkandprotocols.The
G8264isalsotheidealswitchtousewithindustrycompliantOpenFlowcontrollers.
Transparentnetworkingcapability
WithasimpleconfigurationchangetoEasyConnectMode,theRackSwitchG8264becomesa
transparentnetworkdevice,invisibletothecore,eliminatingnetworkadministrationconcernsof
SpanningTreeProtocolconfiguration/interoperability,VLANassignmentsandavoidsanypossible
loops.
ByemulatingahostNICtothedatacentercore,itacceleratestheprovisioningofVMsbyeliminating
theneedtoconfigurethetypicalaccessswitchparameters.
Table4comparesthefeaturesoftheIBMRackSwitchG8264withtheIBMRackSwitchG8264T.
Table4.ComparisonoftheIBMRackSwitchG8264andIBMRackSwitchG8264Tfeatures
IBMRackSwitchG8264 IBMRackSwitchG8264T
Porttypes BasedonSFP+ Basedon10GBase-T
Latency Lowerlatency-880nanosecond 3.2microseconds
Stacking Yes No
Typicalpower Lowerpower-330watts Competitiveversusother10GBase-T-385W
Coppercablelength Upto7m Upto100m
Totaldistance Upto40KMwithTransceiver Limitedto100m
TCO LessthanotherSFP+
LowerTCOfor100mandless
(basedonadapter,cablesandswitch)
Warrantyinformation
TheIBMRackSwitchG8264includesanIBMstandard3-yearhardwarewarrantywithNextBusinessDay
(NBD),9x5,CustomerReplaceableUnit(CRU)warrantyservice.IBMalsoincludesa3-yearsoftware
warranty.IBMalsoreservestherighttoprovidenewfeaturesaspartoffuturesoftwarereleases.Software
UpgradeEntitlementisbasedontheswitchswarrantyorpostwarrantyextensionandservicecontracts.
Featuresandspecifications
Performance,hardware,andsoftwarefeaturesaredescribedinthefollowinglists.
Performance
100%Linerateperformance
1280Gbpsnon-blockingswitchingthroughput(fullduplex)
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 12
Latency:880ns
960Mpps
Hardwarefeatures
IBMRackSwitchG8264hasthefollowinghardwarefeatures:
Models
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264Rear-to-FrontVersions o
ForportslocatedintherearoftherackmatchingSystemx,IBMBladeCenterandPower
Systemsdesigns
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264Front-to-RearVersions o
ForportslocatedinthefrontoftherackmatchingairflowofIBMiDataPlexandNeXtScale
systems
Interfaceoptions
Forty-eightSFP/SFP+ports(1/10GbE) o
FourQSFP+ports(40GbE) o
Upto6410GbSFP+connectionswithoptionalbreakoutcable o
One10/100/1000EthernetRJ45portforout-of-bandmanagement o
OneUSBportformassstoragedeviceconnection o
Onemini-USBConsoleportforserialaccess o
Server-likeportorientations,enablingshortandsimplecabling o
Dimensions:17.3incheswide,19inchesdeep,1RUhigh
Weight:10.5kg(23lb)
RackInstallationKit
GenericRackMountKit(2-post) o
Canbemountedverticallyorhorizontally o
LEDs:SystemLEDstoindicatelinkstatus,fan,power,andstacking
Airflow
Front-to-rearorrear-to-frontcooling o
Redundantvariablehot-swapspeedfansforreducedpowerdraw o
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 13
Figure3showstherearviewoftheIBMRackSwitchG8264.
Figure3.RearviewofIBMRackSwitchG8264
Power
Dualhotswappowermodules,50-60Hz,100-240VACauto-switchingpermodule o
Typicalpowerconsumptionof330Watts o
Environmentalspecifications
Temperature:Ambientoperating:0Cto+40C o
Relativehumidity:Non-condensing,operating10to90% o
Altitude:Operating1,800m(6,000feet) o
Typicalheatdissipation:1127BTU/hour o
Meantimebetweenfailures(MTBF):165,990hoursat40C o
Softwarefeatures
IBMRackSwitchG8264hasthefollowingsoftwarefeatures,asofVersion7.6:
Security
RADIUS o
TACACS+ o
SCP o
WireSpeedFiltering:AllowandDeny o
SSHv1,v2 o
HTTPSSecureBBI o
Secureinterfaceloginandpassword o
MACaddressmovenotification o
ShiftBBootmenu(PasswordRecovery/FactoryDefault) o
VLANs
Port-basedVLANs o
4096VLANidssupported o
2048ActiveVLANs(802.1Q) o
802.1xwithGuestVLAN o
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 14
PrivateVLANEdge o
Stacking o
FCoE/LosslessEthernet
802.1DataCenterBridging o
PriorityBasedFlowControl(PFC) o
EnhancedTransmissionSelection(ETS) o
DataCenterBridgeExchangeprotocol(DCBX) o
FIPSnooping o
FibreChanneloverEthernet o
ConvergedEnhancedEthernet o
Trunking
LACP o
StaticTrunks(EtherChannel) o
ConfigurableTrunkHashalgorithm o
SpanningTree
MultipleSpanningTree(802.1s) o
RapidSpanningTree(802.1w) o
PVRST+ o
FastUplinkConvergence o
BPDUguard o
QualityofService
QoS802.1p(priorityqueues) o
DSCPremarking o
Metering o
Routingprotocols
RIPv1/v2 o
OSPF o
BGP o
IPv6OSPFv3(RFC5340) o
DynamicPolicyBasedRouting(PBR) o
Highavailability
Layer2failover o
HotLinks o
VirtualRouterRedundancysupport(VRRP) o
Multicast
IGMPSnoopingv1,v2,andv3with2KIGMPgroups o
ProtocolIndependentMulticast(PIM)SparseMode/DenseMode o
Monitoring
Portmirroring o
ACL-basedmirroring o
sFlowVersion5 o
Management:Stacking
Virtualization
VMreadywithVIAPIsupport o
vNICMIBsupportforSNMP o
OpenFlow
OpenFlowv1.0andv1.3.1(startingwithIBMNetworkingOS7.8) o
OpenFlowhybridmode o
Clients
IBMSystemNetworkingSwitchCenter(SNSC) o
ISCLI(Cisco-like) o
ScriptableCLI o
Browser-basedclientorTelnet o
Standardprotocols
IPv4,IPv6 o
SNMPv1,v2c,andv3 o
RMON o
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 15
SecondaryNTPSupport o
DHCPClient o
DHCPRelay o
LLDP o
128KMACTable o
9KJumboFrames o
802.3XFlowControl o
Upgrades
UpgradefirmwareviaserialorTFTP o
Dualsoftwareimages o
Popularconfigurations
ThefollowingconfigurationsarethemostpopularforusingIBMRackSwitchG8264:
Rack-optimizedserveraggregation10-GbEattachedrackservers
Rack-optimizedserveraggregationlogicaldesign
2560nodegigabitnetwork:Usingnext-generation64port1Uswitches
VirtualFabricconfigurationwithIBMSystemxserversusingtheEmulexVirtualFabricAdapter
IPStorageover10GbE:Changingtheeconomicsofstorage
Rack-optimizedserveraggregation10-GbEattachedrackservers
TheIBMRackSwitchG8264isanidealnetworkingdeviceforportaggregation,allowingtheconsolidation
ofonetothreeracksfullofserversbeforeconnectingtoanupstreamswitch.
High-concentrationofrack-optimizedservers,forexample:
IBMSystemx1Userverswitha10Gbadapterinstalled o
Easilysupports40serversperrack.
Easilysupportsupto48serversormore,dependingonuplinkbandwidthrequiredacrosstwo
racks,includingstorageorUPS.
IBMSystemx2Userverswitha10Gbadapterinstalled o
Mostclientswillhaveuptotwenty2Userversperrack.
WiththeG8264switchbeingabletosupportupto64SFP+ports,aclientcaneasilyusea
switchacrossthreeracksofsevers,andmorelikelytwoforredundancy.
IBMBladeCenterusinganyofthefollowingmodulesinthechassis: o
IBMBladeCenter1/10GbUplinkEthernetSwitchModule
Withonlytwo10GbSFP+portsperchassis,clientswithlargerdatacenterscaneasily
support24chassisormoreperRackSwitchG8264.
IBMBladeCenterVirtualFabric10GbSwitchModule
Withsupportofuptoten10GbSFP+portsperswitch,clientscaneasilysupport4-6
chassisperRackSwitch,andiftheyarenotconcernedaboutoversubscription,theycan
supportupto24 or more per RackSwitch G8264.
10GbEthernetPass-ThruModuleforIBMBladeCenter
Formanyclientslookingtouseapass-throughmodule,upstreamcostscanbeexpensive,
especiallyifyouareconnectingtoacoreswitchandarelookingatuptofourteen10Gbports
perchassis.TheG8264providesamuchmorecost-effectivealternativeandcansupportup
tofourfullypopulatedIBMBladeCenterHchassisperRackSwitch.Thisalternativeisalso
muchbetterforlargerBladeCenterHenvironmentscomparedtoasmaller24-portswitch.
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 16
Low-profile,high-performance,48/64-port10-GbEswitchneededtoperformaggregationfunctionper
rack.Figure4showsportaggregation,andTable5liststhefeaturesandbenefits.
Figure4.Portaggregation
Table5.Featuresandbenefits
Features Benefits
Line-rate,non-blocking,all64-ports Supportsmassivecomputeandvirtualizationworkloads
Deterministicallylowlatency Fasterapplicationresponsetimes
SupportforIGMPSnoopingandL3forwarding Enableshigh-bandwidth,low-latencymulticast
applications
Standards-basedLayer2/3protocols;industrystandard
CLI
Interoperateswithexistingnetwork;nolearningcurve
Rack-optimizedserveraggregationlogicaldesign
ThedesigngoalistohavetheIBMRackSwitchG8264(10GbE)switchatthedistributionlayerandthe
IBMRackSwitchG8000/G8052(1GbE)atEdge/Access.
TheG8264isalsoidealatthedistributionlayerwhenyouarelookingtoaggregateconnectionsfor
accesslayerswitchesliketheG8000orG8052whichsupportforty-eight1-Gbportstotheserversand
four10-Gbuplinks.Ineitherscenario,theG8264providesexceptionalvaluebyprovidingthefollowing
support:
Upto12G8000/G8052switches(576servers)whenusingthefour10GbuplinksperG8000/G8052,
whilestillhavingthefour40GbuplinksfromtheG8264tothecore
Upto16G8000/G8052switches(768servers)whenusingthefour10GbuplinksperG8000/G8052
andusing10GbSFP+break-outcablesinthefour40Gbportswithnouplinkstoacore
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 17
Keepinmindthefollowingadditionaldetails:
Logicalconfiguration:ConfigureG8000/G8052forLayer2andapplystaticroutesforL3forwarding
FullLayer2/3FeatureSet:STP,MSTP,RSTP,PVRST+;RIPv1/2,staticroutes,OSPF
Security:802.1X;RADIUS/TACACS+;WireSpeedACLs,SSHv1,v2;HTTPSSecureBBI
QoS:Uptoeightqueuesperport,IEEE802.1pandDiffServprioritization
Figure5showsaggregationoption2.
Figure5.Aggregationoption2
2560nodegigabitnetwork:Usingnext-generation64port1Uswitches
Thefollowinghigh-levelconfigurationisanexampleofhowaconfigurationmightlookiftheG8052is
usedasleafswitchesandtheG8264isusedasaspineswitch.
Allactivelinks
TrafficloadbalancedacrossalllinksusingLayer3ECMP o
64RackSwitchG8052LeafSwitchesfor2560non-blocking1GbEports
48x10/100/1000server-facingportseach o
4x10GBASE-SRfiberuplinkseach o
FourRackSwitchG8264spineswitchesfornon-blockingcore
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 18
Figure6showsthe2560node.
Figure6.The2560node
VirtualFabricconfigurationwithIBMSystemxserversusingtheEmulexVirtualFabricAdapter
ThefollowingexampledescribesanIBMVirtualFabricimplementation:
IBMVirtualFabricforIBMSystemxisbuiltusingindustrystandardsandistheidealsolutionfor
customersthatrequiremorethantwoNICsperserver.Overthepastcoupleofyearsmanyclients
haveseentheirI/Orequirementsperserverincreaseanywherefrom4to6to8orevenmoreNICs
perserver,especiallywiththeadoptionofvirtualization.WhatIBMVirtualFabricdoesisprovide
clientswiththeabilitytoleverageavirtualNICapproachleveraging10GbEthernettechnologyto
helpreducecostandcomplexitywhilealsoachievingbetterperformanceandmoreflexibility.It
providesthefollowingbenefits:
Reducedcosts o
Acquisitionandoperatingbyusingfeweradapters,cables,andupstreamswitchports.
Reducedcomplexity o
Feweritemstomanage,basedstandards,makingmanagementeasierwiththeadditionofhigh
availabilityandbettersecurity.
Betterperformance o
AsignificantamountmoreI/Obandwidthperserverandlowerlatencythantraditional1-Gb
Ethernet.
Flexibility o
Theabilitytocarveupadual-port10Gbadapterinto4-8virtualNICsandcreatevirtualpipes
betweentheadapterandswitchforhigheravailabilityandsecurity.Notonlycancustomers
dynamicallyallocateI/ObandwidthtoeachvirtualNIC,VirtualFabricalsoprovidestheabilityto
changethoseallocationsasneeded.Forexample,acustomermighthaveoneconfigurationfor
workloadduringthedayandanotherduringtheevenings.VirtualFabrichastheabilitytomake
thosechangesontheflywithoutdowntime.
IBMVirtualFabricisdesignedinpartnershipwithEmulex.Thissolutionrequiresthefollowing
components:
Emulex10GbVirtualFabricAdapterforIBMSystemx o
Formoredetails,seeEmulex10GbVirtualFabricAdapterforIBMSystemx,TIPS0762at:
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/Redbooks.nsf/RedbookAbstracts/tips0762.html?Open
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 o
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 19
Figure7showsthevNIC.
Figure7.vNIC
IPStorageover10GbE:Changingtheeconomicsofstorage
G8264benefitsforIPStorageapplicationsareasfollows:
LosslessEthernetFabric
LowlatencyidealforHPCclusters,cloud,andfinancialapplications
Line-rate,high-bandwidthperformance
Low-powerconsumptionwithfewercomponents
Low-cost,pay-as-you-grow10Gb/40Gbstoragenetwork
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 20
Figure8showstheiSCSI.
Figure8.iSCSI
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 21
Relatedpublications
Formoreinformation,seethefollowingreferences:
IBMOfferingInformationpage(tosearchonannouncementletters,salesmanuals,orboth):
http://www.ibm.com/common/ssi/index.wss?request_locale=en
Onthispage,enter G8264 for System x and iDataPlex,selecttheinformationtype,andthen
clickSearch.Onthenextpage,narrowyoursearchresultsbygeographyandlanguage.
IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264productpublications
http://ibm.com/support/entry/portal/documentation
ApplicationGuide o
Industry-StandardCLIReference o
Browser-BasedInterface(BBI)QuickGuide o
Menu-basedCLICommandReference o
IBMVMready
http://www.ibm.com/systems/networking/software/vmready
IBMVirtualFabric
http://www.ibm.com/systems/networking/software/virtualfabric.html

IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 22
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IBMSystemNetworkingRackSwitchG8264 23
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