How to solve the data center's hunger for high bandwidth? Marvell discusses eight development trends of data centers
As IoT devices and online streaming media proliferate, they are demanding higher throughput from servers and storage devices —all of which will result in an explosion of data flow in data centers and high bandwidth requirements. IT departments can find solutions to maintain high data rates by supporting higher bandwidths, but it is difficult to do so cost-effectively . It is an extremely difficult task.
To this end, Marvell shared its views on eight trends in data center development , which can provide a reference for IT departments to solve how to achieve cost-effective bandwidth in the face of explosive data growth.
1.) 25GbE is gaining more and more recognition
To support the growing demand for bandwidth, enterprises may consider upgrading servers from 10GbE to 40GbE . In comparison, 25GbE provides more cost-effective throughput than 40GbE. 40GbE consumes more power and requires more expensive cables. Therefore, when data centers consider both cost and performance, 25GbE is recognized as the optimal speed for the next generation of Ethernet to connect servers.
2.) Channel bundling and decomposition capabilities
Previously, data centers were able to upgrade to higher link speeds by aggregating multiple single-channel 10GbE network physical layers. Now, 100Gbps can be achieved by bundling four 25Gbps links together, and conversely, 100GbE can be decomposed into four independent 25GbE channels. The ability to bundle and decompose 100GbE enables IT departments to be more flexible in transmitting data on the network and adapt to changing customer needs.
3.) Big Data Analysis
More data means more traffic. Real-time analytics allow companies to monitor and adjust as needed, efficiently allocating valuable network bandwidth and resources. Analytics has become a key tool for data center operators to maximize their investment returns.
4.) The demand for high-density switches is growing
As semiconductor processes have evolved to 28nm and 16nm, network switches have become smaller and smaller. In the past, a 48-port switch required two chips to support advanced port configurations. But today, the same result can be achieved on a single chip, which not only reduces costs but also improves power efficiency.
5.) Need to improve power efficiency to reduce costs
Energy costs are often a major factor in high data center costs. Paying attention to improving power efficiency when designing Ethernet solutions can help data centers further increase GbE rates to meet higher bandwidth demands while keeping energy costs within budget requirements.
6.) Outsource more IT to the cloud
IT organizations are not only meeting the growing bandwidth demands by adopting 25GbE, but are also moving to the cloud. By outsourcing IT to the cloud , organizations are not only increasing network capacity but also maintaining bandwidth speeds.
7.) Use NVM Express based storage to improve performance
NVM Express® (NVMe™) is a scalable host controller interface designed to meet the needs of enterprise, data center, and client systems using PCI-e based solid state drives (SSDs). By using the NVMe protocol, data centers can take full advantage of the full performance of SSDs and develop new computing models that are not limited by traditional rotating media. SSD performance can be further improved, and server clusters can use storage pools across the network to share data access .
8.) Switching from Server to Network Storage
As more and more data is transmitted over the network, more data centers are putting storage on the network rather than on servers. As data centers move from traditional server models to network storage, Ethernet technology is used instead of traditional storage interconnect technology to connect storage devices to the network.
As shown in the figure above, IT departments are using a variety of technologies and methods to keep up with the explosive growth of data and the higher demand for data center bandwidth. So, what methods do you plan to use to keep up with the growing needs of the data center, and how can you reduce energy consumption and costs as much as possible?
By Nick Ilyadis, Vice President of Product Line Technology, Marvell
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