Tag: Ethernet

A to Z of Ethernet Services: Which Type of Service Do I Need?

by , posted in Network
J. Stradling
J. Stradling

Summary Bullets

  • Discuss the list of MEF-defined Ethernet services with your network supplier

The list of MEF-defined Ethernet services is a long one and knowing which type of service is a best fit can be talked through with a handful of service providers to assess who has a clear message and a decent range. Continue reading “A to Z of Ethernet Services: Which Type of Service Do I Need?” →

Data Center Fabrics: Enterprises Often Need a Networking Tailor

by , posted in Network
M. Spanbauer
M. Spanbauer

Summary Bullets:

  • Data center networking technologies are moving at a pace that few enterprises can keep up with
  • The networking provider of choice will impact cloud deployment plans and virtualization scale – so choose wisely

No one will argue that there have been more changes in networking coming out of the data center in the last 24 months than in the last ten years for the enterprise campus. This doesn’t demean the value of the campus, but rather highlights the standards and technology explosion inside the data center. Topics of debate and battlegrounds for vendor differentiation range from port speed and scale (1Gig to 100G) to protocol support and networking virtualization. Regardless, the standards remain in motion and a few standards in particular will have significant impact on the network architecture of choice for an enterprise. These include SPB & TRILL (competing standards to address spanning tree limitations), FCoE & DCB (storage over Ethernet and improvements to enhance iSCSI and existing storage over Ethernet), and of course virtualization insight and management of virtual switches. As several of these are not yet ratified, vendor support can only be gauged by stated intent (versus actually implemented).
Continue reading “Data Center Fabrics: Enterprises Often Need a Networking Tailor” →

When Slower Is Better: Low-Speed Ethernet Access Gains Ground

by , posted in Network
B. Washburn
B. Washburn

Summary Bullets:

  • Copper-based Ethernet has two primary flavors, with differing characteristics
  • For sourcing copper-based Ethernet, look beyond those making the most noise

Enterprises want Ethernet: easy, cheap, fast Ethernet access into which they can plug, without dealing with leased circuit transport details.  Carrier Ethernet access is easy enough to get at addresses served by fiber.  However, addresses served by copper are also coming online, with two Ethernet flavors: