Ixia, Cisco, Emulex demo end-to-end converged data center

Interop Las Vegas 2010, CALABASAS, USA: Ixia, a leading provider of converged IP network test solutions, will partner with Cisco and Emulex to demonstrate a proof-of-concept data center carrying combined network and storage traffic between server-assets across a converged data center infrastructure under high traffic loads.

The demonstration, taking place at Interop Las Vegas, booth #1359, will be using a combination of Ixia, Cisco, and Emulex equipment.

The end-to-end converged data center demonstration showcases a live setup of server virtualization and I/O consolidation over a converged fabric. The multi-vendor demonstration consists of a lossless Ethernet infrastructure powered by the Cisco Nexus 5010, high performance rack-mount servers using the Cisco Unified Computing System C200 M1, and I/O consolidation with Emulex OneConnect Universal Converged Network Adapters.

Ixia’s IxVM will provide performance characterization of the virtual switch by generating storage access and server-generated network traffic, while IxNetwork will measure the throughput of the system by delivering high scale converged traffic from FCoE to native Fibre Channel using Ixia’s newly-released Fibre Channel load module.

“Migrating from 1 GE to 10 GE in the data center requires expanded capabilities for IP, iSCSI, and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE),” said Steve Daheb, chief marketing officer and senior vice president of business development at Emulex. “This demonstration is a proof-of-concept for diagnostic instrumentation that measures converged data center technologies, demands and requirements, and is another validation of the growth of the 10 GE-based network convergence ecosystem.”

Ixia’s new Fibre Channel Ethernet load module is currently a finalist for “Best in Show” at Interop 2010.

“Today’s converged data center brings together complex technologies such as virtualization, storage and Ethernet networks,” said Victor Alston, Senior VP Product Development for Ixia. “To effectively deploy the combination of these complex technologies requires systematic testing across the converged next generation infrastructure that Ixia is delivering today.”