Juniper QFabric is a new approach to Ethernet Switch Fabrics. When it was announced last year,it was noted that the underlying physical design is a completely different approach to building Switch Fabrics. Here I’m taking a loosely research based approach to understand how Juniper QFabric is different from all other approaches to the problem, and also a look at some of the challenges ahead.
Is OpenFlow Open ? I Ask – Compared to What ?
9th February 2012 by 9 Comments
I’ve always wondered whether the Open Networking Foundation is the correct caretaker of the standards process for Software Defined Networking. Recently, we’ve seen some questioning of the direction of those standards on OpenFlow, and, now that we are beginning to understand the concepts of controllers, Software Defined Networking these are good questions to ask. it shows [...]
Comparing Embrane and Nicira Is Pointless – They Are Different
9th February 2012 by 2 Comments
Had a few conversations, and some articles, where comparisons are being made between Embrane and Nicira and wanted to point out that there are few similarities between these companies.
Can Fibre Optic Ethernet Cables Be Longer Than the Standard ?
1st January 2012 by 8 Comments
Short Answer is “It depends, but usually yes.” Long answer follows with a discussion of launch power, receiver sensitivity, and cable losses.
Responding: On Optimizing Traffic for Network Virtualization
23rd December 2011 by 15 Comments
I’m responding to Brad Hedlund’s post “On optimizing traffic for network virtualization” where he seems to missed a key point. It’s about cost of ownership in terms of ability to troubleshoot.
Scaling Virtual Appliances With Embrane
12th December 2011 by 2 Comments
Embrane uses concepts of IP Flows to scale virtual appliances. Embrane does this by managing IP flows and then directing to other appliances, in effect creating what I would call a two tier load balancing.
Routing Protocols and Computation in Silicon
27th November 2011 by 2 Comments
I got this question and I guess it may not be obvious to everyone so I’ll have a shot at answering it.
Technology advances in ASIC hardware have resulted in substantial improvements in switching performances of routers and switches. However, the routing processes are still dependent on CPU speeds. What are the existing limitations in router/switch models which prevent route computations from being performed in hardware?
Problems With Cat6A Cables in Data Center
14th November 2011 by 22 Comments
I was reading a white paper by Panduit that claims that 10GBaseT is suitable for use. I’ve been critical of Cat6A cable and believe that it’s not suitable for data centre use.
Cisco Nexus 5000 / 2000 Pricing Bundles and Fabric Extension Transceivers (FETs) vs 10GbaseSR SFPs.
3rd November 2011 by 16 Comments
Recently I noticed that Cisco is selling “Fabric Ethernet Transceivers” for the Nexus switch family. Some research shows that these are replacements for 10GBaseSX SFP modules. Importantly, it’s cheaper to install new cabling than to buy 10BaseSR SFP+ modules.
Fibre Connectors
14th July 2011 by 16 Comments
A short summary of the Fibre Cable Connectors, description and some notes on usage. This is summary notes and intended for reference.
