Document # TECHBRIEF2013005 v19 November, 2014 Copyright 2014© IT Brand Pulse. All rights reserved.

Where IT perceptions are reality

Technology Brief Blade Server I/O and

Workloads of the Future

Comparing

Cisco UCS

HP BladeSystem

HP FlexFabric 20Gb 2-Port Adapters

provided by Emulex

Document # TECHBRIEF2013005 v19 November, 2014 Page 2 of 24

New Generation of Blade Servers and Workloads, Same HP Advantage

HP and Cisco are the two most popular blade server brands on the planet. A big reason why is the networks

embedded in the HP BladeSystem and Cisco UCS products are the most powerful and flexible networks for

virtualized workloads.

On August 28th, HP announced new HP ProLiant Gen9 servers, including several enhancements to their HP

BladeSystem I/O design. Shortly afterwards, on September 4th, Cisco announced long-awaited

enhancements to UCS.

The UCS enhancements centered around the UCS Mini blade system which is targeted at SMBs and the edge

of the enterprise. There were no significant changes to the 5108 chassis used for larger systems, which after

5 years, is getting long in the tooth. With only 1.2Tb/s of mid-plane bandwidth, the 5108 is limited in its

ability to support more than 8 servers and single links greater than 10Gb.

The new HP BladeSystem c7000 Platinum chassis offers 7TB/s of mid-plane bandwidth, with new support for

20GbE downlinks as well as 40GbE uplinks. The HP ProLiant Gen9 BladeSystem also takes converged

networks to the next level with hardware offload of important new networking protocols supporting

tunneling of L2 traffic over L3 networks, and scale-out file storage traffic.

The new HP and Cisco blade systems are hitting the market just as hyperscale-driven applications and data

center architectures are reaching the enterprise. Our conclusion? There’s a new generation of blade servers

and workloads, but the same HP advantage.

This Report Compares 3 Facets of Cisco UCS and HP BladeSystem I/O

To set the stage for comparing the capabilities that will matter most in the future, this Technology Brief

reviews the trend towards a new mix of applications and server workloads in Webscale private clouds.

Executive Summary

2

1

3

Performance

Consolidation

Flexibility

I/O Capabilities Which Will Differentiate Blade Servers in Webscale Environments

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Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3

In 2014, the server industry reached a major inflection point with the introduction of a new generation of

Intel server processors launched v3 of the Xeon E5-2600 family. At this inflection point, x86 server product

lines are being refreshed, and new technologies are being introduced which complement the capabilities of

the Xeon E5-2600.

Complementary Technologies are what Differentiate Blade Server Offerings

Given that HP and Cisco blade systems will feature the same Xeon E5-2600 processor, it’s the

complementary technologies which will differentiate the systems. The factors which are expected to

separate leaders from followers, is 20GbE connectivity to servers, 40GbE uplinks from blade server chassis to

network, switchless connectivity to storage, and convergence of Ethernet, FCoE, native Fibre Channel, RDMA,

and cloud tunneling protocols on the same port. Servers with the best implementations of these technologies

will be better suited to handle traditional workloads, plus a new class of Webscale workloads.

Inflection Point

Blade Server Differentiation

Hierarchical Networks

LAN/SAN Convergence with FCoE

10GbE

20GbE and 40GbE

Virtual Networks

Converged cloud , RDMA , FC and Ethernet Connectivity

Virtualized Servers

Webscale Servers

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Share Everything Applications + Share Nothing Applications

Enterprise IT organizations, who for the most part have become private cloud builders, are blending

traditional Enterprise and Hyperscale IT into a Webscale model. Traditional IT encompasses support for

workloads such as SQL databases, and ERP applications, with “share-everything” infrastructure featuring

many VMs sharing physical servers, and many servers sharing networked storage.

Webscale IT must support traditional workloads as well as a new generation of workloads such as NoSQL

databases and predictive analytics. Many of the new applications are designed to run in “share-nothing”

distributed computing environments featuring scale-out server and storage clusters.

Private cloud builders are also trending towards cloud platforms like OpenStack and vCloud. Cloud operating

systems incorporate a software defined data center architecture which allows a single cloud operating

system to manage servers, storage and networking systems in different data centers. As a result, new cloud

tunneling protocols, such as VXLAN and NVGRE, are being deployed as a software defined datacenter

foundation, along with a new generation of NICs which can offload the tunnel protocol processing.

Workload Mix of the Future

Data centers built with

a Webscale

architecture support

traditional workloads

in a share everything

environment and new

workloads in a

distributed

environment.

Traditional IT + Hyperscale IT = Webscale IT

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The Environment for Workloads of the Future

The defining characteristic of a Webscale Private Cloud is data center infrastructure which efficiently

supports two distinctly different application environments — a shared infrastructure environment and a

distributed infrastructure environment. A Webscale Private Cloud also includes an overlapping environment

with software defined (virtualized) servers, networking and storage.

Converged Networks Make it Possible

A key capability of blade servers in a Webscale Private Cloud is a higher level of network convergence. In the

next generation of 2.0 Converged Networks, the RDMA network protocol for scale-out clusters, and

hardware offload of tunneling protocol processing for carrying L2 traffic over L3 networks, are integrated as

standard features in Webscale CNAs and/or switches.

Webscale Private Cloud

Webscale Private Cloud Environment

Shared environments include servers heavily loaded with virtual machines, and networked storage shared by many servers.

Distributed environments support database and application workloads spread across many servers, and scale-out storage. Cloud

operating platforms such as vCloud and OpenStack are introducing management tools for a software defined data center, including

software defined networks.

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Anatomy of Blade Server I/O

Ethernet and Fibre Channel uplinks

to LANs and SANs

Ethernet and Fibre

Channel

downlinks to mid-

plane and server

adapters

Embedded

switches and/or

pass-through

modules

Mid-plane

Ethernet LAN-on-

Motherboard

(LOM) adapters

Converged

Network Adapter

(CNA) or Fibre

Channel

Mezzanine

Adapters

Blade Server Chassis 16 Blade Servers and 4 Switches in Chassis

1 LOM adapter on each Server and 1 Mezzanine Adapter on each Server

Application Performance Depends on a Healthy Network

Every blade server has an entire network embedded to carry east-west traffic between servers, and north-

south traffic to top-of-rack, end-of-row, and core switches upstream. The I/O performance of applications

running on blade servers can differ significantly depending on the capabilities of their embedded networks.

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The Blade Servers

Cisco UCS and HP BladeSystem

In the following pages we will compare the performance, network convergence, flexibility and software

defined networking of the Cisco UCS in a 5108 chassis, and the HP BladeSystem in a c7000 Platinum chassis.

Blade Server Systems Cisco UCS

in 5108 Chassis HP BladeSystem in c7000 Chassis

The Products

Chassis Size 6U 10U

Max. Blade Servers 8 16

Mid-plane Bandwidth 1.2Tb/s 7.168 Tb/s

Server Downlinks 10Gb 20Gb

Chassis Uplinks 10Gb 10/40Gb

Interconnect Options Ethernet/FCoE Ethernet/FCoE, Native Fibre

Channel, SAS, InfiniBand

I/O Slots 2 8

Document # TECHBRIEF2013005 v19 November, 2014 Page 8 of 24

Comparing I/O Performance

Why it Matters

Meeting application performance service levels is directly related to the I/O performance of a blade server

system. In addition, the new generation of servers with Xeon E5-2600 processors hosting a generation of

demanding new applications, need higher bandwidth and lower latency I/O than ever before. And in

Webscale private cloud environments, performance is needed more cost-effectively than ever before,

bringing CPU efficiency to the forefront of important performance metrics.

I/O Performance Metrics

In the following pages, we will examine the capabilities of Cisco UCS and HP BladeSystem against the

following I/O performance metrics:

Bandwidth

Useable Bandwidth

Latency

CPU Efficiency

1

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80GbE is Specmanship

There are some discussions in the blogosphere about how UCS achieves 80Gb of bandwidth per blade. Based

on a the Cisco UCS B200 M4 Blade Server Spec Sheet for details, that scenario refers to the configuration of

a Cisco B200 M4 blade with a VIC1340 adapter and added mezzanine card (port expander) that allows four

10Gb links to each IO Module (2208 FEX) for a total of 80Gb of bandwidth (2 x 4 x 10Gb).

40GbE is Expensive

From the point of view of pure technology, 40GbE is a perfect solution for delivering the performance

needed in a single server link, and eliminating the need for teaming. But the cost per port for 40GbE

network adapters may be up to 3x the cost per port of 10GbE adapters. In another case of specmanship,

Cisco is promoting the availability of a 40Gb port on the new 6324 Fabric Interconnect (FI) for the USC Mini.

However, as of the writing of this report, the 40G port, called a Scalability Port, is not a native 40GbE port

and can only be used to breakout to four 1GbE or 10GbE SFP+ (4x1G or 4 x10G) connections. In addition, this

40GbE port requires an expensive software license to activate.

20GbE is Juuust Right

A choice that has only recently been made available to server architects is 20GbE. Each 20GbE ports offers

bandwidth equivalent to twenty 1GbE ports or two 10GbE ports.

20GbE is juuuust right because a single 20GbE port is enough bandwidth for all but the most I/O intensive

supercomputing applications, and is available for a fraction of the price of 40GbE technology.

According to the Cisco UCS B200 M4 Blade Server Spec Sheet all Cisco UCS 5108 midplane, FEX and FI

network connectivity ports are currently 10GbE, including the 40Gb scalability port on the 6324 FI which

must be split into multiple 10GbE ports.

The HP BladeSystem provides 20GbE links between blade server adapters and the chassis interconnects, as

well as inter-switch links. With HP Flex-20 technology, Ethernet network adapters deliver twice the

bandwidth of 10Gb adapters, while reducing the management overhead associated with multiple 10Gb

adapters.

With 20Gb downlinks, HP Virtual Connect FlexFabric-20/40 F8 Modules offer more than twice the

throughput of other 10Gb extenders and fabric interconnects. In addition, ports on the HP Virtual Connect

FlexFabric-20/40 F8 Modules can be dynamically configured to support Ethernet, Fibre Channel, or FCoE.

I/O Bandwidth

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Oversubscription

Almost no Oversubscription with HP BladeSystem

Oversubscription occurs when the I/O capacity of the adapter ports connected to chassis switch ports

exceeds the capacity of the switch ports. The oversubscription ratio is the sum of the capacity of the adapter

ports, divided by the capacity of the chassis interconnect ports. Below you can see that if you actually

configured 80Gb of bandwidth per UCS blade as mentioned above, you would be building a blade server

network with 4:1 oversubscription. In contrast, a comparable configured HP BladeSystem would result in

1.1:1 oversubscription — almost a 100% improvement in oversubscription when compared to Cisco.

8 ports x 10Gb from

Mid-Plane x 2 IO

Modules = 160 Gb

8 ports x 10Gb x 2 IO

Modules = 160Gb

4 ports x 10Gb

from VICs and 4

ports x 10Gb from

expansion cards

(80Gb) x 8 Servers

= 640Gb

16 ports x 20Gb from

Mid-plane to 4 x HP

Virtual Connect

Modules = 1,280Gb

4 HP Virtual Connect

Modules. Each with 4

x 40Gb ports + 8 x

10Gb ports + 2 x20Gb

ISL ports = 1,120Gb

2 ports x 20Gb

from FLOM + 2

ports x 20Gb for

Mezz. Card x 16

Servers = 1,280Gb

HP BladeSystem: Oversubscription = 1.1:1

Cisco UCS: Oversubscription = 4:1

Document # TECHBRIEF2013005 v19 November, 2014 Page 11 of 24

What Oversubscription Means

Blade Server I/O Hits The Wall

If you configured 80Gb of bandwidth per blade on both a Cisco UCS and HP BladeSystem, the Cisco 5108

chassis interconnects are oversubscribed with the second server. In contrast, fifteen HP blade servers can be

configured before reaching the bandwidth limit of the HP BladeSystem c7000 Platinum chassis

interconnects.

Number of Blade Servers It Takes to Hit the Limit of Chassis Interconnect Bandwidth

1.12 Tb/s

Chassis

Interconnect

Bandwidth

160Gb/s

Chassis

Interconnect

Bandwidth

Two fully configured UCS blade servers hit the limits of the 5108 fabric extenders (FEX). It takes fifteen fully configured HP ProLiant

Gen 9 blade servers to hit the bandwidth limit of the HP FlexFabric Modules.

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RDMA over Ethernet (RoCE)

RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE)

InfiniBand networks were invented to overcome the need to plow through the Ethernet protocol stack to

complete an I/O transaction. InfiniBand boosts performance by eliminating layers of the stack for Remote

Direct Memory Access (RDMA). The Ethernet industry responded by developing an enhanced version of

Ethernet called Converged Ethernet (CE), featuring Priority Flow Control which is necessary to support RDMA

over Converged Ethernet (RoCE). Blade systems with switches supporting CE, and with NICs supporting

RDMA, can deliver I/O with lower latency and less CPU usage than previous generations of CNAs.

HP ProLiant Gen9 blade servers incorporate 20Gb FlexibleLOM NICs which are RDMA NICs. Cisco has

introduced RDMA LOM and Mezz NICs called the VIC 1340 and VIC 1380, respectively.

I/O Without RDMA

I/O With RDMA

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RoCE Blade Environment

Networked Storage Killer Apps for RoCE

A killer app for RoCE is SMB 3.0 file servers where users accessing shared storage experience the response

time of local storage. File servers turbo-charged with RoCE are commercially available via two Windows

Server 2012 features called SMB Multi-Channel and SMB Direct. With SMB Multichannel, SMB 3.0

automatically detects the RDMA capability and creates multiple RDMA connections for a single session. This

allows SMB to use the high throughput, low latency and low CPU utilization offered by SMB Direct.

HP FlexFabric 20Gb adapters (RDMA NICs) are certified by Microsoft for use in the killer app described above. As of 11/14/14 the VIC 1340 is not certified by Microsoft for SMB Direct.

Three Hyper-V Clusters and One File Server Cluster Using RDMA

In this diagram a single HP BladeSystem with HP 6125XLG Ethernet Blade Switches required to support RoCE, is a high performance

environment for 3 app clusters and 1 file server cluster. Hyper-V automatically senses the presence of RDMA NICs, then use multi-channel

communications to evacuate VMs in seconds, and uses direct memory access for higher I/O to shared storage inside the blade server.

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Performance Benefits of RoCE

IOPS, IOPS per Watt, and Response Time Better with RoCE

In testing performed in a Windows Storage Server environment using SMB Direct and RoCE, we were able to

demonstrate better performance, efficiency and response time compared to last generation technology.

Server Power Efficiency (IOPs per Watt) The HP FlexFabric 20Gb 2-port

650FLB Adapter (Emulex

OCe14102) with RoCE, used

with Windows Storage Server

and SMB Direct, delivered 80%

higher server power efficiency

than adapters not using RoCE.

Sequential Read Performance (IOPs) The HP FlexFabric 20Gb 2-port

650FLB Adapter (Emulex

OCe14102) with RoCE, used

with Windows Storage Server

and SMB Direct, provided 82%

more IOPs than previous

generation adapters without

RoCE.

Read I/O Response Time (Seconds) The HP FlexFabric 20Gb 2-port

650FLB Adapter with RoCE

(Emulex OCe14102) , used with

Windows Storage Server and

SMB Direct, reduced I/O

response time by 70%

compared to NICs without SMB

Direct capabilities.

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The Cost Benefits of RoCE Offload

Hardware Offload

A key to achieving efficient use of processing power is adapter offload of networking protocols so that

application server CPU cycles are not wasted on network protocol processing. Using a software initiator

instead of hardware offload requires that every TCP/IP, FCoE, and iSCSI packet be sent over the PCI bus to the

NIC. A constant PCI bus busy state can interfere with traffic to other devices on the PCI bus.

The lack of offload can have a big impact on CPU utilization. For example, a single adapter running an iSCSI

software initiator can utilize 30% of the server CPU for iSCSI protocol processing. Add more adapters and

VMs, and more CPU is needed for network protocol processing.

The lack of offload is expensive. The cost of 30% CPU utilization for a $20,000 server is $6,000 — a cost that

can be easily avoided by simply deploying a network adapter with iSCSI offload.

Cisco UCS 1300 Series VIC adapters support TCP, FCoE , NVGRE, VXLAN and RoCE offload. HP FlexFabric

adapters add to that offload for iSCSI. It is worth noting that at the time this report was written, HP 20Gb

adapter VXLAN offload is certified by VMware, while as of 11/14/14 the Cisco VIC 1340/1380 VXLAN offload

does not appear on the VMware Compatibility Guide.

The Lack of Offload Can be Expensive

Cost of using server for protocol processing @ 30% CPU utilization

There are a variety of different network protocols supported by adapters, and many are used simultaneously. The more

protocol processing that is done in the adapter, the more of your server investment can be applied to applications -

instead of network protocol processing.

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Why it Matters

IT consolidation is hugely important because it represents less hardware and simplified management. The

utilization of storage media leaped when storage was configured in a SAN and could be shared by many

servers. The utilization of physical servers dramatically increased when multiple virtual servers could be

hosted on a single physical server. Similarly, network utilization increases when more network protocols can

run on a single cable, adapter or switch.

Consolidation Metrics

There are two metrics for I/O consolidation: the convergence of network protocols, and the consolidation of

cables into higher bandwidth links.

Network Convergence

Cable Consolidation

Comparing I/O Consolidation 2

Convergence of Network Protocols

2.0 2014: Cluster/SDN Convergence

1.0 2008: LAN/SAN Convergence

IP

iSCSI

Converged Ethernet

(FCoE, Priority Flow Control)

IP

Converged Ethernet

iSCSI

FCoE

RDMA

NVGRE

VXLAN

At the Xeon E5-2600 inflection point, specialized adapters will no longer be needed to support RDMA. The new class of

adapters will also support new tunneling protocols which are essential components of software defined data centers.

Document # TECHBRIEF2013005 v19 November, 2014 Page 17 of 24

Wanted: One Blade Server Network for LANs, SANs, Cluster Networks and SDN

A new best practice for data center managers is to converge traditional shared computing infrastructure with

their growing infrastructure for distributed apps. This is made possible by a new generation of network

adapters and switches with support for the RDMA, VXLAN and NVGRE protocols. Support for these protocols

enables blade servers to converge LANs, SANs, Cluster networks and software defined networks (SDN) in a

single environment. It also allows data center managers to use software defined data center tools.

The HP 20Gb FlexibleLOM adapters supports stateless hardware offload of TCP, iSCSI and FCoE protocols for

LAN/SAN convergence, as well as hardware offload of RDMA, VXLAN and NVGRE for efficient support of

cluster and tunnel traffic. The Cisco VIC1340 supports all of the same protocols, with hardware offload for all

of the above except iSCSI.

Network Convergence 2.0 a Perfect Fit for a Webscale Private Cloud

The added support for RDMA over Converged Ethernet, NVGRE and VXLAN allow one adapter port on a blade server to support

four network environments. Hardware offload allow the blade server to use precious CPU resources for applications, instead of for

network protocol processing.

Network Convergence

Shared Distributed SDN

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A Single 40Gb Link Eliminates Cables for 40 x 1Gb Links or 4 x 10Gb Links

Until recently, 40GbE was used mostly for inter-switch connectivity and in the core of the network. The availability of 40GbE ports on servers sitting on the edge of the network has presented the opportunity for IT pros to consolidate dozens of 1GbE links and handfuls of 10GbE links with a single cable. This is an area where the HP BladeSystem stands out.

The Cisco UCS architecture makes extensive use of teaming of 10Gb ports to build uplinks with higher

bandwidth. That means lots of cables. Even the 40Gb port on the UCS Mini must be split into four cables. In

contrast, the HP Virtual Connect Modules on the HP BladeSystem include four 40GbE ports, which in the

apple-to-apples comparison below reduced the number of cables needed from 24 to 2.

Configuring Redundant 40Gb Uplinks for 16 Blade Servers

This diagram shows an apples-to-apples comparison of a 16 blade servers configured with redundant connections between servers and

switches, and redundant uplinks. Many more cables are needed in the Cisco UCS configuration because the switches are external, and

because of the lack of 40Gb ports. Note the Cisco Mini has a 40Gb port but it can only be used in a 4 x 10GbE configuration.

Cable Consolidation

Cisco UCS (24 cables) HP (2 cables)

4 x 10Gb 1 x 40Gb

Document # TECHBRIEF2013005 v19 November, 2014 Page 19 of 24

Why it Matters

A new era of agility awaits IT organizations who implement cloud operating systems designed to manage

multiple software defined data centers. Years required for a generation of hardware change will be replaced

by months required to deploy a software update. A foundation for this capability is overlay networks with

tunneling of L2 traffic across data centers using L3 networks. Support for tunneling protocols is embedded in

a new class of network adapters making it easy for private cloud builders to integrate their servers into a

cloud platform.

Conversely, IT organizations want to continue using native Fibre Channel SANs and want the flexibility to

choose “if” and “when” they converge LANs and SANs on Ethernet.

I/O Flexibility Metrics

There are two capabilities which are expected to effect I/O flexibility in Webscale private clouds.

More efficient delivery of tunnel traffic with hardware offload of tunnel protocol processing

Support for native Fibre Channel

Comparing I/O Flexibility 3

Document # TECHBRIEF2013005 v19 November, 2014 Page 20 of 24

Live Migrations a Killer App for VXLAN and NVGRE

One of the most valuable functions of server virtualization is live migration. This function frees system

administrators from the time-consuming and complex process of moving workloads to optimize performance

or mitigate a hardware failure. However, moving VMs on different networks requires extensive network

reconfiguration. IT organizations using data center infrastructure dispersed in public, private or hybrid clouds

simply can’t configure all servers and VMs on one local network, and need a tunneling mechanism to extend

live migrations.

Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) and Network Virtualization using Generic Routing Encapsulation (NVGRE ) are

protocols for deploying overlay (virtual) networks on top of a Layer 3 networks. VXLAN and NVGRE are used

to isolate apps and tenants in a cloud and migrate virtual machines across long distances.

While VXLAN and NVGRE allow live migrations across racks and data centers. RoCE accelerates live

migrations. In a Microsoft TechEd demo, migrating Windows Server 2012 to a like system takes just under 1

minute 26 seconds. Windows Server 2012R2 performed the same migration in just over 32 seconds. Then

using RoCE during the live migration process combined with SMB Direct, it took just under 11 seconds,

without utilizing added CPU resources.

Overlay Network Tunnel

Overlay Network Tunnel

Tunneling Unlocks The Cloud

Efficient use of the cloud

requires protocols

allowing the creation of

virtual networks, and

allowing Layer 2

network services to

traverse Layer 3

networks without

network configuration.

Live Migrations Across the Cloud

Document # TECHBRIEF2013005 v19 November, 2014 Page 21 of 24

Storage Networks

Support for Native Fibre Channel Needed for I/O Flexibility

Based on IT Brand Pulse surveys, 40% of IT organizations are not converging with FCoE. For the 40% of IT

professionals who have been too busy to look at FCoE, or who say they have no plans to converge their LANs

and SANs, parallel Ethernet and Fibre Channel infrastructure will be deployed.

The modular design of blade servers make them inherently flexible. But not all blade server platforms are

equal when it comes to hosting multiple heterogeneous virtualized workloads and delivering I/O flexibility.

The Cisco UCS blade servers support Ethernet/FCoE connectivity.

The flexible HP BladeSystem supports Ethernet/FCoE, SAS, InfiniBand and Fibre Channel connectivity.

Wanted: Parallel Ethernet & Fibre Channel Networks

In 2014, the prevalent data center network architecture remains a parallel network architecture, including a mix of specialized NIC, iSCSI, and

Fibre Channel host adapters, as well as Ethernet and Fibre Channel switched fabrics. Cisco UCS blade servers support only Ethernet

connectivity. Adoption of FCoE technology is required to access installed Fibre Channel resources.

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Advantage HP

Based on the Three

The goal of this paper was to examine the features expected to differentiate the performance, consolidation

and flexibility of Cisco UCS and HP BladeSystem in Webscale environments. In our review, the advantage

goes to HP BladeSystem. The table below highlights key differences between the two blade systems.

Blade Server Systems Cisco UCS

in 5108 Chassis HP BladeSystem in c7000 Chassis

The Products

Chassis Size 6U 10U

Max. Blade Servers 8 16

Mid-plane Bandwidth 1.2Tb/s 7.16Tb/s

Max. Embedded Switches 2 8

Support for native 20Gb Ethernet No Yes

Support for native 40Gb Ethernet (not including 40Gb port used only in 4 x 10Gb mode) No Yes

Support for native Fibre Channel No Yes

Support for native InfiniBand No Yes

Over subscription 4:1 1.1:1

Hardware offload:

Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) Yes Yes

iSCSI No Yes

TCP offload engine (TOE) Yes Yes

RoCE offload engine (ROE) Yes (not qualified with SMB Direct as of 11/14/14)

Yes

VXLAN offload engine (VOE) Yes (not qualified by VMware as of 11/14/14) Yes

NVGRE offload engine (NOE) Yes Yes

Source Cisco HP

Document # TECHBRIEF2013005 v19 November, 2014 Page 23 of 24

HP ProLiant Gen9 Blade Server

Designed for Workloads of the Future

The HP ProLiant Gen9 Blade Server is designed for I/O flexibility with a choice of HP FlexFabric converged

networking or parallel Ethernet and Fibre Channel networks. The HP ProLiant Gen9 Blade Server is also fully

compliant with Windows Server 2012 Virtual Fibre Channel—an innovation that will play an important role in

the virtualization of Tier-1 workloads with Microsoft Hyper-V.

HP ProLiant Gen9 Blade Servers in a c7000 Enclosure

HP Virtual Connect FlexFabric

20/40 F8 module supports “FlatSAN”

direct connectivity to native Fibre Channel

3PAR storage at a lower cost than using

Fibre Channel switches

HP Virtual Connect FlexFabric 20/40 F8 module supports LAN, SAN, NAS, iSCSI and FCoE connectivity

Native Fibre Channel server adapter

Over 12 million ports shipped on this stack

Complete enterprise OS support

Ethernet LAN on Motherboard (LOM) or Mezz adapter

Dual 10/20GbE Ports

Supports LAN, NAS, iSCSI and FCoE connectivity

Supports RoCE for scale-out cluster connectivity.

Supports NVGRE and VXLAN for migrating VMs across the cloud.

718203-B21 HP LPe1605

16Gb Fibre Channel HBA

HP FlexFabric 20Gb 2-port 650FLB Adapter

Document # TECHBRIEF2013005 v19 November, 2014 Page 24 of 24

Resources

Summary Infrastructure of the past is functionally defined and purpose-built. Servers are servers, networking is networking and storage is storage. These purpose-built devices are deployed with little ability to change the function as needs change. In the future, infrastructure needs to be more transformative, taking the shape of business demands. Potential power and flexibility is locked inside the aging Cisco UCS 5108 chassis which severely limits the use of new high-bandwidth networks and any network other than Ethernet/FCoE. The new HP BladeSystem answers the call with: • A new level of convergence which will allow for resources to be allocated at a very granular level,

improving efficiencies and ensuring optimal performance as workload demands change. • Interfaces to the software-defined data center. HP ProLiant Gen9 blade servers possess the capability to

respond to intelligent orchestration of infrastructure resources in real-time, as applications and user needs change.

• A cloud-ready architecture ready to scale-out, agile, and always on. • Workload-optimized for traditional share-everything applications and new share-nothing applications.

Related Links

OCe14000 Test Report HP FlexFabric Adapters Provided by Emulex HP BladeSystem HP Virtual Connect Technology HP BladeSystem and Cisco UCS Comparison Cisco Fabric Extender Cisco UCS Virtual Interface Card 1340 Cisco UCS 6324 Fabric Interconnect Data Sheet Cisco UCS Ethernet Switching Modes IT Brand Pulse

About the Author

Joe Kimpler is a senior analyst responsible for IT Brand Pulse Labs. Joe’s team manages the delivery of technical services including hands-on testing, product reviews, total cost of ownership studies and product launch collateral. He has over 30 years of experience in information technology and has held senior engineering and marketing positions at Fujitsu, Rockwell Semiconductors, Quantum and QLogic. Joe holds an engineering degree from the University of Illinois and a MBA in marketing.