Current Web 2.0 infrastructures were built when 1Gbit Ethernet server adapters were common and inexpensive to deploy. As the cost of 10Gbit Ethernet continues to decline, network architects can now consider 10GbE in their designs. Using 10GbE in your Web 2.0 infrastructure can unlock bottlenecks, free up valuable resources and save money. Consider just a few of the benefits:
- 10x performance in your network
- Less cabling = simplified management
- Reduced power consumption
- 10x 1GbE = ~ 80W
- 1x 10GbE = 5W (SFP+)
- 50 servers will save 3.75 KW - Frees up bus slots in servers
But all 10Gbit NICs are not the same. Beware of low-priced Intel NICs (AT2) that are built on older Oplin chip technology, which doesn’t operate at PCI Gen 2.0 speeds and has a limited feature set. Additionally, there are a bunch of “converged” 10Gbit Ethernet adapters in the market from storage HBA vendors (QLogic, Emulex, etc.) that are now trying to put all protocols (FC, iSCSI and Ethernet) on the same wire. Great concept, but costs are high, performance is lagging and simultaneous multi-protocol support is still developing.
So, for 10GbE to accelerate your Web 2.0 applications, the “pure play” is best. Look for a 10GbE NIC that offers a good out-of-box experience. What I mean by this is that the NIC goes into the server easily, you install the driver and it just runs, without tuning or fiddling. Second, make sure your 10GbE NIC offers core scaling features to balance your workloads over all CPU cores and maximize performance. Third, hardware-accelerated flow steering which reduces the CPU overhead of IP packet transport, providing more CPU cycles to work on the application.
Once you know that the 10GbE NIC has all those features, you will be assured that you are designing a high performance infrastructure to support Web 2.0 application growth and performance.
In our next blog we will talk about Memcached and how 10GbE can help accelerate this critical part of Web 2.0 application infrastructures.
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Guest Blogger: Tim Dales, Solarflare Communications
