7
Servers supporting PCI Express (x8 or higher) will be able to utilize the full potential of the Emulex
LP21000’s 2x10Gb/s Ethernet interfaces, balancing both storage and networking I/O requirements. The
priority flow control prevents degradation of traffic delivery and enhanced transmission selection enables
partitioning and guaranteed service levels for different traffic types.
The LP21000 fully leverages the proven Emulex LightPulse® architecture and thus extends the reliability,
performance and manageability characteristics of proven Fibre Channel host bus adapters (HBAs) to the
converged network adapter.
Emulex is closely partnering with Convergence Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) switch manufacturers to develop
the next generation of FCoE based converged network infrastructure. The combination of lossless Ethernet
switches and Emulex CNAs will help facilitate the adoption of FCoE and pave the way for 10Gb/s Ethernet
as the converged network fabric in the enterprise data center.
The lossless Ethernet switch, typically provisioned with native Fibre Channel ports and an FCoE to Fibre
Channel forwarder, provides all the services of a Fibre Channel switch. The switch can be connected
directly to a Fibre Channel storage array directly as an F-port, or connected to another Fibre Channel
switch or a Fibre Channel director (using E-port or NPIV mode) which is then connected to the rest of the
SAN.
Figure 5: Converged network deployment and access to SAN