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Re: [HSSG] 40G MAC Rate Discussion



Title: Re: [HSSG] 40G MAC Rate Discussion

Schelto,

Thanks for that clarification about the bandwidth, but it would have been good to include the part of the message that states I don't believe a 40G effort is required.

Cheers,
Brad


-----Original Message-----
From: Vandoorn, Schelto <schelto.vandoorn@INTEL.COM>
To: STDS-802-3-HSSG@listserv.ieee.org <STDS-802-3-HSSG@listserv.ieee.org>
Sent: Tue Apr 10 09:51:37 2007
Subject: Re: [HSSG] 40G MAC Rate Discussion

Peter,



I don't believe your PCIe Gen2 statement is correct. See Brad Booth's reply on an earlier thread regarding the even faster following Gen3.



--------------------

PCIe gen 3 is expected to be 10 Gbps.  The calculation would be 8 Gbps (unencoded data) * 8 (more typical lane count) * 75% (PCIe efficiency) = 48 Gbps.  A 16 lane PCIe host bus would be able to handle about 96 Gbps which would be close to the maximum line rate of 100 GbE.



While the host bus may be able to handle that bandwidth, the CPU and memory will lag that bandwidth capability.  Therefore, 40 GbE is probably sufficient for most servers over the 5-10 years.



------------------------------------



Schelto



-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Harrison [mailto:pharrison@NETFLIX.COM]
Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 9:26 AM
To: STDS-802-3-HSSG@listserv.ieee.org
Subject: Re: [HSSG] 40G MAC Rate Discussion



I also agree with Donn's comments.



I additionally don't see the overwhelming need for 40Gbps to the server

when:



a. The newly created PCI Express v2.0 standard already has a max data

rate in excess of 100Gbps



b. There is a trend in the thread that is concerned about the additional

complexities of dual purposed hardware and software, and the distraction

of a dual standard.



c. Web video on demand applications have NIC input/output ratios in

excess of 50:1 versus approximately 10:1 for traditional HTML. On the

surface 40Gbps would seem sufficient, but it doesn't account for the

viral proliferation of video.



My primary concern is the backbone capacities of the ISPs closely

followed by the aggregate Web capacity of server farms. LAG for servers

is an acceptable compromise.



If a dual standard is to be pursued for servers, instead of 40Gbps, I'd

rather see 100Gbps interfaces clocked down to 50 Gbps (using inverse mux

hardware?) as a driver configuration option.



Thanks,



Peter



---

Peter Harrison

Netflix Networking

100 Winchester Circle, Los Gatos, CA 95032



-----Original Message-----

From: donnlee [mailto:donnlee@GMAIL.COM]

Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 12:47 AM

To: STDS-802-3-HSSG@listserv.ieee.org

Subject: Re: [HSSG] 40G MAC Rate Discussion



As an end-user who presented to the HSSG along with other end-users

that 100GE is too late, I feel like our urgency and pain has fallen on

deaf ears when I see messages like those below. Does the IEEE want

end-user input or not?



To reiterate for those who did not hear the end-user presentations:



a. 10GE pipe is too small. We have hit the LAG & ECMP ceilings of 10GE

implementations today.



b. We have to use multiple 10GE LAGs and build a Clos network to keep

up with traffic demands. This results in a ridiculous number of cables

and an operational nightmare. 100GE links would greatly exorcize and

scale our networks. See "A Web Company's View on Ethernet", HSSG,

3/9/2007.



c. If 10GE LAGs have grown to nightmare-ish size today, imagine what

additional pent-up demand will be added between now and 2010?



d. The largest 10GE switch commercially available today is too small.

We would like much larger switches but because of (b), we really

require 100GE switches. See "Saturating 100G and 1T Pipes", HSSG,

3/9/2007.



e. When 100GE is available in 2010, we will have to LAG them on Day

One because a single 100GE will be too small.



f. I had no idea 10GE was a "failure" or "too early" until I visited

an IEEE meeting. As far as we're concerned, we can't buy enough of it.

Problem we have is the 10GE boxes do not have enough 10GE interfaces.

We need more; a lot more.



g. As 100GE is late, many of us are working with vendors who have

PRE-STANDARD 100GE plans. Because the need is so great, I have no

problems building a fabric of proprietary links as long as the links

on the outer edges of the fabric are standard.



Donn

Network Architecture Team

Google Inc.