We at Emulex love a good party. Especially one with awesome discussions on a topic that is near and (very!) dear to our hearts, You guessed it: Fibre Channel!! In keeping with our company’s leadership and first-to-market attitude, we are, well … leading the way and hosting a customer event AND tweetup on this very topic at Dell World in December. Please join us! We are “Better Together” with Brocade and Dell PowerVault MD3 Storage, delivering high performance 8GFC and 16GFC Fibre Channel solutions. We are all excited to come together in a ‘meeting of the (Fibre Channel) minds’ at Dell World. The location for this fantastic customer appreciation event and tweetup is Bar96 in Austin (96 Rainey Street) from 6-11 p.m. on December 12.

Since Emulex is the first to deliver end-to-end 16Gb Fibre Channel (16GFC) with Dell, it just made sense to focus this event on all things 16GFC…so if you’ve ever had a question or comment about 16GFC solutions for Dell PowerEdge servers, Dell Compellent storage arrays, and Dell PowerConnect™ with 16GFC switches, here’s your chance. And, if you can’t make it in person we hope you join us virtually using the #why16GFC hashtag as we’ll be monitoring that from the show and answering questions we see come in!

In addition to 16GFC, we’ll be talking (and tweeting) all things storage and networking, from convergence to end-to-end management, to the hottest sessions at Dell World (not to mention cocktails and a giveaway or two) with our “Better Together” partners Brocade and Dell PowerVault MD3 Storage. We’ll also be live tweeting pictures and updates from the event, just follow #why16GFC for all of the live updates! Light snacks and an open bar will be provided – show your Dell World badge or wristband for entry. See you at Dell World and looking forward to sharing a story and cocktail with you at our “Better Together” party! – register here!

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While I have been to Paris, I admit it usually is in the fall. It is stunningly beautiful, the food is exquisite and the people, particularly during my Sept 11 visit several years ago, remarkable, kind and helpful … even when I tried to speak the language!!

Ahh French, the language of love. and this week… we LOVE speaking (and hearing) about our first to market 16Gb Fibre Channel (16GFC) blade adapters for Dell PowerEdge Blade Solutions. You know everything sounds better in French!

Dell hosted its second European Dell Storage Forum show for both customers and partners in… you guessed it Paris, France this week November 14-16, 2012. Key announcements included “Dell Moves Fluid Data Architecture Forward with Latest Advances in Storage Efficiency, Performance and Protection” and a personal favorite “Emulex Delivers 16GFC Blade Adapters for Dell 16GFC Blade Solutions.” This end-to-end solution increases performance and efficiency and utilizes Dell integrated remote access controller for single-pane-of-glass management. It has sort of that jen es say qua sound about it don’t you think?

Let me tell you, this is awesome, almost better than the lovely lavender store I visited in Paris. First of all, we’re talking end-to-end 16GFC in a blade form factor, now that is LOVE!

• Support for the new end-to-end 16GFC blade solution from Dell, which consists of Dell PowerEdge™ blade servers and Dell Compellent™ SC8000 storage arrays, as well as Brocade 6505, 6510 and M6505 switches.
• The Emulex LPm16002B-D dual-port adapters are based on Emulex LightPulse® 16GFC Host Bus Adapter (HBA) technology which is designed to meet the demands of today’s server virtualization and cloud initiatives, multi-core processors, and solid state disks (SSDs).
• The newest addition to the Dell and Emulex 16GFC solution family now extends Emulex 16GFC connectivity for Dell customers across blade, storage and servers. Emulex’s Dell certified LPe16000 and LPe16002 16GFC HBAs are also qualified for Dell PowerVault™ MD3620f and MD3600f storage arrays, and Dell PowerConnect™ and Dell Force10™ switches.

Here’s another first for 16GFC technology, (if you remember our last blog … first IS best!!)

Emulex 16GFC adapters are compatible with the integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC™) with Lifecycle Controller systems management solution. iDRAC7 with Lifecycle Controller technology allows administrators to deploy, monitor, manage, configure, update, troubleshoot and remediate Dell servers from any location, and without the use of agents. It accomplishes this regardless of operating system, hypervisor presence or state. Dell and Emulex further extend this technology by including support for Emulex 16GFC HBAs; allowing administrators to configure, update, and monitor the adapters without the use of additional tools or agents.

So while we aren’t strolling down the Avenue des Champs-Elysees and the Rue St. Honore, we can enjoy the sense of wonderment and joy, that Dell and Emulex, truly are better together in delivering the first 16GFC end-to-end solutions for blade and rack environments…now that IS love!! Until we meet again, may your chocolate be dark, your glass bubbly and the air filled with the scent of lavender.

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That’s how I signed off last time and believe me … they are still rollin. AWESOME!

For those that (sob) didn’t see our last Dell blog posting …. We globally launched our Emulex LightPulse® LPe16000 single-port and LPe16002 dual-port Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) with Dell last month. Accompanying the announcement are a variety of information vitamins in the form of a press release, data sheets, solution briefs and yes… even videos. Check out the goods on our microsite for all things Emulex and Dell: www.emulex-dell.com.

Since then, we have spent almost all of our waking moments talking, tweeting and emailing potential customers and our key customer advocates – Dell technical sales representatives, their managers and inside sales teams. BTW – big shout out to Brian White from Dell for a great day Tuesday!

Have I mentioned we are Dell’s only 16Gb Fibre Channel (16GFC) adapter and… blushing… it feels good. If you are in the market for virtualization, cloud, converged infrastructure or workload solutions incorporating Dell PowerEdge servers, storage and switches well… we get to come along for the ride and help enhance your overall solution!

Quick recap on why I/O can really step up your solution and data center performance.

• Support for faster databases, bigger clouds and solid state disks (SSDs): The Dell 16GFC adapters feature industry leading performance with more than five times the IOPS and twice the data throughput of 8GFC adapters (Based on Emulex Labs benchmark testing), providing faster response times for high transaction databases, greater virtual machine (VM) density required for cloud deployments and delivering the performance needed to match ultra-fast SSDs.
• Increasing VM Densities: Dell 16GFC adapters leverage Emulex vScale™ for superior scalability, supporting up to 255 virtual functions (VFs), 1024 Message Signal Interrupts Extended (MSI-X) and 8192 concurrent logins and open exchanges, up to four times the number supported by competing 16GFC HBAs, enabling support for more VMs per server than ever before.
• Simplified and Time-Saving I/O Management: With a single driver model, the Dell 16GFC adapters can be controlled, configured and managed from a single console using Emulex OneCommand™ Manager, enabling enterprise scalability with time-saving features that provide more than twice the adapter management functionality and take half the time to install and manage compared to other I/O solutions (Based on Emulex Labs benchmark testing). Emulex OneCommand™ Manager plug-in for VMware vCenter™ Server allows users to manage Emulex adapters across hundreds of servers, natively from the VMware vCenter Server console so administrators don’t waste time juggling multiple management applications.
• Reduced Data Center CAPEX and OPEX: The Dell 16GFC adapters yield consolidation benefits including significant cost savings by enabling a reduction in cards, cables and the number of switch ports required when using a 16GFC fabric, as well as delivering associated power savings through better IOPS per watt performance. PCIe slots are also freed-up for other needs.

Great news!! If you’d like to hear more about Dell solutions, particularly where performance and data centers are concerned, stop by the Emulex booth at VMworld this week in San Francisco’s Moscone Center. David Morse, Director of Solution Performance Labs from Dell will be presenting a blazingly fast, technically brilliant talk entitled: Datacenter Performance: Ferrari or Lawnmower, Dell and Emulex 16G Fibre Channel solutions. Seriously … you should check it out!

Your data center is like a Ferrari…why would you settle for anything other than the best in performance?

Dell & Emulex: The difference between winning and losing

Ladies and gentlemen … start your engines!!

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Today, Emulex and Dell announced immediate availability of the Emulex LightPulse® LPe16000 single-port and LPe16002 dual-port Host Bus Adapters (HBAs). And guess what…we are the first, yes, the FIRST to deliver 16Gb Fibre Channel (16GFC) connectivity for Dell PowerEdge customers and you know what? It feels great!

But don’t just take my word for it. Check out this video endorsement from Rahul Deshmukh, senior technical manager, Dell Server Product Group. ESG Labs also did a really nice write up on Emulex 16GFC and it’s worth the read.

You may be wondering really … what are you talking about and does it really matter. Well of course it matters and here’s why IT professionals are demanding Dell 16GFC adapters:

• Support for faster databases, bigger clouds and solid state disks (SSDs): The Dell 16GFC adapters feature industry leading performance with more than five times the IOPS and twice the data throughput of 8GFC adapters (Based on Emulex Labs benchmark testing). They provide faster response times for high transaction databases, greater virtual machine (VM) density required for cloud deployments and deliver the performance needed to match ultra-fast SSDs.
• Increasing VM Densities: Dell 16GFC adapters leverage Emulex vScale™ for superior scalability, supporting up to 255 virtual functions (VFs), 1024 Message Signal Interrupts Extended (MSI-X) and 8192 concurrent logins and open exchanges, up to four times the number supported by competing 16GFC HBAs, enabling support for more VMs per server than ever before.
• Simplified and Time-Saving I/O Management: With a single driver model, the Dell 16GFC adapters can be controlled, configured and managed from a single console using Emulex OneCommand™ Manager. This enables enterprise scalability with time-saving features that provide more than twice the adapter management functionality and take half the time to install and manage compared to other I/O solutions (Based on Emulex Labs benchmark testing). Emulex OneCommand™ Manager plug-in for VMware vCenter™ Server allows users to manage Emulex adapters across hundreds of servers, natively from the VMware vCenter Server console so administrators don’t waste time juggling multiple management applications.
• Reduced Data Center CAPEX and OPEX: The Dell 16GFC adapters yield consolidation benefits including significant cost savings by enabling a reduction in cards, cables and the number of switch ports required when using a 16GFC fabric. They also deliver associated power savings through better IOPS per watt performance. PCIe slots are also freed-up for other needs.

Dell and Emulex sales teams gathered together to celebrate the FIRST 16GFC adapter for Dell end-to-end solutions like virtualization, cloud, solid state disks and key workloads all of which demand superior performance, and exceptional low-latency. This, combined with Dell PowerEdge servers and storage fulfill the requirements for a balanced architecture and enable customers with the power to do more.

Laissez les bons temps rouler … Let the good times roll!!

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I have always thought of iSCSI as the less expensive SAN option, only useful for small and medium-sized businesses and branch offices. Well it looks like that has now changed, meaning many customers are re-thinking their storage strategy! Emulex and Dell have teamed up to create a robust iSCSI solution that is truly ready for the enterprise SAN.

One of the disadvantages of current iSCSI implementations is their unpredictability – Ethernet packets are lost and must be resent, causing unacceptable delays. I guess that’s what you get from a best effort 1Gb Ethernet fabric. And iSCSI does lack flexibility because you can’t assign priorities to different types of traffic. To get the performance you need, you have to separate iSCSI traffic from network traffic, which adds cost and complexity.

Emulex and Dell have developed a Data Center Bridging (DCB) over iSCSI platform, a high-performance 10Gb Ethernet (10GbE) storage framework that performs at a similar level to Fibre Channel. This joint solution allows you to isolate network traffic from storage traffic within a single switch and shape bandwidths based on the needs of particular workloads.

The DCB over iSCSI platform is based on a set of industry standards that include Priority Flow Control (PFC) and Data Center Bridging Capability Exchange (DCBx). PFC, in effect, creates a number of prioritized pipes within a single, physical connection and enables lossless Ethernet by pausing certain packets so they don’t impact higher-priority traffic. DCBx is the glue that holds the framework together by automatically detecting and resolving conflicting settings between network peers.

This easy-to-configure solution uses Emulex OneConnect OCe11102 Universal Converged Network Adapters (UCNAs) to converge network and storage traffic at the server-edge. Storage is provided by 10Gb Dell EqualLogic arrays that support DCB over iSCSI in hardware.

Because it is predictable, the DCB over iSCSI platform is highly beneficial in a virtualized environment, optimizing performance when there is network congestion. Also, by offloading many network-related activities to UCNA and array hardware, it can free up space on the host for more virtual machines.

In the movie Pulp Fiction, Jules (played by Samuel L Jackson) says, “If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions.” I believe that in years to come, iSCSI storage using DCB Ethernet will be the only way our customers will want to connect enterprise-class storage using iSCSI fact – not pulp fiction!

Emulex and Dell have validated the DCB over iSCSI platform under VMware’s Partner Verified and Supported Products (PVSP) program, demonstrating that this solution can deliver lossless, more deterministic performance and is ready for enterprise SAN deployment. You can get more information on this platform in the new Emulex white paper, Download the Solution Guide on the Implementer’s Lab, “Dell and Emulex: A lossless 10Gb/s iSCSI SAN for VMware vSphere 5.”

And for further discussion or information, join our LinkedIn Group ‘Emulex Connects Dell’ or follow us on Twitter: @Emulex

Some of these products may not be available in the U.S. Please contact your supplier for more information.

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It’s that time of year when everyone is thinking about treats, sweets, prizes and…iSCSI solutions from Emulex and Dell?? And who are we to deny you, right? If you’ve been checking out our blogs and whitepapers (shame on you if you haven’t!) you’ll remember last time I alluded to a (stage whisper here) “10G iSCSI over DCB webcast, Enterprise Performance, itty bitty price tag.” Yep – we weren’t kidding you!

So, join us – November 2, 2011 at 9am PT. Register here and learn about how:

• 10G iSCSI over DCB enables convergence of LAN and iSCSI traffic
• 10G iSCSI is easy to install and use with vCenter
• 10G iSCSI over DCB costs less than Fibre Channel
• 10G iSCSI over DCB optimized for Virtualization

And if that wasn’t treat enough – we have a pretty sweet prize as part of the webcast. It’s a Dell XPS Laptop – an exceptional prize to match the exceptional end-to-end Emulex and Dell iSCSI over Data Center Bridging (DCB) solution we’ll be talking about! So put down that bite-sized Snickers bar, Reese’s Cup or handful of candy corn and register for this webcast!

Until next time remember…Emulex and Dell connect iSCSI over DCB solutions, people and SWEET Dell XPS Laptops!

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iSCSI over DCB Helps Network Convergence Deliver on QoS Promises

In case you haven’t noticed … Dell and Emulex are partnering around a newly release iSCSI over Data Center Bridging (DCB) solution showcasing Dell servers, switches, EqualLogic Arrays and of course, Emulex 10G iSCSI adapters (see press release here). We’ve jointly presented at Dell’s Storage Forum in Orlando, FL and most recently at VMworld in Las Vegas. If you’re interested (and you know you should be!) the most recent ESG Brief is worth the read. You can catch this whitepaper and others on www.emulex-dell.com.

Abstract: Emulex and Dell recently announced complete iSCSI over Data Center Bridging solutions targeting virtualized environments in enterprise accounts. While prior efforts to drive adoption of iSCSI have met with success, improvements driven by 10Gb Ethernet, Data Center Bridging, and hardware-based iSCSI offload engines should help accelerate penetration in enterprise accounts. By delivering and validating performance and QoS for mission-critical applications, Emulex and Dell are fulfilling the promises of network convergence.

Stay tuned for more on this topic … my crystal ball says there just might be a customer webcast in the making. And, as always, remember Emulex connects Dell PowerEdge servers, Dell EqualLogic Arrays and Emulex iSCSI 10G adapters with ISCSI over DCB!

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Be the first on your block to give a shout out on the top 3 reasons why your company should get their iSCSI over DCB game on with Dell and Emulex. Yes Virginia – it’s a new solution, announced today, and it consists of the following components:

• Dell PowerEdge™ Servers
• Dell EqualLogic™ 10Gbe Storage arrays upgraded WITH EqualLogic 5.1 firmware
• Emulex OneConnect™ 10Gb iSCSI adapters
• Dell PowerConnect™ Switch (iSCSI over DCB enabled)
• Plus it works with VMware ESX® 4.x and ESXi 5!!

Think about it, why buy a lonely old server or storage array when — you can have all this!!

Still interested? Here are the top 3 reasons why you should buy Dell & Emulex iSCSI over DCB solutions!!

The Emulex OneConnect high-performance 10Gb iSCSI adapters deliver the following advantages over 10Gb Network Interface Cards (NICs) running iSCSI software initiators:

• More Virtual Machines per Server: Emulex OneConnect 10Gb iSCSI adapters support full iSCSI offload with Emulex vEngineTM technology for converged and non-converged networks, enabling up to 50 percent more VMs per server when compared to a NIC and software initiator.
• Improved Storage Quality of Service: Emulex’s Enterprise iSCSI solution supports IEEE DCB standards that include Priority Flow Control (PFC) for managing bandwidth allocation between network and storage traffic groups to ensure consistent, lossless data transport.
• Simplified Server Virtualization with VMware vCenter: Emulex OneCommand™ Manager plug-in for VMware vCenter™ Server lets users manage Emulex adapters directly from the vCenter console for reduced complexity and is the only adapter that integrates with VMware management tools. The OneCommand Manager plug-in for VMware vCenter Server also provides twice the functionality and takes half the time to manage compared to other adapters.

How’s your Enterprise Game??
For more information

• www.emulex-dell.com
• iSCSI over DCB Technical Brief
• iSCSI over DCB Datasheet
• iSCSI over DCB Press Release
• Get connected and follow us on Twitter and friend us on Facebook!!

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I told you we’d be back with an update on #dellsf11, Dell Storage Forum 2011. Emulex’ new tagline is Emulex Connects Servers, Storage and People. Well let me tell you — #dellsf11 was all about making connections. We came, we talked, we rocked! #Emulex sported a Petabyte sponsorship entitling us to a lot of visibility & all the right connections with Dell end user customers and channel partners. Glen Sheets, said “wow – Emulex is Everywhere” (I love that!) We chatted with over 300 guests and Joe Gervais hosted a training session Enabling Converged Networks with iSCSI over DCB –he did an awesome job!

Joe’s session covered how iSCSI over DCB enables convergence of LAN and iSCSI traffic onto a common network. He reviewed iSCSI over DCB, including the performance and ease of use aspects and how iSCSI over DCB overcomes inhibitors to convergence. Attendees were introduced to related technologies that can help manage the 1G to 10G transition, including multichannel technologies a.k.a. NIC partitioning and 10GBASE-T. He also discussed sample converged topologies. If you missed the session his slides can be found on our Slideshare account. have been uploaded to slideshare. For more iSCSI over DCB reading, hit www.emulex-dell.com.

Come on back and hear how the Emulex | Dell teams have fun and Connect Dell PowerEdge Servers & Storage with Dell Customers.

Are you Connected?! – Kerstin

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