Is FC-NVMe Ready for Prime Time?

The T11 specification for NVMe over Fibre Channel (FC-NVMe) was completed in 2018, since that time, the FCIA has held numerous plugfest events and products have been shipping for a few years. So where are we today with NVMe over Fibre Channel solutions?

This webcast will take an early 2020 point-in-time snapshot of where the industry is, discuss products available today, and address common questions around:

•Which host environments can use FC-NVMe
•What is required from the fabric
•Breadth of supporting storage solutions
•Application benefits we have seen so far
•FC-NVMe strengths and differentiators

And most importantly, is FC-NVMe ready for prime time?

After you watch the webcast, check out the Q&A blog at: https://bit.ly/2DB1TRa

We rely on technical standards for all facets of daily life. Yet it is easy to take technology standards for granted, forgetting that they underpin the technology used every day. As participants in the IT sector it is important for us to learn how standards are developed, why standards matter and how we all benefit from them.

In this webcast, we’ll pull back the curtain on the standard development process, explain what makes something a standard, and decode a few funky common acronyms. You’ll learn:

•The differences between a standard and a specification
•Who is INCITS and what’s their role?
•T11 Fibre Channel standards development process
•T11 Fibre Channel Standards
•Current Fibre Channel standards under development
•Benefits of standards when architecting Fibre Channel solutions

Fibre Channel (FC) SAN workloads are not difficult, but there are several people who do not understand how the workloads line up to appropriate storage protocol and their characteristics. Different workloads have different “Fingerprints,” so to speak. Since FC SANs are block, they work very well with applications that have a lot of transactional data, a lot of random read/write loads, and are particularly good for virtual machine file systems.

This webinar will discuss:
•I/O fingerprints: I/O block sizes & IOPS requirements for various “FC SAN applications”
•An overview of application access patterns, guided by best practices and experience
•How FC fulfills these IOPS requirements and how CPU BW is as important as IOPS

We will briefly investigate application sensitivity to latency, and show how protocol can affect performance.

After you watch, check out the Q&A blog from this session at http://bit.ly/2VQeuqX

One of Fibre Channel’s greatest strengths is its ability to scale to thousands and thousands of nodes, while providing predictable performance. So, when we say that Fibre Channel has unmatched scalability, what does that actually mean? And how does it work?

We often hear about “designed from the ground up,” but in this case it’s actually true. From each individual link, to the overall domain architecture, each step along the way is intended to be approached in a scalable fashion.

In this webinar, we’ll be breaking down the pieces of the puzzle that help give Fibre Channel its robustness when you’re working at fabrics even greater than 10,000 nodes. We’ll be talking about:

•What a deterministic storage network is
•Fabric management principles
•Negotiated credit transfers (buffer-to-buffer credits)
•Network Engineering/Design Principles
•Oversubscription and Fan-In Ratios
•Topologies that help scale
•Domains and Fabric limits
•Consistency of performance at scale

Along the way, we’ll be talking about some of the ways that Fibre Channel differs from other popular storage networks as they approach large-scale environments, and how it handles issues that arise in such cases.

Please join us on November 6th at 10:00 am PT/1:00 pm ET for another educational webinar on Fibre Channel!

Fibre Channel has long been known to be a very secure protocol for storage. Even so, there is no such thing as a “perfectly secure” technology, and for that reason it’s important to constantly update and protect against threats.

The sheer variety of environments in which Fibre Channel fabrics are deployed makes it very difficult to simply rely only on physical security. In fact, it’s possible to access different storage systems by different users, even when spanned over several sites. Fibre Channel enables security services to specifically address these concerns, and prevent misconfigurations or access to data by non-authorized people and machines.

This webcast is going to dive deep into the guts of security aspects of Fibre Channel, looking closely at the protocols used to implement security in a Fibre Channel fabric. In particular, we’re going to look at:

•The definitions of the protocols to authenticate Fibre Channel devices
•What are the different classes of threats, and what are the mechanisms to protect against them
•What are session keys and how to set them up
•How Fibre Channel negotiates these parameters to insure frame-by-frame integrity and confidentiality
•How Fibre Channel establishes and distributes policies across a fabric

Please join us to learn more about the technical considerations that Fibre Channel brings to the table to secure and protect your data and information.

In this back-to-basics Fibre Channel webinar, we’re going to be talking about one of the most fundamental functions of the protocol and what makes it so reliable, predictable and secure: Zoning. The ability to ensure that end devices are able to communicate only with the set of devices explicitly permitted is part of what makes Fibre Channel so powerful. This ability to secure those connections in zones adds built-in security to these connections.

In this webinar, you’ll learn:
What is Zoning
Why you’d want to Zone
The Different Types of Zoning
Zoning Configuration Flow
Consequences of Zoning
Zoneset Activation Flow
Zoning best practices for different types of applications
Advances in Zoning

After you watch the webcast, check out the Q&A blog at http://bit.ly/2JSDNSI

In the FCIA webcast “Protocol Analysis for High-Speed Fibre Channel Fabrics” experts covered the basics on protocol analysis tools and how to incorporate them into the “best practices” application of SAN problem solving.
Our experts return for this 201 course which will provide a deeper dive into how to interpret the output and results from the protocol analyzers. We will also share insight into using signal jammers and how to use them to correlate error conditions to be able to formulate real time solutions.

Root cause analysis requirements now encompass all layers of the fabric architecture, and new storage protocols that usurp the traditional network stack (i.e. FCoE, iWARP, NVMe over Fabrics, etc.) complicate analysis, so a well-constructed “collage” of best practices and effective and efficient analysis tools must be developed. In addition, in-depth knowledge of how to decipher the analytical results and then determine potential solutions is critical.

Join us for a deeper dive into Protocol Analysis tools and how to interpret the analytical output from them. We will review:
•Inter switch links (ISL) – How to measure and minimize fabric congestion
•Post-capture analysis – Graphing, Trace reading, Performance metrics
•Benefits of purposeful error injection
•More Layer 2-3 and translation layers debug
•Link Services and Extended Link Services - LRR Link Ready Rests

You can watch the 1st webcast on this topic on-demand at http://bit.ly/2MxsWR7

FICON (Fibre Channel Connection) is an upper-level protocol supported by mainframe servers and attached enterprise-class storage controllers that utilizes Fibre Channel as the underlying transport.

The FCIA FICON 101 webcast (on-demand at http://bit.ly/FICON101) described some of the key characteristics of the mainframe and how FICON satisfies the demands placed on mainframes for reliable and efficient access to data. FCIA experts gave a brief introduction into the layers of architecture (system/device and link) that the FICON protocol bridges. Using the FICON 101 session as a springboard, our experts return for FICON 201 where they will delve deeper into the architectural flow of FICON and how it leverages Fibre Channel to be an optimal mainframe transport.

Join this live FCIA webcast where you’ll learn:

- How FICON (FC-SB-x) maps onto the Fibre Channel FC-2 layer
- The evolution of the FICON protocol optimizations
- How FICON adapts to new technologies

Fibre Channel’s speed roadmap defines a well-understood technological trend: the need to double the bit rate in the channel without doubling the required bandwidth.

In order to do this, PAM4 (pulse-amplitude modulation, with four levels of pulse modulation), enters the Fibre Channel physical layer picture. With the use of four signal levels instead of two, and with each signal level corresponding to a two-bit symbol, the standards define 64GFC operation while maintaining backward compatibility with 32GFC and 16GFC.

This advanced technical session will cover the T11 standards which define 64GFC serial Fibre Channel, backwards speed auto-negotiation compatibility, and compatible form factors:

•New physical layer and specification challenges for PAM4, which includes eye openings, crosstalk sensitivity, and new test methodologies and parameters
•Transceivers, their form factors, and how 64GFC maintains backward compatibility with multi-mode fibre cable deployments in the data center, including distance specifications
•Discussion of protocol changes, and an overview of backward-compatible link speed and forward error correction (FEC) negotiation
•The FCIA’s Fibre Channel speed roadmap and evolution, and new technologies under consideration

After you watch the webcast, check out the FCIA Q&A blog: https://fibrechannel.org/64gfc-faq/

Flash is really fast, and performance-hungry applications must be able to access it wherever it is located. Luckily, NVMe can take advantage of flash throughout a computer system.

However, accessing flash over a network can introduce problems which designers must solve. Accesses can take much longer than local flash, latency can rise significantly, networking issues can raise their ugly heads, and performance can vary greatly depending on network load and competition for resources.

Ways to solve such problems include sequence-level error recovery, prioritization for virtualized environments, and improved forward error correction. And – surprise! – all these are already part of the Fibre Channel standard or the emerging FC-NVMe transport protocol.

Moderator: Mark Jones, Director Technical Marketing and Performance, Broadcom
Panelists: Craig Carlson, Senior Technologist, Marvell Semiconductor, Rupin Mohan, Director, R&D, Head of Development, Chief Technologist (SAN), HPE, David J. Rodgers, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Teledyne LeCroy PSG, Marcus Thordal, Principal Solution Architect, Broadcom and Dennis Martin, Senior Analyst, Principled Technologies.

After you watch the webcast, check out the Q&A blog at http://bit.ly/2V0KUMl

Protocol Analysis for High-Speed Fibre Channel Fabrics in the Data Center: Aka, Saving Your SAN (& Sanity)

The driving force behind adopting new tools and processes in test and measurement practices is the desire to understand, predict, and mitigate the impact of Sick but not Dead (SBND) conditions in datacenter fabrics. The growth and centralization of mission critical datacenter SAN environments has exposed the fact that many small yet seemingly insignificant problems have the potential of becoming large scale and impactful events, unless properly contained or controlled.

Root cause analysis requirements now encompass all layers of the fabric architecture, and new storage protocols that usurp the traditional network stack (i.e. FCoE, iWARP, NVMe over Fabrics, etc.) for purposes of expedited data delivery place additional analytical demands on the datacenter manager.
To be sure, all tools have limitations in their effectiveness and areas of coverage, so a well-constructed “collage” of best practices and effective and efficient analysis tools must be developed. To that end, recognizing and reducing the effect of those limitations is essential.

This webinar will introduce participants to Protocol Analysis tools and how they may be incorporated into the “best practices” application of SAN problem solving. We will review:
•The protocol of the Phy
•Use of “in-line” capture tools
•Benefits of purposeful error injection for developing and supporting today’s high-speed Fibre Channel storage fabrics

After the webcast, check out the Q&A blog at http://bit.ly/2P0hsqp

Interoperability is a primary basis for the predictable behavior of a Fibre Channel (FC) SAN. FC interoperability implies standards conformance by definition. Interoperability also implies exchanges between a range of products, or similar products from one or more different suppliers, or even between past and future revisions of the same products. Interoperability may be developed as a special measure between two products, while excluding the rest, and still be standards conformant. When a supplier is forced to adapt its system to a system that is not based on standards, it is not interoperability but rather, only compatibility.

Every FC hardware and software supplier publishes an interoperability matrix and per product conformance based on having validated conformance, compatibility, and interoperability. There are many dimensions to interoperability, from the physical layer, optics, and cables; to port type and protocol; to server, storage, and switch fabric operating systems versions; standards and feature implementation compatibility; and to use case topologies based on the connectivity protocol (F-port, N-Port, NP-port, E-port, TE-port, D-port).

In this session we will delve into the many dimensions of FC interoperability, discussing:

•Standards and conformance
•Validation of conformance and interoperability
•FC-NVMe conformance and interoperability
•Interoperability matrices
•Multi-generational interoperability
•Use case examples of interoperability

After you watch the webcast, check out the FC Interoperability Q&A blog https://fibrechannel.org/a-qa-on-fibre-channel-interoperability/

FICON (Fibre Channel Connection) is an upper-level protocol supported by mainframe servers and attached enterprise-class storage controllers that utilize Fibre Channel as the underlying transport. Mainframes are built to provide a robust and resilient IT infrastructure, and FICON is a key element of their ability to meet the increasing demands placed on reliable and efficient access to data. What are some of the key objectives and benefits of the FICON protocol? And what are the characteristics that make FICON relevant in today’s data centers for mission-critical workloads?

Join us in this live FCIA webcast where you’ll learn:

• Basic mainframe I/O terminology
• The characteristics of mainframe I/O and FICON architecture
• Key features and benefits of FICON

After you watch the webcast, check out the Q&A blog: https://fibrechannel.org/ficon-webcast-qa/

Looking for more cost-effective ways to implement fibre channel cabling? Learn why proper cabling is important and how it fits into data center designs. Join this webcast to hear FCIA experts discuss:
- Cable and connector types, cassettes, patch panels and other cabling products
- Variables in Fiber Optic and Copper Cables: Reflectance, Insertion Loss,
Crosstalk, Speed/Length Limitations and more
- Different variations of Structured Cabling in an environment with FC
- Helpful tips when planning and implementing a cabling infrastructure within a SAN

After you watch the webcast, check out the Q&A blog: http://bit.ly/2KdtEx0

Today's Fibre Channel SANs are tasked with reliably delivering huge amounts of data with almost zero latency in an environment with a large variance of end device capabilities. Fibre Channel is a lossless network protocol but what ramifications does that have? What is considered a good SAN design and what are best practices? What situations can lead to suboptimal performance? How can a device that is not performing well affect the performance of devices even on different parts of the SAN? Can a device that is returning credits without delay affect the SAN just like a device that is returning credits slowly?

Get answers to these questions and more in this live FCIA webcast where you’ll learn:

•How Fibre Channel achieves a lossless data delivery
•The definition of "slow drain“
•Basic slow drain indications and what they mean
•“Over” Utilization - How a device that isn't "slow drain" by the typical definition can affect a SAN in a similar fashion as a slow drain device
•How to prevent, Identify, and resolve performance problems

After you watch the webcast, check-out the the FCIA Q&A blog http://bit.ly/2ouWq4b

Businesses today rely heavily on their data. Disaster may strike anywhere and occurs in many shapes and sizes. Transporting data over significant distance beyond the reach of a threatening event preserves data so organizations can rapidly recover in the event of a site going down.

This makes deploying a disaster recovery infrastructure between data centers with fast, continuous, and easy replication of mission-critical data to anywhere in the world essential.
Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP), often referred to as “Extension,” is used to connect SANs across distance using IP networks. FCIP is commonly used for Remote Data Replication (RDR) between Enterprise Storage Arrays and Remote Tape applications, for the purpose of Business Continuance via Disaster Recovery (BC/DR).

Join storage technology and industry experts as they discuss their experience and deployment knowledge in:

•Best known methods for deployment with extension architectures, extension in routed topologies, and performance optimization for remote replication
•Industry best practices: topologies to achieve high-availability goals, advantages in trunking, encryption, etc…
•Customer examples and use cases of a variety of critical production environments ranging from SMBs to the largest most demanding enterprises and government institutions

After you watch the webcast, check out our Q&A blog: http://fibrechannel.org/fcip-extension-questions-and-their-answers/

As people learn more about Fibre Channel and are curious about NVMe over Fibre Channel (FC-NVMe), more questions arise that relate to how storage solutions are going to be affected by the new technology. Perhaps the least understood aspect of storage networks involves distance solutions, and so FCIA has decided to tackle this issue next.

In this webinar you will learn:

•How does Fibre Channel work over distances?
•What are some of the limitations of distance?
•What happens when you are using FC-NVMe?
•What special equipment do you need?

Come spend time with FCIA and speaker Mark Allen, Technical Marketing Engineer Manager for Cisco, to learn how to understand and plan for distance solutions using Fibre Channel.

As FC-NVMe (NVMe over Fibre Channel) is preparing for it’s official launch, there have been numerous questions about how the technology works, how it gets implemented, and what makes it special when compared to traditional, SCSI-based Fibre Channel.

When we did our first webinar on FC-NVMe [link], we got lots of questions about more details, more technical aspects, and more thorough explanations. So here we are!

This presentation is going to be a more thorough analysis of the bits and bytes of FC-NVMe, where you will learn:

•What are the key differences and similarities between NVMe and SCSI Fibre Channel structures
•What are the main architectural differences between NVMe and SCSI deployments
•Impact on Queue Depth
•How to cross-connect legacy and future flash arrays with FC-NVMe

Please join us on August 29th for this advanced, deep dive on FC-NVMe.

Please check out the Q&A blog from this webcast http://bit.ly/2gV4Yxv

Fibre Channel (FC) is the storage networking protocol for enterprise data centers, with over 11 million ports deployed. Fibre Channel is purpose-built –and engineered to meet the demands for enterprise data centers that require rock solid reliability, high performance and scalability. It can even transport new storage protocols like NVMe natively.

Flexible and resilient, Fibre Channel frames can be encapsulated in both an IP packet (FCIP) as well as a Layer 2 frame (FCoE) and provide unparalleled performance for storage systems. Even so, many people don’t actually understand how it works. This live webcast will help you understand the basics so that you can make informed decisions yourself.

In this “Foundations” webcast, we’ll answer key questions, such as:
- What is Fibre Channel?
- What makes Fibre Channel so reliable?
- How is Fibre Channel different from other storage protocols?
- What are the best practices for designing Fibre Channel solutions?
- And more

If you’re not familiar with Fibre Channel and want to learn more, or if you are interested in learning about how Fibre Channel is purpose-built for storage and future proofed for next-gen NVMe storage arrays, join us at this live event. Our experts will be available to answer your specific questions on the spot.