Networks get the virtual treatment

Xsigo Systems has unveiled a new appliance that aims to reduce server I/O bottlenecks by substituting network and storage interfaces, as well as cabling, with virtual resources.

The start-up company's new VP780 I/O Director uses a switch technology that virtualises I/O from the server to network and storage connections, replacing network adapters and host bus adapters found in storage systems. Applications and operating systems see the virtual connections as physical ones.

The appliance houses 24 10Gbit/sec ports for servers or to connect to a 24-port Infiniband switch. Posts are also included for Ethernet, Fibre Channel and an SSL offload module.

Servers use the InfiniBand host bus adapters to connect to the 4U-high I/O Director. The device connects to Fibre Channel storage switches and Ethernet networks though 4Gbit/sec Fibre Channel modules or one or 10Gbit/sec Ethernet modules from Xsigo.

According to analysts, server I/O architecture significantly drives up cost and complexity in the data centre. "As virtualisation is already changing server and storage best practices, it's logical to extend this to I/O resources," said John Humphreys, program vice president of IDC's Enterprise Virtualisation research. "We believe that solutions like this will enable greater flexibility and change the way organisations deliver IT services."

Other industry commentators said that server I/O still puts limits on infrastructure.

"I/O virtualisation promises to deliver the next significant advancement," said Dr. Bernard S. Meyerson, vice president of strategic alliances and chief technology officer at IBM Systems and Technology Group. "Just as server virtualisation decouples applications from specific servers, virtual I/O will accelerate application management by removing the constraints of the fixed I/O infrastructure."

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