Open Network Featured Article

Cumulus Networks’ Linux 3.1 is now supported on four new Ethernet switch platforms from Mellanox (News - Alert) Technologies Ltd.  That, the companies say, will provide users of these switches with the ability to benefit from web-scale IT efficiencies, better packet performance, and strong predictability.

Mellanox Technologies provides InfiniBand and Ethernet interconnect solutions and services for servers and storage. Cumulus Networks’ Cumulus Linux network operating system allows organizations to significantly reduce the costs and complexities of modern data center networks.

That’s important, particularly as resource requirements for new applications and higher performance networking resources increases.

Indeed, the company says that the demand for faster servers and flash-based storage is increasing, with more server vendors are offering 25 Gigabit Ethernet NICs as the default I/O option in their servers. The company says its SN2410 is the first available switch with native 25 Gigabit Ethernet ports that can connect 25GbE servers without requiring breakout cables. 

“With 2.5 times the bandwidth and a nominal price premium over 10 Gigabit Ethernet, 25 Gigabit Ethernet is poised to exceed 10 million annual server-class connections within the next four years,” said Seamus Crehan, the president of Crehan Research. “I predict the uptick in 25 Gigabit Ethernet adoption will be significantly faster than it was for either 10 Gigabit Ethernet or 40 Gigabit Ethernet technologies as server vendors introduce 25 Gigabit Ethernet options on numerous existing and upcoming platforms.”

The solutions offered by Cumulus Networks and Mellanox and the interoperability news point to the industry’s larger move toward hyperscale data centers. Internet giants like Amazon, Facebook, and Google (News - Alert) first explored and implemented solutions on this front, and now other enterprises and service providers are working to can their data centers in a way that is more cost- and resource-efficient as well.