NPAR
Dell - QLogic
October 2011

Dell and QLogic Drive Next-generation Blade Server I/O Virtualization with NPAR*
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*Based on QLogic VMflex TM Technology
October, 2011

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Agenda
• Why NPAR (NIC Partitioning)?
• Highlights
• Operations
• Configurations
QME8242-k
PowerEdge M-Series Blade Server
PowerConnect M8424-k Converged Network Switch
PowerEdge M1000e Modular Blade Enclosure
October, 2011

Why NPAR?
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• Lowers TCO
• Consolidates cables, infrastructure, and I/O
• Saves server resources
• Reduces operational complexity
• Flexible SAN and LAN personality
• VM to VM NIC traffic without external switch
• Efficient I/O Utilization
• Allows dynamic bandwidth provisioning
• Minimizes bandwidth waste
• Scales I/O workloads and connections
• Scale-Out performance for virtualized servers
• Provides finer control for SLA / on demand services
• Simpler Deployment
• Solution not dependent on OS or switch
• Configuration at pre-boot or OS level
Maximize Data Center Efficiency
October, 2011

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Key Attributes
• No OS or BIOS changes required
• NIC controls transmit flow rate
• User configurable
• Dynamic bandwidth allocation
• Storage and NIC personalities (function type)
• Full offload for iSCSI and FCoE with NPAR
• Concurrent FCoE, iSCSI and NIC support
• Minimum bandwidth allows fine grain QoS
OS & Switch Agnostic Solution Delivers
Highest Levels of Interoperability
October, 2011

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NPAR Theory of Operation
PF0
NIC*
Up to 4 Physical Functions on each physical port
PF2
NIC
PF4 iSCSI / NIC
PF6
FCoE / NIC
PF1
NIC*
PF3
NIC
PF5 iSCSI / NIC
PF7
FCoE / NIC
Default Function State
NIC* Function Always
Enabled
Physical
Port 0
Physical
Port 1
PF0 & PF1
NIC*
PF2 & PF3
Disabled
PF4 & PF5 iSCSI
PF6 & PF7
FCoE
October, 2011

NPAR Theory of Operation
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3
4
5
6
7
Function
Number
0
1
2
Function
Type
NIC*
NIC*
NIC
NIC iSCSI/ NIC iSCSI/ NIC
FCoE/ NIC
FCoE/ NIC
Physical Port
Number
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
* Functions 0 & 1 (Port 0 and Port 1)
• Always present
• Always NIC
• 2 & 3 - NIC or disabled
• 4 & 5 - iSCSI, NIC or disabled
• 6 & 7 - FCoE, NIC or disabled
• One iSCSI and/or FCoE per Physical Port
• NIC, iSCSI, & FCoE have fixed function numbers
• Functions 2 -7 can be independently disabled
October, 2011

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NPAR Configuration Options
• Enable / Disable NPAR Functions
• Change Function Type (Personality)
• Allocate Min and Max Bandwidth
Configuration Utilities Pre Boot Utility
Windows Property Sheet QCC GUI QCC CLI QLogic Fast!UTIL / Dell USC
Linux QCC GUI QCC CLI QLogic Fast!UTIL / Dell USC
ESX
ESXi vCenter Plugin vCenter Plugin -
QCC CLI QLogic Fast!UTIL / Dell USC
QLogic Fast!UTIL / Dell USC
October, 2011

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NPAR Configuration QLogic Utility
Invoke QLogic Fast!UTIL during POST
Type <Ctrl>Q
October, 2011

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NPAR Configuration QLogic Utility
Configuration Utility
• Change Function Type
• Allocate Min Bandwidth
• Save Changes and Reboot
October, 2011

NPAR Configuration Dell USC
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UEFI  F10  USC  Advanced Configuration  Select Port for NPAR
October, 2011

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NPAR Configuration Dell USC
October, 2011

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NPAR Configuration Dell USC
October, 2011

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NPAR Configuration Windows Properties Page
NPAR
Configured for three NICs and
FCoE
NPAR
Configured for three NICs and iSCSI
October, 2011

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NPAR Configuration QCC GUI
Web based tool provides same interface for Windows and Linux
October, 2011

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NPAR Configuration QCC CLI
CLI tool provides same interface for Windows and Linux
October, 2011

NPAR Configuration ESX
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• Independently configured for each port
• eSwitch used for VM to
VM NIC communication
VM a-b vNIC a-b
VM c-d vNIC c-d
VM e-f vNIC e-f
Server
Hypervisor
VM g-h VM i-j vNIC g-h vNIC i-j
VM l-m vNIC l-m
VM n-o VM p-q vDisk vDisk
SCSI Layer
PF 0 PF 2 PF 4 PF 6
Port 0 eSwitch
TX/RX
PHY
PF 1 PF 3 PF 5 PF 7 iSCSI FCoE eSwitch
Port 1
TX/RX
PHY
Switch
Uplink
Switch
Port
October, 2011

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NPAR Configuration ESX
VM1 vNIC
VM2 vNIC
Server
VM vNIC
VM vNIC
VM vNIC
VM vNIC
VM vNIC
VM vNIC vSwitch
PF 0 vSwitch vSwitch
PF 2 eSwitch
NIC Port 0
TX/RX
PHY
PF 4 vSwitch
PF 6
Switch
NIC Port 1
October, 2011

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NPAR Configuration – vCenter Plugin (1 of 2)
Save NPAR configuration
Reboot to initiate change
Enable NIC Function Type for Function_2 using pull down menu
October, 2011

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NPAR Configuration - vCenter Plugin (2 of 2)
Enabled with NIC
Function_2
October, 2011

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NPAR Configuration Bandwidth Allocation
• Minimum Bandwidth
• Minimum guaranteed bandwidth
• Specified as % of link speed
• Total of all partitions is up to Max bandwidth link
• May exceed specified Min value up to Max value
• If excess bandwidth available on the physical port
• Maximum Bandwidth
• Up to the Max allowed bandwidth
• Specified as % of link speed
• Not allowed to exceed Max value
• Even if excess bandwidth available on physical port
October, 2011

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NPAR Configuration Bandwidth Allocation using Dell USC
October, 2011

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NPAR Configuration Bandwidth Allocation with Dell USC
From Global Bandwidth Allocation
Select the Partition
• Default Allocation Shown
• Set Relative Bandwidth Weighting
• Set Maximum Bandwidth
October, 2011

NPAR Configuration Bandwidth Allocation with Dell USC
Configure Minimum Bandwidth
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Configure Maximum Bandwidth
October, 2011

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NPAR Configuration Bandwidth Allocation
RT Click Function 0, to Enable
Bandwidth Configuration Window
• Configure Min and Max Value
Dynamically
October, 2011

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NPAR Configuration Bandwidth Allocation with vCenter Plugin
October, 2011

NPAR Configuration Oversubscription
An NPAR enabled 10Gb port can be configured to allow each NIC partition to claim up to 100% of bandwidth that is going unused by the other
NIC partitions on the same port
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Without Oversubscription
Bandwidth
• Fixed
• Unused bandwidth is wasted
With Oversubscription
Bandwidth
• Unused bandwidth available
• Can be used automatically
• Partitions use it when needed
October, 2011

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