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IBM System Networking RackSwitch G8264
IBM Redbooks Product Guide
IBM® System Networking RackSwitch™ G8264 leveraging 10Gb SFP+ and 40Gb QSFP+ Ethernet
technology is specifically designed for the data center. It is ideal for today's big data, cloud, and
optimized workload solutions. It is an enterprise class Layer 2 and layer 3 full featured switch that
delivers line-rate, high-bandwidth switching, filtering, and traffic queuing without delaying data. Large
data-center grade buffers help keep traffic moving, while the redundant power and fans along with
numerous high availability features help provide high availability for business sensitive traffic.
The RackSwitch G8264, shown in Figure 1, is ideal for latency sensitive applications such as high
performance computing clusters and financial applications. In addition to the 10-Gb Ethernet (GbE)
and 40-GbE connections, the G8264 also has the capability for legacy 1-GbE connections. The
G8264 supports the newest protocols including Data Center Bridging/Converged Enhanced Ethernet
(DCB/CEE) for support of Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) in addition to iSCSI and
network-attached storage (NAS).
Figure 1. IBM System Networking RackSwitch G8264
The G8264 also supports IBM Virtual Fabric, which helps clients significantly reduce cost and
complexity related to I/O requirements of many virtualization deployments. Virtual Fabric helps reduce
the number of multiple I/O adapters to a single dual-port 10 G adapter and reduces the number of
cables and required upstream switch ports. By using Virtual Fabric, you can carve a dual-port 10 G
server adapter into 8 virtual network interface cards (vNICs) and create dedicated virtual pipes
between the adapter and switch for optimal performance, higher availability, and improved security.
With Virtual Fabric IT, you can make dynamic changes and allocate bandwidth per vNIC so that you
can adjust it over time without downtime.
The RackSwitch G8264 is the first 10 GbE switch to offer benefits of OpenFlow. OpenFlow is the new
open application programming interface (API) that enables the network administrator to easily
configure and manage virtual networks that control traffic on a "per-flow" basis. It creates multiple
independent virtual networks and related policies without dealing with the complexities of the
underlying physical network and protocols. The G8264 is also the recommended switch to use with
the network controller that is compliant with OpenFlow, which is the IBM Programmable Network
Controller.
Did you know?
The RackSwitch G8264 supports several types of configurations: 1-Gb, 10-Gb, and 40-Gb, vNIC,
Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE/DCB), NAS, and iSCSI.
The RackSwitch G8264 with SFP+ technology is the ideal solution for clients who are looking for
low latency and low power consumption.
The IBM RackSwitch G8264 supports stacking for up to eight switches using a single switch
image and configuration file that shares one IP address and one management interface.
IBM System Networking RackSwitch G8264
®
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Related Manuals for IBM RackSwitch G8264
Summary of Contents for IBM RackSwitch G8264
- Page 1 With Virtual Fabric IT, you can make dynamic changes and allocate bandwidth per vNIC so that you can adjust it over time without downtime. The RackSwitch G8264 is the first 10 GbE switch to offer benefits of OpenFlow. OpenFlow is the new open application programming interface (API) that enables the network administrator to easily configure and manage virtual networks that control traffic on a “per-flow”...
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Page 2: Part Number Information
The G8264 plays a vital role with IBM Virtual Fabric, which reduces costs and complexity in environments where four or more NICs are needed per server. An example is virtualization, where clients often need up to eight NICs per server. For more information, see IBM Virtual Fabric at: http://www.ibm.com/systems/networking/software/virtualfabric.html Part number information Table 1 lists the part numbers for ordering IBM System x®... - Page 3 ECBD (networking) - Optical 25m LC-LC Fiber Cable 88Y6857 ECBE (networking) - Optical 0.5 IBM Passive DAC SFP+ Cable* 00D6288 ECBG 1 m IBM Passive DAC SFP+ 90Y9427 ECB4 Cable* 3 m IBM Passive DAC SFP+ 90Y9430 ECB5...
- Page 4 Console cable kit spare 90Y9462 EUC4 With the flexibility of the IBM switch, you can take advantage of the following technologies required for multiple environments: For 1 Gb links, you can use SFP transceivers plus LC-to-LC fiber cables. ...
- Page 5 Generic Rail Mount Kit (2-post) IBM serial cable Power cords, listed in Table 2, are shipped separately at an additional charge. Table 2. Power cords and descriptions: IBM System x Power cord Description 39Y7917 Power Cord Europe AC plug 10A/250 V; OPT 39Y7918 Power Cord Europe (Denmark) AC plug 10A/250 V;...
- Page 6 Lower power and better cooling The IBM RackSwitch G8264 uses as little as 330 W of power, which is a fraction of the power consumption of most competitive offerings. Unlike side-cooled switches, which can cause heat recirculation and reliability concerns, the front-to-rear or rear-to-front cooling design of the G8264 reduces data center air conditioning costs by having airflow match the servers in the rack.
- Page 7 OpenFlow enabled The RackSwitch G8264 is the first 10 GbE switch to offer benefits of OpenFlow. OpenFlow is the new open API that enables the network administrator to easily configure and manage virtual networks that control traffic on a “per-flow” basis. It creates multiple independent virtual networks and related policies without dealing with the complexities of the underlying physical network and protocols.
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Page 8: Warranty Information
Table 4 compares the features of the IBM RackSwitch G8264 with the IBM RackSwitch G8264T. Table 4. Comparison of the IBM RackSwitch G8264 and IBM RackSwitch G8264T features IBM RackSwitch G 8264 IBM RackSwitch G 8264T Port types Based on SFP+... - Page 9 Airflow Front-to-rear or rear-to-front cooling Redundant variable hot-swap speed fans for reduced power draw Figure 3 shows the rear view of the IBM RackSwitch G8264. Figure 3. Rear view of IBM RackSwitch G8264 Power Dual hot swap power modules, 50 - 60Hz, 100 - 240 VAC auto-switching per module...
- Page 10 Software features IBM RackSwitch G8264 has the following software features, as of 7.6: Security RADIUS TACACS+ Wire Speed Filtering: Allow and Deny SSH v1, v2 HTTPS Secure BBI Secure interface login and password MAC address move notification Shift B Boot menu (Password Recovery/ Factory Default) VLANs ...
- Page 11 VMready with VI API support vNIC MIB support for SNMP OpenFlow OpenFlow v1.0 OpenFlow hybrid mode Clients IBM System Networking Switch Center (SNSC) ISCLI (Cisco-like) Scriptable CLI Browser-based client or Telnet Standard protocols IPv4, IPv6 SNMP v1, v2c, and v3...
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Page 12: Popular Configurations
Rack-optimized server aggregation 10-GbE attached rack servers The IBM RackSwitch G8264 is an ideal networking device for port aggregation, allowing the consolidation of one to three racks full of servers before connecting to an upstream switch. High-concentration of rack-optimized servers, for example: ... - Page 13 Interoperates with existing network; no learning curve Rack-optimized server aggregation logical design The design goal is to have the IBM RackSwitch G8264 (10 GbE) switch at the distribution layer and the IBM RackSwitch G8000/G8052 (1 GbE) at Edge/Access. The G8264 is also ideal at the distribution layer when you are looking to aggregate connections for access layer switches like the G8000 or G8052 which support forty-eight 1-Gb ports to the servers and four 10-Gb uplinks.
- Page 14 Traffic load balanced across all links using Layer 3 ECMP 64 RackSwitch G8052 Leaf Switches for 2560 non-blocking 1 GbE ports 48x 10/100/1000 server-facing ports each 4x 10 GBASE-SR fiber uplinks each spine Four RackSwitch G8264 switches for non-blocking core IBM System Networking RackSwitch G8264...
- Page 15 Virtual Fabric configuration with IBM System x servers using the Emulex Virtual Fabric Adapter The following example describes an IBM Virtual Fabric implementation: IBM Virtual Fabric for IBM System x is built using industry standards and is the ideal solution for ...
- Page 16 G8264 benefits for IP Storage applications are as follows: Lossless Ethernet Fabric Low latency ideal for HPC clusters, cloud, and financial applications Line-rate, high-bandwidth performance Low-power consumption with fewer components Low-cost, pay-as-you-grow 10 Gb/40 Gb storage network IBM System Networking RackSwitch G8264...
- Page 17 Figure 8 shows the iSCSI. Figure 8. iSCSI IBM System Networking RackSwitch G8264...
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Page 18: Related Publications
Related publications For more information, see the following references: IBM Offering Information page (to search on announcement letters, sales manuals, or both): http://www.ibm.com/common/ssi/index.wss?request_locale=en On this page, enter G8264 for System x and iDataPlex, select the information type, and then click Search. On the next page, narrow your search results by geography and language. -
Page 19: Copyright License
Web sites. The materials at those Web sites are not part of the materials for this IBM product and use of those Web sites is at your own risk.IBM may use or distribute any of the information you supply in any way it believes appropriate without incurring any obligation to you. - Page 20 (® or ™), indicating US registered or common law trademarks owned by IBM at the time this information was published. Such trademarks may also be registered or common law trademarks in other countries.