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Data Center Ethernet

Introduction

Data Center Ethernet is a standards-based, high-performance, enhancement to classical Ethernet that supports the business, service, application, and operational requirements of next-generation data centers.

Specifically, Data Center Ethernet provides the operational characteristics, architectural scalability and transport flexibility required to meet the demands of these next-generation data centers through a collection of standards-based extensions to Ethernet. Data Center Ethernet allows data center architects to create a data center transport layer that is:

  • Lossless
  • Stable
  • Efficient

This is a prerequisite to implement a unified data center fabric with Fibre Channel over Ethernet, but is also valuable for implementing iSCSI or any other business-critical traffic.

Featured Products

Cisco Nexus 5000 Series

Cisco Nexus 5000 Series

  • Delivers Unified Fabric and Virtual Machine optimized networking
  • Reduces TCO and simplifies data center infrastructure
  • Provides agility, resiliency and alignment to existing operational models
Cisco Nexus 7000 Series

Cisco Nexus 7000 Series

  • Investment protection through infrastructure scalability
  • Continuous systems operations for higher levels of availability
  • Transport flexibility with a platform designed for 10GbE, 40GbE, 100GbE, and Unified Fabric

Data Center Ethernet is an architectural collection of Ethernet extensions designed to enhance Ethernet networking and management specifically in data center environments. Cisco has pioneered and is leading the development of key concepts and facilities within IEEE and ANSI T.11 to develop and promote data center Ethernet standardization to facilitate multivendor, interoperable solutions to data center challenges.

Data Center Ethernet includes the following capabilities:

  • Class based flow control (CBFC)
  • Enhanced transmission selection (ETS) (IEEE 802.1Qaz )
  • Data center bridging capability exchange protocol (DCBCXP)
  • Lossless Ethernet
  • Congestion notification (IEEE 802.1Qau)

Data Center Ethernet is a flexible framework that defines the requirements for switches and end points. This enables devices to support only a subset of capabilities listed above that are required to be part of a Data Center Ethernet fabric.
Featured Content

Fibre Channel over Ethernet and I/O Consolidation(Video - 12:07 min)
Explore the value of FCoE and I/O consolidation.

Calculate the Benefits of a Unified Fabric(Flash)
Cisco Nexus 5000 Unified Fabric Calculator helps you compare costs of unified fabric implementation vs. unconsolidated input/output (I/O) technology.

Spotlight on Data Center Evolution (Video - 28:46 min)
Cisco innovator Tom Edsall discusses trends in the architectural evolution of the data center.

Cisco Data Center Ethernet Q&A
An overview of common questions about Data Center Ethernet.

More Resources

Cisco Data Center Assurance Program

Data Center Design Zone

Services for Data Center

At-a-Glance (1)

Cisco Data Center Ethernet: Network Architecture for Data Center 3.0 (PDF - 130 KB)

Q&A (1)

Cisco Data Center Ethernet

White Papers (5)

Data Center Ethernet: Cisco's Innovation for Data Center Networks

Evolving Data Center Architectures: Meet the Challenge with Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches

Fibre Channel over Ethernet in the Data Center: An Introduction (PDF - 740 KB)

Fibre Channel over Ethernet Solution: Emulex (PDF - 360 KB)

Fibre Channel over Ethernet Solution: Intel (PDF - 1 MB)

Relevant Products
Find details about hardware devices, software applications, and specialized components that relate to your networking solution.

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