Using VMware Community Source to Drive Innovation for ESX Server- An Emulex Perspective

James Smart

Consulting Engineer

Emulex Corporation

Agenda

Emulex overviewThe OpportunityEmulex and Community SourceCommunity Source vs Open SourceTips and adviceQuestions?

Emulex Introduction

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FY'99 FY'00 FY'01 FY'02 FY'03 FY'04 FY'05

Emulex Revenues $ Millions

Fiscal Year Ends June

Growth +15% +104% +76% +4% +21% +18% +3%

SAN Infrastructure leaderLeading supplier of intelligent building blocks for storage solutionsFibre channel HBAs and IOCsEmbedded FC Storage Switches

Record FY 2005 revenues7th consecutive year of revenue growth5 year CAGR of 22%

Headquartered in Costa Mesa, CA~ 600 employees

Deep systems expertise in both networking and storage

Broad relationships with all the major service and storage providers

Recent acquisitions include Vixel, Trebia, Aarohi, Sierra Logic

The World’s Leading Companies Rely On Emulex

Emulex Is Trusted World WideServers Storage Partners

Trends in Server Virtualization and SANs

Virtual Servers have a high connect rate with FC SANsEnterprises are now deploying ESX across development and production – driving SAN connectivityEstimate 70-80% of ESX servers are SAN attachedEnabled by: ESX supports 4 generations of Emulex HBAs

SANs are ideal for server virtualization-based workloadsAny-to-any storage sharing to VM’sFacilitates high availability and backup implementationsIdeal for for VMotion Applications

Storage administrators are now understanding virtual machine workloads

Using existing toolsetsSAN and storage practices

Downsides to Virtual Server SAN Connectivity

Previous Single-System relationship to physical port lostThere is no VM-identification on any I/O request from the serverNo ability to differentiate VM-specific data flows in the fabric (QoS)Trouble-shooting issues with virtual machines more difficult

Storage Presentation very differentAll ESX servers must be able to see all storageOpen-Zoning – All servers and storage in same zoneLUN Mapping/Masking based on servers, not the machine• No ability to track per-VM data access on the storage array

Departmental division of “Server” admin vs “Storage” admin blurred.

N_Port_ID Virtualization (NPIV)

An approved mechanism in existing ANSI T11 (FC) StandardsAllows 1 physical port to obtain more than 1 address per port

Each address requires a unique WWPNNo relationship dictated between physical port and WWPN

Indistinguishable to other endpoints on the fabric

HBAwwpn

FC Fabric

wwpn1 wwpn2HBA

FC Fabric

Zones

Emulex LightPulse Virtual HBA

Allows a Virtual Machine to effectively have its own “SAN ID”Each VM has World Wide Port Name (WWPN) resources

Based on industry standard N_Port_ID Virtualization (NPIV)Multiple SAN addresses assigned to a physical port and distributed to the VMs

Enables SAN best practices: VM-based zoning and LUN masking/mapping to control presentationSAN tools can track the Virtual Machine

Virtual HW

Virtual HW

Virtual HW

Virtual HW

Virtual HW

Virtual HW

Virtual HW

Virtual HW

Virtual HW

Virtual HW

Fibre Channel HBA

Hypervisor Hypervisor

WWN Multiple FCIDsEmulex LightPulse Virtual HBA technology

The NPIV Community Source Opportunity

NPIV requires modifications to more than the device driverESX must know/manage WWPN’s as resources of the VMNPIV API between ESX and the driver is needed

Must be integrated into ESX at VM startup or shutdown.VMotion must migrate the NPIV resources along with the VM.ESX has significant design points to consider:

Understanding “what could be” for dynamic resourcesEnsuring proper connectivity prior to VM startupHow to best create HA configurations

Using Community Source, we can:Accelerate Development and integration into ESXUse the forum for tighter communication with ESX engineering andproduct management

CS-NPIV Project

Emulex created an Open Project to work on NPIV January 2006Includes Emulex and QLogic

SVN branch on ESX 3.0 trunkEmail reflector for discussion and submit logsBi-Weekly Con Calls

Results:Emulex-contributed API specification now an ESX interfaceVMware has integrated NPIV support into CS ESX kernelNPIV Technology Preview released September 2006

Set of rpms for ESX 3.0 to add NPIV supportInstallation of Emulex NPIV device driver

Upcoming ESX releases folding in NPIV modifications

Community Source Impressions

Positives:Ability to modify the kernel, not just your device driver.

Able to gain deep understanding of ESX and how different parts interactAble to work directly with VMware engineers who concentrate on the vmwarekernelGreat ability to create change

Create the solutionGenerate rpms to replace any or all kernel contentsAbility to immediately test, and to do so without VMware interaction

Very good support documentation (lab notes and pdf docs)How to install; Lay down rpms; Build ESX server components

Test Suites provided for many componentsGood Bug-Tracking tools that can isolate view to a specific IHVExcellent Support team

Knowledgeable and responds quicklyProvides background testing supportOccasionally makes modifications on your behalf

Community Source Impressions

Cons:Applications and Management software is not part of CSIt is difficult to create applications to test your kernel APIsNo opportunity to aid in integrating change into Virtual Center

Dependent upon VMware for VC changesCS is still young and doesn’t enjoy wealth of IHV participation (yet)CS processes still going through growth processA lot of communication still occurs behind the scenesActual ESX integration, support levels, and schedules driven by VMware

Community Source vs Open Source

Similarities:If you have the need, you can make it happenFull access to kernel code. Can see what it’s doing.Very good mailing lists used for help. Very knowledgeable residents on these lists.

Differences (ESX vs Linux):

ESXSingle company managing processClear, quick acceptance process.

Direct access to CS SVN poolKernel acceptance by VMwareSmall group of reviewersReview focused on End-User/Product

Strict compatibility requirementsVery Good Documentation and Lab

Notes

LinuxEntities: The Community; each DistroAcceptance process cloudy. Kernel

integration multi-staged.Kernel acceptance by Community & DistroLarge community reviewMore focused on architectural purity

More amenable to API changeDocumentation scattered, perhaps out of

date, not all inclusive. Some very good.

Community Source Benefits

Time to MarketCan significantly influence and accelerate change in ESXAbility to create asynchronous ISO imagesAbility to ship previews outside of VMware product delivery dates.• Ultimately, support is still based on VMware schedules

Tips and Advice

Get started earlyIdentify the technology and project and engage VMware team

Utilize the resources across the boardVMware business, marketing, engineering and test resources

Understand the optionsPrivate engagement, project group or CS-wide

Get customer validationUnderstand VMware customer and your customer overlap

Be realisticRome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was ESX

Thank You

Questions?

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