copyright 2004, stargen server blade summit: session 105 interfaces panel advanced switching...
TRANSCRIPT
Server Blade Summit: Session 105
Interfaces Panel
Advanced Switching Interface (ASI) Legacy Plus
David MayhewStarGen
If you cannot do the old stuff you will not be allowed to do the new stuff.
or
Legacy support is not everything:On a list of the 10 most important interface
characteristics, other capabilities are prominently featured in the second half of the list.
Standards based solutions are essential.
Which Legacy
Load/Store – PCI ? Local intra-computer communication interface.
Packets – Ethernet ? Inter-computer interface Socket compatibility equally important
Packets – SCSI / SAS / Fibre Channel ? Storage interface
Data Streams – TDM ? Voice/video interfaces
ASI provides transparent legacy support for all four, plus any number of additional legacy protocols.
Future (Plus) Interface Goals High Availability
Scalability More than dozens of endpoints
Convergence Merging of computational and communications equipment.
Decomposition Separation of CPUs from I/O devices One-to-one CPU to I/O device mapping One-to-many CPU to I/O device mapping
Sharing/Virtualization Many-to-one CPU to I/O device mapping Many-to-one virtual/system image to I/O device mapping
ASI supports for all five future system requirements.
A quick look at shared I/O
Load / store (PCI) register compatible shared I/O model.
Packet stream shared I/O model.
There are other models, but not that can be discussed in the 90 seconds remaining in this presentation.
Shared I/O Shared Register Interface
ASI FabricASI Fabric
Reg Set 3
Fib
re Ch
an
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l
Reg Set 0
Reg Set 2
Reg Set 1
Shared I/O Shared Gateway
ASI FabricASI Fabric
10G
b E
the
rnet
Ch
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AS
I/E
thern
et
Enet
XAUIEthernet
Enet ASI
Enet ASI
ASI supports Legacy Plus
Keep your existing software base.
Add new capabilities using legacy transparent or advanced interface features.
Do the above in a fully standards based interface. Most ASI specifications are now at a 1.1
revision level