Feature Story
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Throughput networking.The Solaris Operating System and chip multithreading processors from Sun will help you handle the coming flood of network traffic. 13.Apr.04--Last year, Sun ushered quantum change into your data center with the introduction of our throughput computing strategy. By developing processors that can execute tens of threads simultaneously instead of just one, we are well on our way to delivering tremendous increases in data processing--eclipsing today's levels of real-world application performance by a factor of 15 to 30 times. This year, we're taking another quantum leap forward with throughput networking, which extends our breakthrough processor strategy to deliver similar increases for your packet processing. Throughput networking will pave the way for the next wave of network computing: the aware enterprise.
The Aware EnterpriseThe aware enterprise is already taking shape, and it has just begun. Millions of devices connect to the Internet each day, including traditional desktops, cell phones, and PDAs. In less than a decade, the number of directly or indirectly connected clients is expected to skyrocket to one trillion as companies use automated data collection to turn just about anything into a data-generating device. Embedded technologies, such as radio frequency identification tags and sensors, are likely to radically change the way you do business. The benefits will be profound:
As data traffic continues to grow, it threatens to flood your network. The possibilities offered by an aware enterprise are endless, but there are repercussions. Your network is going to be facing a tidal wave of data, yet today's systems simply can't scale well enough--both technically and economically--to handle the coming surge in data-processing workloads. To succeed, the aware enterprise demands a different approach. Maximizing ThroughputThroughput networking is an evolution of Sun's throughput computing strategy, which is enabled by our powerful chip multithreading (CMT) technology. Chips that execute multiple threads simultaneously, such as the UltraSPARC IV processor, can make your application throughput soar. Instead of wasting cycles waiting for slower memory, upcoming CMT chips can start processing another thread, resulting in dramatic performance increases. You get significantly more work done in the same amount of time. But we aren't stopping there. Sun realized that we could leverage CMT technology to also increase the throughput of network processing by as much as 15 to 30 times. We achieve this by addressing another bottleneck that can cripple data processing: multitasking. Because a traditional processor working on a data request cannot risk missing the arrival of another network packet, it must continuously ping-pong between compute tasks, packet processing, and context switching/interupts. Each time the processor jumps between tasks, a cycle is wasted and data affinity is lost, slowing performance. Furthermore, packets are inevitably dropped. The client then resends the request, compounding multitasking inefficiencies by increasing network congestion. This problem will only get worse as networks get faster and larger, and as more demands are placed on them. Having bridged the gap between processor and memory speeds with throughput computing, Sun turned its attention to minimizing these multitasking inefficiencies. We realized that we could radically improve network efficiency by dedicating hardware threads to processing network packets. This is the essence of throughput networking. Under the HoodFirst, we take a CMT processor such as the UltraSPARC IV processor that can process multiple threads simultaneously. Then we modify the Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS) TCP/IP stack so it can lock packet processing to specific processor threads as appropriate for a given application. Thus, at least one dedicated thread is always available to process incoming packets, which are then sent to the other threads for completion of compute tasks.
The processor no longer needs to spend time switching gears because at least one thread will continuously process packets as they arrive. That means no more wasted cycles, destroyed data affinity, or dropped packets, enabling your network processing performance to reach new heights. Remember that swelling tidal wave of network traffic? Bring it on. Riding the WaveAs a systems company, Sun understands that you need a complete solution to implement an aware enterprise. For this reason, we are aligning our investments across Sun to let you take full advantage of the next wave in network computing. By supporting our developer community in creating high-value, multithreaded applications, we are optimizing throughput at the processor level, at the SMP system level, within the Solaris OS, across our Java platform offerings, and even within enterprise applications. We also plan to help you better handle compute-intensive jobs, such as cryptographic processing, by adding specialized hardware to our processors, enabling you to efficiently handle and secure even more data. It's no secret that your network traffic is about to grow by several orders of magnitude. Will your IT budget do the same? Not a chance. But don't panic. Sun technology has always been engineered to help businesses streamline business processes and reduce total cost of ownership. Our revolutionary throughput advancements will allow you to handle the coming data flood efficiently and cost effectively. Even better, you'll be able to transform this enormous wealth of data into a powerful competitive advantage by entering new markets and delivering inventive services that will keep your company riding high. | ||||||||||||
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