Unleashing 10Gb Everywhere
Sun networking delivers 10x the throughput — at one-third the cost
 Many of today's campus IT services such as data warehousing, disaster recovery, and cluster computing demand extremely high throughput. Sun's new 10 GbE Networking Technology delivers the multithreaded performance those applications need securely and cost-efficiently.
Sun 10 GbE Networking Technology
No one knows more about multithreading than Sun. When we started developing multicore processors, we discovered a fundamental challenge — networking devices were designed to speak with one processor, not multiple cores or threads, which limited overall performance.
The new Sun Multithreaded 10 GbE Networking Technology solves this problem. It's the first network interface that speaks fluently with today's advanced processors. With the tight integration between the Solaris OS, our chip multithreaded (CMT) processors, and our new 10Gb Ethernet technology, Sun delivers an integrated, optimized network environment with unmatched throughput.
Sun is now the only vendor that can deliver a complete multicore, multithreaded computing environment optimized for network throughput, starting with the Solaris OS, extending to the UltraSPARC T1 processor, and running across the network interface. While Sun's new multithreaded 10Gb/s Ethernet technology is optimized for CMT environments, it improves network performance for all processors.
"The Solaris OS has been a multithreaded system for years, and the latest UltraSPARC processors offer powerful chip multithreading," says Sunay Tripathi, Sun distinguished engineer. "But what has been missing is extending multithreading into the I/O environment and networking space."
Now tight integration between the Solaris OS, the CMT processors, and the new Sun 10 GbE Networking Technology enables Sun to deliver an integrated, optimized network environment with unmatched throughput.
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The Sun Multithreaded Networking Card can deliver up to 10 times the throughput at 1/3 the cost per gigabit.
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Sun Multithreaded Networking Card
The Sun Multithreaded Networking Card (now available) is the first product to implement the Sun 10 GbE Networking Technology — and is the first 10Gb/s network interface card (NIC) from a major vendor.
The Sun Multithreaded Networking Card can deliver up to 10 times the throughput at 1/3 the cost per gigabit, as compared to the equivalent number of 1Gb Ethernet cards. The Sun Multithreaded Networking Card features dual 10Gb Ethernet ports that can deliver a true line-rate of 10Gb when used with a multithreaded server, such as the Sun Fire T1000 and T2000.
Pricing for the Sun Multithreaded Networking Card starts at $498 US per 10Gb Ethernet port. The card can be tried risk-free for 60 days through Sun's Try and Buy program.
Project Crossbow for Solaris OS Virtualization
Project Crossbow, one of the leading OpenSolaris projects, enables Solaris to take full advantage of the new virtualization functionality that the Sun Multithreaded Networking Card offers. The unique combination of Solaris with Project Crossbow — state-of-the-art networking with this new network interface technology — allows Sun to build a killer multithreaded machine optimized for network-facing applications.
"It's a superhighway metaphor," says Tripathi. "Project Crossbow and this new network interface technology instill a 'lane discipline' on I/O in the 10Gb/s environment. Traffic flows more smoothly when it's based on policies and services."
Project Crossbow is next step in the evolution of the Solaris networking stack and brings bandwidth resource control and virtualization as part of the architecture itself instead of the usual add-on layers which have heavy overheads and complexity. Crossbow provides the building blocks for network virtualization and resource control by virtualizing the stack and network interface card (NIC) around any service (HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, NFS, etc.), protocol or virtual machine.
Each virtual stack can be assigned its own priority and bandwidth on a shared NIC without causing any performance degradation. The architecture dynamically manages priority and bandwidth resources, and can provide better defense against denial-of-service attacks directed at a particular service or virtual machine by isolating the impact just to that entity. The virtual stacks are separated by means of H/W classification engine such that traffic for one stack does not impact other virtual stacks.
Your campus datacenter can take advantage of this advanced technology from Sun to boost performance and lower costs:
- Get the Sun Multithreaded Networking Card: Try it risk-free for 60 days through Sun's Try and Buy program.
- Download Source Code and Binaries: Network Virtualization and Resource Control source code and binaries for the Solaris OS are available now as part of the Crossbow project at OpenSolaris.org. Crossbow technology will be available in Solaris by the end of this year.
- Great Deals on CMT CoolThreads Servers: For a limited time, Education customers can save more than 30 percent off list price on energy-efficient Sun Fire T1000 and T2000 servers with UltraSPARC T1 processors offered through the Sun Education Essentials program.
- Student Participation: Interested in working on cutting edge networking technology and defining the future of network virtualization? Sun is looking for top student interns who can help shape the future of next-generation networking infrastructure. Send your resume to markus.flierl@sun.com
Questions or comments? Please email education_news@sun.com
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