[nsp] Gigabit/Fibre LAN - Required Network Elements
Mark Tinka
mtinka at africaonline.co.sz
Thu Apr 22 01:14:05 EDT 2004
Brant Stevens wrote:
> Mark,
Hi Brant.
>
> I have to agree with Chuck.
I am beginning to see his point too.
>
> I would think that spending more resources ($$$$$) on the networking
> infrastructure would make more sense than just throwing big-fat NICs
> in the servers. (Out of curiosity, what kind of servers are
> these?!?!)
Intel-based servers, 3.4GHz PIV's for the production and 1.5GHz Itanium 2
servers for media broadcast. Both these come with on-board LAN capable of up
to 1Gbps (which, I am becoming more confident of, is really reasonable).
>
> Connecting your Storage system (iSCSI/NAS) via 10Gb makes the most
> sense to me, as this is where the highest throughput needs are,...
Could investigate this further.
> but
> would it not be more cost-effective to use multiple servers connected
> via copper to provide the media?
Yes, we have considered this as a way to go, but wanted to be sure about all
the other possible options, before a final decision is made. Currently, you
could see this, more or less, their setup.
>
> What format is the media provided in?
Compressed MP3/WMV, at the moment. But there could be future plans to go
WAN-wide in our location, and then maybe Internet-wide in the region.
> Is it possible for the main
> servers to multicast the traffic?
I'll have to look into this one.
> What are the distances involved?
Well, currently, nothing. The servers and workstations (and current users)
are all located within the same building, on the same floor, on an average
to mid-size office.
>
> I hate to say it, but if there aren't a lot of clients involved, the
> 10GbE will just be wasted.
I agree.
> Properly implementing QoS on your network
> will buy you more than using 10GbE on a client.
Thanks for your cander, Brant.
>
> HTH,
> Brant.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Church, Chuck [mailto:cchurch at wamnetgov.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2004 3:23 PM
> To: mtinka at africaonline.co.sz; cisco-nsp at puck.nether.net
> Subject: RE: [nsp] Gigabit/Fibre LAN - Required Network Elements
>
> Mark,
>
> How many workstations and servers are you initially using, and how
> much potential growth? How much uptime/reliability is required? I
> haven't checked in a year or so, but last I knew, no server could
> come close to saturating a gig link. Not sure why you're using 10gb
> links to servers, much less workstations. Seems like tremendous
> overkill, and very costly. If I'm reading it right, you've already
> purchased all these 10gb NICs, and budget only allows for two 3725
> routers and two 3550 switches???
>
>
> Chuck Church
> Lead Design Engineer
> CCIE #8776, MCNE, MCSE
> Wam!Net Government Services - Design & Implementation Team 13665
> Dulles Technology Dr. Ste 250 Herndon, VA 20171 Office: 703-480-2569
> Cell: 703-819-3495
> cchurch at wamnetgov.com
> PGP key:
> http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?op=index&search=cchurch%40wamnetgov.
> com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: cisco-nsp-bounces at puck.nether.net
> [mailto:cisco-nsp-bounces at puck.nether.net] On Behalf Of Mark Tinka
> Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2004 11:11 AM To: cisco-nsp at puck.nether.net
> Subject: [nsp] Gigabit/Fibre LAN - Required Network Elements
>
> Hi all.
>
> We are planning a project that will be LAN-bandwidth intensive -
> there will be a lot of file sharing, a lot of media streaming and
> quite a large amount of packet transfer across the LAN.
>
> We are thinking of running Gig-E on Cat-5 UTP and fibre.
>
> To be more specific:
>
>
> o We plan to run the main media servers on a 10Gbps LAN backbone.
> The servers already have IntelR PRO/10GbE LR Server Adapter. These
> adapters have a dual-port interface for an MMF/SMF fibre hookup.
>
> o All the LAN machines already have the IntelR PRO/1000 MT Desktop
> Adapter installed, and can run from as low as 10Mbps through to
> 100Mbps and onto 1Gbps, over Cat-5 UTP.
>
> o Some of the workstations that will access the the media servers
> for content will need to re-serve it to both internal and external
> users. These workstations are equipped with the IntelR PRO/10GbE
> LR Server Adapter, along with the dual-port interface for an MMF
> fibre hookup.
>
> o We are also integrating IP telephony for our internal telephone
> system on the same backbone, using Cisco IP Phones and some Cisco
> switching/routing gear. We need to have sufficient capacity on the
> LAN so voice quality isn't compromised.
>
>
> Questions:
>
> o We are looking for a solution that will allow us to run our LAN
> from 10Mbps all the way to 1Gbps, using both Cat-5 and SMF or
> MMF fibre, depending on the distance/bandwidth trade-off. More
> specifically, a solution in terms of switching and routing.
>
> o What we have on budget now is 2x 3550 Cisco Catalyst Switch and 2x
> 3725 Cisco routers. Obviously, for us to realise anything between
> 100Mbps and 10Gbps, we need to run said speed right from the PC
> network card through to the switch and then the router.
>
> o Could anyone please suggest what we could do with this Cisco gear?
> We haven't yet ordered, as we may need to be specific about
> required network modules. I could have done all this on my own,
> but I realised I may not have enough time, and would really
> appreciate any tips/feedback from list members that have (tried) such
> a scenario.
>
> o Essentially, we want fibre and Cat-5 to reside on the
> switches/routers, in, more or less, equal amounts, to allow for
> growth and expansion in either direction.
>
>
> Please note that while this project is quite ambitious, this is a
> corporate business, with just *enough* money to spare, hence the low
> router/switch specs at this time. Anything higher may not be quite
> feasible (probably until some time in the future), but your input is
> welcome, nonetheless.
>
> Any other information anyone can provide will be much appreciated.
> Thanks.
>
> Regards,
>
> Mark Tinka
> Technical Manager, Africa Online Swaziland
>
> _______________________________________________
> cisco-nsp mailing list cisco-nsp at puck.nether.net
> https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/cisco-nsp archive at
> http://puck.nether.net/pipermail/cisco-nsp/
>
> _______________________________________________
> cisco-nsp mailing list cisco-nsp at puck.nether.net
> https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/cisco-nsp archive at
> http://puck.nether.net/pipermail/cisco-nsp/
>
>
>
****************************************************************************
> **********************************
> This electronic mail message contains information that (a) is or may
> be CONFIDENTIAL, PROPRIETARY IN NATURE, OR OTHERWISE PROTECTED BY LAW
> FROM DISCLOSURE, and (b) is intended only for the use of the
> addressee(s) named herein. If you are not an intended recipient,
> please contact the sender immediately and take the steps necessary to
> delete the message completely from your computer system.
>
> Not Intended as a Substitute for a Writing: Notwithstanding the
> Uniform Electronic Transaction Act or any other law of similar
> effect, absent an express statement to the contrary, this e-mail
> message, its contents, and any attachments hereto are not intended to
> represent an offer or acceptance to enter into a contract and are not
> otherwise intended to bind this sender, barnesandnoble.com llc,
> barnesandnoble.com inc. or any other person or entity.
Regards,
Mark Tinka
Technical Manager, Africa Online Swaziland
More information about the cisco-nsp
mailing list