Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home IT Management
    • IT Management

    Infiniband Gets Its Second Wind

    By
    eWEEK EDITORS
    -
    February 27, 2002
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      While hopes for the rapid adoption of Infiniband, an emerging high-speed I/O technology designed for data centers, appear to have faded in recent months due to performance boosts in existing technologies, Intel Corp. remains confident the new serial architecture, due to ship in volume next year, will take root.

      At its developers forum in San Francisco this week, Intel, one of seven major high-tech companies backing the development of Infiniband, is touting some of the early data center test results of the new I/O, which is designed to boost information transfers from server to server and server to devices, such as storage systems.

      “What were starting to see is some very strong performance numbers,” said Jim Pappas, director of initiative marketing, in an interview Tuesday at the Moscone Convention Center.

      For example, he cited an IBM demonstration involving an Infiniband-connected server cluster running the computer makers DB2 software. The test showed that Infiniband connectivity enabled the cluster to fully utilize the power of each new server attached to the cluster, eliminating performance degradation that currently results from less efficient connections.

      “Thats the first time ever that theyve seen linear scalability with any kind of interconnect in clusters,” Pappas said. “Basically, you double the amount of processors, you double the amount of performance you have in that cluster. Usually youd double the processors and youd get something like a 70 percent improvement in performance.”

      Currently, Infiniband hardware and software developed by some of the hundreds of companies involved in the technologys trade association are being piloted, with the first products coming to market late this year and beginning volume sales next year.

      Infiniband is backed by more than 200 companies, including Compaq Computer Corp., Dell Computer Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM, Microsoft Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., as well as Intel.

      The technologys channel-based, switched-fabric architecture provides a scalable performance range of 500MB per second to 6GB per second per link.

      Two years ago, the impressive performance numbers spurred speculation that Infiniband could become the dominant I/O of choice, replacing PCI as the industrys mainstay.

      But the development of a faster PCI technology, dubbed PCI-X 2.0, that can offer 4.3GB-per-second performance, as well as improvements in storage connectivity technologies such as Fibre Channel and iSCSI, have dampened enthusiasm for Infiniband.

      Pappas said concerns that Infiniband has been overtaken by competitive technologies are the result of misperceptions about Infinibands targeted market.

      “Its not about, Do you use Infiniband or do you use iSCSI? Thats not an accurate comparison to make,” he said. “Our strategy is an interconnect that would go off to individual drives. You could certainly make the argument, Is it iSCSI or Fibre Channel? But thats a SAN environment. The question is, How do you connect your SANs to your servers?”

      Basically, Infiniband is designed to co-exist, rather than replace, existing I/O technologies, said Pappas, who was involved in the joint effort to develop PCI in the early 90s.

      “Our primary focus has always been to connect all your servers together with Infiniband cables and they go into an infiniband switch to connect to other I/Os,” he said. “Theres been some talk from companies we work with about putting Infiniband inside the box, but thats a second use of the technology. The primary use of the technology is how do I connect servers together.”

      Eventually, Pappas said, shared bus technologies like PCI, which send data packets back and forth across a single channel, will give way to serial connects, which use multiple channels to transmit information.

      “Shared buses are going to go away, and serial buses will take their place,” Pappas said. “Its only a matter of time.”

      eWEEK EDITORS
      eWeek editors publish top thought leaders and leading experts in emerging technology across a wide variety of Enterprise B2B sectors. Our focus is providing actionable information for today’s technology decision makers.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×