How Does CloudFabric Intelligent and Lossless DCN Win the Storage Network Face-Off

Introduction: Oriented towards storage scenarios, NoF+ is a sub-solution of Huawei’s AI Fabric Intelligent and Lossless Data Center Network. Let’s see how it performs in this storage network face-off
What is storage?

Scientists: “Storage is the process of properly, securely, and effectively storing data (based on different application environments) on certain media, while also ensuring effective access.”Poets: “Storage is where data resides.”

Two storage types exist. The first includes conventional magnetic tapes and disks.
This type is as stable as a house with good foundations, and doesn’t require high latency or throughput. The second operates like a vehicle, which is driven in and out of a garage every day.This part can be viewed as flash memory.

“Fast” is the first impression that pops up when referring to flash memory.
Think about how quickly banks process hundreds of thousands of transactions every second.Data needs to be input and output quickly, with an average transaction time of 1 ms.

Other than efficient local transmission (e.g., by using the NVMe protocol), 
a high-speed transmission network is required to ensure fast data input and output.
The storage network NVMe over Fabric (NoF) fits this bill.

For a while now, 
the FC storage network has been widely recognized by the market and users for its stability and reliability, but the NOF+ (based on the IP network) is more than up to the challenge. How do these networks fair against each other? Three rounds will determine the winner.

The core requirement of flash memory is “fast”.But if the flash memory is fast but network transmission rate is slow, the network becomes the bottleneck of data transmission.

Statistics show that 99% of network latency is caused by packet loss.
The Tolly test verifies that the NoF+ is the only Ethernet in the industry with zero packet loss. Based on the iLossless algorithm, 
it solves issues regarding congestion, packet loss, and low throughput; provides E2E μs-level latency; and unleashes full storage potential.

Construction of new infrastructure stimulates the digital economy’s upgrade, 
while online services and short videos stimulate exponential data growth, 
considerably increasing data flows.

Ethernet has already stepped into the 400GE era. The FC network has a maximum bandwidth of only 32 Gbit/s, which is less than 10% of the IP network’s bandwidth. 
On top of that, the FC network is generally believed to have high costs. 

As such, this “noble”, low-bandwidth network does not gel well with the big data era. The explosive growth in data volume is increasing the scale of storage networks, 
which in turn poses significant challenges to network deployment and O&M.
Network stability directly affects user experience and the number of active users.

The NoF+ utilizes iMaster NCE-Fabric, Huawei’s autonomous network management and control system, to implement real-time device plug-and-play, minute-level service deployment, pre-event simulation/verification, and “1-3-5” intelligent O&M. It is the first attempt to implement the L3 autonomous driving network (ADN) on DCNs.

Ultimately, Huawei’s NoF+ takes the lead and stands out. It is the only Ethernet in the industry to feature zero packet loss, high bandwidth, low latency, and easy maintenance.
On top of that, it possesses the selling points of the IP/Ethernet network, 
while also being open and compatible, facilitating the integration of storage, network, and computing resources, as well as implementing real-time data sharing.

Faster storage calls for faster networks. Huawei AI Fabric NoF+ is the optimal choice for storage networks in the all-flash era.

Learn more about Huawei Data Center Network Solution at the Huawei Tech Summit on March 17, 2021