NETWORKS

Myricom and Extreme Networks are teaming up to help customers with High-Performance Computing (HPC) and mainstream networking applications with jointly tested network solutions that achieve 10-Gigabit performance. The two companies will demonstrate interoperability in booth #436 at the SC|05 event being held in Seattle this week. Upon entering an agreement where Myricom has joined Extreme Networks'(R) Go Purple Partner Program, the companies conducted a comprehensive series of tests combining high-availability switches from Extreme Networks with Myricom's Myri-10G Network Interface Cards (NICs) and achieved wire-speed performance at 10-Gigabit speeds. "Demonstrating the performance results of our combined solution provides customers with information to confidently select Extreme Networks and Myricom," said Tim Nolan, Extreme Networks' vice president of business development. "Now users can obtain the high availability and performance of our network switches for High Performance Computing clusters." Wire-speed Performance at 10-Gigabit Speeds Joint testing encompassed multiple product sets including the latest 10-Gigabit solutions from both companies. Extreme's modular BlackDiamond 8800 switch series features the low latency and high densities demanded in high-end-enterprise and HPC applications, while Myricom's newly available Myri-10G solutions extend the price and performance advantages of Myrinet interconnect technology to 10-Gigabit speeds and, for the first time, to native Ethernet. Tests featuring Extreme Networks' BlackDiamond 8810 modular switch running with the newly available Myri-10G NICs commenced with demonstrating interoperability using both 10GBase-SR and 10GBase-CX4 links. In performance tests of the switch, traffic throughput exactly matched theoretical 10-Gigabit line rates for standard 1500-Byte Ethernet frames and 9-KByte jumbo frames. The same wire-rate results were seen in unidirectional tests, bidirectional send/receive tests, and multiple-port patterns, showing that the BlackDiamond 8810 switch is truly a wire-rate switch. For these tests of switch throughput, the NIC firmware was operating in a "raw" Ethernet mode in which the data bypasses the host's IP protocol stack. Additional performance tests of the Myri-10G 8-lane PCI-Express NICs were performed between dual-Opteron servers running Red Hat Enterprise Server 4.0, kernel 2.6.9-22.0.1.ELsmp. With the standard Myricom driver and firmware, the netperf benchmark showed TCP/IP data rates in a range from 9.6 to 9.8 Gigabits/s, and UDP/IP data rates in excess of 9.9 Gigabits/s. "We've found Extreme Networks' switches very easy to configure, and their wire-rate performance is well suited to the rigorous requirements of High Performance Computing," says Dr. Chuck Seitz, founder and CEO of Myricom. "Working together and certifying the performance of joint high-speed solutions positions the companies well as the needs of traditional HPC users and mainstream data centers converge." As part of their joint efforts, Myricom and Extreme Networks have launched programs to train their respective sales and marketing teams on each vendor's products.