QLogic 3200 Series is the Adapter of Choice for Virtualized Environments - Manual (Page 5)

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White PaPer
NPar is flexible and lets the user set maximum and minimum bandwidth
settings. it enables dynamic bandwidth balancing and puts the user in
control of ensuring applications have the bandwidth they need. all of this
flexibility can be supported without the need for new external ethernet
Switch infrastructure.
Meeting Stringent Service Level Agreements
Businesses cannot afford to have productivity suffer due to the inability to
access mission-critical applications or because of poor application delivery
performance. Business success is dependent on it performance; if the
network fails to meet service level agreements the impact to the business
can be significant.
along with bandwidth capacity, it is now essential to have a highly scalable
architecture. Server virtualization enables i/O sharing, but introduces
resource contention at the adapter level.
When the QLogic NPar feature is configured, QoS can be activated on
each virtual port. this allows for the ability to differentiate service levels
between workloads for each application, enabling administrators to work
with bandwidth settings and traffic isolation to meet individual SLas.
You can manage QoS for traffic sent over each of the partitions. this feature
lets you allocate minimum and maximum bandwidth to each partition in
100Mbps increments anywhere from 100Mbps to 10Gbps through QLogic
provided management tools and utilities. QLogic provides ultimate flexibility
and ease-of-use to the user by providing multiple options to configure NiC
Partitioning. there are four tools available to the end user to configure
NPar functionality. the first is a pre-boot utility and the second is the
QConvergeConsole management tool, which is available in both GUi and
CLi options. Windows
® users can take advantage of the third tool, which is
the QLogic Windows properties page. the fourth tool is for VMware ® users,
who can set up NPar via a vCenter plug-in from QLogic.
Simplify Management
QLogic offers a robust management solution to help organizations simplify
management and improve efficiency while reducing costs. QLogic’s
management solutions are designed to simplify storage, ethernet, and
converged networking environments. they offer cross-functionality views
and support not only for the QLogic intelligent ethernet adapter, but also
for QLogic’s Fibre Channel adapters and Converged Network adapters. the
management solution enables it departments to standardize on one tool
for management of all data, storage, and converged QLogic infrastructure.
Multi-platform, Single-pane Management
the QConvergeConsole management tool delivers a broad set of powerful
ethernet and Fibre Channel adapter management tools for administrators
to maximize application performance and availability. available in both GUi
and CLi options, QConvergeConsole offers application-based wizards to
enable your environment to be quickly and easily provisioned based on
published best practices.
With QConvergeConsole, there is just one management interface across
all supported platforms and protocols. in fact, the entire QLogic portfolio
can be managed by the tool, which provides a single-pane-of-glass view
for management of Fibre Channel, FCoe, and iP functions, as shown in
Figure 3. in contrast, intel offers only native OS device properties tabs for
management and configuration. Crude utilities like these can severely limit
functionality because each hardware instance needs to be accessed and
configured independently. in addition, the utilities do not offer a holistic
view of the configuration.
Using the QConvergeConsole’s Command Line interface, it administrators
can increase productivity by automating mundane manual tasks. the
installation and configuration of adapters in larger server farms can be
done with the strike of a single key, expediting the entire process and
eliminating the probability of manual errors.
another advantage that QLogic has is the company’s tightly integrated
management options with OeM and OS vendor-specific applications.
through aPis, the QLogic products can leverage many native OS
management utilities. Windows users can take advantage of the QLogic
Windows properties page, Linux
® users will find QLogic technology
integrated with native management tools, and VMware users can configure
features such as NPar via a vCenter plug-in from QLogic.
QLogic tackles the hidden obstacles of simplifying installation and
management by offering multiple choices, integration with OS-specific
utilities, and streamlined steps for successful setup. Wizards within
QConvergeConsole limit decision making and errors by integrating best
practices. all of these features are inherent within the QLogic management
offering, along with a unified network management solution for data,
storage, and converged networks.