Mellanox Boasts 10-Gbit/s Ethernet

With other suppliers nipping its heels, Mellanox has unveiled a two-port 10-Gbit/s Ethernet adapter, the next step in its stated goal of "single-wire convergence over Ethernet or InfiniBand." (See Mellanox Ships Ethernet Adapter.)

The ConnectX EN is a set of 10-Gbit/s Ethernet adapter chips and NICs that offer PCIe connectivity to multi-core processors from AMD and Intel, support iSCSI for storage connectivity, and come with fiber and CX4 copper compatibility. The chips support Windows, Linux, and VMware.

Mellanox says OEMs are already testing ConnectX EN for a range of applications, including servers that support clustered databases, Web infrastructure, and IP video. But none are available for comment because it's too soon in their development cycle. In the past, Mellanox has counted Cisco, Dell, HP, IBM, NetApp, Qlogic, Sun, and Voltaire, among its OEMs.

One thing: Mellanox says it's not interested in 10GBase-T, the copper-based version of 10-Gbit/s Ethernet. "We think it's too early for 10GBase-T," says Mellanox senior director of product management Dan Tuchler. "You need special augmented Cat 6 cable to run it." (See 10GBase-T Compliance in Doubt.)

Mellanox views the new products as key to its previously announced ConnectX strategy of consolidating and streamlining data center equipment on Ethernet and/or InfiniBand, with Fibre Channel conversion to either network taking place at the SAN. (See Mellanox Incorporates 10-GigE and A Dynamic Duo.) Adapters supporting both 10-Gbit/s Ethernet and/or InfiniBand are set for release in the fourth quarter of this year, with 20-Gbit/s InfiniBand to follow in 2008, the vendor says.At least one analyst thinks the news is an interesting move for Mellanox. "It acknowledges on their part that data centers are going to support both InfiniBand and Ethernet," says Gartner analyst Joe Skorupa. He says the announcement could be more relevant next year, when other 10-Gbit/s adapters have emerged in real products and it will be possible to compare them.

For now, the market is awash in subjective claims and speculation.

By entering the 10-Gbit/s Ethernet chip market, Mellanox is pitting itself against a slew of suppliers that include Broadcom, Chelsio, NetXen, and Neterion, to name just a few. All have 10-Gbit/s adapters on offer to server and storage OEMs -- and all have lots to say about their offerings. (See InfiniBand Vendors Embrace 10-GigE.)

Most also stand ready to challenge Mellanox's claimed differentiators, which are centered on performance.

For instance, Mellanox claims reliance on the host CPU instead of adapter memory for TCP/IP processing -- so-called stateless offload -- distinguishes its wares from those of 10-Gbit/s competitors that use TOEs (TCP/IP offload engines) or other techniques to process protocol requests.NetXen, for one, isn't buying it. It claims its two-port 10-Gbit/s adapters, which also support iSCSI, can be used in either stateless or stateful configurations, depending on how an OEM implements NetXen's APIs. "I just assume everyone has stateless offload," says Vik Karvat, senior director of marketing at NetXen. "It's not a big deal."

Broadcom, like NetXen, says its new BCM57710 adapters can be used in both stateful and stateless implementations.

Mellanox also claims lower power consumption than its rivals. Adapters consume about 6 watts per port, the vendor claims.

Rivals produce comparable numbers: NetXen says its chips consume about 5 watts per 10-Gbit/s port; Broadcom claims about 6.5 watts.

As for pricing, Mellanox says chips cost $182 in OEM volume; adapters, $405 in volume. Broadcom says its chips will cost less than $100 in OEM volumes when they ship in the fourth quarter of this year.At this point, third-party evidence isn't available to support any of these vendors' claims. As Gartner's Skorupa notes, it's going to take longer for the realities to reveal themselves as OEMs step up to the plate.

For now, though, Mellanox seems confident of its ability to succeed in Ethernet as it has in InfiniBand. "We already have the technology, we have deep experience in software and drivers, and a lot of work that is directly transferable to Ethernet," says Tuchler. "And having done all this for awhile, we can do it in a single chip!"

Mary Jander, Site Editor, Byte and Switch