Figure 1 illustrates a rack with 16 servers using FCoE technology compared to a rack using separate
FC and Ethernet with the same level of connectivity. Similarly, Table 1 provides a comparison of cable
requirements for these same racks.
Figure 1 Rack cable comparison
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Table 1 Rack cable requirements comparison
Converged FCoE network
1
Separate FC and Ethernet networks
(2) 10-GbE cables
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(2) cables at 20 Gb per server
(4) 4-Gb FC cables
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(4) 1-GbE NIC cables
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(8) cables at 20 Gb per server
Total of 32 cables for 320 Gb of connectivityTotal of 128 cables for 320 Gb of connectivity
1
Using copper cables for FCoE connections further reduces the per-port connection cost versus the cost of optical SFP+
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transceivers.
4