* Myricom embraces 10 Gigabit Ethernet
Clustering vendor Myricom last week joined the ranks of Ethernet faithful by adopting 10 Gigabit Ethernet for use in its switches and network adapters.
The new Myri-10G switch will feature both Myrinet’s Ethernet emulation and 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Each switch, which has from 16 to 128 ports, will cost as little as $400 per port. The network adapters can work with either Myricom switches or standard Ethernet switches.
Myricom has always used “Ethernet emulation.” In Ethernet emulation, Ethernet packets are encapsulated as Myrinet packets with a type “Ethernet.” Ethernet emulation can carry any packet traffic and protocol, including TCP/IP, that can be carried on an Ethernet network.
Myricom claims that Ethernet emulation allows a higher data rate and lower latency than native Ethernet.
In adopting native Ethernet for its switches – technically the Ethernet emulation protocol is converted to native Ethernet – the company is appeasing commercial organizations that have settled on Ethernet as their protocol of choice. High-performance computing environments may choose to stay with Ethernet emulation because protocol conversion does introduce a couple milliseconds of latency.
Myricom’s network adapters interact directly with application protocols and handle network protocols without affecting the host operating system or CPU. Its switches use cut-through routing, which steers packets according to routing instructions at the head of the packets. They also use source routing, which is determined by the source adapter, rather than destination routing used by Ethernet switches.
The Myri-10G network adapters will be available in September for $795. The switches are also expected to be available in September, starting at $6,400 for a 16-port switch.
