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Emulex Virtual Fabric Adapter II FCoE License Available

IBM announced the availability of the Emulex Virtual Fabric Adapter II (VFA II) Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) License for IBM System x, an upgrade option that adds FCoE storage support to IBM 10Gb Ethernet (10GbE) Network Interface Cards (NICs). The new product, which is based on Emulex’s OneConnect™ Universal Converged Network Adapter (UCNA) architecture, (part number 49Y4274) is now an orderable upgrade option to the Emulex VFA II option card (part number 49Y7950) and integrated VFA II for IBM System x . This news follows closely on our July announcement (see my last blog on this here) introducing the VFA II for IBM BladeCenter, and signifies broader support from Emulex Virtual Fabric Adapter technology to the IBM System X and BladeCenter families.

With the option to support FCoE with full protocol offload, the Emulex VFA II enables IBM customers to seamlessly converge Fibre Channel and Ethernet I/O while leveraging 10 generations of proven Emulex Fibre Channel technology. By using a common infrastructure for Ethernet and storage networks, data centers can reduce capital expense (CapEx) with savings of up to 30% for adapters and switches, and up to 80% for cables. Network convergence also reduces operational expense (OpEx) for power and cooling by up to 40%1. FCoE is fully compatible with existing Fibre Channel infrastructures to protect investments in storage, switches, management applications and administrative expertise.

The Emulex 10GbE VFA II for IBM System x includes unique features exclusive to IBM switches and Emulex adapters, such as:

• Optimized Performance for Service Level Agreements (SLAs): with bidirectional bandwidth management that matches performance to application usage
• Improved Virtualization: with automatic point to point virtual LAN (vLAN) configurations that provide more scalable VM support

For more information and technical specs on the Emulex Virtual Fabric Adapter II for IBM System x and other 10GbE and Fibre Channel solutions, please visit our Emulex-IBM partner site.

Source:   Emulex / IBM Site - Emulex Virtual Fabric Adapter II FCoE License Now Available for IBM System X