QLogic Unveils iSCSI Product Line

QLogic today unveiled a full line of iSCSI products that it says answers the call from major OEMs for standards-based iSCSI components to power server, networking and storage systems.

The foundation of the new product line consists of three single-chip ISP offload engines for TCP, iSCSI and IPSec, the industry’s first state-based offload engines scalable to 10Gb. Incorporating the offload engines are new SANblade Ethernet and iSCSI host bus adapters, which the company says are the industry’s first with an IPSec option. For iSCSI operating system support and management, the company also introduced a version of SANsurfer Management Suite software, with device drivers and management utilities for a complete Fibre Channel switched fabric as well as iSCSI chips and adapters.

“Embedded products establish the minimum entry cost for SAN deployment,” said James Opfer, chief analyst, Gartner Dataquest. “Over time, cost effective embedded Fibre Channel and iSCSI components will enable OEMs to drive SAN connections into commodity servers.”
iSCSI — Now You Have a Choice

Ethernet networks have been used as a highly efficient way to move file-oriented data. In the last decade, high-bandwidth SANs have evolved as the best way to move blocks of data to multiple users faster and more reliably using the SCSI protocol across Fibre Channel. iSCSI is a new protocol that enables block-oriented storage data to be carried by Ethernet networks. The promise of iSCSI is to simplify networking by merging IP and iSCSI traffic onto a single Ethernet infrastructure. So now customers have a choice — a Fibre Channel SAN, an iSCSI SAN, or a combination of both.

ISP Offload Engine Chips — The Industry’s First State-Based Offload Engines
Network, iSCSI and security protocol processing are typically implemented with a software stack that burdens a server CPU or companion network processors. Offloading these functions to dedicated hardware is essential for reliable, fast and cost-effective iSCSI SANs.
Taking offload technology a step further, full state-based hardware offload engines eliminate expensive discrete processors or controllers with multiple embedded processors currently used in iSCSI HBAs and network adapters. The result is the QLogic full state-based offload engine architecture is scalable to 10Gb.

QLogic introduced the following new offload engine chips:

• ISP3010 TCP Offload Engine (TOE) – a PCI-X-to-1Gb Ethernet
  single-chip TCP offload engine that accelerates the
  performance of TCP/IP traffic while freeing CPU cycles. The
  QLogic TOE offloads all TCP/IP and Ethernet functions
  including out-of-order packet processing. As a state-based
  design, the ISP TOE architecture will scale to 10Gb speeds.
  The ISP3010 will be used in place of network interface chips
  in network adapters, servers and NAS storage systems.
• ISP4010 iSCSI Offload Engine (iSOE(TM)) – a PCI-X-to-1Gb
  Ethernet single-chip iSCSI offload engine that accelerates the
  performance of TCP/IP and iSCSI traffic. The ISP4010 supports
  mixed network and storage traffic and is used in place of SCSI
  or Fibre Channel chips in HBAs, disk subsystems, tape
  subsystems and storage routers.
• ISPSEC1000 Security Offload Engine (SOE(TM)) – a single-chip
  security offload engine that accelerates the performance of
  IPSec traffic. Compliant with the industry standard for IP
  security, the ISPSEC1000 is a companion chip for the ISP3010
  TCP offload engine and ISP4010 iSCSI offload engine.

SANblade iSCSI Host Bus Adapters — The Industry’s First With IPSec On-Board
SANblade HBAs — described by Network Computing as, “what a modern Fibre Channel HBA should be: a fire-and-forget device that loads properly, performs impressively, and doesn’t cause any of the incompatibility headaches common in Fibre Channel equipment” — are now available for iSCSI. With an ISPSEC1000on-board, SANblade HBAs feature the unique ability to support IP security cost effectively and at line speeds.

QLogic introduced the following new SANblade HBAs:

• SANblade QLA3010 PCI-X-to-1Gb Ethernet TOE Accelerated Network
  Adapter – a 1Gb PCI-X HBA for high-speed, low CPU utilization,
  enhanced server connectivity to an Ethernet network.
• SANblade QLA3040 PCI-X-to-1Gb Ethernet TOE Accelerated Network
  Adapter with IP Security (IPSec) – a 1Gb PCI-X HBA for
  high-speed, low CPU utilization, enhanced server performance
  and secure connectivity to an Ethernet network, while
  offloading complete IPSec functionality including 3DES/AES
  encryption in hardware.
• SANblade QLA4010 PCI-X-to-1Gb iSCSI HBA – a 1Gb PCI-X Ethernet
  iSCSI HBA for high-speed, low CPU utilization and server
  connectivity directly to iSCSI storage or to iSCSI storage
  through an Ethernet network.
• SANblade QLA4040 PCI-X-to-1Gb iSCSI HBA with IP Security
  (IPSec) – A 1Gb PCI-X HBA for high-speed, low CPU utilization
  and secure server connectivity directly to iSCSI storage or to
  iSCSI storage through an Ethernet network, while offloading
  complete IPSec functionality including 3DES/AES encryption in
  hardware.

Version 2.0 of SANsurfer Management Suite includes operating system device drivers, management utilities, diagnostics and online documentation for QLogic Fibre Channel chips, HBAs and switches, as well as QLogic iSCSI chips and HBAs.