In today's internet era, data center switches are an indispensable part of the data center network architecture. Data center switches, integrating multiple functions, serve as the core equipment supporting various applications and services in data centers. This article will introduce the basic concepts, features, and application scenarios of the data center network switch oem.
Data center switches are core network devices that connect various devices in a data center, including servers, storage devices, network devices, etc. Data center switches like core switch and access switch are characterized by high performance, high reliability, high scalability, high security, and can achieve fast, reliable, and secure data exchange and transmission. The functions of data center switches include data forwarding, routing, security, load balancing, QoS, etc., meeting the needs of different data center networks. The performance of data center switches is usually measured by indicators such as port rate, forwarding performance, and switching capacity.
Among these, bandwidth and throughput are two terms related to switch performance. However, bandwidth and throughput are similar but not the same concepts. Network bandwidth defines the amount of data that can be transmitted over a network in a given period. Network throughput refers to the actual amount of data transmitted over a period. Throughput and bandwidth are sometimes mentioned alongside latency, but latency refers to the speed at which data reaches its destination over the network.
Bandwidth is measured in bits, kilobits, megabits (Mb), and gigabits (Gb). For example, a network's bandwidth is 1 Gb per second (Gbps). Throughput refers to the actual volume of data being transmitted and processed across the entire network, so if bandwidth describes theoretical data volumes, throughput describes actual data volumes. The measurement units for throughput are the same as those for bandwidth rates. A network's bandwidth might be 1 Gbps, meaning it can handle 1 Gbps of data. However, depending on the situation, its throughput might only be 500 Mbps, half of its handling capacity.
High Reliability: Data center switches typically use redundant designs, including redundant power supplies, fans, ports, etc., to ensure high reliability and stability of the device.
High Performance: Data center switches usually use high-speed chips and ports to provide efficient data forwarding and processing capabilities.
High Scalability: Data center switches typically support stacking, aggregation, virtualization, etc., to achieve performance and capacity expansion in the growing data center network.
High Security: Data center switches typically support access control, security authentication, data encryption, etc., to protect the security and privacy of the data center network.
Data center switches are widely used in various large-scale data centers, cloud computing, virtualization, and other scenarios. In these scenarios, data center switches can provide high performance, high reliability, and high security network connections and data transmission to meet the needs of businesses and applications. Data center switches can also support various network protocols and technologies, including VLAN, VXLAN, etc., to meet different business and application needs. At the same time, the management and monitoring of data center ethernet switch are also very important, which can be achieved through centralized management tools, visual monitoring, etc. A typical data center overlay architecture diagram is shown below, which adopts a high-performance single-chip box-type data center switch for Spine-leaf networking. This open network solution, based on SONiC+ white box switches, has become one of the most popular data center network deployment schemes worldwide, suitable for general cloud services, high-performance computing (HPC), and super-large-scale AI computing clusters.
