Jumbo frames continue to fill need

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: JEFF CARUSO ON HIGH SPEED LANS
07/12/05
Today's focus: Jumbo frames continue to fill need

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Clusters, grids and jumbo frames
* Links related to High Speed LANs
* Featured reader resource
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Extended value chains are here to stay - application
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Today's focus: Jumbo frames continue to fill need

By Jeff Caruso

As server clusters and grids grow into the newest wave of
computing, the way we think about local-area networking will
change. One example of this is in the technology of jumbo
frames.

In the past, there has been much resistance to jumbo frames - at
least publicly. Jumbo frames are Ethernet frames that are larger
than the 1,518-byte size spelled out in the standards. The fact
that they are not standard is a huge deterrent for many users.

Proponents argue that when you are moving large files, you incur
a heck of a lot of overhead if you limit your frame sizes -
servers that are sending and receiving the frames have to do
work hard to split the files into many small pieces and then
reassemble them at the other end. As speeds increase, so does
the amount of time dealing with this overhead. If you could use
fewer pieces, the end devices wouldn't have to work so hard.

About a year and a half ago I asked readers what they thought of
jumbo frames. I received some pretty negative responses. Readers
pointed out that networks are converging, so you don't want
large packets getting in the way of small voice packets that
need to get through the network in a hurry. And there are other
ways of dealing with the overhead.

But in the case of clusters and grids, you may want to use
methods like jumbo frames to speed communications among servers
that are part of these larger collectives. Depending on your
network, interference with time-dependent voice traffic may not
be an issue, and the priority may shift toward ensuring that the
servers in the collectives have the most efficient
communications possible. Jumbo frames might be the answer.
_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Jeff Caruso

Jeff Caruso is managing editor of online news for Network World.
He oversees daily online news posting and newsletter editing,
and writes the NetFlash daily news summary, the High-Speed LANs
newsletter and the Voices of Networking newsletter. Contact him
at <mailto:jcaruso@nww.com>
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Oracle
Grid Glossary

Grid computing is a vehicle to extend the life of existing
assets, not to end the life of existing infrastructure assets.
The Oracle Grid runs applications faster than the fastest
mainframe. You can adopt Oracle Grid technologies with minimal
investment, zero disruption, and fast ROI. Learn more about the
specialized set of terms and acronyms that define Grid
technologies with this comprehensive glossary. Download the
Oracle Grid Glossary now!
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=108316
_______________________________________________________________
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LANs/Routers Research Center:
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FEATURED READER RESOURCE
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Here's a ten step guide you can follow to curb the spyware
problem:
<http://www.networkworld.com/nllan3066nllansalert3161>
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