HP ProLiant DL288 ISS Technology Focus, Volume 10, Number 2

ISS Technology Focus, Volume 10, Number 2

Facts about the IEEE 802.1Qbg proposal

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Optimizing SSD performance with HP Smart Array controllers

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Meet the Expert

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Kevin Leigh

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Recently published Industry-Standard Server technology papers

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Contact us

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Facts about the IEEE 802.1Qbg proposal

The Edge Virtual Bridging (EVB) standard is at the heart of industry efforts to standardize virtualization at the server-network

edge where the server domain ends and the external network domain begins. The proposed EVB standard, identified by the

IEEE802.1 Work Group as IEEE802.1Qbg, is an initiative led by HP with contributions and support from a consortium of

companies that include IBM, Broadcom, QLogic, Emulex, and others. You can find detailed specifications for EVB at

. The following sections explain the need to standardize the operation

and management of virtual networks and describe the components of EVB.

Virtual networks, the server-network edge, and EVB

The proliferation of virtual machines (VMs) has brought about a dramatic increase in the number of network connections

passing between the VM/hypervisor environment and the physical end station, usually a physical NIC or CNA device, in

each host server. Complex networks and network services have traditionally existed upstream

of the server’s physical NIC at

the server-network edge. These networks are now virtual, existing within the physical server and beyond the control of

network administrators using traditional network tools.

Currently, most hypervisors use some form of Virtual Ethernet Bridge (VEB), or virtual Ethernet switch, to connect VMs to the

external network. A VEB can also support internal connections between local VMs within a single physical server. This VM-

to-VM traffic is invisible to standard network policy enforcement. We must enhance VEBs to provide access for network

controls comparable to those found in physical networks.