Xsigo TFD Roundtable at VMworld 2010

The discussion began with a focus on the scalability and performance capabilities of the Xsigo VP780 chassis, which supports roughly 2,000 virtual NICs and HBAs with an aggregate throughput of around 150 Gb. The architecture allows customers to stack multiple units and form a highly redundant I/O fabric, enabling large-scale deployments while maintaining high availability. Redundant pairs and flexible configurations allow users to design for failover scenarios, such as using both iSCSI and Fibre Channel, while significantly reducing physical configuration complexity and cabling requirements.

Participants also examined the platform’s longevity and upgrade path. The Xsigo solution is designed to scale with evolving server performance demands and network speeds, allowing users to blend new and older hardware without extensive re-cabling. Legacy servers can continue to function alongside newer systems by simply reconfiguring access through Xsigo rather than modifying direct server-to-network connections. In addition, the roadmap includes upcoming support for 8 Gb Fibre Channel, new 2×10 Gb Ethernet load balancing cards, and plans to integrate storage capabilities with future IO cards. This level of backward and forward compatibility is emphasized as a key benefit of the architecture.

Finally, the discussion emphasized the cost-saving aspects of Xsigo’s solution as a powerful driver for adoption, especially in new virtualization deployments. By consolidating network I/O and minimizing hardware requirements like expensive blade switches and NICs, customers can avoid over-provisioning and reduce overall capital expenses. The panel also touched on current x86 operating system support, including Linux variants and Solaris x86, while addressing power efficiency advantages of InfiniBand. Attendees appreciated how Xsigo brought enterprise flexibility and simplicity to I/O virtualization and network consolidation, particularly in environments constrained by space, power, or budget.