Network I/O Virtualization and the Need for Network I/O Coprocessors

In fact, analyst firm IDC, in a recent white paper titled "Optimizing I/O Virtualization: Preparing the Data Center for Next-Generation Applications", stated that "If I/O is not sufficient, then it could limit all the gains brought about by the virtualization process."

While first generation hypervisors, targeting commodity Intel-based servers, focused primarily on efficient CPU and memory virtualization, we are now seeing a flurry of activity focusing on network and network I/O virtualization. There are a number of key drivers for this trend:

* 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) has become the de-facto standard in data centers. Network packets at high data rates must be delivered efficiently to individual virtual machines.

* Data center deployments require integrated network management capabilities across all networking elements, including the network I/O virtualization layer providing network connectivity to virtual machines.

* I/O Convergence: Storage and network I/O are being consolidated onto the same networking infrastructure. These converged networks require different packet policies and additional network management interfaces being provided by the network I/O virtualization layer.

* Increased focus on network security: Network traffic in data centers is increasingly subjected to fine-grained security policies, such as firewalling or Intrusion Detection/Prevention Systems (IDS/IPS). Cloud-based data centers only exacerbate the need for fine-grained security policies to enforce isolation between untrusted entities.

* Emerging new use cases, such as VM migration, require additional mechanisms and policies being implemented at the network virtualization layer.

In order to meet the 10GbE performance requirements, the overheads of the current network I/O virtualization solutions need to be significantly reduced.

Additionally, the new solutions should provide more data center-like network management features and enforce fine-grained policies on network traffic.