Performance modeling of ServerNet™ SAN topologies

This paper describes a performance analysis of ServerNet SAN, a new system area network architecture developed by Tandem Computers. The paper focuses on three main topics: a brief description of the ServerNet SAN architecture and the simulation tool, the basis for modeling assumptions, and the initial results of the performance and scalability analysis. The ServerNet SAN is a new core technology for server architectures that focuses on moving data. The analysis uses simulation to obtain performance characteristics such as delivery time, throughput, and hot spot identification. The goal of the analysis is to provide a realistic measure of current system performance, while optimizing features such as network topology and traffic patterns to provide future improvement.