Best practices network FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Why does Delphix request 10GE Ethernet?

As a matter of physics and standards - 10 gigabit (Gb) Ethernet can sustain approximately 1 gigabyte (GB) per second of throughput. With all our best practices applied, a Delphix Engine can achieve very close to that line speed, allowing for optimal load, engine, and license utilization. Lower network speeds may be acceptable for low loads, while in some environments NIC teaming (e.g. LACP) may be required for top speeds.

Why does Delphix require < 1ms latency to TARGET servers and < 50ms to SOURCE servers?

Delphix leverages NFS and iSCSI (depending on platform) for live TARGET DB mounting over the network, so it’s imperative that latency is as low as possible. Data coming from SOURCE servers is not generally as time-sensitive, so you need a minimum latency of < 50ms to ensure operational integrity.

Why does Delphix request Jumbo Frames?

Jumbo frames increase the Ethernet maximum transmission unit (MTU) from the default 1500 bytes to 9000 bytes. This has several effects such as decreasing CPU cycles by transferring fewer packets and increasing the engine throughput. You will find jumbo frames have a 10-20% real-world impact and are required (along with all other best practices) to handle peak loads of 800 - 1000MB/s on an 8 vCPU engine with a 10Gb network.

How does Delphix avoid communication impact with non-jumbo frame hosts when Jumbo Frames are enabled on the Delphix Host?

Path MTU Discovery is the mechanism by which two hosts agree on the MTU leveraged for communication between them. This mechanism will ensure communication between both standard and Jumbo Frame enabled hosts works as expected.

When does Delphix recommend NIC teaming?

The Delphix Engine is capable of high throughput, but not every enterprise has sufficient network bandwidth to support it. Teaming is a less expensive way of increasing the bandwidth when compared to new hardware.

Why does Delphix recommend logical and physical and co-location?

The Delphix Engine leverages network connections extensively, so optimizing the latency whenever possible is very important - sometimes critical.