Design change yields performance benefit for osa-express4s 10 gigabit ethernet inbound traffic

Performance using jumbo frames: In laboratory measurements, using an OSA-Express4S 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE) feature in a z196 defined as CHPID type OSD with an inbound-to-the-host streams workload operating at 10 Gbps, we achieved a maximum user-payload throughput of 1,180 megabytes per second (MBps) compared to a maximum of 680 MBps achieved with an OSA-Express3 10 GbE feature on a z196. This represents approximately a 70% increase for jumbo frames (8000 byte frames). Measurements with mixed-direction streams workload in the same jumbo frames environment, with an OSA-Express4S 10 GbE feature, we achieved a maximum user-payload throughput of 2,080 MBps with an OSA-Express4S 10 GbE feature compared to a maximum of 1,240 MBps on an OSA-Express3 10 GbE feature on z 196. This represents approximately a 70% increase for jumbo frames. Performance using standard frames: In laboratory measurements, using an OSA-Express4S 10 GbE feature in a z196 defined as CHPID type OSD with an inbound-to-the-host streams workload operating at 10 Gbps, we achieved a maximum user-payload throughput of 1,120 MBps compared to a maximum of 615 MBps achieved with an OSA-Express3 10 GbE feature on a z196. This represents approximately an 80% increase for standard frames (1492 byte frames). Measurements with a mixed-direction streams workload in the same standard frames environment, with an OSA-Express4S 10 GbE feature, we achieved a maximum user-payload throughput of 1,680 MBps with an OSA-Express4S 10 GbE compared to a maximum of 1,180 MBps with an OSA-Express3 10 GbE feature on a z196. This represents approximately a 40% increase for standard frames. OSA-Express4S 10 GbE performance was measured in a controlled environment using IBM Application Workload Modeler (AWM). The actual throughput or performance that any user may experience will vary depending upon considerations such as the amount of multiprogramming in the user's job stream, the network options and configuration, and the workload processed. One MBps represents 1,048,576 bytes per second. Access AWM information at http://www.ibm.com/software/network/awm/index.html OSA-Express4S Gigabit Ethernet is already capable of line speed for jumbo frames and standard frames. Inbound Workload Queuing for Enterprise Extender - for improved scalability and performance: Inbound workload queuing (IWQ) for the OSA-Express features has been enhanced to differentiate and separate inbound Enterprise Extender traffic to a new input queue. The Enterprise Extender separation and processing associated with the Enterprise Extender input queue provides improved scalability and performance for Enterprise Extender. With each input queue representing a unique type of workload, each having unique service and processing requirements, the IWQ function allows z/OS to use appropriate processing resources for each input queue. This approach allows multiple concurrent z/OS processing threads to process each unique input queue to avoid traditional resource contention. In a heavily mixed workload environment, this "off the wire" network traffic separation provided by OSA-Express IWQ reduces the conventional z/OS processing required to identify and separate unique workloads. Inbound workload queuing for Enterprise Extender is supported by the OSA-Express4S and OSA-Express3 features when defined as CHPID types OSD or OSX. It is exclusive to zEC12, z196, and z114, and is supported by z/OS and by z/VM for guest exploitation. Inbound workload queuing – for network performance: z/OS workloads are becoming more diverse; each type of workload may have unique service level requirements. The OSA-Express4S and OSA-Express-3 features support inbound workload queuing (IWQ), which creates multiple input queues and allows OSA to differentiate workloads "off the wire" and then assign work to a specific input queue (per device) to z/OS. With each input queue representing a unique type of workload, each having unique service and processing requirements, the IWQ function allows z/OS to preassign the appropriate processing resources for each input queue. This approach allows multiple concurrent z/OS processing threads to then process each unique input queue (workload), avoiding traditional resource contention. In a heavily mixed workload environment, this "off the wire" network traffic separation provided by an OSA-Express4S or OSA-Express3 feature IWQ is designed to reduce the conventional z/OS processing required to identify and separate unique workloads, which results in improved overall system performance and scalability. A primary objective of IWQ is to provide improved performance for business-critical interactive workloads by reducing contention created by other types of workloads. The types of z/OS workloads that are identified and assigned to unique input queues are: z/OS Sysplex Distributor traffic - Network traffic that is associated with a distributed dynamic virtual IP address (DVIPA) is assigned a unique input queue allowing, the Sysplex Distributor traffic to be immediately distributed to the target host. z/OS bulk data traffic - Network traffic that is dynamically associated with a streaming (bulk data) TCP connection is assigned to a unique input queue allowing, the bulk data processing to be assigned the appropriate resources and isolated from critical interactive workloads. IWQ is supported on zEC12, z196, z114, and z10 and is exclusive to OSA-Express4S and OSA-Express3 CHPID types OSD and OSX (CHPID type OSX is exclusive to zEC12, z196, and z114). IWQ is also supported by the z/OS operating system and by z/VM for guests. Query and display OSA configuration (Display OSAINFO) – for network management:Previously, the OSA-Express system architecture introduced the capability for operating systems to dynamically register the Open Systems Adapter (OSA) configuration. This approach significantly improved the OSA-Express usability by reducing the burden placed on the system administrator to manually configure OSA-Express for each unique operating system configuration. Traditionally, the Open Systems Adapter Support Facility (OSA/SF) has provided the administrator with the ability to monitor the OSA configuration. As additional complex functions have been added to OSA, the ability for the system administrator to display, monitor, and verify the specific current OSA configuration unique to each operating system has become more complex. The OSA-Express4S and OSA-Express3 features support the capability for the operating system to directly query and display the current OSA configuration information (similar to OSA/SF). z/OS exploits this new OSA capability by introducing a new TCP/IP operator command called Display OSAINFO. Display OSAINFO allows the operator to monitor and verify the current OSA configuration, which helps to improve the overall management, serviceability, and usability of an OSA-Express4S or OSA-Express3 feature. Display OSAINFO is exclusive to zEC12, z196, z114, and z10 and to OSA-Express4S or OSA-Express3 CHPID types OSD, OSM, and OSX, and to the z/OS operating system and z/VM for guest exploitation. CHPID types OSM and OSX are exclusive to zEC12, z196, and z114 servers.