Network and Server Efficiency Improvements by Using EVB

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This section shows how server and network efficiency is increased through EVB.

Suppose that the server hosts two applications in a cloud environment.

Applications are hosted separate virtual machines (VM1 and VM2), each of which has its corresponding VNICs (VNIC1 and VNIC2, respectively).
Client 1 and Client 2 can access the applications.
VM1 and VM2 share the resources of the physical system and the bandwidth on link L2.
Clients connect to the switch through the link L1. The switch is connected to the NIC by using the link L2.
Predetermined SLA implements the following bandwidth usage on L2 for the VMs:
- VM1 is running a high priority Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) service. VM1 has the maximum bandwidth limit of 8 Gbps.
- VM2 is running a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) service that is not high priority. VM2 has the maximum bandwidth limit of 3 Gbps.

The following figure shows the applications hosted on a server.

Figure 12 Application Setup Without EVB

image:Graphic shows two applications provisioned on a server.

The following figure shows the same setup with EVB enabled:

Figure 13 Application Setup With EVB Enabled

image:Graphic shows applications provisioned on a server with EVB enabled on the server and the switch.

Table compares server efficiency between a network setup without EVB and one with EVB enabled.

Table 3 Efficiency of the Server Without EVB and With EVB

Server Efficiency Without EVB	Server Efficiency With EVB
The server regulates incoming traffic from the clients for bandwidth enforcement.	The switch regulates the traffic destined to the server.
System resources are used, thereby affecting the system and network performance.	System resources are not used to process the bandwidth.
When the clients need to utilize the services simultaneously, the clients use the bandwidth of link L2 and server resources. The server enforces the SLA on the VNICs for VM1 and VM2 to regulate the inbound and the outbound traffic of the clients. Traffic from the clients (Client 1 and Client 2) use the bandwidth of link L2 without any restrictions. Also, if there is a bandwidth limit configured on the host, packets that use the bandwidth of L2 might be dropped on the host, which results in inefficient use of the bandwidth. VM1 provides a high priority TCP service and VM2 provides UDP service that is not high priority. Regulating VM1's bandwidth on the server causes TCP to respond, hence impacting VM1's use of bandwidth on the link L2. However, regulating VM2's service on the server does not impact its usage of the bandwidth of link L2. This affects other services using the link L2.	SLA configured on the VNICs of the server are reflected on the switch. Switch regulates the traffic towards VM1 and VM2 based on the configured bandwidth and therefore helps to utilize the bandwidth of link L2 appropriately. Because the switch regulates the bandwidth, the server does not have to process bandwidth on the receive side.
Network traffic for UDP and TCP services inbound to the server uses the available bandwidth on the link L2 without any restrictions. After the server receives network traffic, it regulates the network traffic based on the configured bandwidth limit.	The configured bandwidth limits (3 Gbps and 8 Gbps) are regulated. Hence, the shared link L2's usage is based on the configured bandwidth limits.

How to Install EVB

To use EVB with its default configuration, you simply install the EVB package.

Before You Begin

Ensure that your role has the appropriate rights profile to perform this procedure. See Using Rights Profiles to Perform Network Configuration.

Verify whether the EVB package is installed.
```
$ pkg info evb
```
If the EVB package is not installed, install the package.
```
$ pkg install evb
```
Verify whether the service is enabled.
```
$ svcs vdp
```
If the service is not enabled, enable the service.
```
$ svcadm enable vdp
```
The default EVB configuration is automatically enabled after EVB package installation. By accepting the default EVB configuration, the system can immediately exchange the information about any VNIC that you configure on the system with the external switch.

See Also