Emulex Developed T10-PI Capable HBA

Emulex Corporation announced support of T10 Protection Information (T10-PI), formerly called T10-DIF, which has been developed in collaboration with Oracle to prevent silent data corruption and help ensure the integrity and regulatory compliance of user data as it is transferred from the application to the SAN.

Emulex has implemented the T10-PI standard on its LightPulse 8Gb/s Fibre Channel HBA with its BlockGuard feature. Emulex BlockGuard is supported today with Oracle Linux via the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel and the Emulex LightPulse 8Gb/s Fibre Channel HBA driver, which resides in the kernel. Emulex will make this feature generally available in the first quarter of 2011, marking the introduction of the first T10-PI capable HBA.

Oracle and Emulex have been leading innovation in end-to-end data integrity. Several years ago, Emulex, Oracle, LSI and Seagate announced the Data Integrity Initiative (DII), which was established with the goal of developing an application-to-disk data integrity solution. With this announcement, Emulex is providing a critical element in end-to-end data integrity protection for Linux-based solutions. As other storage and disk components are enabled, Emulex will work with its partners to bring these solutions to market.

"Customer data is the lifeblood of every organization and protecting the integrity of that data as seamlessly as possible from application to disk is very important. Emulex’s implementation of the T10-PI standard is a significant step towards achieving that," said Steve Daheb, chief marketing officer and senior vice president of business development, Emulex. "We’re working closely with Oracle to define industry-specific solutions with LSI, Seagate and the Storage Networking Industry Association in order to enable this solution all the way up the stack. With the addition of T10-PI functionality, Emulex LightPulse 8Gb/s HBAs lead the industry with unparalleled data protection and compliance features that also encompass the OneSecure encryption solution for protecting data at-rest and in-flight."

Traditionally, protecting the integrity of customers’ data has been done with multiple discrete solutions, including Error Correcting Code (ECC) and Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC), but there have been coverage gaps across the I/O path from the operating system to the storage. The implementation of the T10-PI standard via Emulex’s BlockGuard feature, in conjunction with other industry player’s implementations, ensures that data is validated as it moves through the data path, from the application, to the HBA, to storage, enabling seamless end-to-end integrity. In this 24×7 world where customers cannot afford downtime associated with silent data corruption, customers are demanding enhanced protection, especially in industries such as financial services, healthcare, energy, government and retail that require rock-solid security for the sensitive information they manage. In some industries, regulatory compliance mandates such as Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) are also specifying data integrity controls for the protection of customer records. The combination of Emulex LightPulse Fibre Channel HBAs with Oracle’s ecosystem uniquely helps companies achieve these objectives with a complete data integrity solution.

"As part of Oracle’s leadership in developing the T10-PI data integrity ecosystem, we look forward to continued collaboration with Emulex to develop the first complete application-to-disk data integrity solution, including software, storage and servers, for our joint customers," said Wim Coekaerts, Senior Vice President Linux and Virtualization Engineering, Oracle. "Emulex LightPulse HBAs are enabling the data integrity extensions that Oracle has contributed to the Linux kernel and brought to market exclusively in the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel, as part of Oracle Linux. Customers gain added data security and reduced downtime risk with this combination. This further distinguishes Oracle Linux with the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel as the best choice for enterprise customers."

Emulex BlockGuard will initially be supported with Oracle’s SunFire X4170 M2 and Oracle’s Sun Fire X6270 M2 server modules and will be available by Oracle.

"As a leader in delivering storage systems with advanced data protection and integrity features, LSI is proud to be working with industry leaders such as Emulex, Oracle and Seagate to provide standards-based data integrity assurance from the application to the disk drive," said Narayan Venkat, vice president of marketing, Engenio Storage Group, LSI Corporation. "It’s exciting to bring the work of the Data Integrity Initiative to production status."

"Seagate is committed to ensuring data integrity by supporting the T10 Protection Information standards," said Henry Fabian, Seagate executive director of Core Marketing. "As a founding member of the DII, we look forward to bringing solutions to the market that deliver on the promise of true end-to-end data protection. From the Emulex Fibre Channel HBA, through the LSI RAID system, to the Seagate SAS drives, the end-to-end data integrity provides even greater value for industry-leading storage systems."

More on Emulex’s implementation of the T10-PI standard