Intel 10GbE Networking

Intel Server Ethernet adapters are compatibility tested, and come in a broad range from 10/100 Mbps to 10 Gbps, for copper or fiber, from PCI to PCI Express, in single- to quad-port configurations.

The Industry leader in Ethernet adaptors.

10GbE Whitepapers:

The growth in 10 Gigabit Ethernet has helped to enable the deployments of virtualized servers and Ethernet SANs, by providing the high throughput that they need. This extra performance can come at a cost, however, as servers will need to handle more network data than ever before.
With their latest 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller the 82598EB, Intel have added a number of latency-lowering features that enable it to meet the throughput and traffic processing required for the next generation of data centres.
Intel's next-generation 10GbE controller is specifically optimized for the new multi-core Intel Xeon processor-based platforms. These features can help to distribute network data processing among the multiple cores in a system.

MSI-X uses multiple queues, or "vectors", to load-balance interrupts and relieve bottlenecks. These vectors can drive interrupt messages to multiple processor cores, while the previous-generation technology (MSI) passed interrupts to a single core only. When vectors are bound to specific processors, the Ethernet controller sends interrupt messages to those processors only, allowing the other processors to ignore the message.

Receive-Side Scaling (Scalable I/O in Linux*) directs packets to different queues in the Ethernet controller without the need for reordering. Incoming packets are first segregated into flows, and those packet flows can be assigned to a specific processor or core

Optimised for virtualisation

Intel have added Virtual Machine Device Queues (VMDq) technology to handle multiple hardware queues and offload features that can be used to reduce the software overhead associated with sharing a single networking controller between multiple virtual machines.
With VMDq, individual hardware queues are associated with the simulated network interfaces of the running VMs, so the Ethernet controller itself performs the routing of received packets, relieving the software switch of these duties and substantially lowering the overhead.

Driving storage over Ethernet

The fast growth in storage capacity coupled with server virtualisation has brought the need for the Storage Area Network (SAN) to the forefront, and technologies such as iSCSI are leading the charge for storage over Ethernet. In addition, a new storage paradigm, referred to as "unified storage," which would include Fibre Channel and other storage technologies over Ethernet, is emerging.

Today's multi-core processor-based platforms have more than enough power to handle these workloads, and 10GbE bandwidth provides the throughput that has been lacking. Additionally, advanced QoS features such as priority groups and per priority pause provide the guaranteed delivery required by storage solutions.

Intel's new 10GbE controller includes support for iSCSI acceleration and advanced features for unified storage connectivity. The controller enables fast and reliable networked storage with native iSCSI support with Microsoft, Linux*, and VMWare operating systems as well as support for iSCSI remote boot. Priority groups and per priority pause support are also implemented in the controller.

Intel is working on ways to simplify the network connectivity to SAN’s.
Intel 10GbE network adaptors support iSCSI remote boot to work with the initiators that are native in latest operating systems from Microsoft and Linux.
Intel is working with the major switch vendors to deliver Fibre Channel over Ethernet “FCoE” and beyond to Enhanced Ethernet for Data Centres “EEDC”.

Intel range of 10GbE server adapters supporting both copper and fiber

Connectors and cabling for 10GbE

Connectors	Cables	Use Case
10G SFP+ Direct Attach	Passive Twinax Copper: 10m (nominal)	Short distance for low cost, low power copper connections for server clusters, appliances and rack servers & High density rack server to top of the rack switch connections & Expect most SFP+ switches to support in 2008 due to the shared electrical and mechanical connection with SFP+ optics
10G Base-T	CAT6a/7 100m CAT6 55m CAT5 35m	& Short to medium distances inside the rack, end of the row, and to core switches & Leverage pre-existing copper cabling & Dual speed performance with 1 GbE backwards compatibility
10G Base-Cx4	Cx4 cables: 15m (nominal)	Short distance for low cost, low power copper connections for server clusters, appliances and rack servers & Deployed primarily for switch-to-switch links and switch-to-server links in high-performance computing clusters

Intel 10 Gigabit Ethernet Cards & Gigabit Ethernet Cards

Part Code	Product	Category	Bus	Media	Ports	Availability
Intel 10 Gigabit Ethernet Cards
E10G42AFDA	Intel 10 Gigabit AF DA Dual Port	10 Gigabit Ethernet	PCI Express	Copper	Dual port	In Stock
EXPX9501AT	Intel 10 Gigabit AT	10 Gigabit Ethernet	PCI Express	Copper	Single port	In Stock
EXPX9502CX4	Intel 10 Gigabit CX4 Dual Port	10 Gigabit Ethernet	PCI Express	Fiber Optic	Dual port	In Stock
EXPX9501AFXSR (Single-Port) EXPX9502AFXSR (Dual-Port)	Intel 10 Gigabit XF LR	10 Gigabit Ethernet	PCI Express	Fiber	Single port	In Stock
EXPX9501AFXSR (Single-Port) EXPX9502AFXSR (Dual-Port)	Intel 10 Gigabit XF SR	10 Gigabit Ethernet	PCI Express	Fiber Optic	Single port	In Stock
EXPX9501AFXSR (Single-Port) EXPX9502AFXSR (Dual-Port)	Intel 10 Gigabit XF SR Dual Port	10 Gigabit Ethernet	PCI Express	Fiber	Dual port	In Stock
PXLA8591CX4	Intel PRO/10GbE CX4	10 Gigabit Ethernet	PCI-X	Copper	Single port	In Stock
PXLA8591LR	Intel PRO/10GbE LR	10 Gigabit Ethernet	PCI-X	Fiber Optic	Single port	In Stock
PXLA8591SR	Intel PRO/10GbE SR	10 Gigabit Ethernet	PCI-X	Fiber Optic	Single port	In Stock
Intel Gigabit Ethernet Cards
Intel Gigabit EF Dual Port	Intel Gigabit EF Dual Port	Gigabit Ethernet	PCI Express	Fiber	Dual port	In Stock
Intel Gigabit ET Dual Port	Intel Gigabit ET Dual Port	Gigabit Ethernet	PCI Express	Copper	Dual port	In Stock
Intel Gigabit ET Quad Port	Intel Gigabit ET Quad Port	Gigabit Ethernet	PCI Express	Copper	Quad port	In Stock
PWLA8494GT	Intel PRO/1000 GT Quad Port	Gigabit Ethernet	PCI-X	Copper	Quad port	In Stock
PWLA8490MF	Intel PRO/1000 MF	Gigabit Ethernet	PCI-X	Fiber Optic	Single port	In Stock
PWLA8490LX	Intel PRO/1000 MF (LX)	Gigabit Ethernet	PCI-X	Fiber Optic	Single port	In Stock
PWLA8490MT	Intel PRO/1000 MT	Gigabit Ethernet	PCI-X	Copper	Single port	In Stock
PWLA8492MT	Intel PRO/1000 MT Dual Port	Gigabit Ethernet	PCI-X	Copper	Dual port	In Stock
EXPI9400PF	Intel PRO/1000 PF	Gigabit Ethernet	PCI Express	Fiber Optic	Single port	In Stock
EXPI9402PF	Intel PRO/1000 PF Dual Port	Gigabit Ethernet	PCI Express	Fiber Optic	Dual port	In Stock
EXPI9404PF EXPI9404PFBLK	Intel PRO/1000 PF Quad Port	Gigabit Ethernet	PCI Express	Fiber Optic	Quad port	In Stock
EXPI9400PT	Intel PRO/1000 PT	Gigabit Ethernet	PCI Express	Copper	Single port	In Stock
EXPI9402PT	Intel PRO/1000 PT Dual Port	Gigabit Ethernet	PCI Express	Copper	Dual port	In Stock
EXPI9404PT EXPI9404PTBLK	Intel PRO/1000 PT Quad Port	Gigabit Ethernet	PCI Express	Copper	Quad port	In Stock
EXPI9404PTL EXPI9404PTLBLK	Intel PRO/1000 PT Quad Port Low Profile	Gigabit Ethernet	PCI Express	Copper	Quad port	In Stock