The Intel X520-SR2 Dual-Port Ethernet Converged Network Adapter is a dual-port 10 Gigabit SFP+ adapter that provides flexibility and scalability in virtual and unified storage environments.
Powered by Intel’s third-generation 10 GbE network controller, the Intel Ethernet 82599 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller, the X520-SR2 adapter addresses the demanding needs of the next-generation data center by providing virtualization features, flexibility for LAN and SAN networking, and proven, reliable performance.
The adapter solves networking bottlenecks in virtualized environments. It enables network-intensive applications to achieve the performance expected in a virtualized environment. Whether the physical port is configured in an emulation mode using the virtual switch in the Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM), or is directly assigned to a virtual machine, the adapter delivers excellent output. In the emulation mode, Intel’s I/O technology, Virtual Machine Device queues1 (VMDq) optimizes network performance by offloading data sorting and copying from the software Virtual Switch in the VMM to the Intel Ethernet 82599 10 Gigabit Controller. This configuration is well suited for a large number of VMs running standard applications that have limited bandwidth and latency requirements.
For mission-critical applications, where dedicated I/O is required for maximum network performance, users can assign a dedicated virtual adapter port to a VM. Using the PCI-SIG SR-IOV capability on the adapter provides direct VM connectivity and data protection across VMs. SR-IOV technology enables the data to bypass the software virtual switch and provides near-native performance. It assigns either physical or virtual I/O ports to individual VMs directly. This technology is used for applications that demand high I/O throughput and low latency performance such as database, storage, financial and other applications.
The adapter delivers the same functionality and throughput as 10 dual-port, one gigabit adapter, saving cost, power, and complexity. It lowers your data center total cost of ownership (TCO) by providing the ability to route LAN and SAN traffic over a single fabric. It offers FCoE hardware acceleration to provide performance comparable to FC HBAs. The adapter supports Data Center Bridging, also known as Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE), which enables customers to configure traffic classes and priorities to deliver a lossless Ethernet fabric. It reduces TCO by eliminating redundant fabrics and saves the cost of expensive FC HBAs and FC switch ports.
The adapter provides complete support for proven native OS and VMM iSCSI initiators as well as iSCSI boot. It delivers everything; 10 Gigabit LAN, FCoE, and iSCSI; truly delivering on the promise of unified networking. The adapter supports IPsec offload for Microsoft’s Network Access Protection (NAP), Active Directory, and future security capabilities in Windows 7. The adapter enables customers to run a secure network environment without sacrificing performance.
The PCIe v2.0 (5 GT/s) support enables customers to take full advantage of 10 GbE by providing a maximum of 20 Gb/s bi-directional throughput per port on a single dual port card. Support for technologies such as multiple queues, receive-side scaling, multiple MSI-X vectors, and Low Latency Interrupts enable the X520-SR2 adapter to provide high-performance, 10 Gigabit connectivity in multi-core server blades. These technologies distribute network processing across multiple CPU cores, improving overall performance.
