ConnectX EN Dual Port 10Gb Ethernet to PCIe x8 2.5 GT/s NIC [2 XFP Modules, ROHS (R5), Low Profile]
Mellanox MNKH28-XTC
Mellanox ConnectX EN Ethernet Network Interface Cards (NIC) deliver high-bandwidth and industry leading 10GigE connectivity with stateless offloads for performance-driven server and storage applications in High-Performance Computing, Enterprise Data Centers, and Embedded environments. Large clustered databases, web infrastructure, and IP video servers are just a few example applications that will achieve significant throughput improvements resulting in faster access and increased number of users per server. ConnectX EN improves network performance by increasing available bandwidth while decreasing the associated transport load on the CPU and providing enhanced performance, especially in virtualized server environments.
Key Features
Specifications
Optimal Price/Performance
ConnectX EN 10Gig Ethernet removes I/O bottlenecks in mainstream servers that are limiting application performance. Servers supporting PCI Express 2.0 with 5GT/s will be able to fully utilize both 10Gb/s ports, balancing the I/O requirement of these high-end servers. Hardware-based stateless offload engines handle the TCP/UDP/IP segmentation, reassembly, and checksum calculations that would otherwise burden the host process. These offload technologies are fully compatible with Intel I/OAT QuickData technology. Total cost of ownership is optimized by maintaining an end-to-end Ethernet network on existing operating systems and applications.
The dual port 10GBASE-CX4 adapter enables connectivity over 20+ meters of copper cables satisfying in-rack and rack-to-rack connections. The powered connectors also support active copper and active fiber cable solutions for reaches up to 100m. Single and dual port 10GBASE-T adapters provide easy connectivity up to 100m over familiar UTP wiring. For longer distances, single and dual port 10GBASE-SR adapters support up to 300 meters over multi-mode fiber.
I/O Virtualization
ConnectX EN support for hardware-based I/O virtualization is complementary to Intel and AMD virtualization technologies. Virtual machines (VM) within the server are provisioned with dedicated I/O adapter resources and guaranteed isolation and protection. Hypervisor offload features remove software-based virtualization overheads and free up CPU cycles enabling native OS performance for VMs and higher server utilization by supporting more VMs per physical server.
Quality of Service
Resource allocation per application or per VM is provided by the advanced QoS supported by ConnectX EN. Service levels for multiple traffic types can be based on IETF DiffServ or IEEE 802.1p/Q allowing system administrators to prioritize traffic by application, virtual machine, or protocol. This powerful combination of QoS and prioritization provides the ultimate fine-grain control of traffic – ensuring that applications run smoothly in today’s complex environment.
Software Support
ConnectX EN adapters are supported by a full suite of Microsoft Windows and Linux drivers and are fully interoperable with standard TCP/UDP/IP stacks. Unlike complex TCP Offload Engine implementations, stateless offloads are compatible with host-resident TCP stacks, eliminating the need to change operating systems, drivers, or applications, and thereby easing the transition to 10Gb/s. With host-resident TCP under Linux, the entire open source community stands behind the TCP implementation, and code can be quickly updated in the event that any security holes are discovered. Stateless offload connections are also easy to scale using multiple adapters to reach the desired level of performance and fault tolerance.