Intel 10 GIGABIT AT2 User Manual

Product Brief

Intel® 10 Gigabit AT2 Server Adapter

Network Connectivity

Intel® 10 Gigabit AT2 Server Adapter

10 Gigabit BASE-T Ethernet Server Adapters Designed for Multi-Core Processors and Optimized for Virtualization

10 Gigabit Performance at the Low Cost of Copper

This 10 Gigabit AT2 Ethernet Server Adapter showcases

Intel’s second-generation standards-based 10GBASE-T adapter

in a low-profile PCI Express* form factor. It provides bandwidth-

intensive applications highly affordable 10 Gigabit Ethernet

(GbE) network performance with cost-effective RJ-45 con-

nections for distances up to 100 meters. High-speed server

connectivity — once reserved for costly, proprietary techno-

logies such as High Performance Computing (HPC) clusters

and grid-based computing — can now be achieved with the

standardized connectivity of the Intel® 10 Gigabit AT2 Server

Adapter. Intel’s adapter also provides 1000BASE-T support

for gigabit connections to legacy switches.

Next-Generation 10 Gigabit Performance

10 Gigabit Ethernet has moved past the early adoption stage

and is rapidly becoming mainstay for backbones within enterprise

and service provider networks. The escalating deployments

of servers with multi-core processors and demanding applica-

tions such as HPC, database clusters, and video on demand are

driving the need for 10 Gigabit connections. Based on the Intel®

82598EB 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller, this next-generation

Intel 10 Gigabit AT2 Server Adapter is designed to meet the

throughput requirements of bandwidth-hungry applications.

MSI-X enables more efficient response times and application

performance. CPU utilization can be lowered further through

stateless offloads such as TCP segmentation offload, header

replications/splitting, and Direct Cache Access (DCA).

The Intel 10 Gigabit AT2 Server Adapter is optimized for virtual-

ized environments, supporting multiple queues, alleviating I/O

bottlenecks between virtual machines. Virtual Machine Device

Queue (VMDq) technology offloads data sorting and data copying

from the Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM) software layer to the

hardware, improving overall throughput and CPU utilization on

virtualized servers. Additionally, the Intel 10 Gigabit AT2 Server

Adapter enables Intel® QuickData Technology

processing on Quad-Core and Dual-Core Intel® Xeon®

processor-based servers.

for faster I/O

Performance-Enhancing Features for Multi-Core Environments

When implemented within multi-core processor environments,

the Intel 10 Gigabit AT2 Server Adapter offers advanced

networking features, Intel® I/O Acceleration Technology

(Intel® I/OAT), for efficient distribution of Ethernet work-

loads across CPU cores. Load balancing of interrupts using

Conserve valuable PCI Express (PCIe*) server slots while adding

10 Gigabit Ethernet capability with the Intel 10 Gigabit AT2

Server Adapter. The dedicated input/output (I/O) bandwidth

of PCIe ensures priority performance on each port — without

bus sharing — for 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, as well as a

low-profile design, which improves server throughput and rack

density at the same time. In addition, eight-lane PCIe enables

maximum bandwidth for fast and efficient data transfer.

Advances for Storage Over Ethernet

The fast growth in storage capacity coupled with server virtual-

ization has brought the need for Storage Area Network (SAN)

to the forefront. To satisfy this growing demand, Intel 10 Gigabit

AT2 Server Adapters support iSCSI acceleration through Intel

I/OAT and provide advanced features for unified networking.

Fast and reliable networked storage can be achieved via native

iSCSI support with Microsoft, Linux,* and VMware operating

systems as well as support for iSCSI remote boot.

Companion Products

Consider these Intel® products in your server and network planning:

• Intel® Ethernet Server Adapter X520 Series for 10GbE SFP+

PCIe v2.0 (5 GT/s) performance

• Intel® PRO/1000 Server Adapters

– Copper or fiber-optic network connectivity, up to

four ports per card

– Solutions for PCI Express, PCI-X,* and PCI interfaces

Order Code

Single unit: E10G41AT2

Features Benefits

Intel® 82598EB 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller

Low-profile

Load balancing on multiple CPUs

Intel® QuickData Technology

iSCSI remote boot support

MSI-X support

Virtual Machine Device queues (VMDq)

Low latency

Optimized queues: 32 Transmit ( Tx) and 64 Receive (Rx) per port

Network packet handling without waiting or buffer overflow

Support for most Network Operating Systems (NOS)

Compatible with x8 and x16 standard and low-profile PCI Express* slots

Remote management support

RJ-45 connections over categor y-6A cabling

RoHS-compliant,

Intel® PROSet Utility for Microsoft Windows* Device Manager

Intel backing

lead-free3 technology

• Industry-leading, energy-efficient design for next-generation 10 Gigabit perfor mance and multi-core processors

• Enables higher bandwidth and throughput from standard and low- profile P CIe slots and ser vers

• Increases performance on multi-processor systems by efficiently balancing network loads across

CPU cores when used with Receive-Side Scaling from Microsoft or Scalable I/O on Linux*

• DMA Engine: enhances data acceleration across the platform (network, chipset , processor), thereby lowering CPU utilization

• Direct Cache Access (DCA): allows the processor to pre-fetch the data from memory, thereby avoiding cache misses and improving ser vice level agreements (SL A) of the applications

• Provides centralized Storage Area Network (SAN) management at a lower cost than competing iSCSI solutions

• Minimizes the overhead of interrupts

• Allows load balancing of interrupt handling between different cores /CPUs

• Allows the efficient routing of packets to the correct target machine in a virtualized environment

using multiple hardware queues

• Ensures transmit fairness and prevents head-of-line blocking

• Abilit y to toggle between the interrupt aggregation and non-aggregation mode based on the type

of data being transferred

• Enhances network performance and reduces CPU utilization in the virtualized environment

• Reduces I/O overhead on the hyper visor in a virtualized server by performing data sorting and

coalescing in the network silicon

• Efficient packet prioritization

• Enables widespread deployment

• Allows each PCI Express* slot port to operate without interfering with the other

• Reduces support costs with remote management based on industry-wide standards

• Ensures compatibility with cable lengths up to 100 meters

• Compliant with the European Union directive (effective as of July 2006) to reduce the use

of hazardous materials

• Provides point-and-click power over individual adapters, advanced adapter features , connection teaming, and Vir tual Local Area Network ( VLAN) configuration

• Backed by an Intel limited lifetime warranty, 90-day money-back guarantee (U.S. and Canada),

and worldwide suppor t

• Intel® PRO/1000 Desktop Adapters for PCI Express

and PCI interfaces

• Other Intel® PRO Desktop and Server Adapters

• Intel® Xeon® Processors

• Intel® Server Boards

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