Intel I340-T4 User Manual
Product Brief
Intel® Ethernet I340 Server Adapter
Network Connectivity
Intel® Ethernet I340 Server Adapter
Quad-port Gigabit Ethernet server adapter designed for multi-core processors and
optimized for Virtualization & Unied Networking Environments
• Four high-performing 10/100/1000 BASE-T Ethernet connections (Copper)
• Four high-performing 10/100/1000 BASE-SX Ethernet connections (Fiber)
• Low power high performing bridgeless design supporting PCI
Express* Gen 2.0 5 GT/s
• Environmentally-friendly halogen-free
adapter
• Hardware acceleration for TCP-IP and iSCSI
• Hardware optimizations for virtualized servers
• Reliable and proven Gigabit Ethernet technology from Intel Corp.
1
(Copper) and lead-free
Based on the new Intel® 82580 Gigabit Ethernet Controller,
the Intel® Ethernet I340 Server Adapter is Intel’s fourth generation of PCIe GbE adapter. This adapter showcases the industry’s first fully integrated quad-port PCIe Gen2 GbE controller,
providing a smaller footprint and lower power dissipation. In
addition, the Intel® Ethernet I340 Server Adapter offers advanced features, including support for multi-core processors
and server virtualization, as well as a scalable PCI Express Gen
2.0 interface. Intel’s first eco-friendly halogen-free board com-
bines low-power and cost for the best price/performance ratio
in a quad-port solution available today.
Halogen-Free
Working to create a more environmentally sustainable future,
Intel is pleased to introduce its first halogen-free Ethernet Server
Adapter. The transition to halogen-free products is not government mandated, but driven by Intel’s goal to eliminate the use of
environmentally sensitive materials. The move to halogen-free
products marks another step in our continual march toward minimizing the environmental footprint of Intel’s products, processes,
and technologies.
1
Designed for Multi-Core Processors
This quad-port adapter provides high-performing, multi-port
Gigabit connectivity in a multi-core platform as well as in a
virtualized environment. In a multi-core platform, the adapter
1 Low Halogen applies only to halogenate d flame retardant s and PVC in compone nts. Halogens
are below 1,000ppm bromi ne and 1,000ppm chl orine..
supports technologies such as MSI-X, and Low Latency Interrupts that help accelerate data across the platform, improving
application response times.
The I/O technologies on a multi-core platform make use of the
multiple queues and multiple interrupt vectors available on the
network controller. These queues and interrupt vectors help in load
balancing the data and interrupts amongst themselves in order
to lower the load on the processors and improve overall system
performance. For example, depending upon the latency sensitivity
of the data, the low latency interrupts feature can bypass the time
interval for specific TCP ports or for flagged packets to give certain
types of data streams the least amount of latency to the application.
Intel I/O Acceleration Technology (Intel I/OAT) is a suite of
features that improves data acceleration across the platform,
from networking devices to the chipset and processors, which
helps to improve system performance and application response
times. The different features include MSI-X, Low-Latency
Interrupts, Receive Side Scaling (RSS), and others. MSI-X helps
in load-balancing I/O interrupts across multiple processor cores,
and Low Latency Interrupts can provide certain data streams a
non-modulated path directly to the application. RSS directs the
interrupts to a specific processor core based on the application’s
address.
Support for iSCSI
Intel® Ethernet server adapters with native iSCSI initiators built
into Microsoft® Windows®, Linux®, and VMware® ESX platforms
provide a simple, dependable, cost-effective way to connect
to LANs and iSCSI SANs. These native initiators are broadly
tested using multiple generations of operating systems, storage
systems, and OS tools to help ensure reliability and ease of use.
Standardizing on Intel Ethernet server adapters for iSCSI allows
administrators to use a single initiator, TCP/IP stack, and set of
management tools and IT policies. In addition, the I340 server
adapter includes a number of hardware features designed to
accelerate iSCSI traffic and enhance data processing. For example,
TCP segmentation offload, Receive side coalescing (RSC), and
checksum offload capabilities help reduce processor utilization,
increase throughput, and deliver exceptional iSCSI performance.
The adapters are designed to flexibly scale workloads across
multi-core processor–based systems. Finally, using native OS
initiators, an Intel® Ethernet I340 Server Adapter enables support
for the CRC-32 digest instruction set included in the Intel® Xeon®
processor 5500 series, which improves transmission reliablity and
thus delivers an enterprise class iSCSI solution for the IT customer.
Optimized for Virtualization
The Intel® Ethernet I340 Server Adapter showcases a suite of
hardware assists that improves overall system performance
by lowering the I/O overhead in a virtualized environment. This
optimizes CPU usage, reduces system latency, and improves I/O
throughput. These features include:
• Virtual Machine Device Queues (VMDq)
• Intel® I/O Acceleration Technology (Intel® I/OAT)
important because of the need to provide redundancy and
data connectivity for the applications/workloads in the virtual
machines. Due to the need for redundancy and data connectivity,
it is recommended that a virtualized physical server needs at least
six GbE ports to satisfy the I/O requirement demands..
Virtual Machine Device queues (VMDq)
VMDq reduces I/O overhead on the hypervisor in a virtualized
server by performing data sorting and coalescing in the network
silicon. VMDq technology makes use of multiple queues in the
network controller. As data packets enter the network adapter,
they are sorted, and packets traveling to the same destination
(or virtual machine) get grouped together in a single queue. The
packets are then sent to the hypervisor, which directs them to
their respective virtual machines. Relieving the hypervisor of
packet filtering and sorting improves overall CPU usage and
throughput levels.
Reliable Performance
The server adapter includes a number of advanced features that
enable it to provide industry-leading quad-port 1GbE performance
and reliability. With over 25 years of experience shipping Ethernet
adapters, Intel offers unmatched quality and design.
PCIe* v2.0 (5 GT/s)
PCIe v2.0 (5 GT/s) support enables customers to take full
advantage of the 1 GbE by providing a maximum of 2.0 Gbps
bi-directional throughput per port on a single quad-port card.
For today’s demanding virtualized data center environments,
the new Intel® Ethernet I340 Server Adapter delivers ultimate
flexibility and scalability.
Use of multi-port adapters in a virtualized environment is very
Features Benefits
General
Intel® 82580 Gigab it Ethernet Cont roller
with
PCI Ex press* V2.0 (5 GT/s) Supp ort
Haloge n Free (Copper)
( Low Halogen applies only to halogenated flame retardant s and PVC in compo-
nents. Halogens are below 1,000ppm bromine and 1,000ppm chlorine.)
Low-Pro le (Copper only), Standa rd height (Coppe r and Fiber) • Enables higher bandwidth a nd throughpu t from standard and low- prole PCIe slot s and server s
iSCSI remote boot suppo rt • Provid es centralized s torage area network (SAN) manageme nt at a lower cost tha n competing iSCSI
Load balancing on multiple CPUs • Increases per formance on multi- processor systems by ef ciently bala ncing networ k loads across CPU
Compa tible with x4, x8, a nd x16 standar d and low-prol e PCI Expres s* slots
Multi-por t design • Allows each por t to operate with out interferi ng with the othe rs
Suppo rt for most net work operati ng systems (NO S) • Enables widespread d eployment
RoHS-compliant • Compliant with the European U nion directive 2002/95/EC to reduce t he use of hazardous mater ials
Intel® PROSet Uti lity for Windows* Device Manage r • Provides point-and-cl ick management of indiv idual adapter s, advanced adapter feat ures, connec tion
• Industry-leading small est non-bri dged PCIe Gen2 quad-p ort 1GbE controlle r
• Enables custo mers to take full advanta ge of 1Gb E by providing maximum b i-directional th roughput per
port o n a single quad- port adapter
• Leader ship in an enviro nmentally fri endly ecosys tem
solutions
cores when used with Recei ve-Side Scalin g from Microsof t* or Scalable I/O on Linux*
• Enables quad -port oper ation in almost any PCI E xpress server slot, e xcept x1 slots
teaming, and vi rtual local a rea network (VLAN ) conguratio n
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