Server adapter utilises Intel Ethernet controller

The server-adapter range is designed to integrate with PCI Express-based inline networking servers, including WAN acceleration, UTM and IPS systems, and security and monitoring appliances such as firewalls, IDS systems and analysis probes.

The Niagara 32714 server adapter is a low-power quad port 10 Gigabit Ethernet NIC, with SFP+ pluggable modules for multi-mode and single-mode fibre media, based on Intel's 82599 Ethernet controller.

The 82599 Ethernet controller provides PCI Express 2.0 (5 GT/s) support, low-power 6.2W operation, and intelligent queue support optimised for multi-core processors consisting of 128 transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) queues The 82599 also offers Intel's Virtualisation Technology for Connectivity (VT-c), which helps reduce I/O bottlenecks, boost throughput, and reduce latency.

The Virtual Machine Device Queues improve performance by offloading the data-sorting burden from the virtual machine manager (VMM) to the network controller.

The server adapter possesses specialised features including layer two and three security including IPSec and Linksec, Intel I/OAT Acceleration v3.0, VLAN tagging, stripping and packet filtering, FCoE transmit, segmentation and offload, and SNMP and RMON statistic counters.

Intel's 82599 also possesses a variety of time-manageability interfaces including RMII, SMBus, PXE, and iSCSI Boot.