
Lenovo 7ZT7A00537 ThinkSystem - X710-DA2 PCIe 10Gb - Ethernet Adapter
Enhanced Network Performance: Lenovo ThinkSystem X710-DA2 Ethernet Adapter The Lenovo ThinkSystem X710-DA2 PCIe 10Gb 2-Port SFP+ Ethernet Adapter is designed to meet the demanding needs of next-generation data centers. With unmatched features for server and network virtualization, small packet pe...
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Overview
Enhanced Network Performance: Lenovo ThinkSystem X710-DA2 Ethernet Adapter
The Lenovo ThinkSystem X710-DA2 PCIe 10Gb 2-Port SFP+ Ethernet Adapter is designed to meet the demanding needs of next-generation data centers. With unmatched features for server and network virtualization, small packet performance, and low power consumption, this adapter provides a flexible, scalable, and resilient network solution.
Specifications:
- Form Factor: PCIe
- Ports: 2 x SFP+
- Data Rate: 10Gb Ethernet (GbE)
- Features: Intel I/O Virtualization Technology, VMDq
Key Features
VXLAN/NVGRE Hardware Offloads: These stateless offloads preserve application performance for overlay networks. With these offloads, it is possible to distribute network traffic across CPU cores. At the same time, X710 offloads LSO, GSO, and checksum from the host software, which reduces CPU overhead.
Mobile and cloud application acceleration: Intel's Data Plan Development Kit (DPDK) delivers an open driver where users can fine-tune small packet performance, which delivers line-rate at 128 byte, and near line-rate at 64 byte.
Low latency: Intel Ethernet Flow Director delivers hardware-based application steering and Intel Data Direct I/O makes the processor cache the primary destination and source of I/O data rather than main memory. Combined, latency is reduced and Intel reports a three-fold improvement in RPS.
Virtualization performance: With Intel Virtualization Technology (VT), the X710 family of adapters delivers outstanding I/O performance in virtualized server environments. These adapters reduce I/O bottlenecks by providing intelligent offloads for networking traffic per virtual machine (VM), which enables near-line rate speeds for small packets and supports almost an unlimited amount of isolated traffic flows so that you can scale your cloud environment.
Next-generation VMDq: The X710 adapters support up to 256 VMDq VMs and offer enhanced Quality of Service (QoS) feature by providing weighted round-robin servicing for the Tx data. The adapters offload the data-sorting functionality from the hypervisor to the network silicon, which improves data throughput and CPU usage.
PCI-SIG SR-IOV implementation: Provides an implementation of the PCI-SIG standard for I/O Virtualization. The physical configuration of each port is divided into multiple virtual ports. Each virtual port is assigned to an individual VM directly by bypassing the virtual switch in the Hypervisor, which results in near-native performance.
VM load balancing: Provides traffic load balancing (Tx and Rx) across VMs that are bound to the team interface. It also provides fault tolerance if a switch, port, cable, or adapter fails.
Specifications
Pros & Cons
👍 Pros
- VXLAN/NVGRE hardware offloads preserve application performance, ensuring efficiency for demanding overlay networks.
- The adapter distributes network traffic across CPU cores, optimizing processing power and reducing host CPU overhead.
- Intel's Data Plan Development Kit (DPDK) fine-tunes small packet performance, delivering line-rate speeds at 128 bytes.
- Intel Ethernet Flow Director provides hardware-based application steering, reducing latency for critical operations.
- It features Intel Data Direct I/O, which makes the processor cache the primary I/O data destination, significantly lowering latency.
- Virtualization Technology (VT) delivers outstanding I/O performance in virtualized server environments, reducing bottlenecks.
- Next-generation VMDq supports up to 256 VMDq VMs, providing enhanced Quality of Service with weighted round-robin servicing.
- PCI-SIG SR-IOV implementation allows virtual ports to bypass the hypervisor's virtual switch, achieving near-native performance.
- VM load balancing distributes traffic across VMs, offering fault tolerance against switch, port, cable, or adapter failures.
👎 Cons
- Optimal utilization of this adapter's advanced features, such as DPDK, may require specialized software configuration and expertise.
- The benefits of VXLAN/NVGRE hardware offloads are only realized in environments using overlay networks, not in all network setups.
- Full performance of features like Intel Data Direct I/O depends on compatible processor architectures and system configurations.
- The advanced virtualization capabilities, while powerful, might be overkill for basic server setups without extensive VM deployment.
- The PCI-SIG SR-IOV implementation requires hypervisor and guest OS support to achieve its near-native performance benefits.