Intel X520 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ Adapter

The Intel X520 and X540 Dual Port 10 GbE adapters for System x are powered by reliable and proven 10 Gb Ethernet technology. These adapters offer full line-rate 10 Gbps performance for high-IO intensive applications, and showcase the next generation in 10 GbE networking features for the enterprise network and data center. The Intel X520 card provides SFP+ based connectivity options, and the Intel X540-T2 adapter offers 10GBASE-T connectivity with RJ-45 ports, with compatibility with the existing 1000BASE-T network, and simplifying the transition to the 10 Gb Ethernet technology.

Changes in the February 25 update:

• Updated the table of supported transceivers and DAC cables

Introduction

The Intel X520 and X540 Dual Port 10 GbE adapters for System x are powered by reliable and proven 10 Gb Ethernet technology. These adapters offer full line-rate 10 Gbps performance for high-IO intensive applications, and showcase the next generation in 10 GbE networking features for the enterprise network and data center. The Intel X520 adapter provides SFP+ based connectivity options (fiber or DAC cabling). The Intel X540 adapter offers 10GBASE-T connectivity with RJ-45 ports, with compatibility with the existing 1000BASE-T network, simplifying the transition to the 10 Gb Ethernet technology. Both the X520 and X540 are available in either standard PCIe low-profile card form factor or mezzanine card form factor.

The following figure shows the Intel X540-T2 Dual Port 10GBaseT Adapter for System x.

Figure 1. Intel X540-T2 Dual Port 10GBaseT Adapter for System x

Did you know?

In a multicore platform, the Intel X520 and X540 adapters support Intel I/O Virtualization Technology (I/OVT), which helps accelerate data across the platform, therefore improving application response times. For virtualized environments, Intel Ethernet adapters offer advanced features with VMDq that lower processor utilization and increase I/O performance.

The X520 and X540 adapters are available in special mezzanine form factors for supported System x servers. This form factor allows you to use the server’s standard PCIe slots for other technologies.

Part number information

The following table provides the ordering part numbers and feature codes for the Intel X520 and X540-T2 adapters.

Table 1. Ordering part numbers and feature codes

The adapter option part numbers includes the following items:

• One Intel 10 Gb Ethernet adapter
• 3U bracket attached with 2U bracket included in the box (except for the Embedded Adapter)
• Quick Install Guide
• Warranty Flyer
• Documentation CD
• Important Notices Flyer

Note: The X520 adapters ship without any SFP+ transceivers or direct attach cables. These items need to be ordered separately (see Table 2 and Table 3 for details).

The following figure shows the Intel X520 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ Adapter.

Figure 2. Intel X520 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ Adapter

Transceivers and direct-attach cables

The Intel X520 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ Adapter and X520 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ Embedded Adapter have two empty SFP+ cages that support SFP+ SR transceivers and direct-attached copper (DAC) cables.

The following figure shows the Intel X540 Dual Port 10GBase-T Embedded Adapter.

Figure 3. Intel X540 Dual Port 10GBase-T Embedded Adapter

The following figure shows the Intel X540 ML2 Dual Port 10GbaseT Adapter for those servers with an ML2 adapter slot.

Figure 4. Intel X540 ML2 Dual Port 10GbaseT Adapter

Features

The Intel X520 and X540 adapters have the following features:

• Load balancing on multiple processors, which increases performance on multiprocessor systems by efficiently balancing network loads across processor cores when used with Receive Side Scaling from Microsoft or Scalable I/O on Linux.
• Header Splits and Replication in Receive helps the driver focus on the relevant part of the packet without needing to parse it.
• Multiple queues allow packet handling without the waiting/buffer overflow, which provides efficient packet prioritization.
• Offload features:
  • IP, TCP, and UDP checksum offload (IPv4 and IPv6)
  • TCP segmentation/large send offload (IPv4 and IPv6)
  • IPsec offload
  • MACsec offload
  • Receive Side Scaling for Windows and Scalable I/O for Linux (IPv4, IPv6, and TCP/ UDP)
• Support for Intel Virtualization Technology (VT) with I/OAT and VMDq.
• IEEE 802.1Q VLAN support with VLAN tag insertion, with stripping and packet filtering for up to 4096 VLAN tags.
• IEEE 802.3x flow control support.
• IEEE 802.1p Class of Service/Quality of Service.
• Support for Advanced Packet Filtering.
• Jumbo frames support (up to 9,500 bytes).
• Support for both UEFI and PXE boot.
• iSCSI and iSCSI boot as a software iSCSI initiator.
• Teaming support:
  • Adapter Fault Tolerance (AFT)
  • Switch Fault Tolerance (SFT)
  • Adaptive Load Balancing (ALB)
  • Virtual Machine Load Balancing (VMLB)
  • IEEE 802.3ad (link aggregation control protocol)
• Intel PROSet Utility for easy configuration and management.

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 improve system performance and application response times. The suite of features includes:

• Direct Cache Access (DCA): Enables the adapter to prefetch data from the memory cache, thereby avoiding cache misses and improving application response times.
• MSI-X interrupts: Minimizes the impact of I/O interrupts by load balancing interrupts across multiple processor cores.
• Low-Latency Interrupts: Allows the adapter to bypass the automatic moderation of time intervals between the interrupts (based on the sensitivity of the incoming data).
• Receive Side Scaling (RSS) and Scalable I/O: Directs the interrupts to a specific processor core based on the application’s address.

Virtual Machine Device Queues (VMDq) reduces I/O impact 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) are 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 processor usage and throughput levels.

The adapters have complete iSCSI support for proven native OS and VM iSCSI initiators and for iSCSI boot. The Intel adapters support IPsec and MACsec offloads that provides full 10 Gbps line-rate performance in secured environments.

Technical specifications

The Intel X520 Dual Port 10GbE Adapter and X520 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ Embedded Adapter have the following specifications:

• Intel 82599 dual-port 10 Gb Ethernet controller
• Two empty SFP+ cages for SFP+ transceivers or DAC cables
• Supports 10 Gbps speeds with the optional SFP+ transceivers or DAC cables
• Standard PCIe low-profile card form factor (X520 Dual Port 10GbE Adapter)
• Mezzanine form factor (X520 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ Embedded Adapter)
• PCIe 2.0 x8 host interface

The Intel X540-T2 Dual Port 10GBaseT Adapter and Intel X540 Dual Port 10GBase-T Embedded Adapter have the following specifications:

• Intel X540 dual-port 10 Gb Ethernet controller
• Two 10GBASE-T RJ-45 ports
• Supports 100 Mbps, 1 Gbps, and 10 Gbps speeds
• Standard PCIe low-profile card form factor (Intel X540-T2 Dual Port 10GBaseT Adapter)
• Mezzanine form factor (Intel X540 Dual Port 10GBase-T Embedded Adapter)
• PCIe 2.0 x8 host interface

Standards supported

Both the Intel X520 and Intel X540 adapters support the following IEEE standards:

• IEEE 802.1p Class of Service (CoS) traffic prioritization
• IEEE 802.1Q VLAN tagging
• IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation Control Protocol
• IEEE 802.3x Full-duplex flow control

The Intel X540 adapters supports the following standards:

• IEEE 802.3u 100BASE-TX Fast Ethernet
• IEEE 802.3ab 1000BASE-T copper twisted pair Gigabit Ethernet
• IEEE 802.3an 10GBASE-T copper twisted pair 10 Gb Ethernet

The Intel X520 adapters supports the following standards:

• IEEE 802.3ae 10GBASE-SR short range fiber optics 10 Gb Ethernet
• 10GSFP+Cu SFP+ Direct Attach copper

Server support

The Intel X520 and X540 10 Gb Ethernet adapters are supported in the System x servers that are listed in the following table.

For the latest information about the servers that support each adapter, see ServerProven at:
http://www.lenovo.com/us/en/serverproven/xseries/lan/matrix.shtml

Network cabling requirements

The network cables that can be used with the adapters are described in the following sections.

Intel X520 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ Adapter
Intel X520 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ Embedded Adapter

• 10GBASE-SR (supported with the optional 10 GbE SFP+ transceivers listed in Table 2)
  • 850 nm communication using multimode fiber cable (50 µ or 62.5 µ), up to 300 m, using an LC duplex connector
• 10GSFP+Cu (supported with the optional SFP+ DAC cables listed in Table 3)
  • Up to 5 m SFP+ copper direct attach cables, as listed in Table 3

Intel X540-T2 Dual Port 10GBaseT Adapter
Intel X540 Dual Port 10GBase-T Embedded Adapter
Intel X540 ML2 Dual Port 10GbaseT Adapter

• 10GBASE-T
  • UTP Category 7 (100 m maximum)
  • UTP Category 6a (100 m maximum)
  • UTP Category 6 (55 m maximum)
• 1000BASE-T and 100BASE-TX
  • UTP Category 7 (100 m maximum)
  • UTP Category 6a (100 m maximum)
  • UTP Category 6 (100 m maximum)
  • UTP Category 5e (100 m maximum)

The following figure shows the Intel X520 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ Embedded Adapter.

Figure 5. Intel X520 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ Embedded Adapter

Operating system support

The Intel X520 and X540 10 Gb Ethernet adapters for System x support the following operating systems:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Datacenter x64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Datacenter x86 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Enterprise x64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Enterprise x86 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Standard x64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Standard x86 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Web x64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Web x86 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Server Edition
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Server with Xen x64 Edition
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Server x64 Edition
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Server Edition
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Server x64 Edition
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
• SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 10 for AMD64/EM64T
• SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 10 for x86
• SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 10 with Xen for AMD64/EM64T
• SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 11 for AMD64/EM64T
• SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 11 for x86
• SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 11 with Xen for AMD64/EM64T
• VMware ESX 4.1
• VMware ESXi 4.1
• VMware vSphere 5.0 (ESXi)
• VMware vSphere 5.1 (ESXi)
• VMware vSphere 5.5 (ESXi)

For the latest information about the specific versions and service packs supported, see ServerProven at:
http://www.lenovo.com/us/en/serverproven/xseries/lan/matrix.shtml

Select the check mark associated with the System x server in question to see the operating system support details.

Physical specifications

The adapters have the following physical specifications:

The adapter dimensions has the following specifications (approximate, without bracket):

• Length: 168 mm (6.6 in.)
• Width: 69 mm (2.7 in.)
• Height: 15 mm (0.6 in.)

The mezzanine adapter has the following physical specifications:

• Height: 60 mm (2.4 in)
• Width: 160 mm (6.3 in)
• Depth: 17 mm (0.7 in)

The ML2 adapter has the following physical specifications:

• Height: 69 mm (2.7 in.)
• Length: 168 mm (6.6 in.)
• Width: 17 mm (0.7 in.)

Shipping box dimensions (approximate):

• Length: 238 mm (9.4 in.)
• Width: 143 mm (5.6 in.)
• Height: 51 mm (2.0 in.)

Operating environment

These adapters are supported in the following environment:

• Operating temperature: 0 – 55 °C (32 – 131 °F)
• Storage temperature: -20 – 65 °C (-4 – 149 °F)
• Shipping conditions: -20 – 70 °C (-4 – 158 °F)
• Air flow requirement (LFPM): 45 minimum
• Wet bulb (max): 27 °C (81 °F)
• Relative humidity (operating/nonoperating): 10% – 90%
• Relative humidity (shipping): 5% – 95%, no condensation
• Relative humidity (storage): 5% – 80%
• Maximum dew point (operating): 21 °C (70 °F)
• Maximum operating altitude: 7,000 feet (2,134 m)
• Vibration and shock: IEC 68, FCC Part 68.302, NSTA, 1A
• Electrostatic/electromagnetic susceptibility: IEC 801-2, -3, -4, and -5

Warranty

One-year limited warranty. When installed in a System x server, these cards assume your system’s base warranty and any warranty upgrade.

Agency approvals

The adapters conform to the following standards:

• EN55022
• EN55024
• EN60950 / CE
• EN 61000-3-2
• EN 61000-3-3
• ICES-003, Issue-004
• IEC 950 CB Scheme
• FCC 47 CFR Part 15 Class A
• UL 1950
• CSA C22.2 950-95
• VCCI
• AS/NZS CISPR 22 / C-tick
• RRL for KC
• BSMI
• UL 94-/V

Top-of-rack Ethernet switches

The following 10 Gb Ethernet top-of-rack switches are supported.

For more information, see the Lenovo Press Product Guides in the 10Gb top-of-rack switch category:
https://lenovopress.com/networking/tor/10gb