Intel X520-k – network adapter – 10Gb Ethernet x 2

The Intel Ethernet X520 10 Gigabit Mezzanine Card from Dell provides ultimate flexibility and scalability in virtual and unified storage environments. Intel Virtualization Technology for Connectivity (VT-c) is a suite of hardware assists that reduces I/O bottlenecks in a virtualized server and improves performance, flexibility and virtual machine scalability. Using emulation mode or direct access mode, it 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. In emulation mode, Virtual Machine Device Queues (VMDq) optimizes network performance by offloading data sorting and copying from the software virtual switch in the VMMto the Intel Ethernet 82599 10 Gb controller.

Moreover, this Ethernet X520 10 GbE mezzanine card is optimized for I/O (input/output)performance and is ideal for most enterprise applications, including virtualization, database and streaming video. In direct access mode, the ideal SR-IOV provides direct VM connectivity and data protection across VMs. It allows the data to bypass the software virtual switch and provides near-native performance. It assigns either physical or virtual I/O ports to individual VMs directly. The Mezzanine Card provides high-performing, dual-port connectivity in a multicore platform as well as in a virtualized environment.