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BC0154501-00 P
User’s Guide—Converged Network Adapters and Intelligent Ethernet Adapters
FastLinQ 45000 Series
Layer 2
Refers to the data link layer of the multilay-
ered communication model, Open
Systems Interconnection (OSI). The
function of the data link layer is to move
data across the physical links in a network,
where a switch redirects data messages at
the Layer 2 level using the destination
MAC address to determine the message
destination.
LSO
Large send offload. LSO Ethernet adapter
feature that allows the TCP\IP network
stack to build a large (up to 64KB) TCP
message before sending it to the adapter.
The adapter hardware segments the
message into smaller data packets
(frames) that can be sent over the wire: up
to 1,500 bytes for standard Ethernet
frames and up to 9,000 bytes for jumbo
Ethernet frames. The segmentation
process frees up the server CPU from
having to segment large TCP messages
into smaller packets that will fit inside the
supported frame size.
maximum transmission unit
See
message signaled interrupts
See
.
MSI, MSI-X
Message signaled interrupts. One of two
PCI-defined extensions to support
message signaled interrupts (MSIs), in
PCI 2.2 and later and PCI Express. MSIs
are an alternative way of generating an
interrupt through special messages that
allow emulation of a pin assertion or
deassertion.
MSI-X (defined in PCI 3.0) allows a device
to allocate any number of interrupts
between 1 and 2,048 and gives each inter-
rupt separate data and address registers.
Optional features in MSI (64-bit
addressing and interrupt masking) are
mandatory with MSI-X.
MTU
Maximum transmission unit. Refers to the
size (in bytes) of the largest packet (IP
datagram) that a specified layer of a
communications protocol can transfer.
network interface card
NIC
Network interface card. Computer card
installed to enable a dedicated network
connection.
NIC partitioning
non-volatile random access memory
non-volatile memory express
.
NPAR
partitioning. The division of a single
NIC port into multiple physical functions or
partitions, each with a user-configurable
bandwidth and personality (interface type).
Personalities include
