Intel
®
Ethernet X520 SFP+
Direct Attach Server Adapter
10 Gigabit Ethernet Dual Port Server Adapter Provides
Ultimate Flexibility and Scalability in Virtual and Unified
Storage Environments
Product Brief
Intel® Ethernet X520
SFP+ Direct Attach
Server Adapter for Dell
PowerEdge Servers
Network Connectivity
Third-party information brought to you courtesy of Dell.
The Intel® Ethernet X520 SFP+ Direct Attach
(DA) Server Adapter for Dell PowerEdge Rack
and Tower servers is one of the most flexible
and scalable Ethernet adapters for today’s
demanding data center environments. Data
center networks are being pushed to their
limits. The escalating deployments of servers
with multi-core processors and demanding
applications such as High Performance
Computing (HPC), database clusters, and video-
on-demand are driving the need for 10 Gigabit
connections. Customers require flexible and
scalable I/O solutions to meet the rigorous
requirements of running mission-critical
applications in virtualized and unified storage
environments.
Designed as a low-cost, low-power adapter, the
Intel Ethernet X520 SFP+ DA Server Adapter
provides direct attach copper twinaxial cable
connections between servers and a top-of-rack
switch. Two ports, coupled with a low-profile
PCI Express* form factor, make this adapter
ideal for slot-constrained environments. Using
direct attach copper cables compliant with the
SFP+ MSA SFF-8431 specification, the Intel
x520 SFP+ DA Server Adapter is well-suited for
customers who require low-cost “in-the-rack”
connections of up to 7 meters between server
and top-of-rack switch.
Powered by Intel’s third-generation 10 GbE
network controller, the Intel® Ethernet 82599
10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller, the X520 server
adapter addresses the demanding needs of
the next-generation data center by providing
unmatched features for virtualization, flexibility
for LAN and SAN networking, and proven,
reliable performance.
Best Choice for Virtualization
The explosive growth in virtualization is
leading to an increasing demand for network
performance. With more Virtual Machines (VMs)
running on each multi-core server, networking
traffic is dramatically increased with each
VM competing for available I/O bandwidth.
Dell’s new Intel Ethernet X520 Server
Adapter addresses networking bottlenecks
in virtualized environments. This new adapter
enables network-intensive applications
to achieve the performance expected in a
virtualized environment.
The Intel Ethernet X520 SFP+ DA Server
Adapter provides the best networking
performance available in the industry, whether
the physical port is configured in an emulation
mode using the virtual switch in the Virtual
Machine Monitor (VMM), or is directly assigned
to a virtual machine. In the emulation mode,
