The NC522SFP is an eight lane (x8) PCI Express (PCIe) 10 Gigabit network solution offering optimized bandwidth for ProLiant servers. This dual port PCI Express Gen 2 adapter, which features a controller from QLogic, supports SFP+ (Small Form-factor Pluggable) connectors, requiring either Direct Attach Cable (DAC) for copper environments, or fiber transceivers supporting SR, LR, or LRM optics plus fiber cables for fiber optic environments.

The NC522SFP ships with advanced server features that ProLiant customers have come to expect, such as support for TCP checksum and segmentation (LSO) offload capability, VLAN tagging, jumbo frames, IPv6, and more. Flexible to order and install, the NC522SFP can be used in either standard or low profile slots.

Features of the HP NC522SFP Dual Port 10GbE Server Adapter

Performance

Dual-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet Throughput
The 20,000 Mbps full duplex Ethernet transfer rate per port (40 Gbps aggregate full duplex) delivers outstanding network performance that improves response time and removes bottlenecks for the next generation data center. 10 Gigabit Ethernet bandwidth is ideal for high performance computing, database clusters, iSCSI storage, storage backups, grid systems, virtualization, server and I/O consolidation, fabric consolidation, and more.

PCI Express Interface
HP was an early champion of PCI Express bus technology and has played a key role in the development and industry adoption of the PCI Express specification. The NC522SFP is designed with an eight lane (x8) PCI Express bus based on the PCIe v2.0 standard. The adapter is backward compatible with four lane (x4) PCI Express automatically auto-sensing between x8 and x4 slots.

Jumbo Frames
Jumbo frames (also known as extended frames) permit a 9,000 byte transmission unit (MTU). The NC522SFP adapter supports 9KB jumbo frames as a way to achieve higher throughput and better CPU utilization. Jumbo frames are particularly useful for database transfers and tape backups.

TCP Stateless Offloading
For overall improved system response, the NC522SFP adapter supports standard TCP/IP offloading techniques including:

• TCP/IP checksum offload (TCO) moves the TCP and IP checksum offloading from the CPU to the network adapter.
  
• Large Send Offload (LSO) or TCP Segmentation Offload (TSO) allows the TCP segmentation to be handled by the adapter rather than the CPU.

Interrupt Coalescing
Interrupt coalescing (interrupt moderation) groups multiple packets, thereby reducing the number of interrupts sent to the host. This process optimizes host efficiency, leaving the CPU available for other duties.

802.1p QoS Tagging
IEEE quality of service (QoS) 802.1p tagging allows the adapter to mark or tag frames with a priority level across a QoS-aware network for improved traffic flow.

Network Management

Management Support
Like all HP ProLiant server adapters, the NC522SFP adapter ships with agents that can be managed from HP Systems Insight Manager or other management application that support SNMP.

Server Integration
The NC522SFP adapter is a validated, tested, and qualified solution that is optimized for HP ProLiant servers. This approach provides a more robust and reliable networking solution than offerings from other venders and provides users with a single point of contact for both their servers and their network adapters.

LED Indicators
Bracket LED indicators show link integrity and network activity for easy troubleshooting.